The Soviet Revolution of 1917 in Russia whose 100^th anniversary is being observed this October centres around two primary events: the February Revolution and the October Revolution. In an earlier article that appeared in TNS on February 26, 2017, the events leading to the February Revolution were covered. This article is an attempt to explain how Lenin’s Bolshevik Party that did not play a significant role in the February Revolution within a span of just six months was able to capture power in the largest country in the world.

After the abdication of Czar Nicholas II, March 1917 onwards, there were two centres of power: one, the provisional government that replaced the tsar; and two, the Petrograd Soviet which was an influential local council representing workers and soldiers in the capital.

Initially, both favoured a partially democratic rule, but the Bolsheviks -- who did not command wider support -- had a clear focus on the questions of land, peace, and the eight-hour day. This clear stand gradually built up their support among the masses. When the provisional government declared a general amnesty for all political activists, exiles, and prisoners, the stage was set for the release and return of revolutionaries.

Stalin was one of the first to be released and arrived in Petrograd to become one of the editors of Pravda, the Bolshevik newspaper. The provisional government made another important decision and that was the abolition of the death penalty. This facilitated the Russian soldiers to desert the army without facing a death threat. These two decisions turned the tide in favour of the Bolsheviks and weakened the provisional government that was still insisting to continue the war and refused to grant independence to Finland and Poland.

By the end of March, Plekhanov had arrived in Petrograd after nearly 40 years in exile and both Lenin and Trotsky were on their way to Russia from America and Switzerland respectively. In the first week of April 1917, Lenin, Zinoviev, and other Bolsheviks arrived in Petrograd and many soldiers and workers welcomed them. Now, with a masterstroke Lenin delivers his April Thesis which appeals to the masses. Lenin made it clear that the Bolsheviks had to gain the control of the Petrograd Soviet and then seize power in the name of the Soviet; the process would be repeated in other cities where similar Soviets had been formed.

Lenin’s slogan ‘peace, bread, and land’ summarised Bolshevik policies and people began to realise that only Bolsheviks were speaking their mind and offering what they wanted. Especially, the slogan about land increased the Bolshevik support beyond cities and industrial areas into the peasants’ territories where the Bolsheviks initially had little support. By the first week of May, Trotsky had also arrived in Russia and joined Lenin. Trotsky had been a Menshevik Party member that opposed Lenin, but after observing Lenin’s pertinent politics Trotsky changed sides and that made a big difference in the months and years to come.

Trotsky had superb skills of organisation and improvisation. The Red Guards were his creation that formed a Bolshevik militia from armed factory workers, sailors, and soldiers. June 1917 saw the First All Russia Congress of Soviets in the Russian capital, Petrograd, where the Bolsheviks were in minority. The Congress demands an end to World War I but continues to support the provisional government despite Bolshevik protests. The Congress was still dominated by Mensheviks who made a fatal mistake of opposing the Bolshevik slogans especially about the demand that all power must be taken from the provisional government and given to the Soviets.

Almost at the same time, the provisional government made a blunder by launching another military offensive that came to be known as The June Offensive. With poor supplies and coordination, and without a sound strategic thinking, the result was a disastrous failure and the morale of the army declined with a huge increase in the level of desertions. The soldiers became more receptive to the Bolshevik propaganda and the loyalty to the provisional government was greatly reduced. The June Offensive that saw over 150,000 Russian deaths brought the Bolshevik slogan for peace much closer to the hearts of the Russian families.

Thus, we see that the three months from March to June 1917 precipitated the decline of both the Mensheviks and the provisional government, creating a vacuum that the Bolsheviks were ready to fill, led by Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin. The next three months would pave the way to the Soviet Revolution. Starting in July, the Bolsheviks tried to seize power in Petrograd. Opposed by not only the Mensheviks but also by the provisional government and the Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs), the uprising failed and the troops suppressed it. Now the Mensheviks and the SRs controlled only the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet whereas they lost their majority power with the local Soviets.

With over half a million people on the streets of the capital, the provisional government, supported by the Mensheviks, starts a crackdown and with over 500 dead the uprising fails. This results in change in the government and a young lawyer, Kerensky, becomes the new prime minister. He announces that his government would hold elections to the Constituent Assembly within two months. Kerensky appoints General Kornilov as the new supreme commander of the Russian army. In the last week of July, the Bolshevik Party holds its sixth congress. An important decision of this congress was the decision on the principle of democratic centralism.

This principle is used to control the party from the centre as most local soviets were composed of workers who did not have the intellectual calibre that the party thought was needed. By August 1917, the provisional government was clearly divided between the democrats led by Kerensky, and the supporters of a military dictatorship who looked at General Kornilov as a future dictator. As the war intensifies, the Germans occupy Riga and the Russian army retreats. Kerensky tries to remove General Kornilov who in turn blames the political government of Kerensky for the loss of Riga.

The army chief, General Kornilov, to seize power for himself, sends his troops to capture the capital. In the meantime, the Red Guards under Trotsky’s direction had swelled to 40,000 and were ready to defend the capital. Kerensky is in a fix and sides with the Bolsheviks by arming them. By September, the Bolsheviks had gained control of the Petrograd Soviet. The Mensheviks and the SRs desperately try to reassert their influence in the Soviets but it was already too late. The wrong decisions of supporting the provisional government and opposing the Bolshevik slogans had cost them dearly.

Now it was only a matter of weeks before the Bolsheviks seize complete control of the government. In all this hullabaloo, Lenin manages to write and publish two of his seminal works: Lessons of Revolution, recounting events since the February Revolutions, and his most important theoretical work: The State and Revolution that would inspire revolutionaries throughout the world for most of the 20^th century. Before the end of September 1917, Lenin finishes another important work The Impending Catastrophe and how to combat it. That means, in the weeks before the October Revolution, Lenin presented a detailed outline of what the Bolsheviks would do to save Russia from ruin.

On September 25, that is exactly one month before the October Revolution, the Petrograd Soviet elects Trotsky as its chairman. Following Lenin’s directions, Trotsky immediately sets about chalking out a plan to take over power from the provisional government of Kerensky, in the name of the Petrograd Soviet. Now the clock ticks fast. On October 10, the Bolshevik Central Committee approves the tactics suggested by Lenin to overthrow the provisional government. The Petrograd Soviet creates a new Military Revolutionary Committee, which would lead the insurrection. Finally, on October 24 the revolution begins and Trotsky leads his Red Guards to control all the buildings and key positions in the capital.

At night, Lenin arrives and assumes the command of the revolution. On October 25, the train stations, the power stations, the State Bank, and later at night, the Winter Palace -- the seat of government -- is captured without a single life lost by either side. Thus, began a socialist experiment in Russia that lasted till 1991.