Ten Days That Shook the World · Chapter
Wine "Pogroms" explained
The chapter describes organized efforts by the Cadets to incite soldiers into wine riots through false telephone messages about free wine.
What happens
The chapter describes organized efforts by the Cadets to incite soldiers into wine riots through false telephone messages about free wine. The Council of People's Commissars responded by appointing a Commissar for the Fight Against Drunkenness, who suppressed the riots and destroyed vast quantities of liquor, including rare vintages from the Winter Palace cellars valued at over five million dollars. The Cronstadt sailors, praised by Trotsky as the 'flower and pride of the revolutionary forces,' carried out the destruction with iron self-discipline.
Themes in this chapter
Counterrevolution and Civil War
The wine riots were seen as a counterrevolutionary tactic by the Cadets to provoke chaos and weaken the Bolshevik government.
Workers' Control and Economic Transformation
The destruction of valuable wine stocks reflects the Bolshevik effort to impose discipline and prevent economic waste during the revolutionary transition.
Characters to notice
- Leon Trotsky
Praised the Cronstadt sailors as the 'flower and pride of the revolutionary forces' for their disciplined role in destroying wine.
Key passages
“It was afterward discovered that there was a regular organisation, maintained by the Cadets, for provoking rioting among the soldiers.”
Later investigations revealed that the Cadets had a systematic scheme to incite soldiers to riot.
Highlights the alleged counterrevolutionary plot by the Cadets.
“The Council of People’s Commissars appointed a Commissar for the Fight Against Drunkenness, who, besides mercilessly putting down the wine riots, destroyed hundreds of thousands of bottles of liquor.”
The Bolshevik government created a special commissar to suppress the wine riots and destroy large quantities of alcohol.
Shows the Bolshevik response to the disorder.
“In this work the Cronstadt sailors, “flower and pride of the revolutionary forces,” as Trotsky called them, acquitted themselves with iron self-discipline.”
The Cronstadt sailors, whom Trotsky described as the finest of the revolutionary troops, carried out the task with strict discipline.
Emphasizes the role and reputation of the Cronstadt sailors.