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3 May 2007

Russia April 1917

Lenin returns from exile

2007 is the ninetieth anniversary of the 1917 Russian revolution. To mark this, the socialist is running a series of articles looking at the events of 1917 and the lessons for today (the first article, on February 1917, was in issue 478). Here, HANNAH SELL looks in particular at the events of April 1917.

WHEREAS THE Russian Revolution of February 1917, which overthrew the absolute monarchy of Tsarism, is seen as justified by most capitalist historians, the October 1917 revolution, which brought the working class to power, is written off as a coup by a small minority. Usually the entire responsibility for this supposed coup is laid at the feet of Vladimir Lenin - who returned to Russia from exile at the start of April 1917 - and ninety years on is still slandered as dictatorial and even deranged.



Lenin was able to convince the Bolsheviks, and the Bolsheviks the working class, not by force but by "patient explanation" (the words used by Lenin himself in his April Theses). This was successful because Lenin's programme matched the objective needs of the working class.

Capitalists take power




Dual power

At the same time the Provisional Government was not the only power in the land - dual power existed. The Soviets, or workers' councils, had risen organically from the revolution in 1905, and did so again in 1917.



The totally counter-revolutionary nature of the Provisional Government was not revealed by its phraseology, which they had no choice but to dress up as 'revolutionary' under the pressure of the masses, but by its deeds. The ministers in charge of the army, the police and the state bureaucracy were all outright supports of the feudal dictatorship that the revolution had overthrown. The huge landed estates were untouched.


Lenin returns


The Bolsheviks wanted power to be passed to the Soviets, and for an end to the Provisional Government, but it rested upon the support of the leadership of the Soviets - the Social Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks, who in turn were at that stage largely trusted by the people. The Bolsheviks were in a minority in the soviets but would be able to win over the masses with a combination of patient explanation and the masses' experience of events.


Both the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks described themselves as Marxists. However, their conceptions of the 1917 revolutions were utterly different. The conception of Kamenev and Stalin, prior to Lenin's return, had more in common with that of the Mensheviks than that of the Bolsheviks after April 1917.




If the working class does not give a conscious lead it is inevitable the peasantry will be pulled behind the ruling class. But the pre-1917 formula of the Bolsheviks left open who would play the leading role - the working class or the peasantry.

Lenin now declared that the reality of the February revolution meant that: "Th[is] formula is obsolete. It is no good at all. It is dead." Lenin explained that the Soviets did represent a government of the working class and peasantry. However, the middle class elements in the leadership of the Soviets were voluntarily ceding ground to the capitalist Provisional Government. A struggle had to be waged by the most class-conscious elements of the working class, led by the Bolshevik Party, to convince the Soviets that they should take power.

As far back as 1905 Trotsky had argued in his 'theory of permanent revolution' that there was no possibility of capitalism qualitatively developing the economically backward countries, including Russia, and that the working class, with the support of the poor peasants, would have to move in an 'uninterrupted fashion' from the tasks of the capitalist democratic to the socialist revolution. In 1917, faced with the concrete reality of the February revolution; Lenin correctly drew the same conclusion.


Relevance today


None of the tasks of the capitalist democratic revolution have been fully completed. Even where a form of democracy has been gained in the post-independence period, it is generally truncated, distorted and incomplete. Imperialism, in order to further its own interests, is prepared to wage war, crush democracy, and back reactionary feudal regimes. In Iraq, US imperialism's supposed goals of bringing 'democracy' to the Middle East has resulted in a horrific and bloody war and occupation.

The recent entirely fraudulent Nigerian elections reveal the reality of 'democracy' in many countries of the neo-colonial world. While the imperialist powers have criticised the Nigerian elections they are not calling for their cancellation. Fearing popular movements, for imperialism, 'stability' to exploit Nigerian oil and resources has to come first.


Nonetheless 'stageism' - the idea that, in the neo-colonial countries, it is possible to first establish capitalist democracy, independent from imperialism, and then move to socialism in the distant future, will undoubtedly feature again in the workers' movement as it is rebuilt.

This is already the case to some extent in Venezuela and Bolivia where popular governments have been elected that carry out measures to improve the lives of the poor. However, while the leaders in both countries - Chavez and Morales - describe themselves as socialist, neither government has broken with capitalism. In both countries there are systematic attempts by the capitalist class to sabotage these democratically elected governments.

Without fundamental change - the bringing of the commanding heights of the economy into democratic public ownership - it is inevitable that at a certain stage the capitalist class will find a means to suppress these revolutionary movements, whether by the brutal armed force used in Chile 1973, or the systematic rolling back of past revolutionary gains used in Nicaragua and elsewhere.

Bolsheviks grow

BY THE end of April 1917 Lenin had won a majority of the Bolsheviks to his position after an open and very democratic debate. He was able to convince the Bolsheviks particularly by relying on the instincts of the worker-Bolsheviks and the tradition of the party, what Trotsky called "its irreconcilable attitude to the ruling classes and its hostility to all halfway measures".


As the Bolsheviks grew their ideas were also gaining support. In the workers' districts of Petrograd they were winning a majority in one district Soviet after another.

Meanwhile the Provisional Government was beginning to reveal its true colours to the masses. From the start the Provisional Government had been forced to disguise its continued participation in the First World War behind the cover of 'defending' Russia from foreign invasion.

This position was initially accepted by broad swathes of the population. However, the foreign minister Miliukov now ordered a clear offensive by Russian troops. He hoped the offensive would succeed, and thereby increase patriotic feeling and undermine the Soviets. A 'nod and a wink' was also given to General Kornilov to take the opportunity Muliukov hoped to create to attack the workers' demonstrations and crush the revolution.

Growing anti-war mood

THE RUSSIAN troops, however, had other ideas. Those on the front refused to take part in the offensive. They saw defending the country as one thing; attacking quite another. In Petrograd the troops took to the streets, soon followed by the workers, demanding 'down with Miliukov'. Some, including Bolsheviks, added the demand 'down with the Provisional Government'.


It was necessary to continue to 'patiently explain'. The Central Committee of the Bolsheviks put it thus: "The motto 'Down with the Provisional Government' is incorrect at present because without a solid (that is conscious and organised) majority of the people on the side of the revolutionary proletariat, such a motto is either an empty phrase, or leads to attempts of an adventurous character."



Today, the gap between the objective need for socialism and workers' understanding is far greater than during a revolution when consciousness develops very quickly. However, if we are to be effective in building mass support for socialist ideas in the coming years all serious socialists need to take fundamentally the same approach as the Bolsheviks.


The day before, Trotsky had returned from exile and was invited to speak as the leader of the 1905 Petrograd Soviet. He declared: "The real single power that will 'save' Russia will only arrive when the next step is taken, the transfer of power into the hands of the workers' and soldiers' deputies, then will begin a new epoch".

He concluded: "three revolutionary articles of faith: do not trust the capitalists, control the leaders; rely only on your own force." Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolsheviks were in a minority that day, but over the coming months they were able to convince the majority of the working class of their position, and thereby change history.