Driven out by the Russian Revolution
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Rachmaninov: 15 facts about the great composer
10. Driven out by the Russian Revolution
The 1917 Russian Revolution meant the end of Russia as the composer had known it. In December 1917, he left Petrograd for Helsinki on an open sled with his wife and daughters. Now in his 40s, Rachmaninov launched a third more lucrative strand of his career – as a concert pianist.