The Myth of the October Revolution - A Journey Through Lenin's Russia

The Myth of the October Revolution - A Journey Through Lenin's Russia

Rarely has an event in world history been as cloaked in myth and legend as Russia's October Revolution. From the dramatic background through to life in modern day Russia, this documentary questions the stories, and searches for the truths behind these myths.

A blank shot from the protected cruiser, Aurora, in St. Petersburg is said to have changed world history. According to legend, what happened in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg one hundred years ago in the autumn of 1917 was a powerful uprising of the revolutionary Russian masses. Initially described only as an uprising by Lenin himself, within a few short years this event in world history became the "Great Socialist October Revolution". Since the foundation of the Soviet Union, this powerfully influential view of history as presented by Stalin has shaped the attitudes of many people of subsequent generations – the October Revolution is seen as a watershed in European 20th century history. The film searches for the origins of this view of history and travels to the original settings of these events in St. Petersburg. Prominent historians including Orlando Figes and Jörg Baberowski help to shed light on events and to put them in context. What is truth, what is myth? An exciting historical investigation that brings us right into present-day Russia.