Ten Days That Shook the World · Chapter
Limitations of This Chapter explained
This chapter covers a two-month period during which the Soviet Government consolidated its political power at home, including negotiations with the Allies and Germans, the armistice, and the beginning of the Brest-Litovsk peace talks, thoug
What happens
This chapter covers a two-month period during which the Soviet Government consolidated its political power at home, including negotiations with the Allies and Germans, the armistice, and the beginning of the Brest-Litovsk peace talks, though these major events are reserved for another volume. The focus is on the Soviet Government's efforts to overcome hostile domestic elements, interrupted by the Peace of Brest-Litovsk.
Themes in this chapter
Struggle for Legitimacy and Power
The chapter focuses on the Soviet Government's attempts to consolidate political power at home and conquer hostile domestic elements.
Key passages
“This chapter extends over a period of two months, more or less. It covers the time of negotiations with the Allies, the negotiations and armistice with the Germans, and the beginning of the Peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk, as well as the period in which were laid the foundations of the Soviet State.”
The chapter spans roughly two months, covering Allied and German negotiations, the armistice, the start of Brest-Litovsk peace talks, and the establishment of the Soviet State's foundations.
The author outlines the scope of the chapter, which includes multiple major diplomatic and state-building events.
“In this chapter, then, I have confined myself to the Soviet Government’s attempts to consolidate its political power at home, and sketched its successive conquests of hostile domestic elements—which process was temporarily interrupted by the disastrous Peace of Brest-Litovsk.”
The chapter is limited to describing the Soviet Government's domestic consolidation and its victories over internal enemies, a process halted by the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty.
The author clarifies the chapter's narrow focus on internal political struggles, excluding the broader international events.