The Question of Power in the October Days of 1917

Abstract

The history of the October armed uprising in Moscow and Petrograd has been studied fairly well. The Bolsheviks' activities directed toward preparing an uprising in Petrograd and toward mobilizing revolutionary forces in Moscow, the activity of counterrevolutionary forces, the course of the uprising, and the rebuffing of the first anti-Soviet attacks have all been examined.1 Nevertheless, our historical literature lacks a comprehensive idea of the complex knot of contradictions which was cut by the successful uprising in the capitals. Analysis of the political struggle of those days in regard to the question of power has been overshadowed by considerations of the universal significance of the historical victory won by the Russian proletariat under Bolshevik Party leadership. A many-sided review of this problem, however, is necessary. It not only does not diminish the significance of the October victory, but emphasizes even more its importance and the timeliness of Lenin's posing the question of an armed uprising.