# Appendix to Chapter VII explained — Ten Days That Shook the World

> Chapter companion for Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed.

## What happens

This appendix contains two key decrees issued by the new Bolshevik government: the Decree on the Press, which temporarily restricts counterrevolutionary newspapers, and the Decree on Workers' Militia, which authorizes the formation of armed workers' units. It also describes the strike fund used by businesses to pay striking government employees and bank clerks in an attempt to undermine Bolshevik authority.

## Themes in this chapter

### Workers' Control and Economic Transformation

The Decree on Workers' Militia empowers workers to form armed units under Soviet authority, a step toward proletarian control.

### Counterrevolution and Civil War

The press decree targets counterrevolutionary publications, while the strike fund shows organized bourgeois resistance, foreshadowing civil conflict.

## Character check-ins

### Vladimir Lenin

Signed the Decree on the Press as President of the Council of People's Commissars.

### Alexei Rykov

Issued the Decree on Workers' Militia as People's Commissar of the Interior.

## Key lines

> the bourgeois press is one of the most powerful weapons of the bourgeoisie. Especially in this critical moment, when the new authority of the workers and peasants is in process of consolidation, it is impossible to leave it in the hands of the enemy, at a time when it is not less dangerous than bombs and machine-guns.

The Bolsheviks argue that the bourgeois press is as dangerous as weapons during the consolidation of their power, justifying temporary censorship.

_This rationale underlies the Decree on the Press, balancing revolutionary necessity against freedom of the press._

> This decree encouraged the formation of companies of Red Guards all over Russia, which became the most valuable arm of the Soviet Government in the ensuing civil war.

The Decree on Workers' Militia led to widespread creation of Red Guard units, essential for the Bolsheviks in the civil war.

_Highlights the practical outcome of the decree in strengthening Bolshevik military capacity._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/appendix-to-chapter-vii
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