This article was originally published in The International Socialist, the paper of the Committee for a Worker's International www.socialistworld.net

October 2007 sees the anniversary of the greatest event in human history.  The October 1917 Russian Revolution instituted for the first time working-class power, a Russia when the ordinary people, the workers, peasants and soldiers, took over the running of society. Ronnie Stevenson looks at these momentous events that changed the world.

In February 1917 a process of revolution and counter-revolution began and over the next nine months resulted in October 1917 in the first democratic working-class, socialist revolution in history.

As tsarist General Zalessky, speaking for the 'dispossessed' capitalists and landlords said, when he mournfully surveyed the Russian Revolution:

"Who would believe that the janitor or watchman of the Court building would suddenly become Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals, or the hospital orderly manager of the hospital, the barber a big functionary, yesterday's ensign [junior military officer] the commander-in-chief, yesterday's lackey or common labourer burgomaster, yesterday's train oiler chief of division or station superintendent, yesterday's locksmith head of the factory?"

But that was precisely what Russia became after the Bolsheviks led the Russian masses to overthrow the landlord and capitalist system, crowned by the tsarist dictatorship, which was a torture chamber for the mass of the people. Moreover, only in Russia, following the October overturn, did the workers take power and establish real workers' democracy.

The two crucial factors in the success of the October Revolution were the actual situation itself but most importantly the existence of the Bolshevik Party which consciously led the working class to power.

Imperialist war

The war in Europe – the first World War - between the two competing blocks of the imperialist powers had resulted in untold misery for workers, soldiers and peasants in the trenches and frontline throughout Europe. 

The Tsarist regime had thrown masses of its peoples into the armed forces, ill equipped with clothing and arms, ill fed and ill led.  The stories of the misery in the front got back to the families and others at home and this fed the level of discontent there was with the Tsarist Regime.  The Tsar and his retinue led a life totally unrelated to the ordinary peoples of Russia.  They spoke French most of the time and led lives of indolence in luxury beyond the wildest dreams of ordinary Russians.

For several decades there had been discussions and actions amongst Russians aimed at bringing down the Tsar.  Russia was an extremely backward country compared to the large trading blocs within Europe.  It had relatively little industry, although an important and powerful working class did exist, and a massive population of peasants who relied on working under slave like conditions for the huge landlord class which owned all the land.  The resistance took many forms from acts of individual assassinations of Tsars and other rulers, to seizing of the land for temporary periods to more thorough going attempts at mass uprisings.  The most important had been the Petrograd Uprising of 1905 which was led by Trotsky and the Petrograd Soviet.  This was defeated but many lessons were learned. The importance of the Soviet, an organisation of ordinary people elected from the various strands of Russian society, factories, communities, farms and the army regiments was to play an even more important role in the forthcoming events of 1917.

During the course of these events there had been an accompanying discussion within those striving for the overthrow of the Tsarist regime about how to do it. The components of those discussions ranged from those who aspired to the creation of a democratic parliamentary mode of government in the image of Britain to those around Lenin and Trotsky who believed that a break with the dictatorial Tsarist regime could only be achieved by a break with landlordism and capitalism and the creation of a socialist Russia.  There were others who believed first one and then the other.

These people had undergone many imprisonments, exiles and were under constant scrutiny by the Tsarist secret police and its agents.  They had been involved in many organisational forms but by 1917 the main blocs were the Cadets, the Social Revolutionaries, the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks.

The situation in Russia worsened.  World War 1 had lasted 31 long months by February, 1917.  Russian soldiers were being killed en masse, and bread lines at home were growing longer everyday. Peasants who had been sent to war lost their land by the expropriations of the kulaks, who by 1917 owned 90% of Russia's arable land. Food prices were thus on the rise. In 1916, food prices accelerated three times higher than wages, despite bumper harvests in both 1915 and 1916. The price of grain in 1916, already at two and a half roubles per pud, kulaks anticipated to obtain up to twenty five roubles per pud. Hoping to raise prices, kulaks hoarded their food surplus.

Throughout 1916, the average urban labourer, mostly women, ate between 200 and 300 grams of food a day. In 1917, the Tsarist government permitted the urban populations of Russia to buy only one pound of bread per adult, per day. In practice, workers sometimes went days without food. Strikes became commonplace.

February revolution

These strikes culminated in the strikes on February 23, International Women's Day, when the female textile workers of the Vyborg district of St Petersburg.  By March 2nd the Provisional Government led by a coalition of capitalist liberals, Mensheviks (the original minority in the Russian workers' movement) and the Social Revolutionaries, a party of the middle class of the towns and the rural areas, had been created and the next day the Tsar had been deposed and the Imperial family were arrested.

It immediately became clear that the Provisional government were not prepared to end the war and confront the ruling class with the result that the people became hostile to the Government.  Over the next few months the revolution ebbed and flowed while the fundamental conditions faced by the workers, soldiers and peasants did not change.  Lenin realised that the Provisional Government had to be replaced.  He had to argue for the position of no support for the Provisional Government within the Bolsheviks and not always with success.  Similarly this view was not shared by the overwhelming majority of the masses.

There was even hostility to Lenin and the Bolsheviks as some thought they were trying to derail the reforms which were expected from the Provisional Government.

Even as it became obvious that the pro-capitalist government was not going to deliver the reforms the masses did not move. Although more and more of the advanced workers, soldiers and peasants did move in a revolutionary direction which was reflected in the steady growth of the Bolshevik Party form a few thousand in February to 200,000 by August 1917.

This steady growth amongst the advanced workers was not always reflected in the attitude of the masses.  They still had illusions in the Provisional Government.  There was at times a naive trust in the Provisional Government and a suspicion even hatred of those who were either not wholeheartedly supportive or critical.

The Bolsheviks came in that category and in the months after February Lenin and Trotsky had to be careful with regards to security as the press had whipped up a campaign which resulted in demands for their execution and threats by sailors and soldiers to bayonet Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders.  This hostility probably reached a peak in the period of July.  This followed a war offensive in June when Alexander Kerensky, then minister of war and navy, ordered a vast Russian offensive against Austro-Hungarian forces on 16 June. Despite initial successes, the Russians were defeated and the operation ended on July 2, quickly to be followed by a combined counter-offensive by German and Austro-Hungarian forces on 6 July.

After the failure of the July Offensive on the Eastern Front, Kerensky replaced General Alexei Brusilov with General Lavr Kornilov, as Supreme Commander of the Russian Army. The two men soon clashed about military policy. Kornilov wanted Kerensky to restore the death-penalty for soldiers and to militarize the factories. Kerensky refused and sacked Kornilov.

Kornilov responded by sending troops under the leadership of General Krymov to take control of Petrograd. Kerensky was now in danger and was forced to ask the Soviets and the Red Guards to protect Petrograd. The Bolsheviks, who controlled these organizations, agreed to this request, but in a speech made by their leader, Vladimir Lenin, he made clear they would be fighting against Kornilov rather than for Kerensky.

Anti-war feelings were rife among the populace at that time. These feelings intensified with the news of the failed war offensive. Discontented workers started protests which soon spiralled into violent riots.  The Bolsheviks joined the demonstrations, but believing that the time was not yet ripe cautioned the workers of Petrograd that the rest of Russia was not yet ready for seizing power.

Kerensky reacted with an offensive against Lenin and the Bolsheviks and arrested Trotsky.  Feeling against the Bolsheviks was running high and Lenin went into hiding.  Ironically by August the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Kornilov, drew the conclusion that Kerensky was in league with the Bolsheviks or was in custody and acting under duress and begun a march on Petrograd to seize power.

Kerensky then called on the support of the workers and soldiers in Petrograd to defend the Government.  Within a few days Bolsheviks had enlisted 25,000 armed recruits to defend Petrograd. While they dug trenches and fortified the city, delegations of soldiers were sent out to talk to the advancing troops. Meetings were held, the soldiers deserted Kornilov and the revolt petered out and decided not to attack Petrograd. General Krymov committed suicide and Kornilov was arrested and taken into custody.

Lenin returns

Lenin now returned to Petrograd but remained in hiding. On 25th September, Kerensky attempted to recover his left-wing support by forming a new coalition that included more Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. However, with the Bolsheviks controlling the Soviets and now able to call on 25,000 armed militia, Kerensky's authority had been undermined.

The Bolsheviks set up their headquarters in the Smolny Institute. The former girls' convent school also housed the Petrograd Soviet. Under pressure from the nobility and industrialists, Alexander Kerensky was persuaded to take decisive action. On 22nd October he ordered the arrest of the Military Revolutionary Committee. The next day he closed down the Bolshevik newspapers and cut off the telephones to the Smolny Institute.

Leon Trotsky now urged the overthrow of the Provisional Government. Lenin agreed and on the evening of 24th October, 1917, orders were given for the Bolsheviks to begin to occupy the railway stations, the telephone exchange and the State Bank. The following day the Red Guards surrounded the Winter Palace. Inside was most of the country's Cabinet, although Kerensky had managed to escape from the city.

The Winter Palace was defended by Cossacks, some junior army officers and the Woman's Battalion. At 9 p.m. the Aurora and the Peter and Paul Fortress began to open fire on the palace. Little damage was done but the action persuaded most of those defending the building to surrender. The Red Guards, led by Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, now entered the Winter Palace and arrested the Cabinet ministers.

On 26th October, 1917, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets met and handed over power to the Soviet Council of People's Commissars. Vladimir Lenin was elected chairman and Leon Trotsky put in charge of Foreign Affairs.

From then, for a period, there was a flourishing of workers democracy and power was taken out of the hands of the rich and powerful and taken into the hands of ordinary people.

Since then many opportunities for working class to take democratic control of society has occurred in countries throughout the world. 

Unfortunately the heroism of the people in struggle was not matched by the clear thinking and resolution of their leaders.