The Congress of Soviets

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, as of this past weekend, the Congress of Soviets took up the reins of government the insurrection had just taken away from Kerensky’s last coalition. This will be the last post for the 103^rd anniversary of the Russian Revolution; if there continues to be interest, I will begin the postings for the 104^th anniversary next February.

The Congress of Soviets lasted little more than two days. Several posts describing their doings are combined in this one.

Overnight November 7-8 – October 25-26, 1917: Congress of Soviets in Session. When the Congress of Soviets convened, the Provisional Government – Kerensky’s last coalition – was still holding out in the Winter Palace, though Kerensky had found a pretext to absent himself. Then, as Kamenev called the Congress into session, the naval and artillery bombardment of the palace competed with the gavel and the voices from the podium. Some delegates argued for negotiations with the government…but this was mooted when, after midnight, came news of the taking of the palace and the arrest of the ministers. By then, many right-socialists, excepting a number of left-leaning social revolutionaries, had walked out, leaving the Bolsheviks in control.

Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter Red October: The Winter Palace here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Overnight November 8-9 – October 26-27, 1917: Decrees on Peace and Land. The agenda of the Congress of Soviets was peace for the soldiers, land for the peasants, and a new government based on the soviets of the workers. When Lenin took the podium, according to the American journalist Reed, “…he said simply, ‘We shall now proceed to construct the socialist order.’” And when the decree he proposed on peace had been adopted, the congress, with deep emotion, sang the Internationale. Then followed Lenin’s reading, and the adoption, of the decree on land.

Read about it here and here. Or read the whole chapter on the Congress of Soviets here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Early Morning November 9 – October 27, 1917: A New Government. The last item on the agenda for the Congress of Soviets was to name commissars for the new government. Lenin became head of government, and Trotsky was made commissar for foreign affairs. Fifteen commissars in all were named. After some debate, having concluded its business, the Congress adjourned, and word of its actions spread to the fighting front, the provinces, and the world.

Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter on the Congress of Soviets here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

 

Red October

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, the October Revolution began in Petrograd. Readers of these posts will understand that, because Russia was then using the old-style Julian calendar, it was still October there. Today there will be one entry for several events of the Red October insurrection.

November 6 – October 24, 1917: The Revolution in Readiness. The Bolsheviks and the Red Guard were not entirely ready for their insurrection, but they were more ready than the officers of the Petrograd garrison, the ministers of Kerensky’s Provisional Government, or the right-socialist Central Executive Committee of the national soviets. Meanwhile the national Congress of Soviets was still assembling, and about to be met with a fait accompli.

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

November 7 – October 25, 1917: Petrograd Taken. The Prime Minister and his government having seriously underestimated the capabilities of the insurrectionary forces, and overestimated those of the (loyal part of the) garrison and the police, the Red Guard, with the support of left-socialist elements of the military, gained control of the capital in a day. Starting with the bridges over the Neva River, and continuing with the communications systems, power plants, banks, and other vital points of infrastructure, the insurrection took over, so far bloodlessly.

Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter Red October: The Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

November 7 – October 25, 1917: The Winter Palace Encircled. Meanwhile, the ministers of the Provisional Government were holed up in the Winter Palace of the Romanov Czars, from which Kerensky took an early opportunity to absent himself, saying he would  speed reinforcements on  their way. The Red Guards and their Bolshevik leaders had difficulty executing their plan of encirclement and “bombardment.” Infiltration proved finally to be the successful tactic; both sides took casualties, but not many. Meanwhile the Congress of Soviets went into session in another palace of the city, and wondered about the meaning of all the racket.

Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter Red October: The Winter Palace here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

 

On the Brink of Red October

 

One hundred years ago this week, plus three, it was still October in Russia, because they were still using the old-style Julian calendar. Today there will be one entry for the whole eventful week that led up to Red October.

The Week beginning October 31 – October 18, 1917: “Vigorous Preparations.” With intensified Bolshevik agitation, led by Trotsky, in the background, forces aligned with that party vigorously gathered the political and physical resources that would be necessary for a successful insurrection, the date of which had not and could not yet be fixed. When Trotsky refused to answer a question in the Petrograd Soviet (where rumors were flying) about the date, Kamenev’s comment made it seem like the Bolsheviks thought an insurrection might not even be necessary. But this of course was not the case; it was Kamenev’s opinion. Kamenev well knew how the votes in the Bolshevik Central Committee had gone. Read about it here and here.

November 2 – October 20, 1917: Kamenev Resigns. Hearing of this, Lenin denounced it as a ”trick.” Accordingly Kamenev offered to resign from the Bolshevik Central Committee. The offer was accepted, and Kamenev was further admonished to remain silent on the issue. Under the pressure of events, cracks were appearing in the wall of party solidarity! Read about it here.

November 3 – October 21, 1917: Resolution of the Garrison Conference. The Garrison Conference accepted three proposals made by Trotsky: that the garrison would support the Military Revolutionary Committee, that the garrison would take part in the review of forces planned for the following day, and that the Congress of Soviets should “take the power in its hands.” Even the Cossack regiments agreed. These proposals were of course consistent with and essential to the overall plan of insurrection. Read about it here. 

November 4 – October 22, 1917: The Day of the Petrograd Soviet. As the delegates to the Congress of Soviets began to assemble, the Petrograd Soviet held a review of its revolutionary forces, now to include those of garrison who had agreed to take part the day before. There were meetings in the public halls and squares. One audience would assemble, listen to the speeches, then depart. Then another audience would file in. Read about it here.

November 5 – October 23, 1917: The Peter and Paul Comes Over. The Garrison Conference having definitely broken the chain of command that led back to the Coalition Government, the Bolsheviks began to appoint commissars who sought to fill the power vacuum thus created. When the commissar sent to the Peter and Paul fortress and prison in the middle of the Neva River was resisted by the officer in command, Trotsky went over to talk to the soldiers themselves. In the result, the fortress, its artillery, and 100,000 rifles for the Red Guards came over to the insurrection. Read about it here.

You can read the whole chapter on the Day of the Petrograd Soviet here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

 

Red October Approaches

 

One hundred years ago this week, plus three, the pace of events leading up to the October Revolution picked up, so much so that I will post weekly instead of day-by-day during this time.

October 25 – October 12, 1917: Regulations for Insurrection. Draft regulations from the newly formed Military Revolutionary Committee, useful for an insurrection but with ample precedents since the February Revolution, were approved by the Petrograd Soviet. Read  about it here.

October 28 – October 15, 1917: Reed’s Interviews at Smolny. The American journalist John Reed, author of Ten Days That Shook the World, interviewed Kamenev and Volodarsky, members of the Bolshevik Central Committee, among other things about the coming Congress of Soviets. They did discuss the transfer of state power to the soviets, but not, of course, the manner in which it actually was to come about. Read about it here.

October 29 – October 16, 1917: Why the Delay? Lenin, in exile and therefore not fully informed about the state of things in the capital, called a meeting of the Bolshevik Central Committee and ventured into the suburbs of Petrograd to attend it. Having received assurances that things were moving with such speed and force that the insurrection could hardly be stopped, he moved a resolution of “vigorous preparations.” It prevailed, again, with only Kamenev and Zinoviev dissenting. Read about it here.

October 30 – October 17, 1917: Congress Postponed. Right-socialists on the Central Executive Committee of the soviets put off the planned national Congress of Soviets by five days, hoping to increase their share of the vote during the interim. The tactic backfired: the Bolsheviks were the gainers by it. Read about it here.

October 31 – October 18, 1917: The Garrison Conference. In a development that would prove to be decisive, the units of the Petrograd garrison nearly unanimously adopted the policy that orders not countersigned by the Petrograd Soviet would not be obeyed. This of course left the right-socialists of the Central Executive Committee of the soviets out of the loop. For the Petrograd Soviet was dominated by the Bolsheviks. Read about it here.

You can read the whole chapter on the Correlation of Forces here, and the chapter on the Day of the Petrograd Soviet here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Zinoviev and Kamenev Dissent

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev, the two members who opposed the Bolshevik Central Committee vote for insurrection, published a pamphlet stating their views of the matter – though of course remaining silent on the actual  Bolshevik vote. Lenin called them “deserters,” but they recovered his good graces and were made members of the Politburo after the revolution.

 

Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter on Lenin’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link. 

  

Vote for Insurrection

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, and a day after the Petrograd Soviet had proposed to create a Military Revolutionary Committee for the defense of the capital and thus of the revolution itself, the Bolshevik Central Committee met in a suburban apartment. Lenin, who attended in disguise, moved a vote for armed insurrection, which prevailed 10 votes to 2.

We’ll see about the dissenting votes in another post. Meanwhile, read about the Military Revolutionary Committee here, and the vote for insurrection here. Or read the whole chapter on Lenin’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Council of the Republic

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, Prime Minister Kerensky addressed the Council of the Republic, or Pre-Parliament, projected some two weeks before by the Democratic Conference of the soviets. Kerensky made it clear that the Pre-Parliament would have no authority of any kind, elective, legislative, or executive, over the Coalition Government he had in the meanwhile assembled.

On the same day, Lenin published “The Crisis Is Ripe” in Rabochy Put, making some of the same arguments for insurrection he would soon be making to the Bolshevik Central Committee.

Read about the Pre-Parliament here, and Lenin’s article here. Or read the whole chapter on Lenin’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

 

Lenin “posts” from exile

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, responding to claims in the bourgeois and right-socialist press that the Bolsheviks would fail if they were given the chance to govern, Lenin caused his pamphlet “Can the Bolsheviks Retain State Power?” to be published while he was in exile. A fuller treatment of this subject may be found in his work The State and Revolution, which can still easily be found in print.

 

Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter on Lenin’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Last Coalition vs. September Theses

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, on the day after Kerensky announced another coalition government, destined to be his last, Lenin published the “Tasks of the Revolution,“ a kind of September version of the April Theses, in Rabochy Put. So while Kerensky was assigning ministries to bourgeois-liberal Cadets and right-socialists, that is, moving to the right, Lenin was reassessing Bolshevik strategy and tactics in light of recent developments, especially in the Petrograd Soviet, of which Trotsky had just been named president, and moving the revolution to the left.

 

Read about it here and here. Or read the whole chapter on Lenin’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Result of the Democratic Conference

One hundred years ago today, plus three, the right-socialist dominated Democratic Conference adjourned, but not without leaving doors open, if not making outright concessions, to Kerensky and the bourgeois liberal Cadets. The conference’s final act, the creation of a Council of the Republic, “Pre-Parliament” for short, did nothing to forestall Kerensky’s next move.

 

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

  

Democratic Conference of the Soviets

One hundred years ago yesterday, plus three, the right-socialists who had associated themselves with Prime Minister Kerensky’s directory convened a national “Democratic Conference” of the soviets. They hoped to recover what they were losing in the local Petrograd Soviet, which earlier that week had voted to confirm the Bolshevik resolution calling for a government of the soviets, that is, not of Kerensky, the bourgeois-liberal Cadets, and the right-socialist compromisers.

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

 

The Bolsheviks Carry a Resolution

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, a day after the Executive Committee of the (national) soviets conceded Prime Minister Kerensky’s plan for a directorate, that is, a narrower government concentrating more authority in himself, the Petrograd (local) soviet overwhelmingly approved a Bolshevik resolution calling for a government of the workers’ and peasants’ soviets.

 

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

 

Kornilov’s Insurrection Collapses

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, General’s Kornilov’s attempt at insurrection had fallen completely apart. His soldiers had no stomach for an attack on the revolutionary soldiers  and workers in the capital, and the general in direct command of those troops had shot himself dead after an interview with Prime Minister Kerensky. Soon Kornilov himself would be locked up.

 Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter on Kornilov’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

 

Kornilov Stalls

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, only two days after it had started, General Kornilov’s advance on the capital began to peter out. Then socialist agitators went to work – they even brought some of the Cossacks over to the revolution!

Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter on Kornilov’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

 

Kornilov Advances

 

One hundred years ago yesterday, plus three, General Kornilov’s troops continued their advance on the capital. Or tried to. They wanted to go by rail, but the railroads were controlled by workers sympathetic to the socialist revolution. Soon things were not going smoothly at all.

Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter on Kornilov’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Kornilov’s Manifesto

 

One hundred years ago today, plus three, plus two days (September 9, new style), General Kornilov issued a manifesto of accusations against the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks that was the signal for a counter-revolutionary insurrection. Then, contrary to his fellow plotter Prime Minister Kerensky’s wishes, he ordered troops he had previously placed in position to move towards Petrograd.

 Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter on Kornilov’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

 

A Plot Hatched

One hundred years ago today, plus three, Kerensky’s emissary to Kornilov returned from headquarters to Petrograd with an agreed upon scheme for overthrowing the Provisional Government under the guise of suppressing the Bolsheviks. The only open question: who was double-crossing whom.

 

Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter on Kornilov’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

Fall of Riga

One hundred years ago today, plus three, while the commander-in-chief General Kornilov was busy arranging his forces to pose a threat to the coalition government – and revolution – in Petrograd, a German counterattack took Riga, the capital of Latvia.

 Actually this suited the general perfectly well. Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter on Kornilov’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

 

Kornilov Makes a Move

One hundred years ago today, plus three, General Lavr Kornilov, recently made commander-in-chief of the Russian armed forces facing the Germans and Austrians, ordered movements apparently unconnected with the conduct of that war. He put Cossack cavalry nearer to Petrograd on the north and south; the southern force was joined by a division of mountain troops from the Caucasus.

 

Read about it here. Or read the whole chapter on Kornilov’s Insurrection here. Or read the whole story from the beginning by following this link.

 

Kerensky’s State Conference

One hundred years ago today, plus three years, minus a week (that is, on August 25^th, new style), Prime Minister Kerensky stage-managed a “State Conference” in Moscow at which, by alternating speakers from the left and right, he endeavored to depict himself as the indispensable man in the middle, the only one capable of governing amid the revolutionary and counter-revolutionary tendencies of the time. One of the speakers from the right, General Kornilov, would soon make his own play for control of those tendencies.

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