The Marxist-Leninist Daily

Moscow, November 7, 1918: V. I. Lenin makes speech from rostrum in Red Square at celebration of
First Assembly of the Great October Socialist Revolution.

The socialist revolution in Russia that shook the world took place during the First World War. Anti-war sentiment was high in all countries within the imperialist system of states. The problem confronting the anti-war movement was that the political elite was adept at keeping the people out of the equation in stopping the war. Political initiative was in the hands of the ruling elite in all the combatant countries and the people were not a factor. A big role in keeping the people out of the equation was played by many so-called left-wing parties who lined up behind their own imperialists as social patriots and chauvinists. Instead of straightforward calling for an end to the slaughter, bringing the troops home and negotiating a democratic peace, the social patriots raised objections about the politics of the "other side." Certain social-democrats in Germany accused the British Empire of wanting to rule the world and thus it was necessary to wage war to stop them. Certain British social-democrats accused the German government of being undemocratic and totalitarian and it was necessary to wage war to oppose German autocratic aggression and defend British values. The people were blocked from deciding their own fate and were sent to slaughter on behalf of their own imperialists in the muddy trenches of continental Europe and elsewhere.

Only within the Russian Empire did resistance to the imperialist war make the people a factor in the equation. The determination of the anti-war movement in Russia led by the Communist Party (Bolshevik) to achieve its aim of peace and defend the well-being of the peoples of all the belligerent countries made the people the determining factor in taking Russia out of the imperialist war, bringing the troops home and negotiating a democratic peace with Germany.

When the Russian people overthrew the Tsar in February 1917, the hopes of the soldiers and their loved ones were raised to the sky that peace was possible. The new capitalist/landlord provisional government soon dashed that hope with its renewed commitment to the slaughter. The Russian people led by Lenin's Communist Party did not despair but renewed their efforts for "Land, Peace and Bread" and convinced the doubters from amongst their midst that the path of active resistance and revolution was the only road to peace and social progress. By November of the same year the people were indeed ready in their consciousness and their determination to make themselves the decisive part of the equation. They rose in mighty rebellion for Land, Peace and Bread. The people became the key factor in deciding their fate.

Workers, peasants and supporters from the middle strata, responding to the November 6, 1917 call of the Communist Party and its allies, rose in massive rebellion throughout the Russian Empire holding high the slogans "All Power to the Soviets!" "Land, Peace and Bread!"

The capitalist/landlord authority in power had failed to uphold its duty and change the conditions according to the demands of the times and it paid the price with its revolutionary overthrow. By 2:00 am the following morning November 7 (October 25 in the Julian calendar) Red Guards of the Petrograd Soviet seized the Winter Palace, headquarters of the executive power of the capitalist/landlord Kerensky government of the Russian Empire. Later that day in Petrograd the revolutionary slogan -- All Power to the Soviets! All Power to the Workers and Peasants' Councils! -- was formally brought into being at the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers and Soldiers' Deputies. The Congress passed a resolution negating the authority of the capitalist/landlord government, and establishing all political power in the Soviets. The Congress passed and issued its famous message "To Workers, Soldiers, and Peasants!" written by Lenin. (See For Your Information)

As the revolution spread rapidly throughout Russia, into Ukraine and other surrounding nations of the Russian Empire, and gripped the millions of conscripts on the front lines of World War I, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets upon declaring its revolutionary authority passed two momentous resolutions that were to concretize the demands of the Russian working people for new conditions, in particular for Land, Peace and Bread. (See For Your Information for extracts from the Decrees on Peace and Land)

The victory of the socialist revolution was not fortuitous. The Communist Party in Russia, known as the Bolsheviks and led by Lenin had prepared the subjective conditions for the working class and peasants to seize political power and consolidate and maintain their power. The most important subjective condition was the building of a Communist Party that never lost its bearings and refused to succumb to opportunist pressure. Lenin's party fought tenaciously to defend the purity of Marxism, develop the theory and tactics of socialist revolution for the period, continually improve the level of the Party's members and supporters and constantly move the consciousness of the working class towards socialist revolution. Every movement for reform, every struggle for a wage increase, benefit or social program and every protest became an occasion to unite the people in defence of the rights of all, to recognize and celebrate the power of the working class when united and independent of the capitalist class, and to grasp the necessity of building a Communist Party in every workplace and neighbourhood with the ultimate objective to transfer political power to representatives of the working people.

Of the major European communist parties, the Bolshevik Party was the only one to oppose the war hysteria leading to the First World War and to organize actively for an anti-war government. All its activities were directed at mobilizing the working class and peasantry to defend themselves according to plans worked out in organizations built and defended by the masses, especially the Soviets. (See For Your Information)

Lenin's Party learned from history and used its theoretical rendering as a guide to action. The seizure of power by the working people during the 1871 Paris Commune, its eventual defeat and Karl Marx's theoretical guide "Civil War in France" became an integral part of Leninism in the conditions of imperialism. The successes and defeat of the 1905 Russian revolution became a Leninist "dress rehearsal" for the victorious revolution that was sure to come.

When the masses overthrew the tsar in February 1917 demanding "peace, land and freedom," the capitalists and landlords snatched political power from the people and established a provisional government. But the workers and peasants organized into the Communist Party and Soviets never for an instant stopped demanding that the government use its authority to change the conditions and bring about peace, land to the tillers and freedom for the working class and peasants to have an organized voice in governing the country.

Did the capitalist/landlord government create the necessary conditions for peace? Did it bring the Russian masses relief from the senseless slaughter in the trenches? No, on April 18, 1917 the Provisional Government sent the Allied governments confirmation that Russia was prepared to continue the fight in World War I to a "victorious end." Immediately, the Soviets throughout the empire organized massive demonstrations of workers, soldiers and peasants against the continuation of the war, reaching enormous proportions April 20 and 21. The conscripts began to turn decisively towards the only consistent opponents to the imperialist war, the Communist Party and its peasant ally the Left Social-Democrats.

Did the Kerensky provisional government give the peasants land? No, the big capitalists formed an alliance with the landed nobility and blocked the transfer of the land to the tillers. The peasants began to turn massively away from the capitalists and to see the working class as their natural ally.

Did the capitalist government develop political reforms to concretely change the conditions and bring representatives of the working masses into power through the existing Soviets? No, it consolidated power in the Duma (parliament) under the dictate of the political parties of the capitalists and landlords. The provisional government did everything to sideline the Soviets and block the participation of the working class and peasantry in government. Under the hoax of aiding the war effort the provisional government stemmed any relief in the form of higher wages and social programs for the people. The working class began to turn decisively towards the Communist Party, especially in Petrograd, Moscow and other industrial centres.

In mid-September 1917 during the elections for representatives to the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets, the Communist Party won a majority. Lenin reported to the Central Committee of the Communist Party that the date of the uprising was fast approaching. Of the 650 elected members of the Workers and Soldiers' Deputies who were to meet in Petrograd November 7, 390 were members of the Communist Party (Bolshevik) led by Vladimir Lenin and almost one hundred were from its peasant ally organized as the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries.

By September 1917, the slaughter in the war had become intolerable, famine was stalking the land and the masses began to raise the banner "All Power to the Soviets! Land, Peace and Bread!" The Bolsheviks are right the people declared. The capitalists cannot be trusted to keep their word. The working class and peasants must form a Soviet government through revolution.

Everything was in place for the workers and peasants to seize political power November 7. It was not fortuitous; it was tenacious, meticulous preparation of the subjective conditions for revolution by the Communist Party.

The victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution was a victory for the peoples of the world. It immensely weakened the imperialist system of states by removing a major population and landmass from monopoly competition for markets, raw materials and masses to exploit through voluntary servitude. Within a few short years, Communist Parties had been formed in almost every country of the world including Canada. The battle was on to move the world forward under the conscious political leadership of the working class and its Communist Party. The human factor/social consciousness was becoming decisive in world affairs. A way forward for the people had been shown in practice. Now it was time for peoples everywhere to develop the theory and tactics of the revolutionary movement according to the prevailing conditions using Marxism-Leninism as their sure guide to victory.

For Your Information: Second All-Russia Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, November 7-8, 1917

TML is posting below some of the presentations made at the the SecondAll-Russia Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

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The Second All-Russia Congress of Soviets of Workers and Soldiers' Deputies has opened. The vast majority of the Soviets are represented at the Congress. A number of delegates from the Peasants' Soviets are also present. The mandate of the compromising Central Executive Committee has terminated. Backed by the will of the vast majority of the workers, soldiers, and peasants, backed by the victorious uprising of the workers and the garrison which has taken place in Petrograd, the Congress takes power into its own hands.

The Provisional Government has been overthrown. The majority of the members of the Provisional Government have already been arrested.

The Soviet government will propose an immediate democratic peace to all the nations and an immediate armistice on all fronts. It will secure the transfer of the land of the landed proprietors, the crown and the monasteries to the peasant committees without compensation; it will protect the rights of the soldiers by introducing complete democracy in the army; it will establish workers' control over production; it will ensure the convocation of the Constituent Assembly at the time appointed; it will see to it that bread is supplied to the cities and prime necessities to the villages; it will guarantee all the nations inhabiting Russia the genuine right to self-determination.

The Congress decrees: all power in the localities shall pass to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies, which must guarantee genuine revolutionary order.

The Congress calls upon the soldiers in the trenches to be vigilant and firm. The Congress of Soviets is convinced that the revolutionary army will be able to defend the revolution against all attack of imperialism until such time as the new government succeeds in concluding a democratic peace, which it will propose directly to all peoples. The new government will do everything to fully supply the revolutionary army by means of a determined policy of requisitions and taxation of the propertied classes, and also will improve the condition of the soldiers' families.

The Kornilov men -- Kerensky, Kaledin and others -- are attempting to bring troops against Petrograd. Several detachments, whom Kerensky had moved by deceiving them, have come over to the side of the insurgent people.

Soldiers, workers in factory and office, the fate of the revolution and the democratic peace is in your hands!

The All-Russia Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies
The Delegates from the Peasants' Soviets

The Workers' and Peasants' Government, created by the revolution of October 24-25, and drawing its strength from the Soviets of Workers, Soldiers, and Peasants' Deputies, proposes to all warring peoples and their governments to begin at once negotiations leading to a just democratic peace. A just and democratic peace for which the great majority of wearied, tormented and war-exhausted toilers and labouring classes of all belligerent countries are thirsting, a peace which the Russian workers and peasants have so loudly and insistently demanded since the overthrow of the Tsar's monarchy, such a peace the government considers to be an immediate peace without annexations (i.e., without the seizure of foreign territory and the forcible annexation of foreign nationalities) and without indemnities.

The Russian Government proposes to all warring peoples that this kind of peace be concluded at once; it also expresses its readiness to take immediately, without the least delay, all decisive steps pending the final confirmation of all the terms of such a peace by the plenipotentiary assemblies of all countries and all nations.

The government considers that to continue this war simply to decide how to divide the weak nationalities among the powerful and rich nations which had seized them would be the greatest crime against humanity, and it solemnly announces its readiness to sign at once the terms of peace which will end this war on the indicated conditions, equally just for all nationalities without exception. At the same time the government declares that it does not regard the conditions of peace mentioned above as an ultimatum; that is, it is ready to consider any other conditions, insisting, however, that such be proposed by any of the belligerents as soon as possible, and that they be expressed in the clearest terms, without ambiguity or secrecy. The government abolishes secret diplomacy, expressing, for its part, the firm determination to carry on all negotiations absolutely openly and in view of all the people. It will proceed at once to publish all secret treaties ratified or concluded by the government of landlords and capitalists from March to November 7, 1917. All the provisions of these secret treaties, in so far as they have for their object the securing of benefits and privileges to the Russian landlords and capitalists -- which was true in a majority of cases -- and retaining or increasing the annexation by the Great Russians, the government declares absolutely and immediately annulled.

The government proposes an immediate armistice to the governments and people of all the belligerent countries, and, for its part, considers it desirable that this armistice should be concluded for a period of not less than three months, i.e., a period long enough to permit the completion of negotiations for peace with the participation of the representatives of all peoples or nations, without exception, involved in or compelled to take part in the war, and the summoning of authoritative assemblies of the representatives of the peoples of all countries for the final ratification of the peace terms.

In making these peace proposals to the governments and peoples of all warring countries, the Provisional Government of Workers and Peasants of Russia appeals particularly to the class-conscious workers of the three most advanced nations of mankind, who are also the largest states participating in the present war -- England, France and Germany. The workers of these countries have rendered the greatest possible service to the cause of progress and socialism by the great example of the Chartist movement in England, several revolutions of universal historic significance accomplished by the French proletariat, and, finally, the heroic struggle against the Law of Exceptions in Germany, a struggle which was prolonged, dogged and disciplined, which could be held up as an example for the workers of the whole world, and which aimed at the creation of proletarian mass organizations in Germany. All these examples of proletarian heroism and historic achievement serve us as a guarantee that the workers of these three countries will understand the tasks which lie before them by way of liberating humanity from the horrors of war and its consequences, and that by their resolute, unselfishly energetic efforts in various directions these workers will help us to bring to a successful end the cause of peace, and, together with this, the cause of the liberation of the toiling and exploited masses from all forms of slavery and all exploitation.

The Workers' and Peasants' Government created by the revolution of November 6-7 and drawing its strength from the Soviets of Workers, Soldiers, and Peasants' Deputies must begin peace negotiations at once. Our appeal must be directed to the governments as well as to the peoples. We cannot ignore the governments, because this would delay the conclusion of peace, a thing that a people's government does not dare to do but at the same time we have no right not to appeal to the peoples. Everywhere governments and peoples are at arm's length; we must, therefore, help the peoples to take a hand in [settling] the question of peace and war.

(2) The landed estates, as also all crown, monastery, and church lands, with all their livestock, implements, buildings and everything pertaining thereto, shall be placed at the disposal of the volost land committees and the uyezd Soviets of Peasants' Deputies pending the convocation of the Constituent Assembly.

(3) All damage to confiscated property, which henceforth belongs to the whole people, is proclaimed a grave crime to be punished by the revolutionary courts. The uyezd Soviets of Peasants' Deputies shall take all necessary measures to assure the observance of the strictest order during the confiscation of the landed estates, to determine the size of estates, and the particular estates subject to confiscation, to draw up exact inventories of all property confiscated and to protect in the strictest revolutionary way all agricultural enterprises transferred to the people, with all buildings, implements, livestock, stocks of produce, etc.

Endnotes

A Soviet (literally co-voice or council) was a Russian democratic invention of the unsuccessful 1905 revolution that became the basic organizing unit of society, with councils in all the large work places, educational institutions, villages, towns, cities and groups of conscripted soldiers in the Russian Army and Navy. The Soviets were formed largely as workers, peasant and soldiers' councils.

The collected works of Lenin are the expression of the heroic struggle to build the Communist Party and develop the theory and tactics of the Russian proletarian revolution under the conditions of imperialism.

Additional material is found in the 1939 History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks) Short Course and in the writings of Joseph Stalin, in particular his works "Foundations of Leninism," "The October Revolution and the Tactics of the Russian Communists," "Concerning Questions of Leninism" and many others.

89th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, 1917

Endnotes

89th Anniversary of the Great October
Socialist Revolution, 1917