THE PRESIDENCY: To the Finland Station

The Finland Station in Leningrad is the place where Lenin got off the train on the night of April 3, 1917, to take charge of the Russian revolution. There in the cold, draughty Tsar's Room of the depot, he stood looking uncomfortable while newly elevated bigwigs welcomed him with speeches and with a bouquet that he handled as gingerly as if it had been a bomb. The phrase "to the Finland Station" has a symbolic meaning, implies something like a rendezvous with destiny.

Last week Russia arrived again at the Finland Station, but...