The Russian revolutionaries nearly stranded in London
Witness History28 Juli 2025

The Russian revolutionaries nearly stranded in London

In 1907, the men who would go on to lead the Russian Revolution met in London for a crucial congress.

But the revolutionaries – including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Leon Trotsky – were nearly stranded after running out of funds.

The late British journalist Henry Brailsford played a key role in securing their fare home.

In 1947, he told the BBC how the meeting marked a point of no return for the party’s two warring factions – the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks – and ultimately led to the creation of the communist party.

Produced and presented by Vicky Farncombe.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: A group of revolutionaries including Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin (centre) and Menshevik leader Julius Martov (on his right). Credit: Getty Images)

Avsnitt(2000)

Hitler's teeth

Hitler's teeth

On 8 May 1945, Yelena Rzhevskaya was handed a small box covered in red satin. The box had once held perfume but now inside – so she said – were Adolf Hitler’s teeth. Yelena later claimed this marked t...

8 Apr 10min

Marcel Duchamp and the urinal that changed art

Marcel Duchamp and the urinal that changed art

In October 1942, the great French conceptualist artist Marcel Duchamp helped put on the first major surrealist exhibition in New York. Carroll Janis's parents were friends of Duchamp.Louise Hidalgo sp...

7 Apr 10min

Straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa

On 15 December 2001, the Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened to the public after an unprecedented 11-year closure. Famous worldwide for its dramatic lean, the tower also became, during the 1990s, the most ...

6 Apr 9min

The first commercially successful electronic cigarette

The first commercially successful electronic cigarette

In the summer of 2003, pharmacist Hon Lik was one of millions of smokers in China.He was coughing a lot and having problems with his breathing and wondered if he could make an alternative cigarette.Af...

3 Apr 10min

Spain welcomes Picasso’s Guernica

Spain welcomes Picasso’s Guernica

In 1981 one of the world’s most iconic works of art – Guernica - was finally handed to Spain after a 44-year exile.Pablo Picasso had created the huge mural in 1937 followed the bombing of the Basque t...

2 Apr 10min

New Nordic cuisine

New Nordic cuisine

In 2004, Danish food entrepreneur Claus Meyer launched the ‘Nordic Kitchen Manifesto’, kick-starting a revolution in Nordic cooking focused on local seasonal ingredients. The new approach was most fam...

1 Apr 10min

The discovery of the Terra Nova shipwreck

The discovery of the Terra Nova shipwreck

In 2012, a team of researchers discovered one of the most famous polar shipwrecks - the Terra Nova.The ship was famous for carrying Britain’s doomed explorers in their race to reach the South Pole mor...

31 Mars 10min

Echo and the elephants

Echo and the elephants

In 1972, the world’s longest-running study of wild elephants was first launched in Kenya, making a star of one of its subjects – Echo.For decades, the Amboseli Elephant Research Project followed Echo ...

30 Mars 10min

Populärt inom Samhälle & Kultur

podme-dokumentar
aftonbladet-krim
en-mork-historia
gynning-berg
p3-dokumentar
svenska-fall
creepypodden-med-jack-werner
skaringer-nessvold
hor-har
spar
killradet
aftonbladet-daily
mardromsgasten
kod-katastrof
rss-brottsutredarna
flashback-forever
historiska-brott
vad-blir-det-for-mord
larm-vi-minns
rysarpodden