Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 Page 1

How Did the Bolsheviks come to Predominate, Politically and Theoretically in the Russian Revolutionary Movement up to October 1917?

With the use of armed forces to disperse the crowd, the condemnation of Bolsheviks as German spies, and Lenin’s escape to Finland, it appeared in July of 1917 that the Provisional government had successfully asserted is authority. However in just three months it had been overthrown, and under the banner of ‘All power to the Soviets’ the Bolsheviks held government. It is often claimed that the Bolsheviks seized power in October through violence and deception, however the explanation may also lie in the failure of the provisional government, and clever tactics of Lenin and the Bolshevik party. The unlikely combinations of conservative and liberal historians believe that the Bolsheviks were conscious deceivers, power hungry intellectual zealots who posed as the friends of the oppressed, in order to gain the support of the masses. Whilst other political groups have seen the Bolsheviks as practicing in problematic political theory, having a highly optimistic estimation of the national and international situation. In this essay I intend to illustrate how both politically and theoretically a minority party could take control of Russia.

Theoretically
Marxism, or Scientific Socialism, is the name given to the body of ideas first worked out by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895). In their totality, these ideas provide a fully worked-out theoretical basis for the struggle of the working class to attain a higher form of human society--socialism.

Change in Methodology
The first relevant point to make in the arrival of the Bolsheviks in power was the change of attitude towards revolution from within the party. The Bolshevik party strongly supported the theory of Karl Marx’s socialist writings, and this was no greater advocated than in two of its’ most important leaders Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and Leon Trotsky. These two charismatic figures, which although in previous years had many differences of opinion, joined forces with the single goal of leading a proletariat revolution. Importantly Bolshevism underwent this major change in early 1917, when the nature of the February revolution caused Lenin to re-evaluate party strategy. Trotsky had recognised the importance of the role the working classes played in the 1905 revolution, but it was believed a bourgeois revolution would always have to precede a proletariat one. This attitude that the proletariat could only seize power in an advanced capitalist country as stated by Karl Marx soon changed though. On his return to Russia Lenin wrote his April thesis, in my opinion the most important paper of 20th Century Russian history. In his thesis Lenin demanded that the people could not wait but must seize power immediately. The April thesis is therefore the turning point of the party, no longer would they support a bourgeoisie government and wait for the time to be right for a proletariat uprising, they would bring power to the soviets now. Although at first many members of the Bolsheviks were shocked by this change in policy, by April 1917 the party conference endorsed Lenin’s doctrine.

The theory of permanent revolution was first formulated in the wake of the 1905 Russian Revolution as an attempt to explain what class would need to lead the coming revolution in Russia. Trotsky agreed with the other Russian Marxists that it would have to initially be bourgeois-democratic in character in order to accomplish such tasks as the overthrow of the Tsarist regime and the transformation of agrarian relations. Trotsky wrote: "The permanent revolution, in the sense which Marx attached to this concept, means a revolution which makes no compromise with any single form of class rule, which does not stop at the democratic stage, which goes over to socialist measures and to war against reaction from without; that is, a revolution whose every successive stage is rooted in the preceding one and which can end only in complete liquidation."

The April Thesis

The April Thesis appeared to offer immediate solution to the problems in Russia, whilst Kerensky was still calling for patience. Lenin argued that the party should take power before Kerensky could steal their popular policies. The Bolsheviks believed that the state should take over the economy in order to regulate it, ensure jobs were available, and redress the balance between the wealthy and poor. They believed this could only be achieved if the government was dedicated to the interests of the revolution and democracy, simply put, the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks push for state power was not based on a quest for power as such, but they saw themselves as the only organisation that could seize power in Russia, and spark off the European revolutionary upsurge.

The Bolsheviks constantly questioned the legitimacy of the Provisional government, whilst working to increase its power in the Petrograd Soviet, the alternative authority.

Lenin believed that Marxism gave Bolshevism a scientific background, he stated, “Our theory is not a dogma, but a guide to action”. The Bolsheviks were the ones who must prepare the second revolution.
“To deal with the question of ‘completion’ of the bourgeoisie revolution in the old way is to sacrifice living Marxism to the dead letter” (Collected works volume 23, pp306-307) Lenin made the point that surrendering power to the bourgeoisie would be to against Marxism.
Lenin went against Revolutionary Defensism believing it was the worst enemy of the future revolution, the “worst enemy of the future progress and success of the Russian Revolution”. It was as a result of deception of the masses by the bourgeoisie.
Also calls for “no support for the provisional government”, and no support for the war, “demand that this government, a government of capitalists should cease to be an imperialist government” .
Calls for a transfer of power to the soviets of workers deputies, and the abolition of the police, army, and bureaucracy.
Wages of all officials not to exceed that of the average competent worker.
“Nationalisation of all lands”
“Amalgamation of all banks in the country in to a single national bank”
“The soviet of workers deputies are the only possible form of revolutionary government”.

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