Ten Days That Shook the World · Chapter
Events of the Night, November 6th explained
On the night of November 6th, Red Guards and revolutionary forces systematically occupied key institutions in Petrograd, including printing shops, the Telegraph Agency, the Post Office, the Military Hotel, the Telephone Exchange, and the St
What happens
On the night of November 6th, Red Guards and revolutionary forces systematically occupied key institutions in Petrograd, including printing shops, the Telegraph Agency, the Post Office, the Military Hotel, the Telephone Exchange, and the State Bank, while surrounding the Winter Palace by morning. Resistance from the City Militia and yunkers was ineffective, and in one incident, a Colonel and his yunkers sought arrest for their own safety after a mob threatened them.
Themes in this chapter
Proletarian Revolution and Dictatorship
The coordinated occupation of state and communication institutions by Red Guards and soldiers demonstrates the proletarian seizure of power.
Struggle for Legitimacy and Power
The refusal of soldiers to obey orders against the Bolsheviks and the Colonel's plea for arrest highlight the collapse of the Provisional Government's authority.
Characters to notice
- John Reed
Narrator and observer of the night's events.
Key passages
“Toward evening bands of Red Guards began to occupy the printing shops of the bourgeois press, where they printed Rabotchi Put, Soldat, and various proclamations by the hundred thousand.”
In the evening, Red Guard groups took over bourgeois newspaper printing shops, producing mass quantities of Bolshevik publications and proclamations.
Describes the initial seizure of press facilities for propaganda.
“The Colonel thereupon begged that he and the yunkers be arrested and taken to Peter-Paul prison for safety. This request was granted.”
The Colonel then asked to be arrested along with his yunkers and taken to Peter-Paul prison for their own protection, which was done.
Illustrates the reversal of authority and the threat from the crowd.