Ten Days That Shook the World · Chapter
XI: The Conquest of Power explained
This chapter details the Bolshevik consolidation of power after the insurrection, including the collapse of the government employees' strike, the nationalization of banks, the establishment of the Supreme Council of People's Economy, and th
What happens
This chapter details the Bolshevik consolidation of power after the insurrection, including the collapse of the government employees' strike, the nationalization of banks, the establishment of the Supreme Council of People's Economy, and the implementation of land and army reforms. It covers the negotiations for a coalition government with other socialist parties, the Bolshevik conditions for power-sharing, and the rejection of excluding Lenin and Trotsky. The chapter also describes the Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia, the rise of independent republics, and the systematic sabotage by former government employees and the intelligentsia, highlighting the challenges of building a new socialist state.
Themes in this chapter
Proletarian Revolution and Dictatorship
The chapter describes the Bolshevik conquest of power as driven by the masses, not a small clique, and the establishment of a Soviet government responsible to the Tsay-ee-kah, reflecting the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Class Conflict and Polarization
The strike of government employees backed by commercial interests, the resistance of the propertied classes, and the opposition of the intelligentsia highlight the deep class divisions and conflict.
Workers' Control and Economic Transformation
Decrees on workers' control, nationalization of banks, and the Supreme Council of People's Economy illustrate the Bolshevik efforts to transform the economy under working-class control.
National Self-Determination and Emancipation
The Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia and the subsequent declarations of independence by Ukraine and Finland embody the principle of national self-determination.
Characters to notice
- Vladimir Lenin
Lenin is referenced as a key figure barred from the proposed coalition government and as the President of the Council of People's Commissars, signing the Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia.
- Leon Trotsky
Trotsky is mentioned as barred from the coalition, later downplaying the negotiations, and as the People's Commissar who faced resistance at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Lev Kamenev
Kameniev reads the Bolshevik resolution on coalition conditions to the Tsay-ee-kah, explaining the party's stance on the People's Council and the exclusion of Lenin and Trotsky.
- Vladimir Karelin
Karelin, for the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, declares support for the Bolshevik resolution and demands the Ministry of Agriculture for his party.
- Victor Tchernov
Tchernov is mentioned as the tentative Premier in the proposed coalition government.
- Nikolai Avksentiev
Avksentiev is referenced as the appointer of delegates from the Peasants' Soviets, which the Bolsheviks reject.
- Alexander Shliapnikov
Shliapnikov attempts to take possession of the Ministry of Labour but faces a strike and sabotage by employees.
- Anatoly Neratov
Neratov, former assistant Foreign Minister, disappears with the Secret Treaties, complicating Trotsky's takeover.
Key passages
“The only reason for Bolshevik success lay in their accomplishing the vast and simple desires of the most profound strata of the people, calling them to the work of tearing down and destroying the old, and afterward, in the smoke of falling ruins, cooperating with them to erect the framework of the new.”
The Bolsheviks succeeded because they fulfilled the deep, basic wishes of the common people, mobilizing them to demolish the old order and then build a new one together.
This summarizes the author's interpretation of Bolshevik success as rooted in popular support and revolutionary transformation.
“The proposal to exclude Lenin and Trotsky is a proposal to decapitate our party, and we do not accept it.”
Excluding Lenin and Trotsky from the government would be like cutting off the head of the Bolshevik party, and we reject that condition.
Kameniev's statement underscores the Bolshevik insistence on their leaders' inclusion in any coalition.
“Deprived of arms, the opposition, which still controlled the economic life of the country, settled down to organise disorganisation, with all the Russian genius for cooperative action—to obstruct, cripple and discredit the Soviets.”
The opposition, though disarmed, used their economic power to systematically create chaos, obstructing and discrediting the Soviet government with remarkable coordination.
This describes the sabotage campaign by anti-Bolshevik elements after the insurrection.
