Kaiser Wilhelm II faces the dilemma of deciding to sponsor Lenin's return to Russian. He is fearful of creating a "Bolshevik nemesis" but reluctantly tells his advisors to allow Lenin and his compatriots to travel through Germany from exile in Switzerland in order to destabilize Russia.

Lenin is hard at work growing his revolutionary movement from exile in Switzerland. He learns of the fall of the Czar in the February Revolution of 1917 and begins planning his return to Russia. He is given the difficult choice of accepting German help to get him to Russia.

An explanation of the context in which the Russian Revolution occured - the poverty and dissatisfaction of the people against the all-powerful rule of the Czar.

Czar Nicholas II of Russia is traveling on a train, and the train is stopped because of an urgent matter. A messenger tells the Czar that the Duma requests that he abdicate the throne immediately, and when the Czar refuses, he states that they demand his abdication. The Czar is faced with a difficult decision, as it is clear his presence is not welcome in any new form of Russian government that takes shape.

Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin meet in London in 1902 to discuss Marxism and the Marxist revolution. During their discussion, Trotsky recites from his work, "On Optimism and Pessimism," and gets Lenin's feedback on it.