Decrees of the Congress of Soviets

One hundred years ago today, plus two, the October Revolution, assembled as a body in the Congress of Soviets, formed a government and issued decrees on peace and land. Read about it all in the blog by following the links that begin here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Red October

One hundred years ago today, plus two, Red October began. Lots of people know about the “Hunt for” Red October, fewer know Red October for what it really means, though many claim to know the event it refers to, only by another name. Fewer still, perhaps, know why it is “October” rather than November, even though it was 102 years ago today. 

The physical events leading up to the result began the day before with a struggle for the bridges over the River Neva in Petrograd. Read about it here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

The Bolsheviks Vote for Insurrection

One hundred years ago today, plus two, a quorum of the Bolshevik Central Committee met and took a vote for armed insurrection. Find out who voted for, and who against, and what disguise Lenin wore in order to attend here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

The Democratic Conference of Compromisers

One hundred years ago today, plus two, the right-socialists, that is, socialist parties to the right of the Bolsheviks (a.k.a. Compromisers), convened a Democratic Conference to discuss what they ought to do about the Coalition Government. The Bolsheviks read their recommendations into the record too. 

Read about it here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Kornilov’s Insurrection

One hundred years ago today, plus two, Kerensky’s choice for overall command in the war against Germany and her allies, General Kornilov, turned his forces instead in the direction of Petrograd. His manifesto, also issued that day, made it sound as if, not the Bolsheviks, but the Provisional Government itself was the target of the move.

Of course, Kerensky, head of that government, did not think particularly well of Kornilov’s plans. Read about it here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Kerensky’s State Conference

One hundred years ago yesterday, plus two, Prime Minister Kerensky convened a state conference in Moscow. It was political theater, in which he played the role of the indispensable man between the bourgeois Cadets on the right and the (uninvited) Bolsheviks on the left. Read about it here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Bolsheviks convene under a cloud

One hundred years ago today, plus two, even though Lenin was in hiding and Trotsky was in prison, the 6^th Congress of the Bolshevik Party convened. What they did put the party on the path to recovery after the reverses it had suffered subsequent to the July Days. Read about it here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Kerensky’s Second Coalition

One hundred years ago today, plus two, Kerensky formed a new government, known to history as the Second Coalition, that included the bourgeois Cadets but excluded the Bolsheviks, some of whom got arrested instead. Read about it here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Prime Minister Kerensky

One hundred years ago today, plus two, amidst the upheaval of the July Days, the right socialists sought relief by naming Kerensky prime minister. Read about it here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

The July Days

One hundred years ago, plus two (as of Tuesday the 16th), demonstrations that would lead both to a new government and prime minister and to an attempt to suppress the Bolshevik party began in Petrograd. Read about it here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

June Demonstration, Summer Offensive

One hundred years ago today, plus two, it was still June in Petrograd (Russia was on the old Julian calendar, which was by then 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar), and the workers and soldiers took to the streets to protest, among other things, plans for a summer offensive against Germany and her allies. Read about it here, and about the Russian summer offensive here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Congress of Soviets Meet-up

One hundred years ago today, plus two, the Congress of Soviets convened in Petrograd. Not sure what a “soviet” is? It’s something like participatory democracy. Read about it here, and follow the Newer Post links at the bottom of the page to get the rest of the story. 

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Coalition for the Provisional Government

One hundred years ago today, plus two, some of the socialist parties joined the liberal-bourgeois Cadets in a coalition for the Provisional Government. Kerensky got a promotion; the Bolsheviks did not participate. Read about it here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Trotsky Arrives in Petrograd

One hundred years ago today, plus two, Trotsky returned to Petrograd and immediately spoke out against socialist participation in the Provisional Government then being formed. Read about it here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

The April Days

One hundred years ago today, plus two, it was April in Petrograd; workers and soldiers were demonstrating in the streets. Find out why here, and what was the result here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

April Theses

One hundred years ago today, plus two, Lenin delivers his “April Theses,” a plan of action for the furtherance of the February Revolution, at a meeting of Bolsheviks. They are, in a word, stupefied. Find out why Lenin’s plans shocked the party here.

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

At the Finland Station

One hundred years ago today, plus two, the train carrying Lenin on the final leg of his route from exile in Switzerland arrived at the Finland Station in Petrograd. 

Find out how he was greeted and what happened next here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Stalin Arrives

One hundred years ago today, plus two, Stalin, having been released from detention in Siberia, made his way to Petrograd by train. Find out what he did next here.  

Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

The Tsar Abdicates

Just a week after Petrograd demonstrations marking International Women’s Day had touched off the February Revolution (and 100 years ago today, plus two), Tsar Nicholas II Romanov abdicated in favor of the Provisional Committee of the bourgeois liberal parties. Read about it here.