Ten Days That Shook the World · Chapter
Events at Tsarskoye Selo explained
As Kerensky's troops retreat from Tsarskoye Selo, priests organize a religious procession supporting the Provisional Government.
What happens
As Kerensky's troops retreat from Tsarskoye Selo, priests organize a religious procession supporting the Provisional Government. Red Guards arrest and shoot Father Ivan Kutchurov for inciting against the Soviets. The electric lights are shut off, and the plant director, Lubovitch, is found dead. Red Guards also search the home of the ill Plekhanov, accusing him of betraying the revolution.
Themes in this chapter
Class Conflict and Polarization
The Red Guards' interrogation of Plekhanov, a veteran revolutionary, shows the deepening class divide and distrust of intellectuals and former allies.
Counterrevolution and Civil War
The religious procession supporting the Provisional Government and the violent response from Red Guards reflect the early clashes of the civil war.
Characters to notice
- Alexander Kerensky
His troops retreated from Tsarskoye Selo.
- Father Ivan Kutchurov
Arrested and shot by Red Guards for inciting against the Soviets.
- Georgi Plekhanov
Ill at Tsarskoye Selo, his home was searched by Red Guards who accused him of selling out to the bourgeoisie.
Key passages
“When the Cossacks had retreated, and the first Red Guards entered the town, witnesses reported that the priests had incited the people against the Soviets, and had said prayers at the grave of Rasputin, which lies behind the Imperial Palace.”
After the Cossacks withdrew and Red Guards arrived, witnesses claimed priests stirred up opposition to the Soviets and prayed at Rasputin's grave behind the palace.
Describes the priests' counter-revolutionary actions as perceived by witnesses.
“The director of the electric light plant, Lubovitch, was arrested by the Soviet troops and asked why he had shut off the lights. He was found some time later in the room where he had been imprisoned with a revolver in his hand and a bullet hole in his temple.”
Lubovitch, the power plant director, was arrested for turning off the lights and later found dead in his cell from a gunshot wound.
Suggests possible execution or suicide amid the chaos.
““What class of society do you belong to?” they asked him. “I am a revolutionist,” answered Plekhanov, “who for forty years has devoted his life to the struggle for liberty!” “Anyway,” said a workman, “you have now sold yourself to the bourgeoisie!””
When asked his class, Plekhanov declared himself a lifelong revolutionary, but a worker retorted that he had betrayed the cause to the bourgeoisie.
Illustrates the rejection of Plekhanov by the radicalized workers.