All My Lenins
All My Lenins is a 1997 historical comedy film by Hardi Volmer. It was produced by the Faama Film company in cooperation with Lenfilm.
Synopsis
In 1908, young Estonian politician Aleksander Kesküla escaped from the Esthonia (Estland) Governorate, then part of the Russian Empire, to Switzerland, where he enrolled in the University of Bern. Kesküla is concerned about national oppression in tsarist Russia, as is famous Russian Bolshevik and exiled intellectual, Vladimir Lenin. Lenin believes tsarist Russia to be "the prison of nations".When World War I breaks out, Lenin blames it on the Russian and German bourgeoisie. He begins to agitate "to end war even if Russia is defeated". Kesküla seizes the opportunity to use Lenin and his followers to start a revolution against the Russian Empire. He devises a plan to overthrow Russia and build upon the ruins of the defunct state of Gross-Estland (Great Estonia). The new empire would incorporate all former Finno-Ugric territories, including Saint Petersburg.
Kesküla and the German [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] make a deal to support Lenin financially. Lenin accepts the help. The Germans then install their super-spy Müller to serve as the project's coordinator. Kesküla and Müller train five Russian men as Lenin's doppelgängers; they want to be sure they can replace the real Lenin at any moment should something happen to him or should Lenin become a liability.
Historical accuracy
The authors of the film called it "pseudo-historical", as the film contains some historical accuracies, but is mostly fictional. In fall 1914, the List of ambassadors of [Germany to Switzerland|German ambassador in Switzerland], Freiherr Gisbert von Romberg, informed his government about "an Estonian, Alexander Kesküla, who made a proposal to use Lenin in our plans against Russia". German intelligence clarified that Kesküla indeed had access to Bolshevik inner circles and to Lenin himself. Moreover, Kesküla had prior experience using foreign assistance to support rebels in Russia; in 1905, he received money from Japanese spy Akashi Motojiro to advance his interests in Tallinn, Tartu, and Riga.The Germans were initially skeptical of Kesküla's proposal. The German Foreign Ministry viewed the Bolsheviks as a fringe political group that lacked the influence to change hearts and minds in the Russian state. However, the situation soon changed; in December 1914, Kesküla received 10,000 Reichsmarks from the German Empire to distribute to the Bolsheviks.
Although Kesküla informed the German government about Lenin, Kesküla may not have been the only one to fund Lenin's cause with outside money. The film, however, focuses solely on Kesküla. "The school of Lenin's doppelgängers in Zürich" is also fictional, as are the doppelgängers themselves.