Finland Station

St Petersburg–Finlyandsky (Станция Санкт-Петербург-Финля́ндский Stantsiya Sankt-Peterburg-Finlyandskiy, in spoken language usually just Финля́ндский вокзал Finlyandskiy vokzal, "Finland Station") , is a railway station in St. Petersburg, Russia, handling transport to westerly destinations including Helsinki and Vyborg. The station is most famous for having been the location where Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from exile in Switzerland on 16 April 1917 (N.S.), ahead of the October Revolution. The main entrance to the metro station Ploshchad Lenina is in the main building of Finland Station. Finland Station was built by Finnish State Railways as the eastern terminus of the Riihimäki–Saint Petersburg railway. It was designed by Swedish architects and opened in 1870. The station formerly contained a special pavilion for Russian royalty. The station was owned and operated by Finnish Railways until early 1918, when the last train, carrying station personnel and equipment, as well as some of the last Finns escaping revolutionary Russia, left for Finland. Later, ownership of the station was exchanged for Russian property in Finland, including the Alexander Theatre in Helsinki. The station is famously known for the arrival of Vladimir Lenin by train from Switzerland on 3 April 1917 (O.S.). The event is commemorated by the Soviet statue of Lenin dominating the square in front of the station. This event is also referred to in the title of Edmund Wilson's book To the Finland Station (1940), a well-known study of revolutionary thought. After the turmoil of the July Days, when workers and soldiers in the capital clashed with government troops, Lenin had to flee to Finland for safety, to avoid arrest. Lenin secretly returned from Finland disguised as a railway worker and protected by Eino Rahja and Alexander Shotman on 9 August 1917. Both times Lenin crossed the Russian–Finnish border on engine #293 driven by Finnish engineer Hugo Jalava. The steam locomotive was donated by Finland to the Soviet Union in 1957 and is now installed as a permanent exhibit at one of the platforms on the station.