"Kerensky and Lenin: on the Crossroads of Historical Fates"

Published 22 February, 2007, 03:14

Social and private lives of Russian revolutionaries Aleksander Kerensky and Vladimir Lenin are at the core of a newly opened exhibition in Moscow’s State Historical Museum.

The exhibition unveils some previously unknown facts about the two prominent Russians.

Aleksandr Kerensky, the leader of the socialist opposition to the tsar's regime in Russia, served as a minister in the Provisional Government in 1917. When power was seized by Vladimir Lenin after the October revolution, Kerensky fled the country.

Although it's widely thought that he dressed as a woman to disguise himself when escaping, it is not true – and the organisers were seeking to demonstrate the real role Kerensky played in Russian history.
 
“For a long time the name of Kerensky has been mocked. Lenin called him an upstart, while Trotsky belittled his role in history. But we want to show the real merits of Kerensky as a man and politician,” exhibition organiser Lyubov Lushina says.

 A distinguishing feature about the exhibition is that highlights common facts in the lives of the two leaders. Both Kerensky and Lenin were born in the same town, they finished schools with excellent marks, both decided to become lawyers and graduated from St. Petersburg University.
Both Kerensky's and Lenin's fathers worked as teachers. And the irony of their relationship is that on graduation from school Lenin got a glowing recommendation from his nemesis's father, which is now on public display for the first time.

So even though the history of the time is well-documented, the exhibition proves there is more to discover about this important time in Russian history.

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