The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was held on November 7–9, 1917, in
Smolny,
Petrograd
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. It was convened under the pressure of the Bolsheviks on the
All-Russian Central Executive Committee
The All-Russian Central Executive Committee ( rus, Всероссийский Центральный Исполнительный Комитет, Vserossiysky Centralny Ispolnitelny Komitet, VTsIK) was the highest legislative, administrative and r ...
of the
First Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.
Background
During the autumn of 1917, the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks) launched an activity to win a majority in the Soviets, primarily in Petrograd and Moscow.
On September 17,
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
Viktor Nogin
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
was elected Chairman of the
Moscow Council Presidium; on September 20,
Lev Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...
was elected Chairman of the
Petrograd Council. The Bolsheviks occupy up to 90% of the seats in the Petrograd Soviet and up to 60% in the Moscow Soviet.
As early as the end of September 1917, the Bolsheviks set a course for the conquest of the majority in the All-Russian Soviet organs, for which it was necessary to obtain a majority at the corresponding congresses of the soviets.
The decision to hold the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in September was made by the First Congress, but the All-Russian Central Executive Committee sabotaged its meeting, not wanting to yield power to the strengthened Bolsheviks. At the end of September, the executive committee of the Bolshevik Petrograd Soviet sent to 69 local Soviets and army soldiers' committees a request their attitude towards the convocation of the Second Congress. This idea was met with hostility by the
Socialist Revolutionaries
The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...
and
Mensheviks
The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries.
The factions eme ...
. Of the 69 organs requested, only 8 responded positively. The reaction of the Socialist Revolutionary-Menshevik army committees, which recognized the convocation of the Congress "untimely", was particularly harsh.
The Bolshevization of the Soviets took place against the background of an aggravated political and military situation: the
Provisional Government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...
, after long delays, finally called elections to the
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
for November 12, and its first meeting – for November 28.
The situation at the front during this period also deteriorated greatly: on October 16, an order was issued for the evacuation of
Revel, on October 21, the Germans captured the
Moonsund Islands, threatening Petrograd directly.
The General Rehearsal of the Second Congress for the Bolsheviks was the First Congress of the Soviets of the Northern Region organized by them in October, the lion's share of whose delegates were representatives of Petrograd and the Baltic Fleet, which were significantly Bolshevik by that time. As
Richard Pipes
Richard Edgar Pipes ( yi, ריכארד פּיִפּעץ ''Rikhard Pipets'', the surname literally means 'beak'; pl, Ryszard Pipes; July 11, 1923 – May 17, 2018) was an American academic who specialized in Russian and Soviet history. He publish ...
claimed, this Congress was convened with a number of violations by the unrecognized Regional Committee of the Army, Navy and Workers of Finland. Among the delegates were even representatives of the Moscow province, not included in the Northern region. The Bolsheviks and the Left Social Revolutionaries sharply prevailed in the Congress. Following its results, the Bolshevik-Left Socialist Revolutionary Northern Regional Committee was elected, starting from October 16, began work on the convocation of the Second Congress.
All this activity of the Bolsheviks was in no way coordinated with the old Soviet bodies, the majority of which remained Socialist Revolutionary-Menshevik (the
All-Russian Central Executive Committee
The All-Russian Central Executive Committee ( rus, Всероссийский Центральный Исполнительный Комитет, Vserossiysky Centralny Ispolnitelny Komitet, VTsIK) was the highest legislative, administrative and r ...
of the
First Congress of the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the First Congress of Soviets of Peasant Deputies), army committees, the
Central Executive Committee of the Navy
The Central Executive Committee of the Navy (Centroflot) was the main collegial governing body of the navy, created as part of the democratization of the navy in 1917 in order to coordinate the activities of the committees of the fleets and flotil ...
.
On October 19, the official Soviet newspaper
Izvestia
''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes ...
noted that
Nevertheless, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee agreed to convene a Congress, having achieved only its postponement from October 20 to October 25.
Preparation of the Congress was the reason for the differences between Lenin and Trotsky. While Lenin demanded to start an armed uprising, not waiting for the Congress, Trotsky managed to convince the majority of the Central Committee to postpone the uprising until the beginning of its convocation. According to Richard Pipes, this strategy turned out to be "more realistic": the establishment of Bolshevik power was "disguised" as the seizure of power by non-partisan Soviets.
According to the description of Trotsky himself,
Chronicle of the Congress
![1967 CPA 3551](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/1967_CPA_3551.jpg)
The second congress held two plenary sessions.
Plenary Session of November 7, 1917
The first session of the congress ran from 10:45 pm on November 7 (OS:October 25) to 6 am on November 8 (OS: October 26) of 1917.
The congress was opened by the Menshevik
Dan
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...
on November 7 at 10:45 pm, at the height of the
armed uprising that began in Petrograd; the opening session was attended by many delegates from the socialist parties coming from all over Russia, from a variety of sectors of society.
On the eve of the October Revolution there were 1429
Soviets
Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union.
Nationality policy in ...
of workers, soldiers and peasants' deputies. At the congress, a total of 402 Soviets of Russia, out of all the 1,429 mentioned, were represented in the Congress:
*195 united Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies
*119 Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies with the participation of peasant deputies representing rural farmers
*46 Soviets of Workers' Deputies
*22 Soviets of Soldiers and Sailors' Deputies representing the Armed Forces (army and navy)
*and 1 Council of Cossack deputies, representing the socialist-inclined amongst Cossacks within Russia
According to the bureau of all factions, by the opening of the congress 649 delegates were present of which: 390 were
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
, 160
Social Revolutionaries
Social revolutions are sudden changes in the structure and nature of society. These revolutions are usually recognized as having transformed society, economy, culture, philosophy, and technology along with but more than just the political syst ...
, 72
Mensheviks
The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries.
The factions eme ...
, 14
United Internationalists, 6 Mensheviks-Internationalists, and 7 Ukrainian socialists. By the end of the congress, after the departure of the right-wing socialists and with the arrival of the new delegates, there were 625 delegates, of which 390 were Bolsheviks, 179 left-wing Socialist Revolutionaries, 35 United Internationalists and 21 Ukrainian socialists. Thus, the Bolshevik-Left Socialist Revolutionary coalition won about two thirds of the votes there. According to other sources, 739 deputies arrived at the congress, including 338 Bolsheviks, 211 right and left Socialist Revolutionaries and 69 Mensheviks.
The October Revolution and the work of the Congress
At the time of the opening of the congress, the Bolsheviks already controlled the whole of Petrograd, but the
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Emperor of all the Russias, Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The p ...
was not yet taken. At around 6:30pm, an ultimatum was presented to the defenders of the Winter Palace under threat of shelling from the
cruiser Aurora and the
Peter and Paul Fortress. "Aurora" made one single shot at 9pm, just two hours later, as the congress was in session, an unmarked cannon shelling from the Peter and Paul Fortress was carried out at 11pm. At night, most of the defenders of the palace dispersed, and the place was occupied by revolutionary soldiers and sailors who tried to make a mob of law over the overthrown ministers, demanding "pin them". At 2:10 am, the ministers of the Provisional Government arrested by
Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko
Vladimir Alexandrovich Antonov-Ovseenko (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Анто́нов-Овсе́енко; ua, Володимир Антонов-Овсєєнко; 9 March 1883 – 10 February 1938), real surna ...
were taken to the Peter and Paul Fortress. On the way, in the area of
Trinity Bridge, the crowd that surrounded the ministers demanded "to cut off their heads and throw them into the Neva".
Agenda of the First Session of the 2nd ARCS
The first meeting was divided into two parts:
– until the election of the presidium of the Congress – consists of protest speeches of moderate socialist parties against the uprising of the Bolsheviks;
– after the election of the Presidium of the Congress from the Bolsheviks and the Left Social Revolutionaries and the departure of the representatives of the Mensheviks, the Right Socialist Revolutionaries and the representatives of Bund from the Congress, the leadership of the Congress passes to the Bolsheviks.
The opening session of the congress was accompanied by a fierce political struggle in which Trotsky represented the Bolsheviks as the most capable speaker. The peasant councils and all the soldier-level committees of the army refused to participate in the activities of the congress. The Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries condemned the Bolsheviks as an "illegal coup". Opponents of the Bolsheviks accused them of numerous frauds in the selection of congress delegates. On November 7, the old composition of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee also condemned the Bolsheviks, stating that
The Central Committee of the Menshevik Party condemned the October uprising, calling it "the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks by military conspiracy against the will of democracy and the usurpation of the rights of the people". Menshevik
Martov ascertains the ambiguity of the situation in which his party finds itself: on the one hand, "the power created by armed soldiers' uprising, the power of one party cannot be recognized as a country and democracy", on the other "if the Bolsheviks are defeated by force of arms, the winner will be the third force that will crush us all". As Martov puts it, the Bolsheviks demonstrate "the Arakcheev understanding of socialism, and the Pugachev understanding of class struggle". Menshevik
Liber
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Liber ( , ; "the free one"), also known as Liber Pater ("the free Father"), was a god of viticulture and wine, male fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of the ...
at an extraordinary congress of Mensheviks on November 30 declares that "if we took power, we would have been stormed both on the right and on the left, and the power could be kept only by Bolshevik methods. And since we are not adventurers, we would have to leave power".
The reaction of the Social Revolutionaries was just as sharp. Thus, the central press organ of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, the newspaper Matter of the People, condemned the Bolshevik speech, saying that "our duty is to expose these traitors to the working class. Our duty is to mobilize all forces and stand up for the cause of the revolution".
In its last appeal before the Congress, the Council of the Republic called the new government "an enemy of the people and revolution" and condemned the arrest by the Bolsheviks among the ministers of the Provisional Government as well as the socialist ministers.
During the meeting, the delegates heard the roar of artillery; According to eyewitnesses, the Menshevik Martov started, and declared: "The civil war has begun, comrades! Our first question should be the peaceful resolution of the crisis... the issue of power is solved by a military conspiracy organized by one of the revolutionary parties...".
After the election of the presidium which would be filled by Bolshevik and Left Socialist Revolutionary members, a number of moderate socialist parties (Mensheviks, Right Socialist Revolutionaries, delegates of Bund) left the Congress in protest at the Bolsheviks uprising and boycotted it. They went to the City Council of Petrograd and formed the "
Committee for Salvation of Motherland and Revolution" (it operated until November 10).
In turn, Trotsky at the first session of the Second Congress declared that "the uprising of the masses does not need justification; what happened is not a conspiracy, but an uprising. We hardened the revolutionary energy of the Petrograd workers and soldiers, we openly forged the will of the masses for an uprising, not a conspiracy, "and called the departure of the Menshevik and Socialist-Revolutionaries from the congress" as a criminal attempt to thwart the authorized representative office of the workers and soldiers in the masses with arms in hand protects the Congress and the revolution from the onslaught of counter-revolution".
From 2:40 to 3:10 on November 8 the first session of Congress went on immediate recess.
Proclamation of the downfall of the Provisional Government
At 3:10 am
Lev Kamenev
Lev Borisovich Kamenev. (''né'' Rozenfeld; – 25 August 1936) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a prominent Soviet politician.
Born in Moscow to parents who were both involved in revolutionary politics, Kamenev attended Imperial Moscow Uni ...
announced the fall of the Winter Palace and the arrest of the ministers of the Provisional Government. After this, the congress approved the appeal "To the Workers, Soldiers and Peasants of Russia" officially declaring the official overthrow of the Provisional Government and the transfer of all powers of state to the Congress at large, stating that from this day onward, "all power will now belong to the Soviets of workers, peasants and soldiers' deputies" within the territories of the Russian Republic.
Ironically, it was Kamenev himself, who had recently opposed the uprising, had to inform the Congress of Soviets about his victory. At a meeting of the Central Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks), Kamenev remarked that "well, if you did something stupid and took power, then you need to make up a ministry".
On November 8 at 6 am the congress adjourned for the day.
Plenary Session of November 8, 1917
The second session of the congress was held from 21:00 of November 8 (OS:October 26) to 5:15 of November 9 (OS:October 27), 1917.
At the second session of the Congress, Lenin, met with stormy applause, after informing the congress of the formation of a new government of the Soviets, read to the congress decrees on
Peace
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
and on
Land
Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...
. Further, Lenin proposed that the Congress should dissolve the old composition of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, choosing instead the new composition of the
All-Russian Central Executive Committee
The All-Russian Central Executive Committee ( rus, Всероссийский Центральный Исполнительный Комитет, Vserossiysky Centralny Ispolnitelny Komitet, VTsIK) was the highest legislative, administrative and r ...
and form a provisional workers' and peasant government – the
Council of People's Commissars
The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...
. The congress adopted (around 10:30 pm on November 8) the Peace Decree, which contains an appeal to all the warring peoples and their respective national governments to "immediately conclude a truce", "immediately begin negotiations on a just democratic peace" without any annexations and indemnities.
The Congress adopted the Land Decree (at 2 o'clock on the afternoon of November 8), which contains the following provisions:
* about the nationalization of lands, including those owned privately, and "its circulation into the national property";
* confiscation of landlord estates and their transfer to the disposal of the land committees and county councils of peasant deputies;
* transfer of land to the use of the peasants on the principle of equalization (according to the labor or consumer norm);
* hired labor is hereby prohibited within Russia.
According to Trotsky's memoirs, it was he who coined the term "people's commissar"; later this authorship was attributed to Antonov-Ovseenko. At a meeting of the Bolshevik Central Committee on the morning of November 8, the first after the seizure of power,
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
,
Lev Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...
,
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
,
Ivar Smilga
Ivar Tenisovich Smilga (russian: И́вар Тени́сович Сми́лга, lv, Ivars Smilga; 1892–1938) was a Latvian Bolshevik leader, Soviet politician and economist. He was a member of the Left Opposition in the Soviet Union.
Early l ...
,
Vladimir Milyutin
Vladimir Pavlovich Milyutin (Russian: Влади́мир Па́влович Милю́тин; 5 September 1884 – 30 October 1937) was a Russian Bolshevik leader, Soviet statesman, economist and statistician who was People's Commissar for Agricu ...
,
Grigory Zinoviev
Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev, . Transliterated ''Grigorii Evseevich Zinov'ev'' according to the Library of Congress system. (born Hirsch Apfelbaum, – 25 August 1936), known also under the name Ovsei-Gershon Aronovich Radomyslsky (russian: Ов ...
,
Lev Kamenev
Lev Borisovich Kamenev. (''né'' Rozenfeld; – 25 August 1936) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a prominent Soviet politician.
Born in Moscow to parents who were both involved in revolutionary politics, Kamenev attended Imperial Moscow Uni ...
,
Jan Antonovich Berzin
Jan Antonovich Berzin (russian: Ян Антонович Берзин, ''Yan Antonovich Berzin'', lv, Jānis Bērziņš, pseudonym, alias Ziemelis; 11 October 1881 – 29 August 1938) was a Latvians, Latvian village teacher, later Bolsheviks, Bols ...
gathered. According to Trotsky, it was him who envisioned the term "people's commissar" and later on developed the name in which the new government will be formed, Lenin agreed, stating that "it smells of a revolution".
The Second Congress of Soviets, acting on Lenin's proposal, enacted Decree no.1 officially creating the Council of People's Commissars, which, due to the refusal of the
Left Socialist-Revolutionaries
The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revol ...
, included only Bolsheviks. Lenin was announced as its founding chairman. Trotsky became people's commissar for foreign affairs, and Stalin became commissar of minorities affairs. Due to the pressure of the executive committee of the railway union of the
Vikzhel, the post of People's Commissar for Railroad Affairs was temporarily in ''sede vacante'' until it would be filled in a later time.
At the second meeting of the Second Congress of Soviets, the left Socialist Revolutionary
Kamkov announced that the left-wing Socialist Revolutionary faction did not intend to leave the congress after the Mensheviks and Right-wing Socialist Revolutionaries did, but noted that "the peasantry is not the Bolsheviks, but the peasantry is the infantry of the revolution, without which the revolution must die".
According to the Decree "On the Establishment of the Council of People's Commissars" approved by the Congress, the Council of People's Commissars was formed before the Constituent Assembly was convened, and the government accountable to the Congress of Soviets and its permanent body in between its sessions, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It would be a provisional government that would rule until the Constituent Assembly can meet.
Among the 101 members of the new Central Executive Committee (often referred to as the All-Russian Central Executive Committee) there were 62 Bolsheviks and 29 left-wing Social Revolutionaries, 6 United Social Democrats Internationalists, 3 Ukrainian socialists and 1 Social Revolutionary Maximalist.
Lev Kamenev
Lev Borisovich Kamenev. (''né'' Rozenfeld; – 25 August 1936) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a prominent Soviet politician.
Born in Moscow to parents who were both involved in revolutionary politics, Kamenev attended Imperial Moscow Uni ...
thus became the chairman. On November 9, the Congress issued an appeal to the local Soviets with a call to "rally around the new composition of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee", the powers of the commissars of the former (Socialist Revolutionary-Menshevik) composition of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee in the armed forces (Army and Navy) and on the ground were thus dissolved, with full responsibllity falling under the new committee.
On the morning of November 9, 1917 at 5:15 in the morning, the second meeting ended and the Second All-Russian Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies' Councils, with its duty completed, officially adjourned ''sine die'', with the ARCEC and CPC now preparing for the start of their work as the new legislature and government of Russia, awaiting the convening of the planned Constituent Assembly, beginning with elections to be held just days later.
That same day, all the arrested socialist ministers of the Provisional Government were released on parole. Some of those released soon engaged in anti-Bolshevik activities. Thus, the Minister of Food
Sergei Prokopovich
Sergei Nikolaevich Prokopovich (russian: Серге́й Николаевич Прокопович; 1871–1955) was a Russian economist, sociologist, Revisionist Social-Democrat and liberal politician.
Life
Prokopovich was born into a noble fa ...
was released November 6, but immediately joined the anti-Bolshevik
Committee for Salvation of Motherland and Revolution and became one of the main organizers of the protest demonstration of the rebel members of the Petrograd City Council against the new government.
Composition of the Presidium of the Congress
*14 Bolsheviks –
Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko
Vladimir Alexandrovich Antonov-Ovseenko (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Анто́нов-Овсе́енко; ua, Володимир Антонов-Овсєєнко; 9 March 1883 – 10 February 1938), real surna ...
,
Grigory Zinoviev
Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev, . Transliterated ''Grigorii Evseevich Zinov'ev'' according to the Library of Congress system. (born Hirsch Apfelbaum, – 25 August 1936), known also under the name Ovsei-Gershon Aronovich Radomyslsky (russian: Ов ...
,
Lev Kamenev
Lev Borisovich Kamenev. (''né'' Rozenfeld; – 25 August 1936) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a prominent Soviet politician.
Born in Moscow to parents who were both involved in revolutionary politics, Kamenev attended Imperial Moscow Uni ...
,
Alexandra Kollontai
Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai (russian: Алекса́ндра Миха́йловна Коллонта́й, née Domontovich, Домонто́вич; – 9 March 1952) was a Russian revolutionary, politician, diplomat and Marxist the ...
,
Nikolai Krylenko
Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko ( rus, Никола́й Васи́льевич Крыле́нко, p=krɨˈlʲenkə; May 2, 1885 – July 29, 1938) was an Old Bolshevik and Soviet politician. Krylenko served in a variety of posts in the Sovie ...
,
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
(absent at the 1st meeting),
Anatoly Lunacharsky
Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (russian: Анато́лий Васи́льевич Лунача́рский) (born Anatoly Aleksandrovich Antonov, – 26 December 1933) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Bolshevik Soviet People's ...
,
Matvei Muranov
Matvei Konstantinovich Muranov (russian: Матвей Константинович Муранов; 29 November 1873 – 9 December 1959) was a Ukrainian Bolshevik revolutionary, Soviet politician and statesman.
Revolutionary beginnings
Born i ...
,
Viktor Nogin
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
,
Alexei Rykov
Alexei Ivanovich Rykov (25 February 188115 March 1938) was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician and statesman, most prominent as premier of Russia and the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1929 and 1924 to 1930 respectively. He wa ...
,
David Riazanov
David Riazanov (russian: Дави́д Ряза́нов), born David Borisovich Goldendakh (russian: Дави́д Бори́сович Гольдендах; 10 March 1870 – 21 January 1938), was a Russian revolutionary, historian, bibliographer ...
,
Ephraim Sklyansky
Ephraim Markovich Sklyansky (russian: Эфраим Маркович Склянский) ( – August 27, 1925) was a Soviet revolutionary and statesman. He was one of the founders of the Red Army, an associate of Leon Trotsky, and a major contrib ...
,
Pyotr Stuchka,
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
;
*7 Left Socialist Revolutionaries – Moshe Baltekaklis-Gutman, Grigory Zaks,
Boris Kamkov,
Vladimir Karelin
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Karelin (February 23, 1891 – September 22, 1938) was a Russian revolutionary, one of the organizers of the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party and a member of its Central Committee, People's Commissar of Property of the ...
,
Irina Kakhovskaya
Irina Konstantinovna Kakhovskaya (15 August 1887, Tarashcha, Kiev Governorate – 1 March 1960, Maloyaroslavets, Kaluga Oblast) was a Russian revolutionary, a representative of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, organizer of the assassination of t ...
,
Sergey Mstislavsky,
Maria Spiridonova
Maria Alexandrovna Spiridonova (russian: Мари́я Алекса́ндровна Спиридо́нова; 16 October 1884 – 11 September 1941) was a Narodnik-inspired Russian revolutionary. In 1906, as a novice member of a local combat group ...
(in absentia);
*1 Ukrainian socialist – Pavel Kulinichenko
Estimates
The Second Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was the second most important event after the armed uprising, the event of the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia.
The congress actually solved the tasks facing the Constituent Assembly in the matter of choosing the form of power in the country. The congress formed the new composition of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the first composition of the
Council of People's Commissars
The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...
, issued a number of key decrees (
Decree on Peace
The Decree on Peace, written by Vladimir Lenin, was passed by the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies on the , following the success of the October Revolution. It was published in the ''Izvestiya'' newspaper, ...
,
Decree on Land
The Decree on Land (), written by Vladimir Lenin, was passed by the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies on , following the success of the October Revolution.
It decreed an abolition of private property, an ...
, Decree on the Total Power of the Soviets, decree abolishing the death penalty at the front, etc.).
A well-known expert on the revolution of 1917 in Russia,
Alexander Rabinovich notes:
The Socialist Revolutionary and Menshevik boycott of the Congress effectively unleashed the Bolsheviks, making the first composition of the new government 100% Bolshevik. The contemporary
Nikolai Sukhanov
Nikolai Nikolaevich Sukhanov (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Суха́нов; 29 June 1940) was a Russian Menshevik Internationalist and chronicler of the Russian Revolution.
Life
Nikolai Sukhanov (a pseudonym, his real name ...
in his fundamental work "Notes on the Revolution" mentioned with regret:
Apparently, during the October Revolution and immediately after it, the establishment of a one-party system was not yet part of the plans of the Bolsheviks. By the autumn of 1917, Lenin and Trotsky managed to put together a broad coalition of radicals – Bolsheviks, Left Social Revolutionaries, anarchists, inter-district and non-factional Social Democrats, which included Trotsky himself. The Left Social Revolutionaries took an active part in the revolution, actively supporting the Bolsheviks, including at the Congress of Soviets of the Northern Region, at the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, at the Peasant Congress; the
Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee
The Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee (russian: Петроградский военно-революционный комитет) was a militant group of the Petrograd Soviet and one of several military revolutionary committees that ...
, in addition to the Bolsheviks and the Left Social Revolutionaries, also included
anarchists
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
.
If the first post-October composition of the Council of People's Commissars was Bolshevik (since December 1917 – Bolshevik-Left Socialist Revolutionary), then the elected Congress of Councils of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee ("Soviet parliament") had a more diverse party composition. Although the Bolsheviks and the Left Social Revolutionaries secured a majority in advance, a fraction of the Menshevik-internationalists close to the Bolsheviks, also Ukrainian socialists, were represented in the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, there was one representative of the radical Maximalist Socialist Revolutionaries. Representatives of moderate socialists did not join the All-Russian Central Executive Committee because of their boycott.
On November 14, 1917, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted a resolution "On the terms of an agreement with other parties", in which it explicitly stated that it considers the "agreement of the socialist parties desirable". The terms of such an agreement were set forth as follows:
In Soviet historiography, the Second Congress of Soviets was traditionally considered as a legitimation of the new government ("the transfer of power seized by the insurgent people into the hands of the Soviets was formalized and legally secured by the Second All-Russian Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies'"). On the other hand, unlike the Constituent Assembly, the peasant majority of the country was not represented at all at the Congress: the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Peasant Deputies passed a month later and was marked by a tough struggle of the Bolshevik-Left Socialist Revolutionary coalition with the Right Social Revolutionaries.
As
Richard Pipes
Richard Edgar Pipes ( yi, ריכארד פּיִפּעץ ''Rikhard Pipets'', the surname literally means 'beak'; pl, Ryszard Pipes; July 11, 1923 – May 17, 2018) was an American academic who specialized in Russian and Soviet history. He publish ...
stresses, the total representation of the Bolsheviks and the Left Social Revolutionaries at the Congress of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies was artificially overestimated by about two times. In addition, according to the researcher, without the help of the Left Social Revolutionaries, who positioned themselves as a peasant party, the Bolsheviks would not have been able to seize control of the Peasant Congress. However, the Left Social Revolutionaries, following the moderate socialists, refused to enter the new government.
On November 15, 1917, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Workers' Soldiers and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Peasant Congresses merged, after which the Left Social Revolutionaries nevertheless agreed to join the Council of People's Commissars, forming a government coalition with the Bolsheviks.
Accepted Documents
Documents of the Congress (decrees, resolutions, etc.) that were adopted at the Congress with a date and quotations:
[Congresses of the Soviets of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in resolutions and resolutions. / Editor Academician Andrei Vyshinsky. – Moscow: Bulletin of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1939. – Pages 17–28]
First Plenary Session
*Workers, soldiers and peasants! (adopted at the first meeting at 5 am on November 7, 1917; "immediate truce on all fronts", "all local authority passes to the Soviets of Workers, Soldiers and Peasants' Deputies", "Long live the revolution!")
Second Plenary Session
*Abolition of the death penalty (adopted at the second session at 9 pm on November 8, "at the front");
*All provincial and district councils of workers, peasant, soldier and peasant deputies (adopted at the second meeting at 10 o'clock in the evening; "All power now belongs to the Soviets", "all arrested members of the land committees are released");
*From the All-Russian Congress of Soviets (taken at the second session at 10 o'clock in the evening; "measures for the immediate arrest of Kerensky");
*
Decree on Peace
The Decree on Peace, written by Vladimir Lenin, was passed by the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies on the , following the success of the October Revolution. It was published in the ''Izvestiya'' newspaper, ...
(adopted at the second meeting at 11 o'clock in the evening on November 8);
*
Decree on Land
The Decree on Land (), written by Vladimir Lenin, was passed by the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies on , following the success of the October Revolution.
It decreed an abolition of private property, an ...
(adopted at the second meeting at 2 am, November 8–9);
*Resolution on the pogrom movement (adopted at the second meeting at the 2nd o'clock in the morning from November 8–9; on preventing any pogroms of any kind);
*
Council of People's Commissars
The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...
(adopted at the second meeting at 5 o'clock in the morning on November 9; "for a new form for governing the country");
*To the front ("On the formation of revolutionary committees in the army") (probably, the order was made between the first and second meetings);
*Cossack brothers! (time is not set; about the alliance of the Cossacks with the soldiers, workers and peasants of all Russia);
*To all railway workers (time is not fixed; "measures to preserve the full order on the railways").
See also
*
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
Appeal of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee "To the citizens of Russia!"*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070323234315/http://som.fio.ru/Resources/Drachlerab/2005/08/06.htm Second Congress of Soviets. Leonid Katzva, History of Russia. Soviet period. (1917–1991)*
Mikhail Lifshitz
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Lifshitz (russian: Михаи́л Алекса́ндрович Ли́фшиц; 23 July 1905 in Melitopol (Taurida Governorate, now Zaporizhzhia Oblast of Ukraine) – 20 September 1983 in Moscow) was a Soviet Marxian lite ...
"The moral significance of the October Revolution" 1967. Collected works in three volumes. Volume 3. Moscow, "Visual Arts". 1988. 230 pages. A more complete text of the article published in the journal Kommunist, 1985, No. 4.
* Alexander Pokrovsky.
' The First All-Russian Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies' Soviets (June 3–24, 1917): Experience in reconstructing the list of participants; the contours of the social portrait. Executive editor Vladimir Lavrov. Moscow, 2001
Sources
* Vladimir Lenin. The Second All-Russian Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies' Councils of November 7–8, 1917. Complete Works, 5th Edition, Volume 35
* The collection of laws and orders of the government for the years 1917–1918. Moscow, 1942
* Decrees of Soviet power, volume 1, Moscow, 1957
* October armed uprising in Petrograd. Documents and materials, Moscow, 1957
Second All-Russian Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. Collection of documents. Moscow, Leningrad, 1928 All-Russian Congress of Soviets
November 1917 events
Russian Revolution