The coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the date of which coincided with the date of the Great October Socialist Revolution (November 7, 1917 in modern style), seemed an impossible event for many in the Russian Empire in the spring of that year. The fact is that this branch of the Social Democratic Labor Party, headed by V. I. Lenin, almost until the very last months before the revolution, was not particularly popular with the most significant classes in society of that time.
Roots of the political party of the Bolsheviks
The ideological basis of the party arose in the early 90s of the 19th century among former populists who went to the people and saw the problems of the peasantry, who wanted to be solved with the help of a radical redistribution of land, including landlords. These agrarian problems existed for more than one decade and partly determined the coming toBolshevik power. In connection with the failures of the populist trend and the activation of the working class, former populist leaders (Plekhanov, Zasulich, Axelrod, etc.) adopted the experience of the Western European struggle, revised revolutionary strategies, familiarized themselves with the works of Marx and Engels, translated them into Russian and began to develop theories of settlement life in Russia on the basis of Marxist theories. The party itself was founded in 1898, and in 1903, at the second congress, the movement split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks for ideological reasons.
An uprising has been dreamed of for over a decade
The coming to power of the Bolsheviks was prepared by this political group for a long time. During the revolution of 1905-07. this organization met in London (Mensheviks - in Geneva), where a decision was made on an armed uprising. In general, the Social Democrats already at that time wanted to destroy tsarism by organizing uprisings in the troops (in the Black Sea Fleet, in Odessa) and undermining the financial system (they called for taking deposits from banks and not paying taxes). They supplied weapons and explosives to Russia (Krasin's group), robbed banks (Helsingfors Bank, 1906).
They failed to enter the official authorities
The coming of the Bolsheviks to power in Russia through "official channels" was unsuccessful in the pre-revolutionary period. They boycotted the elections to the first State Duma, while in the second they received fewer seats than the Mensheviks (15 posts). The Bolsheviks did not stay long in the deliberative body of the country,since members of their faction were detained while trying to raise an uprising with the help of the St. Petersburg garrison. All the Bolshevik Duma members were arrested, and the Duma itself of that convocation was dissolved.
What did the potential coming of the Bolsheviks to power promise Russia? You can learn about this briefly from the decisions of the London (Fifth) Party Congress, where in 1907 the “maximum” and “minimum” programs were adopted. The minimum for Russia was a bourgeois revolution with a shortening of the working day to 8 hours, the overthrow of the autocracy, the establishment of democratic elections and freedoms, the introduction of local self-government, granting nations the right to self-determination, the abolition of fines and the return of land cuts to the peasants. To the maximum, a proletarian revolution and a transition to socialism were to take place in the Russian Empire with the establishment of the dictate of the proletarian masses.
The situation in Russia after 1907 continued to be difficult. The reasons why the coming to power of the Bolsheviks in the future became possible were that the tsarist reforms of that time did not produce significant results, the agrarian issue was not resolved, the outbreak of the First World War after the defeat at Tannenberg was already fought on the territory of Russia and led to hyperinflation, disruption of the food supply of cities, famine in the villages.
The decay of the army contributed to the revolution
About 2 million soldiers and almost a million civilians died in the war, a huge mobilization was carried out (15 million people), the bulk of which were peasants,many of whom, along with the revolutionary workers, joined the army with sympathy for the Socialist-Revolutionary ideas about the peasants receiving the lands of the landlords. The enrollment was so great that many were not even sworn in, not to mention patriotic education. And the opponents of the tsarist regime were actively promoting their ideas, which led to the refusal of the Cossacks and soldiers to suppress popular uprisings back in 1915-1916.
The tsarist regime has few supporters left
The reasons for the coming to power of the Bolsheviks or any other political forces by 1917 were that the tsarist regime under the circumstances was too weak economically and politically. At the same time, Nicholas II himself took a detached position (or was deprived of the necessary amount of information about the actual state of affairs). This made it possible, for example, in February 1917 to close the Putilov factory and “throw out” about 36 thousand people on the streets of St. Petersburg, some of whom were influenced by the revolutionary ideas of the Bolsheviks and began to involve workers in other factories in strikes. The emperor at that time could no longer even rely on his guards, since most of its pre-war staff was killed on the fronts and replaced by mobilized soldiers from different classes. Many political forces of the country were against the king, which, however, were at the same time in opposition to each other, since each party had its own plan for the development of the state.
Few people expected the Bolsheviks to win
As of April 1917it seemed to many that the coming of the Bolsheviks to power was impossible, since the bulk of the population, the peasants to a greater extent, supported the Social Revolutionaries, the industrialists had their own parties, the intelligentsia had their own, there were several parties supporting the monarchical system. The April theses of Lenin did not find a response among the Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and many Bolsheviks, since the leader proposed to abandon defensive positions in the war and make peace (perhaps for this Germany “did not notice” how Lenin arrived in Petrograd through its territory in a sealed wagon). Therefore, the reasons for the coming to power of the Bolsheviks were, among other things, foreign policy. In addition, the theses proposed the dissolution of the Provisional Government and the transfer of power to the Soviets, along with the nationalization of the land, instead of its transfer to the ownership of the peasant communities, which did not add popularity to Lenin's supporters.
Failed attempt
The coming of the Bolsheviks to power (1917) was accompanied by attempts to lead the country even before November. In June of the same year, at the First Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (All-Russian), it became clear that the Bolsheviks were in third place among the socialists in terms of their importance. At the congress, the delegates rejected Lenin's proposal to end the war and abolish the existing authorities. However, it should be borne in mind that by that time, soldiers' regiments were already under the influence of the Bolsheviks, including the First Machine Gun Regiment stationed in Petrograd (11.3 thousand soldiers) and the sailors of the Kronstadt naval base. The influence of Lenin's party in the military environment led to the fact that an attempt to take the Tauride Palace (the headquarters of the Provisional Government) was made in July 1917. These days, workers from the Putilov factory, soldiers, and sailors arrived at the palace, but the organization of the "offensive" was so bad that the Bolsheviks' plan failed. This was facilitated in part by the fact that the Minister of Justice of the Provisional Government, Pereverzev, managed to prepare and paste newspapers around the city, where Lenin and his associates were presented as German spies.
Change of authorities and direct capture
What other processes accompanied the coming to power of the Bolsheviks? The year of the Great October Revolution was rich in various events. By autumn, it becomes obvious that the Provisional Government is not coping with anarchy, so a new body is being formed - the Pre-Parliament, in which the Bolsheviks have only 1/10 of the seats. At the same time, Lenin's party receives a majority in the Soviets of large cities, including up to 90% in Petrograd and about 80% in Moscow. It is supported by the soldiers' committees of the Western and Northern fronts, but it is still not very popular among the peasantry - in half of the Soviets of rural deputies there were no Bolsheviks at all.
What exactly was the coming of the Bolsheviks to power? Briefly, events unfolded as follows:
- In October, Lenin secretly comes to Petrograd, where he begins to propagate a new uprising, he is not supported by Kamenev and Trotsky. The second at the same time suggests waiting for decisionsSecond Congress of Soviets (All-Russian), scheduled for October 20 and postponed to October 25 (old style).
- On October 18, 1917 (according to the old style), a meeting of regiments took place in the garrisons of Petrograd, where it was decided to hold an armed uprising against the current government if it was initiated by the Petrograd Soviet (where the Bolsheviks had 90% of the votes). Five days later, the garrison of the Peter and Paul Fortress went over to the side of the Bolsheviks. On the side of the Provisional Government, there were cadets from schools and schools of military ensigns, a shock female company, and Cossacks.
- On October 24, the Bolshevik forces seized the telegraph, the telegraph agency, through which warships were called from Krondshtat. They didn't let the junkers open some of the bridges.
- On the night of October 24-25, the Bolsheviks managed to capture the central telephone exchange, the State Bank, Varshavsky railway station, turn off the central power supply of government buildings, and bring the Aurora cruiser to the Neva. By noon, the "revolutionary masses" captured the Mariinsky Palace. The assault on the Winter Palace was carried out late at night, after a preliminary shelling from the cannons of the Aurora cruiser. At 2:10 am on October 26, the Provisional Government surrendered.
The revolution caused an increase in the number of victims
The consequences of the Bolsheviks coming to power were devastating for Russia, since as a result of the victory, power in Petrograd passed to them (almost in full, with the exception of the Petrograd City Duma), a new government was formed fromBolsheviks led by Lenin (Council of People's Commissars). But most of the country was not controlled by them, which led to a civil war, a further collapse of the economy, which led, among other things, to hunger and numerous victims.
