Table Of ContentDOCUMENTS
OF
SOVIET
HISTORY
Related Titles From
ACADEMIC INTERNATIONAL PRESS
USSR Facts & Figures Annual
USSR Calendar of Events Annual
USSR Documents Annual
Documents of Soviet-American Relations
DOCUMENTS
OF
SOVIET HISTORY
EDITED BY
REX A. WADE
VOLUME I
THE TRIUMPH OF BOLSHEVISM
I917-I919
Academic International Press
1991
Special achriowlec ement must be given to
Stephanie Jawcett Settle
my research assistant in the preparation of this volume.
Sier dedicated and (knowledgeable wor
contributed immensely to its completion.
DOCUMENTS OF SOVIET HISTORY. VOLUME 1. THE TRIUMPH
OF BOLSHEVISM, 1917-1919. Edited by Rex A. Wade
Copyright © 1991 by Academic International Press
All rights reserved. The reproduction or utilization of this work,
or any part thereof in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
digital, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
xeroxgraphy photocopying, and recording, and in any information
storage and retrieval system, by any individual, institution or library
is forbidden under law without the written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 0-87569-120-X
Composition by Barbara Knoelke
Printed in the United States of America
By direct subscription with the publisher
A list ofAcademic International Press publications
is found at the end of this volume
ACADEMIC INTERNATIONAL PRESS
POB 1 1 1 1 GULF BREEZE FL 32562
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
1 THE YEAR 1917
The Overthrow of the Provisional Government and Establishment of
Soviet Power. October 25 (November 7) 1917 1
The Bolsheviks* Socialist Opponents Denounce the Bolshevik Revolu-
tion and Leave the Congress of Soviets. October 25-26 (November
7-8) 1917 1
The Menshevik-Intemationalists Appeal to the Congress of Soviets for a
Broad Socialist Government and Warn of Civil War. October 25-26
(November 7-8) 1917 3
Resolution of the Second Congress of Soviets on the Withdrawal of the
Mensheviks and SRs. October 25-26 (November 7-8) 1917 3
Proclamation of Assumption of Power by the Congress of Soviets.
October 25-26 (November 7-8) 1917 4
Decree on Peace. October 26 (November 8) 1917 6
Decree on Land. October 26 (November 8) 1917 8
Formation and Composition of the New Government. October 26
(November 28) 1917 11
Censorship of the Press. October 27 (November 9) 1917 12
The Spread of the Revolution: Saratov. October 27 (November 9) 1917 13
On Popular Education. October 29 (November 11) 1917 16
Decree on the Eight-Hour Workday and the Duration and Division of
Working Time. October 29 (November 1 1) 1917 19
The Vikzhel Appeal for a Broad Socialist Government. October 29
(November 11)1917 22
The Bolshevik Central Committee Rejects a Broad-based Socialist Gov-
ernment. November 2 (15) 1917 23
Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia. November 2 (15) 1917 24
The Spread of the Revolution Delayed: Kharkov. November 2 (15) 1917 26
Central Executive Committee Debate on Censorship, on its Relationship
to the Council of People’s Commissars, and the Resignation of Several
Bolshevik Leaders. November 4 (17) 1917 27
Proclamation of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. November 7 (20) 1917 38
CONTENTS
Notification to Allied Governments of the Formation of the New Gov-
ernment and of the Soviet Proposal for an Armistice. November 7
(20) 1917 40
Order to Commander-in-Chief Dukhonin Regarding an Armistice, Con-
versation Between the Government Leaders and General Dukhonin,
and the Latter’s Dismissal. November 7-9 (20-22) 1917 41
Trotsky’s Report on the First Steps of Soviet Foreign Policy. November
8 (21) 1917 44
Abolition of Social Estates, Civil Ranks, Titles, and Their Replacement
by “Citizens of the Russian Republic.” November 10 (23) 1917 47
Establishment of Workers* Control in Industry. November 14 (27) 1917 47
Appeal to Belligerents on Peace. November 14 (27) 1917 49
Appeal to the Moslems of Russia and the East. November 20 (December
3) 1917 50
Abolition of the Old Judicial System and Establishment of a New One.
November 22 (December 5) 1917 52
Debate of the Outlawing of the Constitutional Democrats and on the Con-
stituent Assembly at the Central Executive Committee. December 1
(14) 1917 53
Establishment of the Supreme Council of the National Economy. Decem-
ber 1 (14) 1917 58
Armistice Between Russia and the Central Powers. December 2(15)1917 59
Establishment of the Cheka. December 7 (20) 1917 62
Lenin’s Theses on the Constituent Assembly. December 1 1 or 12 (24 or
25) 1917 64
Nationalization of Banks. December 14 (27) 1917 67
Election of Officers and Abolition of Ranks in the Army. December 16
(29) 1917 68
Decree on Divorce. December 16 (29), 1917 69
Marriage, Children, and Civil Registration. December 18(31)1917 71
Revolutionary Tribunal of the Press. December 18 (3 1)1917 72
On Revolutionary Tribunals. December 19, 1917 (January 1, 1918) 73
Report by Stalin on Finnish Independence and Self-Determination. De-
cember 22, 1917 (January 4, 1918) 75
On the Rights and Duties of Local Soviets. December 24, 1917 (January
6, 1918) and January 9 (22) 1918 77
Krylenko’s Appeal for Volunteers to Form a Socialist People’s Guard.
December 25, 1917 (January 7, 1918) 78
Life in a Provincial City. December 28-31, 1917 (January 10-13, 1918) 80
CONTENTS
2 THE YEAR 1918
Dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. January 6(19 ) 1918 82
Lenin on the Need for an Immediate Peace. January 7 (20) 1918 83
Ukrainian Declaration of Independence. January 9 (22) 1918 87
The Trade Unions and the Soviet Government. January 10 (23) 1918 90
Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People. January
12(25) 1918 92
Establishment of the Red Army. January 15 (28) 1918 92
Stalin on the Nationality Question and Self-Determination. January 15
(28) 1918 93
Patriarch Tikhon Anathemizes the Bolsheviks and Calls for Defense of
the Church. January 19 (February 1) 1918 94
Separation of Church and State, Church and Schools, and Religious
Rights and Freedoms. January 20 (February 2) 1918 96
Annulment of State Loans. January 21 (February 3) 1918 97
Introduction of a New Calendar. January 24 (February 6) 1918 98
Socialization of the Land. January 27 (February 9) 1918 98
No War No Peace! Trotsky at Brest- Litovsk Declares Russia’s Partici-
pation in the War Ended. January 28 (February 10) 1918 100
Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. March 3, 1918 102
Trotsky Inquires about American Assistance Against Germany and
Japan. March 5, 1918 105
Change of the Party Name to “Communist” and Decision to Revise the
Party Program. March 8, 1918 106
The Futurists and Public Art: “Let the Streets be a Feast of Art for All.”
March 15, 1918 107
The “Left-Wing” Communists. April 4, 1918 108
Soviet Response to the Japanese Landing at Vladivostok. April 5, 1918 118
The Role of Military Commissars. April 6, 1918 119
Malevich, “Architecture as a Slap in the Face to Ferro-Concrete.” April
6, 1918 121
Soviet Federalism—An Interview with Stalin. April 9, 1918 123
The Removal of Old Monuments and Erection of New Monuments to the
Revolution. April 12, 1918 126
Soviet Protest over Rumanian Annexation of Bessarabia. April 18, 1918 127
Introduction of Compulsory Military Training. April 22, 1918 128
Lenin, “The Immediate Tasks of the Soviet Government.” April 28, 1918. 129
German Intervention in the Ukraine and Skoropadsky’s Assumption of
Power. April 29, 1918 149
CONTENTS
May First Manifesto. May 1, 1918 152
Decree on Food Procurement. May 13, 1918 153
Lenin on International Relations. May 14, 1918 155
Revolt of the Czechoslovak Troops. May 20-25, 1918 164
Declaration of an Independent Georgian Democratic Republic. May 26,
1918 166
To Arms Against Counter-Revolutionaries. May 30, 1918 167
A Bolshevik Call for Cossack Support. May 3 1, 1918 168
Committees of the Village Poor. June 1 1, 1918 169
Expulsion of the SRs and Mensheviks from the Central Executive Com-
mittee. June 14, 1918 171
Travel in the Countryside. June 27-28, 1918 172
Nationalization of Industry. June 28, 1918 174
Allied Decision to Intervene. July 2, 1918 177
The Left SR Assassination of the German Ambassador and Attack on
the Bolsheviks. July 6-7, 1918 181
Report on the Food Situation to the Fifth Congress of Soviets and Reso-
lution of the Congress. July 9, 1918 185
Trotsky’s Report on the Army and the Fifth Congress of Soviets* Reso-
lution on Military Matters. July 10, 1918 188
Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet
Republic. July 10, 1918 192
The United States Government on Allied Intervention. July 17, 1918 200
The Democratic Counterrevolution. The Committee of the Members of
the Constituent Assembly. July 25, 1918 203
A Socialist Revolutionary and Menshevik Manifesto Against the Bol-
sheviks. July 29, 1918 204
Open Admission to Universities and Higher Education. August 2, 1918 206
Food Requisition Detachments. August 4, 1918 207
Trotsky’s Assessment of the Red Army. August 15, 1918 208
Organization and Activity of Grain Requisition Detachments. August 20,
1918 209
Trotsky on the Command of the Red Army. August 23, 1918 212
The Attempted Assassination of Lenin. August 30, 1918 213
Intensification of the Red Terror. September 4-5, 1918 214
Terror and its Defense. A Protest by the Neutral Powers and Chicherin’s
Response. September 5 and 12, 1918 215
Arrests and Executions Following the Attempted Assassination of Lenin.
September 12, 1918 219
CONTENTS
Requisition and Distribution of Housing in Moscow. September 17, 1918 220
Holding Families of Officers Hostage. September 30, 1918 221
Resolution of the Central Executive Committee about Imminent Revo-
lution in Europe. October 3, 1918 222
Trotsky vs. Stalin. The Conflict at Tsaritsyn Over Military Policy and
Organization. October 3 and 4, 1918 223
The Unified Labor School. October 16, 1918 225
Lunacharsky on the Unified Labor School. October 16, 1918 226
Trotsky on the Military Situation and an Appeal to Petrograd Workers.
October 21, 1918 227
Chicherin to President Wilson on World Peace and Intervention in Rus-
sia. October 24, 1918 232
The Labor Laws and Compulsory Labor Duty. October 31, 1918 238
Manifesto from the Central Executive Committee and the Council of
People’s Commissars to the Workers of Austria-Hungary. November
3, 1918 250
Dictatorship of the Proletariat and Proletarian Democracy. Lenin’s The
Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky. November 10,
1918 251
Women and the Family in the Communist State. November 16-21, 1918 270
Admiral Kolchak Assumes Power. November 18, 1918 278
Trotsky on Discipline. Order to the Troops on the Southern Front. No-
vember 24, 1918 282
Altman, “Futurism” and Proletarian Art. December 15, 1918 283
Russian Appeal for a Peace Treaty with the Allies. Litvinov to Wilson.
December 24, 1918 284
Lunacharsky on the State and the Controversy in the Arts. December 29,
1918 286
3 THE YEAR 1919
Stepanova on Non-Objective Artistic Creativity. January, 1919 288
Instructions of the Central Committee to Party Cells of Red Army Units
of the Front and Rear. January 5, 1919 289
Forced Labor by the Bourgeoisie and Daily Life in Moscow. January 5-
9, 1919 292
Trotsky on the Use of Specialists. January 10, 1919 293
Restriction of Workers* Control. January 23, 1919 297
Invitation to the First Congress of the Communist International (Comin-
tern). January 24, 1919 300
Manifesto of the Communist-Futurists (Komfut). January 26, 1919 303
