In March 1918, when German troops approached Petrograd, the Bolsheviks released Rutenberg, among many others. He moved to Moscow, the new capital, and took a position in the cooperative movement. However, after the unsuccessful attempt upon Lenin's life by Fanny Kaplan in August 1918, the "Red Terror" campaign against "Esers" was launched. Rutenberg escaped from Moscow. His last location in Russia was in the port city of Odessa, where he was a member of the defense committee. The city was governed by White Russians who were supported by the French army. On 17 March 1919 he managed to obtain a Russian passport and with an exit visa boarded an American vessel that took him to the Allied-controlled city of Constantinople. From there he sailed to Marseille, later going on to the United Kingdom before departing to British Mandate of Palestine.