October Revolution (October Armed Revolt) of 1917

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OCTOBER REVOLUTION (OCTOBER ARMED REVOLT) of 1917, the name accepted in Soviet historical literature of the events in Petrograd of 24 -26 October (6 -8 November) 1917, which ended with the overthrow of the Provisional government and the transition of power to the Soviets (in Bolshevik literature up to the beginning of 1920s and in opposition propaganda, these events were called the October Coup). Organized by the Bolshevik Party and achieved under its supervision by the Red Guards, soldiers of the Petrograd garrison and sailors from the Baltic fleet. The Sixth Congress of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (Bolsheviks) in July-August 1917 decided to follow Lenin's suggestion to seize power through armed force. In the middle of September 1917, in his letters to the Central Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (Bolsheviks), Lenin demanded "an initiation of an armed uprising within a few days" and formulated a plan for its accomplishment. But under the influence of L.B. Kamenev and G.E. Zinovyev, the Central Committee did not, at that moment, support his position. At the 10 (23) October sitting of the Central Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (Bolsheviks), Lenin, who had just returned illegally to Petrograd, gave a report on the current situation. By ten votes against two (Kamenev and Zinovyev), a resolution was passed stating that an armed revolt was necessary and that things the timing was right. A widened sitting of the Central Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party on the night of 16 (29) October supported Lenin's resolution despite Kamenev's and Zinovyev's objections. The Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee was elected over the course of this sitting (A.S. Bubnov, F.E. Dzerzhinsky, Y.M. Sverdlov, I.V. Stalin, M.S. Uritsky), serving as a party centre for supervision of the rebellion. The directing centres of the rebellion were in Smolny, which housed the Central Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (Bolsheviks), the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee, and the Petrograd Soviet (headed by L. D. Trotsky). The Red Guards (over 20,000 people), a considerable part of the Petrograd Garrison (150,000 people), naval crew sailors, along with those belonging to free detachments from Kronstadt and Gelsingfors sent by the Baltic Centre, all came under the supervision of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee. The Provisional Government also came to count on military cadets (approximately 7,000 people), students from five Petrograd Officers' Schools (about 1,000 people) and some military units ("shock troops", Cossack Regiments), all in all some 10,000 people. The Staff and High Command on the Northern Front received an order to hasten the transfer of troops to the capital. On 24 October (6 November), at 06:00, a detachment of military cadets captured the printing house of the Bolshevik newspaper Rabochy Put (40 Kavalergardskaya Street), and the Provisional Government ordered the arrest of members of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee. In response, the Pertograd Military Revolutionary Committee ordered soldiers from the Lithuanian Regiment and the Sapper's Battalion to remove the military cadets from the printing house; they succeeded, and readied their armed forces for further battle. Red Guard Detachments, units of soldiers, deserters from military units, Petrograd district volunteers, as well as those form plants and factories, were all called to Smolny. During the day of 24 October, military cadets tried to raise the bridges over the Neva, but detachments of the Red Guards placed soldiers on all bridges, with the exception of the Dvortsovy and Nikolaevsky bridges. The Central Telegraph Office, the Petrograd Telegraph Agency, and the Baltic Railway Station were all occupied by the Red Guards, and the military colleges were blockaded. Late in the evening, Lenin arrived at Smolny from his secret flat (in Serdobolskaya Street). In the early hours of 25 October (7 November), by order of Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee, the Main Post Office, the Nikolaevsky and Varshavsky Railway Stations, the Central Electric Power Station, the Central Telephone Station, and the State Bank were all occupied by the Bolsheviks. At 03.30, the Aurora cruiser took up a position near the Nikolaevsky Bridge. By the morning of 25 October (7 November), the city was in the hands of Bolshevik forces. The Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee published an appeal titled, "To the citizens of Russia!" in which it proclaimed the overthrow of the Provisional Government and transition of the state power to the committee. Throughout the day, revolutionary forces occupied the Mariinsky Palace, where they dissolved the Provisional Parliament; in the evening they occupied the Main Admiralty. By 18:00, Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee troops surrounded the district of Palace Square. About 11.000 people participated in the operation of occupying the Winter Palace (including the Pavlovsky and Keksgolmsky Regiments, the 2nd Baltic Naval Crew, and combined detachments of Red Guards and sailors from Kronstadt). The Winter Palace Garrison numbered about 2,700 people (military cadets, Cossacks, the female "shock battalion" company). At 19:00, on 25 October, the Provisional Government was given an ultimatum. At 21:40, on a signal from St. Peter and Paul Fortress, the Aurora cruiser fired a blank shot. Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee troops began their offensive. At about 23:00, the first groups began to penetrate the Palace. At 2:10, on 26 October (8 November), members of the Provisional Government were arrested in the Small Dining Room (the head-minister A.F. Kerensky left for the Northern Front Staff that day), and the military cadets and female shock troops were disarmed. The arrested ministers were sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress. During the capture of the palace, some of its apartments were looted and destroyed, but the Hermitage treasure escaped almost without harm. All in all, 46 people were killed in Petrograd over the course of the October events, and about 50 people were wounded. Throughout the revolt, everyday life continued in Petrograd, with working trams, and open theatres and cinemas. As a result of the coup, power in Petrograd and in the country nominally passed to the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee, effectively transferring state power to the Bolsheviks, which was legally justified at the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets.

Reference: Октябрьское вооруженное восстание: Семнадцатый год в Петрограде. Л., 1967. Кн. 2; МельгуновС. П . Как большевики захватили власть: Окт. переворот 1917 г. Лондон, 1984; Старцев В. И. Штурм Зимнего: Док. очерк. Л., 1987; Суханов Н. Н. Записки о революции: В 3 т. М., 1992. Т. 3, кн. 6-7.

A. M. Kulegin. Bubnov Andrey Sergeevich
Dzerzhinsky Ivan Ivanovich
Kamenev (Rozenfeld) Lev Borisovich
Kerensky Alexander Fedorovich
Lenin (real name Ulyanov) Vladimir Ilyich
Stalin (real name Dzhugashvili) Iosif Vissarionovich
Sverdlov Yakov Mikhailovich
Trotsky (real name Bronstein) Lev Davidovich
Uritsky Moisey Solomonovich
Zinovyev Grigory Evseevich
Kavalergardskaya Street/Saint Petersburg, city, house 40
Serdobolskaya St./Saint Petersburg, city
Октябрьское вооруженное восстание: Семнадцатый год в Петрограде. Л., 1967
Старцев В. И. Штурм Зимнего: Док. очерк. Л., 1987
Суханов Н. Н. Записки о революции: В 3 т. М., 1992
Мельгунов С. П. Как большевики захватили власть: Окт. переворот 1917 г. Лондон, 1984 Baltic Fleet
Provisional Government of 1917
Smolny Architectural Ensemble
Baltiysky Railway Station
Post Office, Central
Post Office, Central
Moskovsky Railway Station
Varshavsky Railway Station
State Bank
Aurora, cruiser
Mariinsky Palace
Admiralty
Winter Palace
Pavlovsky Life Guards Regiment
St. Peter and Paul fortress
St. Peter and Paul fortress
Hermitage
Hermitage
1917