Second Congress of Soviets

Second Congress of Soviets
Лобачев Владимир · Public domain · source
Name	Second Congress of Soviets
Date	October 25–26, 1917 (Julian)
Location	Petrograd, Russian Republic
Preceded by	First Congress of Soviets
Followed by	Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets

Second Congress of Soviets was the pivotal assembly convened in Petrograd on October 25–26, 1917 (Julian calendar), bringing together delegates from soviets across the former Russian Empire. The congress occurred amid the February Revolution aftermath and the unfolding October Revolution led by the Bolsheviks. It ratified measures that ended the authority of the Provisional Government and legitimized the Council of People's Commissars.

Background

By autumn 1917 the political landscape featured intense contestation among the Bolshevik Party, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionary Party, Trudoviks, and Cadet Party. The ongoing World War I campaigns, including the legacy of the Battle of Tannenberg, and the impact of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk negotiations created crises around Alexei Ruzsky, Lavr Kornilov, and the role of Alexander Kerensky. Petrograd soviets and factory committees had been influenced by figures such as Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Grigory Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev, and Maxim Gorky-aligned cultural circles. Mass movements inspired by events like the July Days and the Kornilov Affair reshaped alignments among Imperial Russian Army soldiers, sailors from the Baltic Fleet, and workers from factories like the Putilov Works.

Convening and Participants

Delegates arrived from soviets in Moscow, Kiev, Riga, Kharkov, Odessa, Baku, Tiflis, and Yekaterinburg, among others. Representatives included delegates associated with the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Petrograd Soviet, Moscow Soviet, and various peasants' soviets linked to the Peasant Union. Prominent attendees were Vladimir Lenin, Lev Kamenev (initially oppositional), Leon Trotsky (as chairman), Nikolay Chkheidze, Matvey Skobelev, and representatives of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries. Military delegates included sailors from the Kronstadt rebellion milieu and officers formerly aligned with General Lavr Kornilov. Foreign observers and exiled revolutionaries in the city included sympathizers from Germany, Finland, Poland, and Latvia.

Key Debates and Resolutions

Debates centered on the transfer of authority from the Provisional Government to soviets, peace policies vis-à-vis the Central Powers, and land redistribution concerning the Land Question in peasant soviets. Resolutions adopted included the Decree on Peace and the Decree on Land, which referenced prior manifestos by Vladimir Lenin and program drafts influenced by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Contentious exchanges involved Mensheviks such as Julius Martov, Alexander Kerensky supporters, and Socialist Revolutionary Party leaders like Victor Chernov. Trotsky's conduct of proceedings, invoking parliamentary maneuvers learned from the Duma era, steered votes on urgent decrees and the recognition of the Council of People's Commissars.

Government Formation and Leadership

The congress authorized the formation of the Council of People's Commissars headed by Vladimir Lenin, with commissariats taken by Leon Trotsky (Foreign Affairs), Lev Kamenev (initially hesitant), Joseph Stalin (Nationalities or Commissar posts later), Alexei Rykov, Viktor Nogin, and Anatoly Lunacharsky. It also ratified the dissolution of the Provisional Government and endorsed the authority of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee as the supreme soviet organ. Internal disputes featured the positions of Left Socialist Revolutionaries and the non-Bolshevik majority in many local soviets, including interventions by figures tied to Nikolai Bukharin, Ivan Skvortsov-Stepanov, and Yakov Sverdlov.

Legislative and Policy Outcomes

Legislation and decrees issued or endorsed by the congress included immediate proclamations on peace, land nationalization, workers' control of factories, and the transfer of authority to soviets across regions such as Ukraine, Belarus, and the Caucasus. The congress influenced subsequent policy measures like nationalization drives that touched enterprises associated with entrepreneurs such as Putilov Works and institutions like the State Duma archives. It set the stage for later instruments including the Decree on Workers' Control, the Decree on Peace, and measures affecting diplomatic relations that would culminate in negotiations leading to Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Financial and administrative shifts affected bodies such as the Provisional Council of the Russian Republic and municipal authorities in Moscow and Petrograd.

Aftermath and Historical Significance

The congress consolidated the revolutionary transfer of power, accelerating the disintegration of Kerensky's authority and reshaping relations with the Allies of World War I including France and United Kingdom. It precipitated political realignments that contributed to the Russian Civil War, drawing actors like the White movement, Red Army, and leaders such as Alexander Kolchak, Anton Denikin, and Nikolai Yudenich into subsequent conflict. The legitimacy conferred by the congress enabled the Bolshevik-led state to pursue policies later institutionalized by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and influenced international revolutionary movements in Germany, Hungary, and China where figures like Rosa Luxemburg, Béla Kun, and Mao Zedong later engaged with soviet ideas. Historians continue to compare the congress’s role against earlier assemblies such as the All-Russian Constituent Assembly and later gatherings like the Tenth Party Congress.

Category:1917 in Russia Category:Russian Revolution Category:Soviets (councils)