From The Finland Station To Ashmont Station

In 1917 when there were revolutionary crowds in the streets of Petrograd, Russia, V.I. Lenin was in Switzerland.  The German government thought they could use Lenin to destabilize the situation in Petrograd and degrade the Russian army's ability to fight the German army. 
 

 When Lenin arrived in Petrogragd, Russia he came via Sweden and then across to the Finland Station.

The Bolshevik Social Democrats that Lenin had organized were a small, but effective group.  Just as the German's hoped to use Lenin and the Bolsheviks, the moderate reformers of the Menshevik Social Democrats greeted Lenin and had a place for him to address supporters they had assembled to woo Lenin to support the moderates.  Lenin stepped to the other side of the platform where train workers were assembled.  Lenin urged the workers to organize a revolution to bring a workers government, socialism, and an end to the Russian Imperialist wars.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have in my bedroom on a bookshelf the volume by Lionel Trilling, "To The Finland Station," where he traces the ideas of socialist liberation from people like the French Revolution's Babeuf and Saint-Simon through Marx and others and finally to Lenin at the station rejecting faith in a Leftist Capitalist who grants reforms and promises a slow motion liberation.  Lenin called for a disciplined revolutionary organization oriented towards the workers and socialism.  Lenin made an open declaration at the station of where he wanted the train of human struggle to go.  

So... I was making a trip over the hill in the moonlight with the latest Worker Vanguards leaflet I had and one last Black History pamphlet with past articles that might be of interest.  

I looked around my bookshelves and it seemed that I had no more Worker Vanguards.  

I had a feeling that I might want to have the election 2020 leaflet on my bulletin board to show any visitors a printed expression of the ideas of Worker Vanguards.  But, with the reduced flow of visitors in the 'Horrible Year' of 2020 I wonder if I need to keep the leaflet on the wall.  Who will see it?  I also have posted the contents online, and can go to the original source online. 

But, when I got over the hill and in front of the station across from the Duncin Donuts and put the leaflet in the empty newspaper plexiglass display window - I took one blurry phone.  I went to take another picture.... a circle of dots appeared and the phone lost power.  No picture. 

https://archive.vn/230ky