Lenin and the Bolshevik Central Committee (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

Lenin and the Bolshevik Central Committee

Lenin's campaign for immediate action

From mid-September, Lenin (still in hiding in Finland) persistently pressured the 12-man Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party with letters demanding they prepare for revolution and seize state power. On 12 September, he argued that 'History will not forgive us if we do not assume power now'. Despite this forceful appeal, three days later the Committee voted against staging a coup. Even Lenin's threat of resignation from the Central Committee failed to persuade them.

The Committee's two most prominent members, Lev Kamenev and Grigorii Zinoviev, particularly urged restraint. They feared that Russia was not yet economically ready for revolution and that attempting to seize power prematurely would end in disaster. They even burnt some of Lenin's letters to prevent them influencing other party members.

Kamenev and Zinoviev believed the Bolsheviks should not act before the Constituent Assembly elections, the date of which remained undecided. Trotsky offered a compromise suggestion: they should work through the Petrograd Soviet and wait for the Congress of Soviets, due to convene on 20 October. He believed that at this Congress they could win the support of all socialist parties for a soviet government without resorting to violence.

Lenin's return and the decision for revolution

An increasingly frustrated Lenin slipped back into Russia in disguise. On 10 October, he harangued the Central Committee of the Bolshevik party through the night. In his speech to the Committee, Lenin argued that the international situation demanded the Bolsheviks seize the initiative. He claimed that since the July Days, the political position had advanced in 'leaps and bounds'. Lenin identified what he saw as mass apathy – 'Absenteeism and indifference among the masses' – but attributed this to the fact that 'the masses are fed up with words and resolutions'.

Lenin insisted that 'the political situation is completely ripe for a transfer of power'. The revolutionary movement was gaining momentum, and the slogan about transferring land to the peasants had become widespread. He addressed the technical aspects of preparation, though he was inclined to regard systematic planning of an insurrection as resembling 'a political sin'. Most tellingly, he declared 'it is senseless to wait for the Constituent Assembly, for this means complicating our task'.

Key figures

Grigorii Zinoviev (1883–1936)

Zinoviev was of Jewish origin. He joined the Social Democratic party in 1901 and became a member of the Central Committee from 1907 to 1927. He remained close to Lenin during exile and returned with him in 1917 in the sealed train. However, he supported Kamenev against the October Revolution, favouring cooperation with other socialist groups. He became head of the party's Petrograd organisation but was expelled from the party by Stalin and executed in 1936.