Soviet authority. Establishment of Soviet power

Established in most of the country. This happened in a fairly short time - until March 1918. In most provincial and other large cities, the establishment of Soviet power passed peacefully. In the article we will consider how this happened.

First of all, the victory of the revolutionary forces was consolidated in the Central region. The active army at the front-line congresses determined further events. It was here that Soviet power began to assert itself. 1917 was quite bloody. The main role in supporting the revolution in the Baltic States and Petrograd belonged to the Baltic Fleet. By November 1917, the Black Sea sailors overcame the resistance of the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries and adopted a resolution according to which the Council of People's Commissars, headed by V. I. Lenin, was recognized. At the same time, in the Far East and in the North of the country, the Soviet government did not receive much support. This subsequently contributed to the beginning of the intervention in these areas.

Cossacks

It put up a lot of resistance. On the Don, the core of the army of volunteers was formed and the center of the whites was created. The leaders of the Cadets and Octobrists Milyukov and Struve, as well as the Socialist-Revolutionary Savinkov, took part in the latter. They worked out They advocated the indivisibility of Russia, as well as the liberation of the country from the dictatorship of the Bolsheviks. The "White movement" in a short time received the support of French, British and American diplomatic representatives, as well as the Ukrainian Rada. The offensive of the volunteer army began in January 1918. The White Guards acted on the orders of Kornilov, who forbade the taking of prisoners. It was from this that the "white terror" began.

The victory of the Red Guards on the Don

In the tenth of January 1918, at the Cossack front-line congress, supporters of the Soviet government formed a military revolutionary committee. F. G. Podtelkov became its head. Most of the Cossacks followed him. At the same time, detachments of the Red Guards were sent to the Don, who immediately went on the offensive. The White Cossack troops had to retreat to the Salsky steppes. The volunteer army withdrew to the Kuban. On March 23, the Soviet Don Republic was created.

Orenburg Cossacks

It was headed by Ataman Dutov. In early November, he disarmed the Orenburg Soviet, and mobilization was announced. After that, Dutov, along with Kazakh and Bashkir nationalists, moved to Verkhneuralsk and Chelyabinsk. From that moment, the connection between Moscow and Petrograd with Central Asia and the southern territory of Siberia was interrupted. By decision of the Soviet government, detachments of Red Guards from the Urals, Ufa, Samara, and Petrograd were sent against Dutov. They were supported by groups of the Kazakh, Tatar and Bashkir poor. At the end of February 1918, Dutov's army was defeated.

Confrontation in national areas

In these territories, the Soviet government fought not only with the Provisional Government. The revolutionary forces tried to suppress the resistance of both the Socialist-Revolutionary Menshevik forces and the nationalist bourgeoisie. In October-November 1917, the Soviet government won a victory in Estonia, the unoccupied regions of Belarus and Latvia. The resistance in Baku was also crushed. Here, Soviet power lasted until August 1918. The rest of Transcaucasia came under the influence of the separatists. So, in Georgia, power was in the hands of the Mensheviks, in Armenia and Azerbaijan - the Musavatists and Dashnaks (petty-bourgeois parties). By May 1918, bourgeois-democratic republics were formed in these territories.

Changes have also taken place in Ukraine. So, in Kharkov in December 1917, the Soviet Ukrainian Republic was proclaimed. The revolutionary forces succeeded in overthrowing the Central Rada. She, in turn, announced the formation of a people's independent republic. After leaving Kyiv, the Rada settled in Zhytomyr. There she was under the protection of German troops. By March 1918, Soviet power had established itself in Central Asia and the Crimea, except for the Khiva Khanate.

Political struggle in the central regions

Despite the fact that in the first years of Soviet power, volunteer and rebel armies were defeated in the main regions of the country, the confrontation in the center still continued. The culmination of the political struggle was the convocation of the Third Congress and the Constituent Assembly. A provisional government of the Soviets was formed. It was to be valid until the Constituent Assembly. With him, the broad masses associated the formation of a new system in the state on a democratic basis. At the same time, opponents of the power of the Soviets also pinned their hopes on the Constituent Assembly. It was beneficial for the Bolsheviks, since their consent would destroy the political foundation of the militias.

After Romanov abdicated, the form of government in the country was to be determined by the Constituent Assembly. However, the Provisional Government postponed its convocation. It tried to find a replacement for the Assembly by creating the Democratic and State Conferences, the Pre-Parliament. All this was due to the uncertainty of the Cadets in obtaining a majority of votes. The Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, meanwhile, were satisfied with their positions in the Provisional Government. However, after the Revolution, they also began to seek the convocation of a Constituent Assembly in the hope of seizing power.

Elections

Their deadlines were set as early as November 12 by the Provisional Government. The date for the meeting was set for January 5, 1918. By that time, the Soviet government included 2 parties - the Left Social Revolutionaries and the Bolsheviks. The former emerged as an independent association at the First Congress. Voting was based on party lists. The composition of the Constituent Assembly elected democratically from the entire population of the country is very indicative. The lists were compiled even before the start of the revolution. The members of the Constituent Assembly were:

• Socialist-Revolutionaries (52.5%) - 370 seats.
• Bolsheviks (24.5%) - 175.
• Left SRs (5.7%) - 40.
• Cadets - 17 seats.
• Mensheviks (2.1%) - 15.
• Enes (0.3%) - 2.
• Representatives from various national associations - 86 seats.

The Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, who had formed a new party by the time of the elections, participated in the elections on the basis of a single list drawn up before the revolution. The Right SRs included a large number of their representatives in them. From the above figures, it becomes clear that the population of the country gave preference to the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries - socialist associations, the number of representatives of which in the Constituent Assembly was more than 86%. Thus, the citizens of Russia quite unambiguously indicated the choice of the future path. With this, Chernov, the leader of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, began his speech at the opening of the Constituent Assembly. The assessment of this figure quite clearly illustrates the historical reality, refuting the words of a number of historians that the population rejected the socialist path.

Meeting

At the Constituent Assembly, either the chosen path of development at the Second Congress, the Decrees on Land and Peace, the activities of Soviet power, or attempts to eliminate its gains could be approved. The opposing forces, which had a majority in the assembly, refused to compromise. At a meeting on January 5, the Bolshevik program was rejected, the activity of the government of the Soviets was not approved. In that situation, there was a threat of a return to the SR-bourgeois regime. In response to the Bolsheviks, and after it, the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries left the meeting. The rest of its members stayed until five in the morning. There were 160 delegates out of 705 in the hall. At 5 am, the anarchist sailor Zheleznyakov, head of security, approached Chernov and said: "The guard is tired!" This phrase has gone down in history. Chernov announced that the meeting was adjourned to the next day. However, already on January 6, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee issued a Decree dissolving the Constituent Assembly. The situation could not be changed by the demonstrations that were organized by the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. Not without casualties in Moscow and Petrograd. These events marked the beginning of a split in the socialist parties into two opposing camps.

Completion of the confrontation

The final decision regarding the Constituent Assembly and the further state structure of the country was made at the Third Congress. On January 10, a meeting of soldiers' deputies and workers was convened. On the 13th, the All-Russian Congress of Peasant Representatives joined him. From that moment began its countdown years of Soviet power.

Finally

At the congress, both the policy and the activities carried out by the Soviet authorities - the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars, and the dissolution of the assembly were approved. Also at the meeting, constitutional acts were approved that legitimized Soviet power. Among the most important of them - the Declaration "On the Rights of the Workers and the Exploited People", "On the Federal Institutions of the Republic", as well as the Law on the Provisional Government of Workers and Peasants was renamed the Council of People's Commissars. Before that, the Declaration on the Rights of the Russian Peoples was adopted. In addition, the Council of People's Commissars addressed the working Muslims in the East and in Russia. They, in turn, proclaimed the rights and freedoms of citizens and enlisted the workers of various nationalities in the common cause of establishing socialism. In 1921, coins of the Soviet power began to be minted.

From October to February 1917, the establishment of Soviet power on the territory of the former Russian Empire began.

On October 25, the 2nd Congress of Soviets adopted a decree according to which power passed to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies.

On October 27, a resolution was adopted on the creation of a temporary (until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly) Soviet government - the Council of People's Commissars (SNK), which included the Bolsheviks (62) and the Left SRs (29). It was headed by Lenin. People's Commissariats (more than 20) were created in all spheres (economy, culture, education, etc.).

The All-Russian Congress of Soviets became the supreme legislative body. In between congresses, its functions were performed by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK), which was headed by L.B. Kamenev, and then Ya.M. Sverdlov.

The elections to the Constituent Assembly, held in November 1917, showed that 76% of the voters did not support the Bolsheviks. They voted for the Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and Cadets, who are pursuing a course towards the establishment of bourgeois democracy. However, the Bolsheviks were supported by large cities, industrial centers, as well as soldiers.

In December 1917, the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK) was created to combat counter-revolution, speculation and sabotage and its local departments in the regions.

In January 1918, the Bolsheviks dispersed the Constituent Assembly, banned the Kadet Party and the publication of opposition newspapers.

Cheka headed by F.E. Dzerzhinsky had unlimited powers (up to the right to shoot) and played a huge role in establishing Soviet power and the dictatorship of the proletariat.

In January 1918, a Decree was adopted on the organization of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army and Navy. The army, created on a voluntary basis from representatives of the working people, was intended to defend the gains of the proletariat.

In May 1918, in connection with the danger of intervention, a Decree on universal military duty was adopted. By November 1918, L. Trotsky managed to create a regular, combat-ready army, and by 1921 its number had reached 4 million people.

Using agitational and violent methods (the whole family was taken hostage for refusing to cooperate with the Red Army), the Bolsheviks managed to attract more military specialists from the old tsarist army to their side than the whites.

After the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly and the signing of the shameful agreement with Germany, the socio-political situation in the country worsened. Actions began against the power of the Bolsheviks: the rebellion of the junkers in Petrograd, the creation of the Volunteer Army on the Don, the beginning of the White movement, the unrest of the peasants in central Russia.

The most acute problem facing the new government was the way out of the war. L. Trotsky disrupted the first negotiations. Taking advantage of this, the German troops launched an offensive along the entire front line and, without meeting resistance, occupied Minsk, Polotsk, Orsha, Tallinn and many other territories. The front collapsed, and the army was unable to resist even the insignificant forces of the Germans.

On February 23, 1918, Lenin achieved the acceptance of the German ultimatum and signed an "obscene" peace with Germany's colossal territorial and material claims.

Having received a respite, having suffered huge losses for the sake of preserving the gains of the revolution, the Soviet Republic began to transform its economy.

In December 1917, the Supreme Council of the National Economy (VSNKh) was organized, the largest banks, enterprises, transport, trade, etc. were nationalized. State-owned enterprises became the basis of the socialist structure in the economy.

On July 4, 1918, the 5th Congress of Soviets adopted the first Soviet Constitution, which proclaimed the creation of a state - the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic.

Every slave has his own pride: he wants to obey only the greatest master.

Honore de Balzac

The formation of Soviet power in Russia became possible as a result of the 2nd Congress of the Bolsheviks, which actually crowned the revolution and the forcible seizure of power. This contributed to giving legitimacy to those actions that led to the collapse of the Russian empire and the overthrow of the emperor.

To understand the events of that era, it is necessary to consider the chronology of events in terms of the formation of Soviet socialist power in Russia. It will show the sequence of actions of Lenin with his comrades-in-arms, as well as their key steps that contributed to the formation of Soviet power.

Let's start with the fact that the October coup ended with the opening of the 2nd Congress of Soviets. It happened at the end of the day on October 25, 1917 in Petrograd, in the Smolny Palace. With short breaks, the congress lasted until October 27 inclusive. The meeting was attended by:

1. Bolsheviks - 390 people.
2. Socialist-Revolutionaries (left and right wing) - 190 people.
3. Mensheviks - 72 people.
4. SD-internationalists - 14 people.
5. Ukrainian nationalists - 7 people.
6. Menshevik-internationalists - 6 people.

In total, 739 people attended the meeting, most of which belonged to the Bolsheviks, allowing them to manage the processes of this meeting. The Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks put forward a demand to recognize the illegality of the power of the Bolsheviks, since it was seized as a result of a coup d'état! This demand was not satisfied and the representatives of the opposition left the hall. Thus began the formation of Soviet power, which is simply impossible to describe briefly.

The 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets continued at 11 am on October 26. On it, Lenin read out the "Decree on Peace", which obliges Russia to begin negotiations on peace without annexation and indemnity, as well as on an immediate truce for 3 months for negotiations. In this document there was a clause according to which all nationalities, previously included in Russia by force, have the right to independence.

The formation of Soviet power took place at an accelerated pace. The Bolsheviks understood that if they did not give the people what they wanted in the shortest possible time, they would not hold out in governing the country for a long time. At the 2nd Congress of Soviets, the Bolsheviks, who clearly defined measures that could strengthen the formation of the state, adopted a directive on peace, a directive on land and a directive on power.

The land directive was announced at 2 am on October 26, 1917. It completely abolished private ownership of land. An egalitarian system of land distribution was introduced throughout the country, while the authorities undertook to periodically produce new sections. The Bolsheviks were not in favor of such a reform. In the form in which it was adopted, this was one of the provisions of the Socialist-Revolutionary program. But they accepted this directive, essentially a Socialist-Revolutionary one, in order to win the love of the peasants. They succeeded. Briefly, the decree on land can be presented as follows:

• all transactions with land that becomes completely state property are prohibited;
• hired labor on land is prohibited;
• all land plots become the property of the state, which provides it to all citizens without exception;
• land is provided free of charge, no rents are allowed;
• those unable to cultivate the land for health reasons receive a state pension.

The next directive of the Bolsheviks on power was that all power in the country now belonged to the Soviets.

After the adoption of the main directives that the common people demanded, the Bolsheviks set about reforming the country. In a short time, the following directives were adopted for the establishment of order in the Soviet state. October 29 - directive on the eight-hour working day. November 2 - directive on the equality of the peoples of Russia. November 10 - directive on the liquidation of the estates. November 20 - Decree on the recognition of the national culture of the country's Muslims. December 18 - Decree on the equalization of the rights of men and women. January 26, 1918 - the decision on the withdrawal of the church from the state.

On January 10, 1918, after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the 3rd Congress of Soviets of Soldiers' and Workers' Deputies took place. Soon the peasant deputies also joined him. This meeting completed the formation of the Soviet authorities, as well as the adoption of the directive on the rights of workers.

In July 1918, the 5th Congress of Soviets was held. As a result, the name of the country was determined - the Russian Socialist Federative Socialist Republic. In addition, the country's constitution was approved. The Congress of Soviets was designated as the supreme body of the state. Executive legislation was assigned to the Council of People's Commissars. The 5th Congress of Soviets ended with the adoption of the emblem and flag of the state.

The formation of Soviet power was actually completed, in the future it was already required to keep it.

After the victory of the October Revolution in Petrograd and Moscow, Soviet power in a short time (until March 1918) established itself in the main part of the territory of the former Russian Empire. In the vast majority of provincial and other large cities (in 73 out of 91) this happened peacefully.

The establishment of Soviet power in the regions of Russia. Constituent Assembly, III Congress of Soviets

In the Central Industrial Region, Soviet power won in November-December 1917 with an overwhelming superiority of revolutionary forces. Support for the October Revolution by the active army at the front-line congresses that took place before December 10 determined the decisive preponderance of forces in favor of Soviet power. The Baltic Fleet was the main force in supporting the revolution in Petrograd and the Baltics. In November 1917, the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet, overcoming the resistance of the Social Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, adopted a resolution recognizing the Council of People's Commissars headed by Lenin. In the North and the Far East, the Bolsheviks did not receive a majority in the Soviets, which subsequently contributed to the beginning of the intervention in these regions.

The most active military opposition was provided by the Cossacks. On the Don, the core of the Volunteer Army was created and the center of the "white movement" was formed with the participation of the leaders of the Octobrists and Cadets (Struve, Milyukov), the Socialist-Revolutionary Savinkov. They worked out a political program: "For the Constituent Assembly", "For a united indivisible Russia", "For liberation from the Bolshevik dictatorship". The "White" movement immediately received the support of American, British and French diplomatic representatives, the Ukrainian Central Rada. During the offensive of the Volunteer Army in January 1918, the order of General Kornilov read: "Do not take prisoners." This marked the beginning of the "white terror".

On January 10-11, at the congress of the front-line Cossacks, the supporters of Soviet power created a military revolutionary committee headed by F. G. Podtelkov, followed by a significant part of the Cossacks. Red Guard detachments were sent to the Don. The Soviet troops went on the offensive. The White Cossack troops retreated to the Salsky steppes, and the Volunteer Army went to the Kuban. On March 23, the Don Soviet Republic was formed.

The Orenburg Cossacks were headed by Ataman A. I. Dutov. On November 1, he disarmed the Orenburg Soviet, announced mobilization and, together with the Bashkir and Kazakh nationalists, launched an offensive against Chelyabinsk and Verkhneuralsk. Communication between Petrograd and Moscow with South Siberia and Central Asia was interrupted. By the decisions of the Soviet government, Red Guard detachments from Petrograd, Samara, Ufa, the Urals were sent to fight Dutov, they were supported by detachments of the Bashkir, Tatar and Kazakh poor. By the end of February 1918, Dutov's troops were defeated.

In the national regions, the struggle for Soviet power unfolded not only against the Provisional Government, but also against the nationalist bourgeoisie and the Socialist-Revolutionary-Menshevik forces. In October - November 1917, the Soviet government won in Estonia, in the unoccupied part of Latvia and Belarus, as well as in Baku (where it held out until August 1918). In the rest of Transcaucasia, the separatists won: the Mensheviks in Georgia, the Dashnaks and Musavatists (petty-bourgeois parties) in Armenia and Azerbaijan. In May 1918, sovereign bourgeois-democratic republics were created there. In Ukraine, in December 1917, the Ukrainian Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Kharkov, the revolutionary forces overthrew the power of the Central Rada, which announced the creation of an independent "people's republic". The Rada left Kyiv and found shelter in Zhytomyr under the care of the German troops. In March 1918, Soviet power was established in the Crimea and Central Asia, except for the Khanate of Khiva and the Emirate of Bukhara.

Thus, from October 25, 1917 to March 1918, military resistance to the counter-revolution in the main regions of the country was suppressed, and Soviet power was established everywhere in Russia.

However, the political struggle in the center did not stop. Its culmination was the Constituent Assembly and the convocation of the Third Congress of Soviets. The II Congress of Soviets created a provisional Soviet government until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, the idea of ​​which the Bolsheviks supported earlier. The broad masses still associated the establishment of a new state system on a broad democratic basis with the Constituent Assembly. Opponents of Soviet power also hoped for the Constituent Assembly. The Bolsheviks agreed to convene it also because their consent knocked out the basis of the political platform of their opponents. After the abdication of Mikhail Romanov, the decision on the form of government in Russia was to be taken by the Constituent Assembly. But in 1917 the Provisional Government delayed its convocation and tried to find a replacement for it (the State Conference, the Democratic Conference and the Pre-Parliament), since the Cadets did not hope to get a majority. The Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries were content with their position in the Provisional Government, but after the October Revolution they called for the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, hoping to seize power.

The elections were held on the dates set by the Provisional Government - November 12, and the convening of the meeting was scheduled for January 5, 1918. By that time, the Soviet government had become a coalition, consisting of representatives of two parties - the Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, who emerged as an independent party at the First Congress November 19 - 28, 1917

The composition of the Constituent Assembly, elected from the entire population of Russia in the most democratic way, is very indicative. Elections were held according to party lists drawn up even before the October Revolution. The Constituent Assembly included: Socialist-Revolutionaries - 370 seats (52.5%); Bolsheviks - 175 seats (24.5%); Left Social Revolutionaries - 40 seats (5.7%); Mensheviks - 15 seats (2.1%); populists - 2 places (0.3%); cadets - 17 places; representatives of various national parties - 86 seats. The Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, who had already formed their own new party, ran in the elections according to the pre-October single lists, in which the Right Socialist-Revolutionaries included most of their representatives. Thus, the population of Russia gave preference to the socialist parties: the Social Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks made up more than 85% of the members of the Constituent Assembly. Thus, the overwhelming majority of the country's population has unequivocally determined its choice of the socialist path of development of society. It was with this statement that he began his speech at the opening of the Constituent Assembly, its chairman, the leader of the Socialist-Revolutionaries V. M. Chernov. His assessment accurately reflects historical reality and refutes the falsifying fabrications of modern anti-Soviet historians, walking even on the pages of textbooks, that the Russian people allegedly "rejected the socialist path of development."

The Constituent Assembly could either approve the path of development chosen by the Second Congress of Soviets, the decrees on peace, land and the activities of the Soviet government, or try to eliminate the gains of Soviet power. Both main opposing forces - the right SRs with the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks - categorically refused to seek a compromise. The meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on January 5 did not accept the “Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People” proposed by the Bolsheviks and refused to approve the activities of the Soviet government. There was a real threat of the restoration of the SR-bourgeois power. The Bolshevik delegation, followed by the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, in response to this, left the Constituent Assembly. The rest of the delegates continued to sit until 5 o'clock in the morning. By this time, 160 people out of 705 participants remained in the hall, the head of the guard, sailor-anarchist A. G. Zheleznyakov, approached the chairman of the Social Revolutionary Chernov and uttered the historical phrase: “The guard is tired! ..” Chernov announced the postponement of the meeting to the next day, but 6 January, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted a decree dissolving the Constituent Assembly. The demonstrations organized by the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries in support of the dissolved Constituent Assembly did not change the situation, but there were also casualties in Petrograd and Moscow.

This is how the final split of the socialist parties into hostile camps took place. The Bolsheviks hoped that in a bloc with the Left SRs they would isolate their opponents from the masses and deprive them of the possibility of launching a civil war. In the coming months, this forecast came true, which ensured the “triumphant march” of Soviet power until the summer of 1918. But six months later, events turned the other way, showing the danger of a deep split in the left forces, each of which enjoyed the support of a part of the peasant population and the working class.

The final decision on the state structure of Russia and on the attitude towards the Constituent Assembly was taken by the Third Congress of Soviets. On January 10, the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies met, and on January 13, the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Peasants' Deputies joined it. From that moment on, the unified All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies became the highest body of representative power of the working people in the Soviet state.

The congress approved the policy and activities of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars, expressing full confidence in them, and approved the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. The congress adopted the most important constitutional acts that legitimized Soviet power: the Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People as the basis of the constitution, the Declaration on the Federal Institutions of the Russian Republic, and the Basic Law on the Socialization of the Land. The Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government, elected at the 2nd Congress, was renamed the highest executive power, the Council of People's Commissars, as the "Workers' and Peasants' Government of the Russian Soviet Republic." This was preceded by the "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia" (November 2, 1917) and the appeal of the Council of People's Commissars "To all working Muslims of Russia and the East", which proclaimed the rights of peoples to freedom and attracted the working masses of different nationalities to Soviet power, opening the way to their voluntary unification to a federal state.

Documents and materials:

From the declaration of the rights of the working and exploited people

It was adopted by the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets. The Declaration became an integral part of the first Constitution of the Soviet Republic.

1) Russia is declared a Republic of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. All power in the center and locally belongs to these Soviets.

2) The Soviet Russian Republic is established on the basis of a free union of free nations as a federation of Soviet national republics.

Setting as its main task the abolition of all exploitation of man by man, the complete elimination of the division of society into classes, the merciless suppression of the exploiters, the establishment of a socialist organization of society and the victory of socialism in all countries, the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies decides further:

In the implementation of the socialization of land, private ownership of land is abolished and the entire land fund is declared public property, transferred to the working people without any redemption on the basis of equal land use.

All forests, subsoil and waters of national importance, as well as a whole lot of live and dead stock, exemplary estates and agricultural enterprises are declared national property.

As the first step towards the complete transfer of factories, plants, mines, railways, and other means of production and transport into the ownership of the Soviet Workers' and Peasants' Republic, the Soviet law on workers' control and on the Supreme Council of the National Economy is confirmed in order to ensure the power of the working people over the exploiters.

The transition of all banks to the property of the workers' and peasants' state is confirmed as one of the conditions for the liberation of the working masses from the yoke of capital.

In the interests of ensuring full power for the working masses and eliminating any possibility of restoring the power of the exploiters, the arming of the working people, the formation of a socialist Red Army of workers and peasants, and the complete disarmament of the propertied classes are decreed.<…>

Brest peace. Creation of a new statehood

Getting out of the imperialist war became the first priority of the Soviet government. The Entente countries ignored the "Decree on Peace" and the appeal to the ambassadors of the allied powers with the proposal of "an immediate truce on all fronts." On November 15, the Council of People's Commissars officially warned the Entente countries that if the response to Soviet proposals was delayed, "we will negotiate with the Germans alone." There was no answer, and in Berlin and Vienna they agreed without hesitation to negotiate peace with the Soviet government. It was not possible to fully implement the "Decree on Peace". The struggle for a final exit from the imperialist war began under the most difficult historical conditions that had taken shape. However, the country was no longer at war; there were no military operations on the fronts from November 1917 to February 1918. The main demand of the masses - to stop the war - was carried out precisely by the Bolsheviks, by the Soviet government. On December 3, 1917, an armistice was signed in Brest-Litovsk, peace negotiations began. The cessation of hostilities on the Russian front of the imperialist war revolutionized the masses of the belligerents and strengthened their desire to end the war. This revolutionary influence affected the subsequent course of the war on the Western and other fronts.

The struggle for the conclusion of peace unfolded not only in the foreign policy activities of the first Soviet government, but also within the government coalition - among the Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries. The actual cessation of the war must be completed at the international legal level and freed from allied obligations to the Entente countries. Lenin understood this well. But even among his associates there was no unity. The option of N. I. Bukharin (“left communists”) - to wage a revolutionary war, counting on the acceleration of the revolution in Europe - could bring disastrous consequences. Trotsky suggested: "No peace, no war, but demobilize the army," counting on the fact that Germany would not dare to attack. Trotsky, who headed the government delegation, put this decision into practice in negotiations with the German command. After the breakdown of negotiations by Trotsky, the German army launched an offensive. The decomposed old Russian army could not hold back the advancing German troops, mass desertion began - the masses of soldiers "voted for peace with their feet."

Hundreds of books have been written on the question of the Brest-Litovsk peace, with different points of view. History provides the only answer to its results. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ensured: Russia's exit from the World War, the demobilization of the decaying old army while preserving the main part of Russia, the preservation of the gains of the revolution and the establishment of Soviet power. This was paid for by the loss of part of the territory and the payment of part of the indemnity within 8 months before the start of the revolution in Germany, after which the contract was canceled. In the most difficult political struggle, Lenin managed to approve his proposal to conclude the Brest-Litovsk peace on forced conditions (“obscene peace”) in order to preserve the already achieved results of the Russian revolution, counting on the inevitable revolution in Germany. As history has shown, this time Lenin's forecast of the development of the historical process turned out to be unmistakable.

On February 21, the Council of People's Commissars addressed the people with a decree-appeal signed by Lenin: "The socialist fatherland is in danger!", In which he called for the defense of the Republic of Soviets. On February 22, the mass registration of volunteers for the Red Army began. On February 23, detachments of the Red Army entered the battles with the German troops near Pskov, Revel (Tallinn) and Narva. This day in the further history of the Soviet Armed Forces was declared the "Day of the Soviet Army and Navy". In 2001, by decision of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, it was renamed "Defender of the Fatherland Day".

The conclusion of the Brest Peace on March 3, 1918 gave the country a peaceful respite. Soviet power was established politically within the country and was recognized by the very fact of the conclusion of an international act - the Brest peace. The mass demobilization of the old army that had begun, the division of the land in accordance with the law "on socialization" and the preparation for sowing in peaceful conditions met the requirements of the bulk of the peasant population of Russia, which supported the Soviet government.

Under the terms of peace, Soviet Russia was forced to recognize the secession of Ukraine with the establishment of the power of the Central Rada in it, which offered the German government a larger indemnity than under the Brest peace. But soon the invaders established the power of Hetman Skoropadsky in Ukraine. In other territories occupied by Austro-German troops, the Soviets were liquidated and the power of either bourgeois nationalist governments that declared their independence (Belarusian Rada) or the power of the German military administration (in the Baltic states) was established. The Russian Soviet Federative Republic included the Northern and Central parts of Russia, the Don, the Volga region, the Urals, the Turkestan Territory, Siberia and the Far East.

The ensuing peaceful respite made it possible to start organizing a new statehood on the ground, establishing an economy and social transformations. As it asserted itself politically, Soviet power was faced with the need to overcome the fierce opposition of the bourgeoisie and bureaucracy in the economy and public administration. The economic disruption and disorganization of government caused by the three-year world war and the period of revolutionary upheavals were further intensified due to the disruption of economic ties after the collapse of the Russian Empire. In connection with the demobilization of the army, millions of soldiers with weapons poured into cities and villages, hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war returned home. The local soviets were still extremely weak as state organs. The emergency situation in the economy and public administration, the rampant anarchy and banditry were aggravated by economic sabotage, calculated on the complete collapse of the economy. Entrepreneurs stopped the work of enterprises, fired workers; financiers and bank officials blocked financial transactions, depriving the Soviet government of money on the principle of "the worse, the better." In the hope of the collapse of the "dictatorship of the mob," the bourgeois and right-wing Socialist-Revolutionary press launched a furious propaganda against the Soviet regime.

In these extraordinary circumstances, the Soviet government is also taking extraordinary measures to govern the country, while at the same time pursuing a policy consistent with the revolutionary socialist aspirations of the working masses, establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat. One of the first acts was to shut down hostile newspapers. First of all, the newspapers of the Kadet Party, outlawed for participation in the armed struggle against Soviet power, were closed.

In the state structure, it was necessary, first of all, to break the old one and create a new apparatus of state power. Representative power in the center was exercised by the Congress of Soviets and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee - between congresses. On the ground, its bodies became republican, provincial (regional), regional, district, city and rural Soviets. Under them, executive bodies were created - executive committees with a small apparatus. All authorities were formed on an elective class and multi-party basis with the simultaneous solution of the national question - the creation of national-territorial formations: autonomous republics, territories, regions and districts. The central executive power - the Council of People's Commissars - created its own administrative apparatus instead of the old ministries: people's commissariats and various committees. The most important step in state building was the creation of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army on a class volunteer basis, the people's militia and security agencies - the Cheka (All-Russian Extraordinary Commission).

Through the formation of state structures in an atmosphere of acute class struggle, complex socio-economic transformations were carried out to establish economic life and seize economic power from the bourgeoisie and overcome its resistance. Workers' control was established everywhere at the enterprises. Under the prevailing conditions, the program of a gradual transition to new economic social relations, outlined by Lenin in his pre-October works, required a significant adjustment. The Soviet government was forced to switch to the methods of the "Red Guard attack on capital", accelerating the processes of nationalization, supplementing the nationalization of banks, railway and water transport with the nationalization of industrial enterprises of private owners. The Soviet government canceled Russia's debts to the Entente states.

At the same time, priority social events were carried out. All social privileges and restrictions have been completely abolished. The Soviet government introduced an 8-hour working day, restrictions on overtime work, unemployment and sickness insurance, and for the first time in the world announced the introduction of free universal education and free medical care. Having abolished private ownership of urban real estate in large cities, the Soviet government transferred the housing stock into the hands of local authorities, which immediately began the mass resettlement of working families from basements, from attics, from workers' barracks and dilapidated buildings to comfortable "bourgeois" houses with "compaction" previous apartment owners. This process often took place in rude and cruel forms with abuses and "excesses", reflecting the age-old social strife and cruelty of the time; it came to the "nationalization" of household property.

Violent social processes were going on in the countryside as a result of the land reform. Equalization of land use sharply increased the stratum of the middle peasants, the land was partially confiscated from the rural bourgeoisie - the "kulaks". On the landlords' lands, various collective farms were created - "communes", "state farms", "toses". Part of the landlords' lands was transferred to the peasants, but many landowners' estates were simply plundered and taken to the peasant households. New forms of peasant dormitory (“communes”, “state farms”) often took on an ugly appearance (A.P. Platonov’s story “Chevengur”). The bulk of the peasants and the working class fully supported the measures of the Soviet government and exerted their pressure on it in carrying out social transformations. The social transformations of this period and during the Civil War were largely determined by the "spontaneous socialization of the masses." Under their pressure, the leadership of the Bolsheviks was often forced to carry out radical measures of "socialist romanticism." However, the urban philistinism and especially the intelligentsia negatively perceived the sharp revolutionary changes in the social sphere and the political actions of the new government.

Measures to tighten the political regime, the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the “Red Guard attack” on capital and the excesses of the class struggle, the arbitrariness of local authorities and the worsening economic situation pushed the bulk of the Russian intelligentsia away from Soviet power. A significant part of it emigrates abroad, the other goes to the service of the "white" movement, many take a wait-and-see attitude. The Bolshevik intelligentsia is doing enormous organizational and agitational-propaganda work among the masses, giving all their strength to the Soviet power. Part of the non-party patriotic intelligentsia saw in the October Revolution Russia's path to a new society of social justice and joined the revolutionary intelligentsia on the side of Soviet power. An indicator of this was the position of the great Russian poet A. A. Blok, expressed in the article "The Intelligentsia and the Revolution", where he argued that the intelligentsia "can and must support the revolution." He expressed his understanding of the revolution in the poem "The Twelve", where he connects the goals of the revolution with the teachings of Christianity. The opposite position was reflected by the writer I. A. Bunin in Cursed Days. Amazing evidence of patriotism, respect for the will of the people, Christian humility, self-denial and self-restraint of a part of the aristocratic noble intelligentsia is provided by the memoirs of Princess Ekaterina Meshcherskaya (“Baptism of Labor”).

In the spring of 1918, the Soviet government, having carried out priority transformations, managed to establish itself throughout the country. The main slogans of the October Revolution were “Land to the peasants!”, “Factories to the workers!”, “Power to the Soviets!”, “Peace to the peoples!” were put into practice. This determined the strength of the positions of the new government and provided the basis for developing ways for the peaceful development of society towards new socio-economic relations in the multi-structural Russian economy.

A further program of action in the transitional period is outlined in Lenin's work "The Immediate Tasks of Soviet Power". The content of the work shows that the Bolshevik Party, which was in power together with the Left SRs, put forward at that time a program of a peaceful, gradual evolutionary transition to a new social system, and did not strive for the "immediate introduction of socialism" and the establishment of "war communism", as they tried to imagine then and are trying to present now the class opponents of Soviet power.

This program of peaceful transition (which was developed only in the 1920s in the form of NEP) was not destined to be realized in the course of subsequent tragic events. The Bolsheviks failed to maintain the existing correlation of political and military forces, which made it possible for peaceful development and the complete attenuation of the civil war in the country. At the turn of the late spring - early summer of 1918, the situation began to change rapidly in the direction of the development of a comprehensive civil war.

Synopsis on the history of Russia

The action of anti-Soviet forces on October 24 in Petrograd formed the All-Russian Committee “ salvation of the motherland and revolution". It includes the city duma and the delegates who left the congress. 26.10 Kerensky gives the order to march on Petrograd. The troops are commanded by General Krasnov. At his disposal were several Cossack hundreds, junkers and small military units - about 5 thousand people. On October 28, Krasnov occupied Tsarskoe Selo, and on October 29, an uprising of the Junkers broke out in Petrograd. Krasnov's offensive and the uprising of the junkers were suppressed. An attempt at a peaceful liquidation of the Council of People's Commissars with the help of the All-Russian Executive Committee of the Trade Union of Railway Workers (VIKZHEL). Under the threat of a strike, VIKZHEL demands the creation of a multi-party socialist government. The idea was supported by some Bolshevik leaders (Kamenev, Rykov). As a result of Lenin's victory over the opposition, a split occurred in the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) and the Council of People's Commissars. 15 people announced their resignation. Sverdlov was elected chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (Kamenev resigns).

The establishment of Soviet power in Moscow. The struggle in Moscow turned out to be more protracted and serious than in Petrograd. In Moscow, under the Soviets, the Military Revolutionary Committee is being created (headed by the Bolsheviks). There was no unity in the MRC (5 out of 13 members of the MRC were against armed actions). In addition, the Salvation Society committee claims power. The MRC occupied the Kremlin. On October 28, cadets and officers massacred the Kremlin garrison. In Moscow, a general strike began, which grew into an uprising. 2.11 the Soviets took power. 3.11 revolutionary troops captured the Kremlin.

Establishment of Soviet power on the ground. There was also a third center of resistance - the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in Mogilev. On November 9, Commander-in-Chief Dukhonin, who refused to obey the orders of the Council of People's Commissars, was removed, and Krylenko was appointed in his place. The headquarters was captured by the capital's troops, and Dukhonin was killed by soldiers.

The process called by Lenin " The triumphal procession of Soviet power”(late October 1917 - March 1918), was neither simple nor short, especially in the peasant regions, primarily in the Central Black Earth, where the Socialist-Revolutionaries enjoyed strong influence. Revolutionary power was established in the cities, and then in the adjacent villages.

Late 1917 - early 1918 - Cossack counter-revolution on the Don. Ataman Kaledin opposed the Soviet regime. Antonov-Ovseenko, at the head of the Red Guard and revolutionary regiments, suppressed Kaledin's speech. Kaledin shot himself. In the same period - the rebellion of Ataman Dutov in Orenburg. The rebellion is crushed. In March, the Don Soviet Republic was proclaimed. Soviet power won relatively easily even in Siberia and Kazakhstan. This was due to the lack of a single center of the enemy.

The victory of the revolution in the national regions. First, Soviet power was established in Belarus, then in the Baltic states. In Ukraine, the Central Rada seized power, relying on German bayonets. The Germans then dispersed the Rada and replaced it with Hetman Skoropadsky. Later, Soviet power is established in Transcaucasia and Central Asia.

Socio-economic and political transformations of the Soviet power. Creation and strengthening of the Soviet statehood. The demolition of the old state machine and the creation of a new one, based on the soviets. The construction of the new statehood assumed the use of the old technical, accounting, economic and supply agencies. Creation of the apparatus on the ground. Creation of organs for the protection of Soviet power. December 7, 1917 - the Cheka is created under the Council of People's Commissars (headed by Dzerzhinsky). The militia of the Provisional Government is liquidated and the Soviet militia is created. The old army is being demobilized and a new Red Army is being created. Creation of courts and revolutionary tribunals. The death penalty is being reinstated. Agreement between the Bolsheviks and the Social Revolutionaries. In early December, the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party held three-day negotiations with the Central Committee of the Socialist-Revolutionaries. As a result of negotiations, 7 SRs became commissars. The Social Revolutionaries are included in the leadership of the Red Army and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

Social transformations. Elimination of the remnants of feudalism: Decree on the equalization of the rights of women and men, on the separation of the church from the state and the school from the church. National Question: Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia dated November 2, 1917. (the equality of peoples, their right to self-determination is established). Social activities: eight-hour working day; labor protection system for women and teenagers; sickness and unemployment insurance; salary increase; free education and medical care; attempt to solve the problem of housing.

Economic transformation. An important act was the formation of the Supreme Economic Council (December 2, 1917) with broad powers in the field of economics. Under the Supreme Economic Council, the main sectoral committees are being created. Local economic councils operate. Introduction of workers' control over the production and distribution of products. Nationalization of banks. The beginning of the nationalization of industry. Nationalization of railways and merchant marine. In the spring of 1918, entire industries were nationalized - sugar, oil. 01/28/1918 - Decree on the annulment of external and internal loans concluded by the tsarist and provisional governments. Conclusion: by the end of 1917, a state of the dictatorship of the proletariat was taking shape, taking the form of the dictatorship of the Bolsheviks.