Petrograd Soviet - Rise of The Bolsheviks

Rise of The Bolsheviks

The Bolsheviks rapidly assumed the mantle of the official opposition, and took advantage of the new socialist presence in the Cabinet to attack them for the failures of the Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks began a strong run of propaganda. In June, 100,000 copies of Pravda (including Soldatskaya Pravda, Golos Pravdy, and Okopnaya Pravda) were printed daily. In July, over 350,000 leaflets were distributed. The July Days riots from July 16–17 led by the Bolsheviks were without success.

The rise of Kerensky, and the later shock of the Kornilov affair, polarized the political scene. The Petrograd Soviet moved steadily leftwards, just as those of the center and right consolidated around Kerensky. Despite the events in July, the Ispolkom moved to protect the Bolsheviks from serious consequences, adopting resolutions on August 4 and August 18 against the arrest and prosecution of Bolsheviks. Still wary of the Ispolkom, the government released many senior Bolsheviks on bail or promise of good behavior.

In the August 20 municipal elections, the Bolsheviks took a third of the votes, a 50 percent increase in three months. There was also a general falling away in the attendance of soviet meetings. Indeed, many of the smaller soviets no longer existed except on paper.

During the Kornilov affair, the Ispolkom was forced to use the Bolsheviks' military as its main force against the "counter-revolution." Kerensky ordered the distribution of 40,000 rifles to the workers of Petrograd (some Red Guards), many of which ended in the hands of Bolshevik groups.

As all other socialist parties abandoned the Soviet organizations, the Bolsheviks increased their presence. On September 25, they gained a majority in the Workers' Section and Leon Trotsky was elected chairman. He directed the transformation of the Soviet into an adjunct of the party, bypassing the Menshevik-SR Ispolkom and non-Bolshevik soviets to form a new Bolshevik control structure.

The Bolsheviks used their power in the Petrograd Soviet to set up a second All-Russian Congress of Soviets on October 20 (agreed September 26), despite only eight of 169 soldiers' or workers' soviets expressing support. The Ispolkom denounced the Congress and the steps the Bolsheviks were taking to create its delegates. On October 17 the Ispolkom Bureau approved the Congress.