Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets

Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets was a pivotal assembly convened at the climax of the October Revolution. It opened on October 25, 1917 (Old Style), as Bolshevik forces seized key points in Petrograd, including the Winter Palace. Dominated by the Bolsheviks and their allies the Left SRs, the congress ratified the insurrection and established the first Soviet government, fundamentally altering the course of Russian history.

Background and convocation

The congress was called amidst the profound political crisis following the February Revolution and the failure of the Russian Provisional Government under Alexander Kerensky. Following the Kornilov Affair, support for the Bolsheviks grew rapidly in urban Soviets. The Petrograd Soviet, led by Leon Trotsky, created the Military Revolutionary Committee to coordinate the defense of the capital, which soon became the instrument for insurrection. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee, then controlled by the Mensheviks and Right SRs, attempted to delay the congress, but the Bolshevik Central Committee insisted on its opening. Delegates were elected from local soviets across Russia, with the Bolsheviks securing a large plurality.

Proceedings and key decisions

The congress opened at the Smolny Institute on the evening of October 25, as the Battle for the Winter Palace commenced. Menshevik and Right SR factions denounced the Bolshevik uprising and walked out in protest, led by figures like Julius Martov and Irakli Tsereteli. This left the Bolsheviks and their allies, the Left SRs, in control. The first session heard a report from Vladimir Lenin, who presented the historic Decree on Peace, calling for an immediate end to World War I. It also passed the Decree on Land, which abolished private ownership and distributed estates to peasant committees. These decrees were aimed directly at the soldiers of the Russian Army and the peasantry to secure their support.

Formation of the new government

On October 26, the congress moved to form a new governing authority, rejecting the label of provisional government. It established the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) as the executive arm of the new Soviet state. Vladimir Lenin was elected its Chairman. Key posts were given to leading Bolsheviks, including Leon Trotsky as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and Alexei Rykov as People's Commissar for Internal Affairs. The congress also elected a new All-Russian Central Executive Committee, with Lev Kamenev as its initial chairman, to serve as the supreme legislative body between congress sessions.

Immediate aftermath and significance

The decisions of the congress immediately triggered the Russian Civil War. Opponents, including the deposed Provisional Government, White forces, and the walked-out socialist factions, rejected its legitimacy. The congress’s decrees provided the foundational platform for the Bolshevik regime, rapidly implemented through Sovnarkom decrees. The dispersal of the Russian Constituent Assembly by the Bolsheviks in January 1918 solidified the congress’s role as the claimed source of revolutionary legitimacy, marginalizing alternative democratic bodies.

Legacy and historical assessment

The Second Congress is regarded as the foundational parliament of the Soviet Union. Its decrees formed the basis of early Soviet law and foreign policy. In Soviet historiography, it was celebrated as the triumphant moment of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Post-Soviet and Western scholarship often emphasizes its role in inaugurating a one-party state and the Bolshevik dictatorship, highlighting the walkout of moderate socialists as a critical point in the death of Russian democracy. The institutional framework it created, including the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and Sovnarkom, persisted throughout the history of the USSR.

Category:1917 in Russia Category:Congress of Soviets Category:October Revolution Category:1917 conferences