4 Lenin and the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party

What was Lenin doing by mid-September whilst still in hiding in Finland?

Bombarding the 12-man Bols Central Committee with letters demanding that they prepare for a revolution and the seizure of power

What did Lenin suggest on 12th September?

“History will not forgive us if we do not assume power now”

Despite Lenin’s efforts, what did the CC do on 15th September?

Voted against a coup

Who were the most prominent members of the CC at this point?

Zinoviev and Kamenev

How did Zinoviev and Kamenev behave towards Lenin’s call for a revolution?

they urged restraint, fearing that Russia wasn’t yet economically ready for revolution. Even burned some of Lenin’s letters

What did Zinoviev and Kamenev want to wait for before acting?

The Constituent Assembly elections, although the exact date of these elections was still unknown

What was Trotsky’s attitude to the logistics of the revolution?

He tought they should work through the Petrograd Soviet and wait for the Congress of Soviets, which was due to be convened on the 26th October. He believed they could utilise this conference to win the support of all socialist parties for a socialist government without having to use violence

When did Lenin return to Russia (in disguise), what did he immediately do?

10th October, harangued the Bols CC all night to persuade them immediate revolution was necessary

What did Lenin say about the July Days during this period

If they had risen up then, they would’ve failed as they didn’t have the support of the majority of people

What did Lenin argue was different about the July Days and October?

They now had the support of the majority, which wasn’t the case before

On the 10th July, how did the Bols CC vote regarding imminent revolution

10 in favour, 2 against

Who was a key politician that ended up taking Lenin’s side in the end in the voting?

Trotsky

Who were the two CC members who voted against lenin’s imminent revolution?

Zinoviev and Kamenev

How did Zinoviev and Kamenev justify their stance?

They published their views in the newspaper Novaia Zhin (‘New Life’) and argued if they seized power now and were thrust into a revolutionary war, the majority of soldiers would not support them

Once the vote for action had been carried, who was largely responsible for organising the logistics of the revolution?

Trotsky

What did Trotsky do with Bol speakers?

Sent them round factories to raise support for the Bols’ movement

When/who set up the Military Revolutionary COmmittee

16th October, Trotsky and Dzerzhinsky

When was the Soviet resolution passed to approve the creation of the Military Revolutionary Committee

5th October

What proportion of members on the Military Revolutionary Committee were Bols?

48 out of 66

Where did Trotsky mass troops?

The Bolshevik headquartes in the Smolny Institute

How come the troops in the revolution ended up being a Bolshevik force?

The Mensheviks and SRs refused to cooperate with the uprising so the troops ended up being a Bolshevik force made up of militias from the Bolshevik Red Guards, former soldiers and policemen

What did bol commissars do with the Petrograd garrisons?

Were sent to all of Petrograd’s garrison units and 15/18 declared their allegiance to the Soviet, rather than the PG. They ensured loyalty and organised weapon supplies

How many RED GUARDS were part of the Military Revolutionary Committee?

200,000

How many BALTIC SAILORS were part of the Military Revolutionary Committee?

60,000

How many SOLDIERS of the remaining Petrograd garrison units were part of the Military Revolutionary Committee?

150,000

In what sense could it be argued there was already a state of armed revolution and munity even prior the actual revolution itself that officially began on 25th October?

You already had 60,000 Baltic sailors and 150,000 soldiers in Petrograd who were part of the Military Revolutionary Committee and were loyal to the Bolsheviks over the PG