The Far Eastern Mensheviks and October 1917

Abstract

The article examines the history of the Menshevik organizations in the Russian Far East for the period from October 1917 until the end of the year. The attitude of the Menshevik Party to the events of October 1917 is covered and the tactics of the Mensheviks in the first months of the Soviet period are analyzed. As early as in this period the Mensheviks focused on the confrontation with the Bolsheviks and the union with other moderate Socialists: the Socialist Revolutionaries as well as bourgeois parties. However, they also admitted the possibility of the alliance with the Bolsheviks based on the idea of a homogeneous socialist government. Much importance is given to the activities of the Far Eastern organizations of the Mensheviks, starting with the moment when the information about the events in the capital was received until the end of 1917. The article analyzes the alignment of political forces in the region and the role played by the Mensheviks. The attitude of the Mensheviks of the Russian Far East to the events in the central part of the country, as well as their tactics in this period, is considered. The article analyzes to what extent the policies of the Far Eastern Menshevik organizations were in line with the resolutions of the Central Committee of the Menshevik Party and the decisions of the party congresses. Based on the analysis of the program and tactics of the Mensheviks, as well as the activities of their Far Eastern organizations, conclusions are drawn about the reasons for their defeat in the confrontation with the Bolsheviks in late 1917 and early 1918.