In Defence of October

Study the lessons of the Russian Revolution

About us 1917 Live

Speech At A Meeting Of The Central Committee Of The R.S.D.L.P.(B.) December 24 (11), 1917

"It was raised in view of the fact that “right-wing sentiments have prevailed in the group, whose views differ from those of the Central Committee”."

Minutes

Comrade Lenin proposes (1) to dismiss the bureau of the Constituent Assembly group; (2) to explain our attitude towards the Constituent Assembly to the group in the form of theses; (3) to draw up an address to the group in which it should be mentioned that the Party Rules prescribe the subordination of all representative institutions to the Central Committee; (4) to appoint a member of the Central Committee to lead the group; (5) to draw up rules for the group.

Footnotes

[1] On December 11 (24), 1917, the Contra1 Committee of the R.S.D.L.P.(13.) discussed one question—the stand taken by the Bolshevik group in the Constituent Assembly. It was raised in view of the fact that “right-wing sentiments have prevailed in the group, whose views differ from those of the Central Committee” (Minutes of the Central Committee of the R.S.D.L.P.(B.) August, 1917 to February 1918, (in Russian, Moscow, 1958, p. 100).

The provisional bureau of the group opposed the C.C. line on the Constituent Assembly. It took a bourgeois-democratic approach to the Assembly and held that its convocation was the final stage of the revolution. It proposed that control over its convocation should be abandoned. The Central Committee resolved to work out theses on the Constituent Assembly and set a meeting of members of the group in Smolny at 4.00 p.m. on December 12 (25) to discuss a CC. report and theses and to re-elect the bureau of the group. Lenin read out his “Theses on the Constituent Assernbly”, which he had written at the Central Cornmittee’s request. After a prolonged debate, they were unanimously adopted by the group. On December 13 (26) they were published by Pravda.

 

Source: Marxist Internet Archive.

23.02.1917
The February Revolution
Strikes and protests erupt on women's day in Petrograd and develop into a mass movement involving hundreds of thousands of workers; within 5 days the workers win over the army and bring down the hated and seemingly omnipotent Tsarist Monarchy.
16.04.1917
Lenin Returns
Lenin returns to Russia and presents his ‘April Theses’ denouncing the Bourgeois Provisional Government and calling for “All Power to the Soviets!”
18.06.1917
The June Days
Following the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets, the reformist leaders called a demonstration to show the strength of "democracy". 400,000 people attended, the vast majority carried banners with Bolshevik slogans.
16.07.1917
The July Days
Spontaneous, armed demonstrations against the Provisional Government erupt in Petrograd. The workers and soldiers are suppressed by force, introducing a period of reaction and making the peaceful development of the revolution impossible.
9.09.1917
The Kornilov Affair
Following the July days, the Bolsheviks were driven underground and the forces of reaction were emboldened. This process culminated in the reactionary forces coalescing around General Kornilov, who attempt to march on Petrograd and crush the revolutionary movement in its entirety.
26.10.1917
The October Revolution
The Provisional Government is overthrown. State power passes to the Soviets on the morningm of 26th October, after the Bolsheviks’ Military Revolutionary Committee seize the city and the cabinet surrenders.
  • V. I. Lenin

    V. I. Lenin

    "The dominating trait of his character, the feature which constituted half his make-up, was his will..."
  • L. Trotsky

    L. Trotsky

    “Astounding speeches, fanfares of orders, the unceasing electrifier of a weakening army.”
  • G. Plekhanov

    G. Plekhanov

    "In the final analysis the brilliant aspects of Plekhanov’s character will endure forever."
  • G. O. Zinoviev

    G. O. Zinoviev

    "Zinoviev has won the reputation of being one of the most remarkable orators – a difficult feat."
  • Y. M. Sverdlov

    Y. M. Sverdlov

    “He did not die on the field of battle, but we are right to see him as a man who gave his life for the cause.”
  • V. Volodarsky

    V. Volodarsky

    “He was always to be seen in the front row, the on-the-spot leader. So, they killed him.”
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Reading Guides

  • The 1917 February Revolution

    The 1917 February Revolution

    The February Revolution saw a mass strike develop from below at a furious pace which posed the question of state power within a week of its inception. Workers in Petrograd took to the streets against intolerable bread shortages, the slaughter
  • Lenin Returns in April

    Lenin Returns in April

    This reading guide contains some of Lenin’s most important writings and speeches made in the April period, accompanied by works which provide further details of events at that stage of the Revolution.
  • The June Days 1917

    The June Days 1917

    This reading guide informs the May-June period of the Revolution with analysis, accounts of those who were involved and important speeches and writings of the time.
  • The July Days 1917

    The July Days 1917

    This selection of texts covers the background, events and consequences of the July Days. Next, we will turn our attention to one of those consequences – the Kornilov putsch in late August.
  • The Kornilov affair

    The Kornilov affair

    Kornilov’s failed coup brought the direct action of the masses into play again, and proved to them once and for all that they were the only force in society capable of transforming their own living conditions. For the first time,
  • The October Insurrection 1917

    The October Insurrection 1917

    The following series of articles provides in-depth analyses and first-hand accounts of the events immediately preceding, during and after the greatest event in human history: the October Revolution, in addition to reflections on its aftermath.
  • 1