Ten Days That Shook the World · Chapter
The Committee for Salvation explained
On Friday, November 9th, the Committee for Salvation meets at the Duma, rallying diverse anti-Bolshevik groups.
What happens
On Friday, November 9th, the Committee for Salvation meets at the Duma, rallying diverse anti-Bolshevik groups. Skobeliev reports new adhesions, while debates rage over whether to include the Bolsheviks in a new government. Meanwhile, Kerensky issues orders from Gatchina, Kaledin declares power on the Don, and the Military Revolutionary Committee struggles to maintain control amid strikes, censorship, and spreading insurrection across Russia.
Themes in this chapter
Struggle for Legitimacy and Power
The Committee for Salvation and the Bolsheviks vie for recognition as the legitimate authority, with the Duma, Soviets, and various organizations taking sides.
Counterrevolution and Civil War
Kaledin's march north, Kerensky's counteroffensive, and the formation of Committees for Salvation signal the onset of organized armed resistance to the Bolshevik uprising.
Class Conflict and Polarization
The chapter highlights deep divisions: workers and soldiers support the Soviets, while officers, yunkers, and the middle class back the Government, reflecting stark class polarization.
Characters to notice
- Matvei Skobelev
Reports new adhesions to the Committee for Salvation and argues for excluding both Bolsheviks and Cadets.
- Julius Martov
Pleads for admitting Bolsheviks to the new government, arguing they represent an important political party.
- Alexander Kerensky
Issues orders from Gatchina as Minister-President and Supreme Commander, calling for loyal troops to advance.
- Alexei Kaledin
Declares himself in power on the Don, supporting the Provisional Government against the Bolsheviks.
- Colonel Mikhail Muraviov
Appointed by the Military Revolutionary Committee to command the defense of Petrograd.
- Captain Gomberg
Mentions that the Bolshevik Commissar is with the Mayor and that the Duma may be dissolved.
Key passages
“The power of the Soviets is not democratic power, but a dictatorship—and not the dictatorship of the proletariat, but against the proletariat.”
Skobeliev argues that Soviet power is a dictatorship opposed to the proletariat, not one representing it.
Skobeliev's speech at the Committee for Salvation.
“Let us swear that either the Revolution shall be saved—or we shall perish!”
Skobeliev calls for a solemn vow to save the Revolution or die trying.
Climactic appeal at the Committee meeting.
“They have betrayed Russia. They have started civil war and opened the front to the Germans. The Bolsheviki must be mercilessly crushed.”
A speaker accuses the Bolsheviks of treason and demands their ruthless suppression.
Anti-Bolshevik sentiment at the Committee for Salvation.
“It is our decree—it is the Socialist Revolutionary programme, intact! My party framed that policy... It is an outrage.”
A young Socialist Revolutionary complains that the Bolsheviks' Land Decree is stolen from his party's own program.
Conversation with a Socialist Revolutionary about the Land Decree.
“Kaledin is the enemy of the Revolution, but the Bolsheviki are equally enemies of the Revolution.”
The Socialist Revolutionary considers both Kaledin and the Bolsheviks as enemies of the Revolution.
Expression of political polarization.
“Old Russia was no more; human society flowed molten in primal heat, and from the tossing sea of flame was emerging the class struggle, stark and pitiless—and the fragile, slowly-cooling crust of new planets.”
Reed metaphorically describes the dissolution of old Russia and the emergence of a new class-based order from revolutionary upheaval.
Reed's reflection on the transformative impact of the Bolshevik uprising.
