After wrestling in tournaments, the wrestlers returned to Estonia via Japan, China and Russia. After participating in a tournament in Tallinn, they were forced to flee as the Bolsheviks began to target them along with other celebrities who were deemed friendly with the Russian Imperial Army. They attempted to flee Russia via the Black Sea but because of a warm Winter, typhoid gripped the town of Armavir, where they had landed. The 43-year-old Lurich caught the disease and died on January 20th, 1920. Aberg also became sick but fought off the illness for a tim. Because of the Russian Civil War, medical supplies were difficult to obtain and Aberg caught pneumonia and passed away on February 15, 1920.