What contributed to the coming to power of the Bolsheviks. The political tactics of the Bolsheviks, their rise to power

Causes of the October Revolution of 1917: War weariness; industry and agriculture of the country were on the verge of complete collapse; catastrophic financial crisis; the unresolved agrarian question and the impoverishment of the peasants; delaying socio-economic reforms; the contradictions of the dual power became a prerequisite for a change of power.

On July 3, 1917, unrest broke out in Petrograd demanding the overthrow of the Provisional Government. The counter-revolutionary units, by order of the government, used weapons to suppress the peaceful demonstration. Arrests began, the death penalty was restored.

The dual power ended with the victory of the bourgeoisie. The events of July 3-5 showed that the bourgeois Provisional Government did not intend to fulfill the demands of the working people, and it became clear to the Bolsheviks that it was no longer possible to seize power by peaceful means.

At the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b), which took place from July 26 to August 3, 1917, the Party took a guide to the socialist revolution through an armed uprising.

At the August State Conference in Moscow, the bourgeoisie intended to announce L.G. Kornilov as a military dictator and time the dispersal of the Soviets to coincide with this event. But the active revolutionary uprising frustrated the plans of the bourgeoisie. Then Kornilov on August 23 moved troops to Petrograd.

The Bolsheviks, carrying out a great agitation work among the working masses and soldiers, explained the meaning of the conspiracy and created revolutionary centers for the struggle against the Kornilov region. The rebellion was suppressed, and the people finally realized that the Bolshevik Party is the only party that defends the interests of the working people.

In mid-September, V.I. Lenin worked out a plan for an armed uprising and ways to carry it out. The main goal of the October Revolution was the conquest of power by the Soviets.

On October 12, the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) was created - a center for preparing an armed uprising. Zinoviev and Kamenev, opponents of the socialist revolution, gave the terms of the uprising to the Provisional Government.

The uprising began on the night of October 24, the day the II Congress of Soviets opened. The government immediately succeeded in isolating it from the armed units loyal to it.

October 25 V.I. Lenin arrived at Smolny and personally led the uprising in Petrograd. During the October Revolution, the most important objects such as bridges, telegraph, government offices were seized.

On the morning of October 25, 1917, the Military Revolutionary Committee announced the overthrow of the Provisional Government and the transfer of power to the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. On October 26, the Winter Palace was captured and members of the Provisional Government were arrested.

The October Revolution in Russia took place with the full support of the masses of the people. The alliance between the working class and the peasantry, the defection of the armed army to the side of the revolution, and the weakness of the bourgeoisie determined the results of the October Revolution of 1917.

On October 25 and 26, 1917, the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets was held, at which the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) was elected and the first Soviet government, the Council of People's Commissars (SNK), was formed. V.I. was elected Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. Lenin. He put forward two Decrees: the "Decree on Peace", which called on the warring countries to stop hostilities, and the "Decree on Land", expressing the interests of the peasants.

The adopted Decrees contributed to the victory of Soviet power in the regions of the country.

On November 3, 1917, with the capture of the Kremlin, Soviet power also won in Moscow. Further, Soviet power was proclaimed in Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, in the Crimea, in the North Caucasus, in Central Asia. The revolutionary struggle in Transcaucasia dragged on until the end of the civil war (1920-1921), which was a consequence of the October Revolution of 1917.

The Great October Socialist Revolution divided the world into two camps - capitalist and socialist.

The Decree on Peace, which contained an appeal to the warring countries to conclude a democratic peace, without annexations and indemnities. It proclaimed the rejection of secret diplomacy and of treaties signed by the tsarist and Provisional governments. The decree on land took into account peasant demands and was based on the Socialist-Revolutionary program for solving the agrarian question. He proclaimed the abolition of private ownership of land, the nationalization of all land and its subsoil.

A one-party Bolshevik government was created - the Council of People's Commissars. V.I. became its chairman. Lenin, People's Commissar of Internal Affairs - A.I. Rykov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs - L.D. Trotsky. JV Stalin became People's Commissar for Nationalities. The congress also elected a new composition of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK). L.B. became its chairman. Kamenev. The congress confirmed its intention to hold elections to the Constituent Assembly. The seizure of power by the Bolsheviks in Petrograd was not supported by other socialist parties and their leaders. The Western powers did not recognize the new Russian government.

In October 1997 the situation in the country was close to anarchy. The provisional government actually lost control over the city, countryside and front, was seized with paralysis. In such a situation, the Bolsheviks, with their brutal party discipline, received significant advantages. The people increasingly regarded them as the only force capable of restoring order to the country.

The growth of the influence of the Bolsheviks was also associated with the financial assistance that this party received from the German General Staff. The Germans began to finance Lenin from the spring of 1917, helped him to return from Switzerland to Russia through their territory due to the fact that with his revolutionary agitation he undermined the state order in Russia and was thus their ally. The moral principles of Lenin himself did not prevent him from taking money from the enemy.

Not all Bolshevik leaders supported Lenin's desire to seize power in October 1917. Opposed, for example, such prominent members of the party as G. Zinoviev and L. Kamenev. Lenin, however, insisted on his own. Being in an illegal position in Finland, he bombarded his colleagues who remained in Petrograd with demands to start preparing an armed uprising. As the authority of the Provisional Government in the country fell, Lenin's position in the party strengthened. Finally, on October 23, 1917. / n. Art. / The Central Committee of the party voted for LENIN's proposal. The coup was scheduled for early November.

In 1917 Lenin remained the undisputed leader of the party, but in the fall of this year, the Bolsheviks had another leader - L. Trotsky. He was a talented speaker, a good organizer of the party struggle. In November 1917 Trotsky directed the propaganda activities of the Bolsheviks among the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison. As a result of this activity, it was possible to convince the soldiers not to obey the Provisional Government and remain neutral. As a result, when Kerensky later called on government troops to defend the Provisional Government, few responded to this call.

The Bolshevik Revolution began on November 6 and ended within 36 hours. It would be a mistake to think that the Bolsheviks seized power in a stubborn struggle. In fact, by the time of the coup, the Provisional Government had already virtually ceased to exist, and in Russia there was simply no such power that would have to be seized. The Bolsheviks only filled the vacuum of power and did it easily and quickly. Lenin called for a coup, the leaders were Lenin and Trotsky, and it was carried out by the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, in which the Bolsheviks predominated.

The Bolsheviks came to power under the slogan All power to the Soviets! This meant that, having overthrown the Provisional Government, they would have to share power with the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, who were widely represented in the Soviets. This, of course, was not part of Lenin's plans. On November 8, the Bolsheviks announced the creation of a new government in Russia, the Council of People's Commissars, made up entirely of members of their party with Lenin at the head. As a result of the November 6-7 coup, a political system emerged in Russia in which all real power belonged to one party, and the Soviets were only a nominal body of power.

Among the decrees issued by the Bolsheviks after the coup, one should name the immediate cessation of the war / Decree on Peace /, the distribution of land among the peasants / Decree on Land /, the introduction of workers' control in enterprises, the granting of greater autonomy to national minorities. However, over the following years, all these decisions were completely compromised.

Having come to power, the Bolsheviks faced the same problems that faced the Provisional Government. Lenin understood that he could only stay in power if he managed to end the war, no matter how expensive it was. Already in December, an armistice agreement was signed. It soon became clear that the Germans would put forward very cruel terms in the negotiations for a peace treaty. This circumstance caused great controversy among the Bolshevik leaders. Their part, headed by Bukharin, strongly opposed the signing of peace on conditions humiliating for Russia, in favor of starting a revolutionary war with Germany. In this war, the Bolsheviks would inevitably be defeated and lose power. Understanding this, Lenin used all his influence and strength to achieve the desired decision, that is, agreement to sign peace with the Germans on any (even very difficult) conditions. In the course of a fierce struggle with the Bukharinites, Lenin was able to win and on March 3, 1918, the Bolsheviks signed a peace treaty with Germany in the city of Brest-Litovsk (Brest peace). Under this treaty, Russia ceded to the enemy 25% of its territories, on which 26% of the population lived (including Ukraine, Finland, Georgia, Poland, the Baltic states). This territory contained 27% of the country's arable land, 33% of manufacturing and 73% of metallurgical production, and 75% of coal was mined. The signing of such a peace treaty was an unprecedented humiliation for Russia. On the part of the allies, Russia rightly deserved accusations of betrayal. Among the people, the Brest peace was called obscene.

It was no coincidence that the Provisional Government was called Provisional. The former members of the State Duma who composed it assumed power in the country after the abdication of the tsar for a strictly limited period of time only until the convocation of a new supreme body of power in Russia, the Constituent Assembly, which was supposed to be democratically elected by the entire population of the country. The Provisional Government scheduled elections for November 25, 1917, and the Bolsheviks, having seized power, did not dare to cancel them. In these free national elections, the Bolsheviks received 23.5% of the vote, that is, they found themselves in an absolute minority (the majority of the votes were received by the Socialist-Revolutionaries 41%). Although the Bolsheviks hoped for more favorable voting results, the result did not cause panic in their ranks. When the Constituent Assembly was convened in early January 1918, the Bolsheviks simply dispersed it, declaring it counter-revolutionary.

Gradually, an anti-Bolshevik opposition began to take shape in Russia. To deal with it, the Bolsheviks took decisive action against what they called counter-revolutionary elements. Among the latter were the Orthodox Church, against which the new government issued a number of decrees. A decree was issued banning those newspapers that the new government considered anti-Bolshevik. Another decree created the Cheka, the secret police of the Bolsheviks, whose task was to destroy all opponents of the new government.

The Bolsheviks' cynical disdain for the results of the elections to the Constituent Assembly and their desire to rely on violence vividly characterized the nature of the Bolshevik regime (if in Tsarist Russia 997 people were executed by court verdict from 1821 to 1906, then under Soviet power from 1917 to 1,861,568 people were shot). The arbitrariness and violence of the ruling party split the country and became the main reason for the outbreak of civil war.

After the victory of the February bourgeois revolution of 1917, numerous parties and nationalist elements immediately became active in the Russian Empire. Political instability began to grow in all regions of Russia. The revolution first affected only the big cities, while the provinces continued to live according to the old ways for some time. The developing parties and movements needed followers, whom they expected to find mainly in densely populated industrial and agricultural areas. Because of this, in the first months after the February revolution, the parties of the popular and national trends had the greatest influence and the number of followers. The Menshevik Party relied on the peasantry, the working class and the "petty" bourgeoisie. Also at this time, the parties of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, the Cadets and the Bolsheviks were in the political arena. At the same time, the Bolshevik party, which would come to power in six months, was the most unpopular and the smallest, since it initially relied mainly on the big and middle bourgeoisie. The provisional government was unable to keep these parties under control. It was not popular among the workers and peasants, when the February revolution took place, the people were promised a better life and new opportunities. After the revolution, the Provisional Government was in no hurry to fulfill its promises and began to lose popularity sharply, while pro-people parties began to grow very rapidly. Also at this time, “Soviets” began to be created at factories and factories, which at first were controlled by the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. In Ukraine during this period, the situation was no different from the situation in other regions of the Russian Empire, but with a bias towards the national mainstream. National and nationalist parties rushed to power. In order to somehow control the situation and streamline the ambitions of new parties in Ukraine, on the initiative of the TUP (Association of Ukrainian Progressives), on March 3, 1917, the Central Rada was created, headed by Grushevsky. It included representatives from all regions of Ukraine, who came from all walks of life. 25 parties defended their interests in the Central Rada. The "people's" parties were in the majority. The CR was split into two camps. The first camp included nationalists who wanted to immediately break away from Russia and proclaim the independence of Ukraine. They advanced the standard slogan for all nationalist parties:

"Ukraine for Ukrainians!"

The second camp included moderate pariahs who wanted to create a broad Ukrainian autonomy within Russia. Grushevsky was on the side of the second camp.

The most interesting thing is that the CR was not recognized by the Provisional Government, and could not decide anything on its own.

At that time, a wave of demonstrations swept through Russia and Ukraine, the result of which was the convening of the Ukrainian National Congress, which decided organizational issues of building a vertical of power and solving domestic and foreign policies. As a result, a parliament of 150 people was formed and the chicken breeding of the Central Rada was elected. The nationalist parties were in the minority in the new parliament. This moment is a turning point in the history of the Central Republic, since now Ukraine had its own authorities and a legitimately elected government, to which the army and internal forces were subordinate. But it was not yet a recognized government. In order to proclaim their interests and approve the status of the CR as a governing body, the “I Universal of the CR” was proclaimed. He proclaimed:

1) Autonomy of Ukraine within Russia, 2) Demand from the Provisional Government to recognize the CR as power in Ukraine, 3) The CR has the right to proclaim Universals, 4) Create a Commissioner for Ukraine under the Provisional Government, etc.

The people accepted I Universal ambiguously. The Provisional Government did not accept the I Universal, that is, it did not recognize any of its provisions. A commission headed by Kerensky was sent to Ukraine for investigation. After lengthy negotiations, a compromise was reached, and the CR began to create the II Universal. After its completion on July 3, 1917, the Provisional Government recognized the CR as an authority in Ukraine. The first government was headed by Vinnichenko.

All this time, the Bolsheviks played a completely insignificant role in the politics of the Central Republic and the Provisional Government, but everything changed after V.I. Lenin. With his speech at the Finnish railway station in Petrograd, he swayed huge masses of workers and peasants towards Bolshevism. Further rallies and speeches with the participation of Lenin were a tremendous success with the people. The Bolsheviks were turning from the most backward party into a mighty force that was rapidly gaining supporters. By the autumn of 1917, the Bolsheviks had become the most influential force in Russia. The Bolsheviks proclaimed the slogans:

"All power to the Soviets!"

"Land to the peasants, and factories to the workers!"

A split into communists and socialists was brewing in the Bolshevik Party.

The socialist wing was in the minority and tried in every possible way to delay or fail the October Revolution, even to the point of publishing the party's secret plans in the press. The people for the most part supported the idea of ​​revolution, because they really wanted changes for the better to come. The Bolsheviks had a plan to build communism in Russia. In Ukraine, the Bolsheviks had no less supporters than in Russia. The main centers of Bolshevik sentiment were Donbass, Kyiv, Kharkov. In these regions, the activity of the "Soviets" was the highest.

• On October 10, 1917, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the party, Lenin's proposal to hold a revolution was announced. On October 16, at an expanded meeting of the Central Committee of the party, the mechanisms for conducting and the timing of the start were agreed.
• On October 25, Lenin arrived at Smolny to lead the uprising. The Bolsheviks occupied key facilities in all major cities overnight. The Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government was located, was taken by storm. In the morning, speaking before an emergency meeting of the Petrograd Soviet, Lenin said:

“From now on, a new period is beginning in the history of Russia, and this third Russian revolution must ultimately lead to the victory of socialism!

After Lenin came to power, Russia withdrew from the First World War through territorial concessions to Germany. By this, the Bolsheviks received recognition from a large mass of people, but there were also those who were dissatisfied and frankly furious with this state of affairs in the country. Russia was on the threshold of the Civil War and Intervention.

At this time, the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR) was formed in Ukraine. The CR and its leaders were overthrown. Large territories in the west departed from the UNR, they fell under the influence of Germany and its allies. The nationalist parties fled to the west and continued their activities in the occupied territories.

Immediately after the revolution, small uprisings of discontent began to break out in many regions of Russia. For the most part, these were supporters of the tsar or oppositional parties.

The capitalist states also did not like the appearance of such a strong Socialist state on the world stage. Because of this, the Civil War and Foreign Intervention broke out. The Soviets nationalized foreign capital and canceled Russia's debt to the West. In order to regain influence in the region and return their money, the capitalist countries began to support the uprisings in Russia both financially and by direct intervention. The White movement began to take shape, led by Kolchak, Wrangel, Denikin. A large detachment of Anarchists was also formed, headed by Makhno, who fought with both the "Whites" and the "Reds", but later still went over to the Soviet side.

The period from February to the October uprising of the Bolsheviks is considered as the time of preparation for the transfer of power to the Bolsheviks. In fact, this transition was due to the incompleteness of the February Revolution, the struggle to complete it, to solve its problems.

Social Development Alternatives: military dictatorship; the power of the Provisional Government; Bolshevik dictatorship; anarchist rebellion and the collapse of the country.

The Bolsheviks went to seize power, having the support of the workers, a significant part of the soldiers, who were mostly peasants. Their slogans were simple and attractive, inspired hope that they would be realized and the people would finally get peace, the peasants - land, the workers - an 8-hour working day.

There are two stages from February to October:

I stage (March - early July 1917) - dual power, in which the Provisional Government was forced to coordinate all its actions with the Petrograd Soviet, which occupied more radical positions and had the support of the broad masses of the people.

II stage (July - October 25, 1917) - the autocracy of the Provisional Government in the form of a coalition of the liberal bourgeoisie (the Cadets) with the "moderate" socialists (Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks). However, this political alliance failed to achieve the consolidation of society.

Classes and parties

The bourgeoisie, the bourgeois landlords, and a significant part of the wealthy intelligentsia sought to prevent the further development of the revolution, stabilize the socio-political situation and consolidate their property.

The working class fought for the introduction of an 8-hour working day, job security, wage increases.

The peasantry demanded the destruction of large privately owned landed property and the transfer of land to those who cultivate it.

The soldiers advocated the end of the war and the broad democratization of all military institutions.

The extreme right (monarchists, Black Hundreds) suffered a complete collapse after the February Revolution. The Octobrists were guided by the suppression of the revolution, served as a support for counter-revolutionary conspiracies.

The Cadets became the ruling party. They stood for the transformation of Russia into a parliamentary republic, in the agrarian question they advocated the redemption of the landed estates by the state and the peasants, put forward the slogan of waging war "to a victorious end."

The Socialist-Revolutionaries, the most massive party after the revolution, proposed turning Russia into a federal republic of free nations, liquidating landownership and distributing land among the peasants "according to an equalizing norm." They sought to end the war by concluding a democratic peace without annexations or indemnities. In the summer of 1917, a left wing emerged in the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, which protested against cooperation with the Provisional Government and insisted on an immediate solution to the agrarian question. In autumn, the Left SRs took shape in an independent political organization.

The Mensheviks advocated the creation of a democratic republic, the right of nations to self-determination, the confiscation of landowners' lands and their transfer to the disposal of local governments. In foreign policy, they, like the Socialist-Revolutionaries, took the position of "revolutionary defencism."

The Bolsheviks took extreme left positions. In March, the leadership of the party was ready to cooperate with other socialist forces, to provide conditional support to the Provisional Government.

On April 3, 1917, a group of Social Democrats headed by the leader of the Bolsheviks, V. I. Lenin, returned from Zurich to Petrograd through Germany. Tactics of struggle: a broad campaign to discredit the Provisional Government, the policy of a peaceful transfer of power to the Bolsheviks (V.I. Lenin "April Theses"). Slogans: "No support for the Provisional Government!", "All power to the Soviets!", demand for an immediate end to the war. The economic program of the April Theses included demands for the confiscation of landed estates and the nationalization of all land in the country, the introduction of Soviet control over social production and distribution, and the nationalization of banks. Against the background of the crises of the Provisional Government, the influence of the Bolsheviks increased.

On June 3, the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies began its work in Petrograd, the main question was "On War and Peace." The demonstration on June 18 was dominated by the Bolshevik slogans "All power to the Soviets!", "Down with the Provisional Government!". Massive anti-government demonstrations were also held in Moscow, Kharkov, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Minsk and many other cities.

On July 4, a demonstration took place in Petrograd, which gathered up to 500 thousand people. It was held under the Bolshevik slogan "All power to the Soviets!". On July 5, the demonstrators were dispersed by military units arriving from the front. The Bolsheviks went underground.

After the July events, the dual power ended, the slogan "All power to the Soviets!" was removed, calculated on the peaceful development of the revolutionary process. In fact, this meant a call to prepare for the armed overthrow of the Provisional Government.

Socio-economic situation on the eve of the coming to power of the Bolsheviks

The ongoing war had a most detrimental effect on the country's economy. Along with the grain monopoly, ration cards were introduced in March-June. In the summer of 1917, the Supply Bakery was created, and fixed prices were introduced for coal, oil, flax, leather, wool, salt, eggs, butter, shag, etc.

The depreciation of paper money, the rise in prices, and a sharp drop in the standard of living of the population continued.

The total number of strikers in September-October, compared with spring, increased 7.7 times and amounted to 2.5 million people. The wave of peasant uprisings intensified.

The situation at the front was also critical. The threat to Petrograd became more and more real.

Bolsheviks come to power

In the current situation, the Bolsheviks, with their understandable, intelligible slogans, were gaining more and more popularity among the masses. The ranks of the party grew rapidly. In early September 1917, by-elections to the Petrograd Soviet were held, where the Bolsheviks won the majority of seats. L. D. Trotsky was elected Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet.

October 10, 1917 - a secret meeting of the Central Committee and the adoption of Lenin's resolution on an armed uprising (L. B. Kamenev and G. E. Zinoviev opposed the resolution).

On October 12, 1917, the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) was created under the Petrograd Soviet, which served as the headquarters for the preparation of the uprising. L. D. Trotsky became the actual leader of the Military Revolutionary Committee. After the Bolshevization of the Soviets, the Bolsheviks again put forward the slogan "All power to the Soviets!".

October 22 - The Military Revolutionary Committee sent its representatives to all military units of the Petrograd garrison, and the Bolsheviks organized numerous rallies in all districts of the city.

October 24 - By order of the government, a detachment of police and cadets closed the printing house where the Bolshevik newspaper Rabochy Put was printed. The Military Revolutionary Committee sent to all the regiments of the Petrograd garrison and to the ships of the Baltic Fleet “Order No. 1” on bringing the regiments to combat readiness. On the same day, armed detachments of the Red Guard and soldiers of Petrograd began to seize bridges, mail, telegraph, and railway stations. By the morning of October 25, the capital was in the hands of the rebels. The Military Revolutionary Committee, in an address to the citizens of Russia, announced the seizure of power. On the night of October 26, Winter fell. Kerensky managed to go to the front even before the assault. The remaining members of the Provisional Government were arrested.

There was not a single serious military or political force in the country that would be ready to defend the Provisional Government. Thus, the events of February-October 1917 can be viewed as a single revolutionary process. The revolution began as a bourgeois-democratic one, opening up opportunities for Russia to implement the liberal model of social development. However, the continuation of the war, the slow nature of reforms, the absence of a firm state power, the economic crisis and the decline in the standard of living of the population led to an increase in revolutionary sentiment. The coming to power of the Bolsheviks meant the collapse of the bourgeois-liberal alternative to the development of the country.

On the evening of October 25, the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets opened, which proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power. The Mensheviks and Right SRs condemned the actions of the Bolsheviks and left the congress in protest. The implementation of the dictatorship of the proletariat (the political power of the workers) proclaimed by the Bolsheviks and the task of strengthening their power required the creation of a new state machine.

- "Decree on Peace", which contained an appeal to the warring countries to conclude a democratic peace without annexations and indemnities.

- The "Decree on Land" proclaimed the abolition of private ownership of land, the nationalization of all land and its subsoil. The land was transferred to the disposal of local peasant committees and district Soviets of peasant deputies. The use of hired labor and the lease of land were prohibited. Equalized land use was introduced.

- A one-party Bolshevik government was created - the Council of People's Commissars (not only executive, but also legislative power), which included major figures of the Bolshevik Party: A. I. Rykov - People's Commissar of Internal Affairs, L. D. Trotsky - People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, A V. Lunacharsky - People's Commissar for Education, JV Stalin - People's Commissar for Nationalities. V. I. Lenin became the chairman. Local government was concentrated in the provincial and district Soviets. Revolutionary committees (revolutionary committees) were created to control their activities.

- A new composition of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) was elected. It included the Bolsheviks and the Left SRs. L. B. Kamenev (November 8, 1917 - Ya. M. Sverdlov) became the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. The congress confirmed its intention to hold elections to the Constituent Assembly.

The transfer of power into the hands of the Bolsheviks on the territory of Russia took place both peacefully and by armed means (October 1917 - March 1918). Various factors influenced the pace and method of establishing power: the socio-political situation on the ground, the combat effectiveness of the Bolshevik committees, the strength of counter-revolutionary organizations.

On the fronts, Bolshevik control was introduced over the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, and N. V. Krylenko was appointed supreme commander of the Council of People's Commissars.

On the outskirts of Russia and in the national regions, the main anti-Bolshevik forces were formed.

Formation of the state apparatus

At the end of October (November 11, according to the new style), 1917, a worker-peasant militia began to be organized to protect public order.

In November, people's courts were established, consisting of a chairman and people's assessors. Political cases were considered in revolutionary tribunals subordinate to the People's Commissariat of Justice.

In December 1917, the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage (VChK) headed by F. E. Dzerzhinsky was created under the Council of People's Commissars.

In November-December 1917, the Council of People's Commissars subjugated the leadership of the army, the old army was demobilized. In January 1918, decrees were adopted on the creation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet on a voluntary basis.

The activities of the Bolshevik government aroused the resistance of many social strata (landlords, bourgeoisie, officials, officers, clergy). Anti-Bolshevik conspiracies were brewing in Petrograd and other cities. The Left SRs took a wait-and-see attitude.

constituent Assembly

Idea: the demand for the convocation of a Constituent Assembly was the program of all political parties opposed to the autocracy.

Law: The regulation on elections to the Constituent Assembly was approved in August 1917 - universal, direct, equal suffrage by secret ballot (no qualifications, except for age). Elections were held on November 12 and 19, 1917.

Election results: SRs - 40%, Bolsheviks - 23.5%, Mensheviks - 2.3%, etc. The right SR V. M. Chernov was elected Chairman of the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly refused to approve the "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People" submitted by the Bolsheviks. Thus, the Constituent Assembly rejected the idea of ​​socialist choice and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. In this regard, on the night of January 6-7, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee decided to dissolve the Constituent Assembly. The dispersal of the legally elected representative body by the Bolsheviks exacerbated the situation in the country.

Constitution of the RSFSR 1918

The III All-Russian Congress of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies in January 1918 approved the "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People", approved the draft law on the socialization of land, proclaimed the federal principle of the state structure of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).

On July 10, 1918, the V Congress of Soviets approved the first Constitution of the RSFSR. It included the "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People", disenfranchised representatives of the former exploiting classes, clergymen, officers and police agents; the elections were not universal, not direct, not secret, and not equal. The constitution fixed the system of central and local organs of Soviet power. She declared the introduction of political freedoms (speech, press, meetings, rallies and processions).

Economic and social policy

A decree of 14 November 1917 introduced workers' control (factory committees) at private industrial enterprises.

At the end of 1917 - the beginning of 1918, a number of large enterprises and industries were nationalized, the foundation was laid for the creation of a state sector in the economy (the Supreme Council of the National Economy (VSNKh), formed on December 2, 1917).

In February, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted the "Basic Law on the Socialization of the Land." In connection with this, the Council of People's Commissars switched to a policy of severe pressure on the countryside.

In May 1918, a food dictatorship was introduced: the prohibition of the grain trade, the seizure of food supplies from wealthy peasants by sending food detachments (food detachments) to the village. The food detachments relied on the assistance of the committees of the poor (combeds), created in June 1918.

The estate system was destroyed, pre-revolutionary ranks, titles and awards were abolished.

Introduced free education and medical care. Women were given equal rights with men. The institution of civil marriage was introduced. The 8-Hour Working Day Act and the Labor Code were adopted. Freedom of conscience was proclaimed. The church is separated from the state and from the education system, most of the church property is confiscated.

National policy was determined by the "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia" (November 2, 1917): equality and sovereignty of the peoples of Russia, their right to self-determination and the formation of independent states. In December 1917, the Soviet government recognized the independence of Ukraine and Finland, in August 1918 - Poland, in December - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, in February 1919 - Belarus.

Brest Peace

Reasons for signing a separate treaty with Germany: the general desire of the people for peace, the inability of Soviet Russia to continue hostilities, the most difficult internal situation, the refusal of Russia's allies in the West to consider the peace initiatives of the Council of People's Commissars.

On December 3, 1917, an armistice with Germany was signed in Brest-Litovsk and peace negotiations began. The Soviet delegation made a proposal to conclude it without territorial annexations and indemnities. Germany put forward claims to the vast territories of the former Russian Empire - Poland, part of the Baltic states, Ukraine and Belarus. As a result, negotiations were interrupted.

World Debate:

- "Left Communists", N. I. Bukharin: against peace, for a revolutionary war;

- V. I. Lenin: peace at any cost;

- L. D. Trotsky: “Neither peace, nor war! Disband the army!

L. D. Trotsky, the head of the Soviet delegation, defiantly left Brest, declaring that he would not sign a peace treaty on extortionate terms. This created a pretext for breaking the truce. Germany launched an offensive and captured vast territories in the Baltic States, Belarus, and Ukraine. On February 19, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars was forced to agree to German terms and resumed negotiations. On February 21, the decree "The socialist fatherland is in danger!" was issued. On February 23, 1918, the Red Army stopped the Germans near Pskov. Germany presented an ultimatum with new territorial claims, demanded to demobilize the army and pay a large indemnity. The Soviet government was forced to accept predatory and humiliating conditions. On March 3, 1918, a separate Brest peace was signed. According to it, Poland, the Baltic States, part of Belarus, as well as Kars, Ardagan and Batum in the Caucasus (in favor of Turkey) were torn away from Russia. The Soviet government pledged to withdraw its troops from Ukraine, pay 3 billion rubles in reparations and stop revolutionary propaganda in the Central European countries. In mid-March, the VI Extraordinary Congress of Soviets ratified the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk by a majority of votes. The Left SRs opposed and resigned from the Council of People's Commissars in protest. Since that time, the one-party system of executive power in Soviet Russia has been established.

The November Revolution of 1918 in Germany swept away the Kaiser's empire. This allowed Soviet Russia to break the Brest Treaty, to return most of the territories lost under it.

After the return of V. I. Lenin from exile in April 1917 and his publication of the April Theses, the Bolshevik Party set a course for the development of the bourgeois-democratic revolution into a socialist one. The Bolsheviks had a centralized organization, charismatic leaders, carried out work aimed at increasing their influence in various revolutionary organizations, there was an increase in party ranks. The situation in the country continued to deteriorate, the influence of both the Provisional Government and the conciliatory parties fell, the sympathies of the general population went over to the side of the Bolsheviks.

Despite the differences among the leaders of the Bolsheviks on the issue of party tactics, V. I. Lenin managed to achieve the adoption of a resolution on the preparation of an uprising. The headquarters of the armed uprising was created - Military Revolutionary Committee (WRC) under the Petrograd Soviet. TO evening the 25th of October supporters VRK mastered all the key objects of the city.

In the evening the 25th of October opened II All-Russian Congress of Soviets, at which the overthrow of the provisional government was announced and the transfer of power into the hands of the Soviets was proclaimed. The All-Russian Congress of Soviets became the supreme body of power in the country. Between congresses, its functions were performed by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) elected by the congress. The highest body of executive power was Council of People's Commissars (SNK) headed by V. I. Lenin. Were accepted "Peace Decree" containing an appeal to the belligerent states with an appeal to conclude a democratic peace without annexations and indemnities, and "Land Decree" proclaiming the transfer of land to the peasants and its redistribution on the basis of labor standards. Adopted December 2, 1917 "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia" proclaimed the right of all peoples to self-determination.

The victory of the uprising in Petrograd marked the beginning of the establishment of Soviet power in all regions of the country. Not infrequently, power passed to multi-party soviets, and then the Bolshevik factions removed the majority of the Essro-Msnshsvistskos. Supporters of the Socialist-Revolutionaries prevailed in the rural Soviets. The support of the Bolsheviks in the troops of the Western and Northern Fronts was of great importance. The stronghold of the opponents of the Bolsheviks was the South, where the formation of the White movement takes place.

The fundamental cause of the revolution was the inability of Russian society to adapt to the hardships and contradictions of socio-political and economic modernization, the resistance of archaic and traditional structures to liberal capitalist transformations. The First World War and the mistakes of the Provisional Government also contributed to the aggravation of the situation in Russia.

The Bolsheviks, who came to power, considered the events in Russia as part of the world socialist revolution, without which it was impossible to build socialism in a petty-bourgeois peasant country. They had at their disposal the theoretical constructions of K. Marx, which sparingly described the new society. Russia was going through a systemic crisis, and the solution of existing problems was hampered by the sabotage of some officials who did not want to cooperate with the new authorities.

In the course of the elections to the Constituent Assembly held in November 1917, it became clear that although the majority of the population of Russia stands for the democratic path of development, the Socialist-Revolutionaries received the bulk of the votes. Constituent Assembly opened January 5, 1918 year, refused to recognize the decrees II Congress of Soviets. January 6 The All-Russian Central Executive Committee decided to dissolve the Constituent Assembly, which refused to accept the decrees of the Second Congress of Soviets.

In January 1918, the III Congress of Soviets, which adopted the "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People": Russia was declared the Republic of Soviets - the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, based on a voluntary union of peoples, decrees were confirmed II Congress of Soviets. July 10, 1918 V All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopted the first Constitution of the RSFSR , which proclaimed the creation of a proletarian state and declared the introduction of political freedoms. At the same time, a number of categories of the population were deprived of their voting rights, and the preference of workers over peasants was introduced in the norms of representation. There was a gradual curtailment of the self-government beginnings of the activities of the Soviets, the strengthening of the role of executive bodies, most of which were not elected, but appointed.

The most important task of the new government was to carry out a set of measures in the socio-economic sphere, designed, on the one hand, to stop the growth of the crisis, and on the other, to ensure the implementation of the party's program goals.

In the field of agrarian policy, the most important step was the implementation of the "Decree on Land", according to which 150 million acres of land confiscated from private owners were distributed among the peasants on an equalizing basis by the spring of 1918. In the cities, the nationalization of banks, industrial enterprises and entire industries took place (the “Red Guard attack on capital”).

The first foreign policy act of the Soviet state was the Decree on Peace, which called for a democratic peace. Since the Entente states did not support the foreign policy initiative of the Bolsheviks, the latter had to conclude a separate peace treaty with Germany and its allies. The conditions put forward by the German delegation at the negotiations in Brsst-Litovsks were humiliating for the Soviet government from both revolutionary and patriotic positions. The question of making peace with Germany caused controversy in the Bolshevik Party and the Soviets. The point of view of V. I. Lenin won, considering the conclusion of peace with Germany as the only way to save the Russian and world socialist revolution. Under the terms of the peace treaty, Russia lost the Baltic states and part of Belarus, part of the Georgian lands went to Turkey, Russia had to recognize the independence of Ukraine and Finland, and pay an indemnity. Signing Brest Peace Treaty with Germany March 3, 1918 of the year revealed deep contradictions between the Bolsheviks and their allies - the Left Social Revolutionaries, which subsequently led to their exit from all power structures.