The older generation remembers well how in school lessons and institute lectures they were told about the importance of the Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies in achieving the victory of the October Revolution, which became a turning point in world history (which corresponds to reality) and directed it on the path of progress (which is very doubtful ) Today, such allegations seem at least naive, but do not diminish interest in the activities of this authority and the role that the Bolsheviks played in it.
The brainchild of revolution
Starting a conversation about the Bolshevization of the Soviets, it should be clarified what this state structure was and when it was formed. From domestic history it is known that one of the results of the First Russian Revolution of 1905 - 1907. was the creation of a representative body of public authority. Initially, he was entrusted with the leadership of the workers' strikes, but subsequently the functions expanded and encompassed the entire struggle with the government.
It was this body, which included deputies of the most diverse political orientations, and became known as the Soviets. Having safely survived the fall of the monarchy, and then the Provisional Government, with the Bolsheviks coming to power and the formation of the USSR, he finally established himself not only in Russia, but in all Union republics, becoming an effective tool in the hands of the Communists, usurping all power.
The fight for mandates
The term "Bolshevization of the Soviets" is understood to mean the active actions of the representatives of the RSDLP (b) aimed at reducing the percentage composition, and then the complete crowding out of deputies, who were their political opponents, which included the so-called moderate socialists, mainly the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. The direction of the entire future historical path of Russia depended on the outcome of the political struggle that arose between them.
Bolshevization of the Soviets in 1917
The process of conquering seats by the Bolsheviks in the Soviets of workers and peasants' deputies reached the most acuteness in the second half of 1917. Their successes were so significant that on the eve of the October armed coup, they became legitimate representatives of the majority of voters in the largest cities of the country. It is enough to note that in the Petrosoviet, where L.D. Trotsky chaired, the Bolsheviks had 90% of the mandates and about 60% in the Moscow Soviet, headed by their party member V.P. Nogin. Approximately the same picture was observed in other cities of Russia.
Historians note that the success of the Bolshevization of the Soviets in 1917 is mainly due to the fact that the program put forward by the representatives of the RSDLP (b) was an expression of the interests of the proletariat. Endowed with deputy mandates, they represented a powerful class organ of power.
Awaiting Democratic Change
At the initial stage of its development, the Soviet, that is, built on the basis of decisions of popularly elected Soviets, state system fully corresponded to the principle put forward by K. Marx to build a communist society by establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat. This made it very attractive in the eyes of the bulk of the population, until then completely detached from government. Thus, the quick Bolshevization of the Soviets occurred largely due to the hopes of the lower strata of society to establish democratic forms of government in the country.
A characteristic feature of the political situation in Russia by August 1917 was, according to contemporaries, the extreme radicalization of public opinion. If previously a part of the country's population was inclined to support the representatives of the so-called moderate alternative, then this period was marked by a split of society into supporters of the extreme right forces in the person of rebellious general Kornilov and those who connected the future of Russia with the Bolsheviks. Since the Kornilov rebellion and the Bolshevization of the Soviets are in direct contact, we should dwell on this episode of Russian history.
Failed dictator
Between August and September 1917, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army from Infantry General Lavr Georgievich Kornilov (photo can be seen below), an attempt was made to establish a military dictatorship in Russia. In Soviet historiography, it was called the “Kornilov speech” or “rebellion” and was evaluated extremely negatively, since its ultimate goal was to prevent the Bolsheviks from coming to power.
However, paradoxical as it may seem, it was precisely the actions of the rebellious general and his supporters that greatly increased the authority of the representatives of the RSDLP (b) among the broad masses of people, thereby ensuring their numerical superiority in the composition of the Soviets. The fact is that, moving to Petrograd at the head of his loyal troops, the general was preparing a blow not only to the Bolsheviks, but also to the Provisional Government, which had managed to compromise itself and by that time lose a significant part of its authority.
Thus, L. G. Kornilov was their common mortal enemy, but in the current situation it was the Bolsheviks who could really confront him, while the ministers of the government created by Kerensky once again testified to their own helplessness. Using their proven tactics of disintegrating the enemy from within, Lenin's supporters launched extensive campaigning among ordinary Kornilovites and turned a considerable part of them to their side. Thus, the defeat of the newly emerging dictator was predetermined even before the start of decisive battles, in which the superiority of forces was on the side of the units controlled by the Bolsheviks.
The consequences of suppressing the rebellion
After the suppression of Kornilovism, the Bolsheviks of the Soviets became very active. This was facilitated by a number of objective factors. Firstly, the Cadet party, which at that time was their main political rival, lost a significant part of its electorate, since during the rebellion it was very imprudent to “swing to the right” and support the Kornilovites. Secondly, their other equally serious competitors, the Mensheviks, compromised themselves by participating in the Provisional Government. Suffice it to say that at the then elections to the Constituent Assembly, they won no more than 3% of the vote.
It is important to take into account the circumstance that the unsuccessful attempt to seize power, made by Lenin’s supporters in July 1917 (the “July mutiny”) and turned into senseless bloodshed, greatly undermined their position. The suppression of the Kornilovism allowed them to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of the masses and served the further Bolshevization of the Soviets.
Eloquent statistics
It is thanks to the situation that developed after the defeat of General Kornilov in the elections to the Moscow Soviet in September 1917 that the representatives of the RSDLP (b) received 60% of the vote (see photo below). The ratio of representatives of various parties in the Executive Committee of its working section is also indicative. So, the Bolsheviks had 33 seats in it, the Mensheviks - 15, the Socialist-Revolutionaries - 8, and the remaining 4 mandates were divided among themselves by the so-called United, that is, deputies who did not belong to any of the main parties. At the same time, Lenin’s supporters won the election in 11 out of 17 districts of Moscow.
An important consequence of the Bolshevization of the Soviets is the transition to their side of most of the soldier committees, primarily the Western and Northern Fronts. In addition, the Second Congress of the Baltic Fleet deputies, which was soon held, decided to disobey the Provisional Government and create its own Central Committee, consisting of the Bolsheviks and a certain number of Left Social Revolutionaries. This was an unusually important victory, as it enabled Lenin and his supporters to rely on a significant part of the armed forces.
The beginning of the struggle for deputy mandates
If the answer to the question regarding the reason for the Bolshevization of the Soviets is generally clear, and implies the need to create the conditions for this body to make decisions that contributed to the rise to power of the representatives of the RSDLP (b), then a certain problem is created by attempts to outline the chronological framework of this process. The fact is that certain work in this direction was carried out by the supporters of Lenin long before the fall of the monarchy.
Many scholars see the starting date of the Bolshevization of the Soviets in the events of 1905, when, on the wave of the revolutionary actions of the proletariat on March 8, the first Soviet of Workers' Deputies appeared in the city of Alapaevsk. Two months later, the workers of Ivanovo-Voznesensk followed the example of the Alapaevites, after which the councils began to appear in many cities of the country. Along with the Bolsheviks under the slogan "All power to the Soviets!" Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks also acted. Their representatives at that time had a majority of votes.
Controversial issue
The date of the beginning of the Bolshevization of the Soviets can be considered April 1906, when Lenin, in his article “The victory of the Cadets and the tasks of the workers' party”, indicated them as an effective form of political organization of the masses that would help prepare the proletarian revolution. Since that time, members of the party created by him have made every effort to obtain the maximum number of seats in the Soviets of various levels.
However, the Bolshevization of the Soviets in September 1917 was so intensified that this particular historical stage, which began as a result of the defeat of the Kornilovites, is often regarded as the beginning of the establishment by the deputies of the RSDLP (b) of complete control over these bodies of public self-government.
The process that swept all over Russia
This period was marked by the process of creating a wide network of volost, district and provincial Soviets of workers and peasants' deputies, which by March of the same year there were already more than six hundred in the country. It is interesting to note that the elections were held not according to the territorial, but according to the production principle. This was a hidden craftiness, since such an order made it impossible for those sections of the population who belonged to the "unearned classes" to Bolshevik standards. In addition to representatives of the bourgeoisie, they included students, intellectuals, employees, etc. Formally, they did not lose their suffrage, but in fact they could not use it.
On the fronts of the still continuing World War I, the functions of the Soviets were performed by soldiers' committees, the creation of which went from the bottom up, from the grassroots - platoon or company, to regimental and army. One of the most important events of those days was the beginning of the Bolshevization of the Soviets created in the armed forces, because, as noted above, it was they who later became a powerful support for Lenin's supporters and ensured their seizure of power in the country.
Conclusion
The reasons discussed above prompted the Bolsheviks to establish control over the Soviets at various levels. At the end of the article, it will be appropriate to dwell on the consequences of this process. It is known that back in March 1917, a kind of diarchy was established in which the Provisional Government, supported by the State Duma, tried to resist the growing power of the Petrosoviet, which consisted mostly of the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. The representatives of these parties did not set out to make the Council an alternative to state power, and only by virtue of these circumstances became its counterbalance.
Lenin, having published his April Theses, put forward the idea of the complete transfer of state power to the Soviets of Workers 'and Peasants' Deputies, whose Bolshevization made it possible, having realized his plan, to create all the necessary prerequisites for an armed coup and seizure of power.
Thus, the victory won in the struggle for votes and allowed Lenin’s comrades-in-arms to seize the majority of seats in the Soviets, determined the entire course of 20th-century Russian history, filled with the unimaginable suffering of the people, who had given themselves over to a handful of political adventurers.