October Revolution and the Birth of the USSR

October Revolution of 1917

The Days of October

The socialist revolution began in Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg). Leon Trotsky, opposing the Provisional Government led by Kerensky, organized the Petrograd Soviet. Uprisings of sailors and workers, with the essential participation of the Red Guard (founded by Trotsky), culminated in the assault on the Winter Palace.

Revolutionary Measures: State and Leninism

Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik party, led the political action and dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. A new revolutionary government, the Council of People's Commissars, headed by Lenin, was elected. A new state structure emerged: the All-Russian Congress of Soviets as the legislature, and the Council of People's Commissars as the executive power. Revolutionary Tribunals served as the judiciary.

Key measures included:

• Expropriation of lands from the crown, nobility, and church, and redistribution to the peasants.
• Recognition of self-determination for Russian nationalities.
• Nationalization of companies with more than five workers.
• Nationalization of banks.
• Peace with Germany, resulting in Russian territorial losses (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland).

These actions sparked revolutionary opposition and an offensive against the Soviet state.

Civil War and War Communism

The Russian Civil War

The anti-Bolshevik White Army, composed of Tsarist military, aristocracy, wealthy peasants, and Cossacks, launched an offensive against the Soviet state. The White Army received foreign support from France, England, the USA, Poland, and Japan. The Red Army, controlled by the Bolsheviks, defended the Soviet state. The conflict led to the disappearance of the royal family and foreign intervention in Odessa, Baku, and Petrograd. Ultimately, the White Army was defeated.

War Communism

War Communism entailed absolute state control over the economy. Measures included:

• Nationalization of industry.
• Control over agricultural production.
• Nationalization of banking, commerce, and transport.
• Control over workers.

Consequences included post-war shortages in cities and a subsequent shift in economic policy.

Birth of the USSR

New Scheme and First Steps

Lenin prioritized meeting the demands of the masses. He dissolved the Constituent Assembly, viewing the Soviets as the true democratic model. Soviet power and the dictatorship of the proletariat became the foundation of revolutionary Russia. The first Soviet constitution was adopted in 1918. Peace became the government's primary objective, leading to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, albeit at the cost of significant territorial and population losses for Russia.