Trotsky’s Executive
Committee puts approval of the regulations of the Military Revolutionary
Committee on the agenda of
the Petrograd Soviet. Asked by the Mensheviks whether the Bolsheviks were
preparing for a seizure of power, Trotsky said, “We make no secret of that.” The
regulations were approved by a large majority. More and more left Social
Revolutionaries were coming over to the Bolshevik program.
Yet the majority
of the Bolshevik Military Organization was not confident in its operational readiness
for insurrection, as Ensign Krylenko reported on this day. Another member of
the organization, Lashevich, expressed similar doubts a couple of days later; Podvoisky
joined in this opinion. Yet Uritsky, a member of the Central Committee and
former Trotskyite, estimated the armed strength of the workers at 40,000
rifles. Lenin soon met with these leaders to stiffen their backs.
That same day,
General Polkovnikov again (and still quite incorrectly) reported that the garrison
largely remained loyal to the government….
The Executive
Committee also named representatives to the meeting
General Cheremissov wanted. When they subsequently arrived at Pskov, they
rebuffed the claim of the general and his staff that transfers from the
garrison to the front were a strategic necessity. So much for another effort
orchestrated by Kerensky to weaken the forces of the insurrection.
No comments:
Post a Comment