The B’vik Seizure Of Power, Oct 1917 Flashcards
What is key chronology of the B’vik seizure of power
-10 Oct Lenin attends meeting of B’vik CC + calls for B’vik rev are agreed
-20 Oct military rev committee of Petrograd Soviet meet for first time
-24-25 Oct armed workers + soldiers led by B’viks + organised by military rev committee take over key buildings + communication centres in Petrograd
-25-27 Oct remaining members of prov gov arrested by B’viks, rev announced at second congress of Soviets + the Congress adopts Lenin decree peace + land + appoints sov gov with Lenin as chairman
-dec secret police formed - the Cheka
When did Lenin return
-7 Oct Lenin returns securely to Petrograd to attend meetings of the CC + try win them over in person to policy of taking power immediately
-Kerensky award B’viks wanted seize power + responded by sending some more radical army units out of capital providing excuse for B’vik controlled Soviet set up military rev committee
What was the makeup of the military revolutionary committee
-comprised 66 members - 48 B’viks
-appointed commissars to military units to issue orders + organise weapons supplies
-committee controlled 200k red guards, 60k Baltic soldiers + 150k soldiers of Petrograd garrison
-declared purpose to control troop movements but its existence also justified by fears gov ministers may support right-wing coup
What did Lenin succeed in doing on the 10th Oct
-hounded CC all night succeeding in persuading them that ‘an armed rising is the order of the day’
How did others respond
-Zinoviev + kamenev refused agree + published own views in a newspaper declaring ‘if we take power now we are forced into a rev war, the mass of the soldiers will not support’
-Kerensky desperately tried close down two B’vik newspapers + restrict RMCs power even ordering bridges linking working class to centre of Petrograd raised
How did people respond to kerensky’s actions
-B’vik propagandists claimed his actions were betrayal of Soviet + abandonment of principles of Feb rev
How did the B’viks eventually seize power
-remained for Trotsky with his tremendous power + influence on military rev committee to organise final states of B’vik rev
-24-25 Oct with support of Petrograd military rev committee + in name of second congress of Soviets 5000 sailors c soldiers from Kronstadt moved into duty + B’vik red guards seized key positions around capital
-these positions incl telephone exchange, post office, railway stations, news agency, state bank + power stations
How did Kerensky respond to this
-could not reply on Petrograd troops to defend prov gov he left for the front disguised as a rider with the hopes of finding loyal troops to march to the city + defend it
When did the b’vim attack commence
-evening 25 Oct rd guard soldiers + sailors surrounded palace a blank shot from guns of battleship aurora heard - the signal for beginning of B’vik attack
-further shit followed incl some from Pete and Paul fortress, HQ of military rev committee but only one shot hit the palace + others hit the river
Why was the Oct B’vik reg more shambolic than heroic
-a relatively small scale affair - Trotsky claimed 25k-30k were actively involved = only around 5% of workers + soldiers on the city
-may have been 10k-15k in the square in font of the winter palace evening 25 oct but many were bystanders not involved in the ‘so-called’ storming of winter palace
-photos from night suggest small groups but B’viks claim larger as legitimacy or their regime based upon it emerging from popular rev
How did the rev impact the wider aspect of Petrograd
-much of Petrograd unaffected
-trams + taxis ran as normal
-restaurants, theatres + cinemas remained open
-even Trotsky admit the rev essentially a series of small operations calculated + prepared in advance
What was the reality of the storming
-when aurora fired the woman’s battalion became hysterical + left
-the army cadets offered little resistance
-some red guards walked in through back doors + wandered around until found remaining members of gov
-discovery of tasers wins cellar fuelled a frenzy of drunkenness
What was the aftermath of the Oct rev through interpretations
-historians idealise Lenin’s role + treating him as hero - accepting view len the central directing force who won over the masses with April thesis, built of B’vik membership + persuaded CC take actions
Why is this interpretation misleading
-Trotsky organised the red guard, took command in Petrograd Soviet, dominated military rev committee + organised actual seizure of power
-since Lenin absent for most of 1917 he simply rafted to events + didn’t drive the rev + when in Russia stayed in Petrograd instead of trying to create a truly Russian rev
