Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"The liberal Russian revolution of February 1917 took many by surprise, not least Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin), leader of the Russian Marxist revolutionary 'Bolshevik' faction. He had predicted the event for years, but doubted that he would see it in his lifetime. . . . They agreed that Lenin's party would travel on a 'sealed train' to St. Petersburg. The deal was brokered by wealthy Bolshevik sympathizers and agreed to by the German government, which, although detesting Lenin's revolutionary plans, was desperate to remove Russia from the war before the United States entered it. . . . Instead, said Lenin, they should launch an immediate revolution on a program of 'land, peace, and bread' under the 'guidance' of the Bolsheviks alone. At first derided, the 'April thesis' became the blueprint for the violent Bolshevik seizure of power six months later." [Furtado: 1001 Days]