Ten Days That Shook the World · Chapter
IV: The Fall of the Provisional Government explained
The chapter describes the immediate aftermath of the Bolshevik insurrection in Petrograd, including the distribution of the proclamation announcing the fall of the Provisional Government, the tense standoff between a crowd of opposition fig
What happens
The chapter describes the immediate aftermath of the Bolshevik insurrection in Petrograd, including the distribution of the proclamation announcing the fall of the Provisional Government, the tense standoff between a crowd of opposition figures and armed sailors on the Nevsky, and the opening of the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets at Smolny. It captures the chaos, the transfer of power to the Military Revolutionary Committee, and the reactions of various political factions as the Bolsheviks consolidate control.
Themes in this chapter
Struggle for Legitimacy and Power
The chapter highlights the contest for authority between the Provisional Government, the Military Revolutionary Committee, and the Congress of Soviets, with the Bolsheviks asserting their mandate through insurrection.
Workers' Control and Economic Transformation
The proclamation promises 'labor control over production' and the creation of a Soviet government, reflecting the Bolsheviks' commitment to workers' control.
Counterrevolution and Civil War
The chapter foreshadows civil conflict with references to troops marching against Petrograd, the formation of opposition groups, and the tense standoff on the Nevsky.
Characters to notice
- John Reed
Narrator and participant, distributing the proclamation and observing events.
- Leon Trotsky
Declares the Provisional Government deposed and announces the new Soviet power at the Congress.
- Vladimir Lenin
Appears at the Congress to a mighty ovation, prophesying worldwide social revolution.
- Nikolai Avksentiev
Recognized among the crowd of opposition figures attempting to march to the Winter Palace.
- Grigory Schreider
Mayor of Petrograd, leading the protest march and arguing with the sailors.
- Sergei Prokopovich
Minister of Supplies, arrested and released, then leading the protest with Schreider.
- Nikolai Krylenko
Announces the Twelfth Army's support for the insurrection at the Congress.
- Fyodor Dan
Presides over the opening of the Second Congress of Soviets as a Menshevik leader.
Key passages
“To the Citizens of Russia! The Provisional Government is deposed. The State Power has passed into the hands of the organ of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, the Military Revolutionary Committee, which stands at the head of the Petrograd proletariat and garrison.”
The Military Revolutionary Committee announced that the Provisional Government had been overthrown and that all state authority now belonged to the Petrograd Soviet.
This proclamation, distributed on the night of November 7, formally declared the Bolshevik takeover.
“The characteristic of bourgeois governments is to deceive the people. We, the Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies, are going to try an experiment unique in history; we are going to found a power which will have no other aim but to satisfy the needs of the soldiers, workers, and peasants.”
Trotsky argued that bourgeois governments are inherently deceptive, while the new Soviet government would be the first in history to serve the interests of workers, soldiers, and peasants.
Trotsky's speech at the Congress of Soviets articulated the Bolsheviks' vision of a new type of state.
“The will of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets has been anticipated by the rising of the Petrograd workers and soldiers!”
Trotsky asserted that the insurrection had already fulfilled the Congress's mandate before it could formally vote.
This statement justified the Bolsheviks' unilateral action and preempted objections from moderate socialists.
