Vladimir Lenin inflicted great harm on Russia. The revolution, which the Bolsheviks staged, led to numerous human casualties. Until now, historians are haunted by the question - did Lenin act of his own free will or did he work for foreign intelligence?
Spies or agents are people who carry out assignments from intelligence agencies of other states. Agents are always aware that by their actions they harm their state.
It cannot be stated unequivocally that Lenin was a spy. He was not recruited by foreign intelligence services and did not receive money from them. Throughout history, not a single official document has been recorded that would prove that Lenin received money from German or any other intelligence service.
But did he cooperate with structures that carried out intelligence activities on the territory of Russia? Collaborated, and how. All means were good in the struggle for the cause of the world revolution. And financial assistance from German intelligence was no exception. A document has survived to this day, according to which one of Lenin's comrades-in-arms, Parvus, received more than a million rubles from German "comrades" to organize the strike.
Germany and the Bolsheviks
In 1917, the interests of the Bolsheviks and the German government coincided. Both of them wanted to destroy the Russian state. That is why the Germans allowed the train with Ilyich to travel freely from Germany to Russia. It was assumed that in their homeland the Bolsheviks would begin to corrupt the state and the army from within.
Lenin, together with his colleagues in a sealed carriage, crossed Switzerland and Germany. In wartime conditions, this seemed simply incredible. Nevertheless, the car with the revolutionaries was never inspected - it was able to reach Russia without hindrance. Lenin was given not only an "untouchable" carriage. In Stockholm, there were sponsors who allocated an impressive amount of money for the trip. Lenin wrote: "We have more money for the trip than I thought."
But the "friendship" between Lenin and German intelligence quickly ended. Having barely received power in Russia, Vladimir Ilyich moved troops into the territories that he had previously given to Germany.
Lenin did have certain espionage skills. For example, in his letters from Switzerland, he was either going to move to the Russian border under the guise of a deaf-mute Swede, or he intended to put on a wig.
USA and the Bolsheviks
If there is no direct connection between Lenin and foreign "sponsors", then in the case of Leon Trotsky the situation is different. Trotsky arrived from the United States to revolutionary Russia by steamer. On the way, he was detained in Canada, but was quickly released after Foreign Minister Miliukov personally intervened in the matter.
Despite the fact that Trotsky was found with a gigantic sum of $ 10,000 at that time, no one was going to arrest him. It is not surprising, since Milyukov was the best friend of the American banker Yakov Schiff, the main "money bag" of Russian revolutionaries.
