The suppression continued and intensified. Many prominent Bolshevik leaders were arrested. An arrest warrant was issued in the name of Lenin. At the same time, the Dual Power came to an end by placing the bourgeois in power. The Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries together with the Soviets led by them became an appendage to the provisional govt. The peaceful period ended. Bayonet was placed on the agenda. October Socialist Revolution
The Sixth Congress of the Bolshevik Party held in July-August, 1917 had decided for an armed uprising. The Manifesto it adopted called upon the workers, soldiers and peasants to:“ Prepare, then, for new battles, Comrades-in-arms! Staunchly, manfully and calmly, without yielding to provocation, muster your forces and form your fighting columns! Rally under the banner of the Party, proletarians and soldiers! Rally under our banner, downtrodden of the villages!”
Fearing the possibility of being swept away by the great revolutionary upsurge, the bourgeois, counter revolutionary and compromising parties and forces had acted, each in their own way, and in coordination to brutally suppress the masses, Bolshevik and other revolutionary organisations. But the revolutionary upsurge of workers, soldiers had grown irresistible. Surging tide of revolution had posed the question in clear and unmistakable words to every party, every leader and every individual: Will you join the stream of peoples’ revolution or stand against it and get swept away by it? The parties, including the compromising parties like the Mensheviks and Socialist revolutionaries stood disintegrated, split and polarised. Many, including Kerensky, turned to the Bolsheviks for protection. Kornilov, who sought to revolt against the revolution, was crushed. General Krymov had committed suicide. Others were arrested. The September-October of 1917 saw a tremendous rise in the peasant revolts and the seizure of landlords landed estates. Most of the Soviets had come under the leadership of the Bolsheviks. It was a festival of revolution! The slogan,“ All powers to the Soviets” became order of the day. The millions of armed workers, soldiers and sailors led by the proletariat and the Bolshevik party had inflicted a final and crushing blow on the old system. On October 25 th( November 7), 1917, the bourgeois provisional govt. was proclaimed as“ deposed” and the State power as passed into the hands of Soviets.
The Second Congress of Soviets had proclaimed the taking over of power. On the next day, it passed: The Decree of peace: It called for an immediate end of war and armistice; the Decree on Land: It abolished the landlord ownership of the land forthwith without
November- 2017 compensation; declared all the mineral resources like oil, coal, ores, etc., forests and waters as the property of the people and the First Soviet Government- The Council of Peoples’ Commissars- with Lenin as the Chairman, all Bolsheviks, Stalin included, was formed. Let us Learn from the Great October Socialist Revolution
The Russian people led by Lenin and the Bolshevik Party made a History, turned the world ruled by the exploiting classes upside down and heralded earth shaking and revolutionary changes in the entire world.
Lenin agreed that Russia was a peasant country and“ one of the most backw ard of European Countries”. But at the same time,“ not its special qualities, but rather the special conjuncture of historical circumstances that for a certain, perhaps very short time, has made the Proletariat of Russia the vanguard of the revolutionary proletariat of the whole world”. The RussianProletariat led by Lenin dared to perform this historic revolutionary role.
The History of the CPSU( B) has thus correctly summed up:“ Only a party like the Bolshevik Party, courageous enough to lead the people in a decisive attack, cautious enough to steer clear all the submerged rocks in its path to the goal, could so skilfully merge into one common revolutionary torrent such diverse revolutionary movements as the general democratic movement for the seizure of landed estates, the movement of oppressed nationalities for national liberation and national equality, and the socialist movement of the proletariat for the overthrow of the bourgeois and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat”.
For the Communists, the revolution means a fundamental change in the social system. Marxism Leninism teaches us: i)“ The key question of any revolution is undoubtedly the question of state power. Which class holds the power decides everything”; ii) People are the makers of History. Any deviation from this principle and any attempt to replace the revolutionary role of the people by any heroic and adventurist acts of a few or a magical act are bound to fail; iii) The Proletariat must assume the leadership of the revolution in order to make the revolution a thoroughgoing and culminate it in victory. So, the building of a Party of Bolshevik type is the essential pre-requisite for the success of revolution. These are fundamental for every revolution led by the Communist Party.
Let us hail the0 Great October Socialist Revolution to: Uphold and learn from it; Apply and translate the Leninist teachings into practice; Advance the New Democratic Revolution in India and march towards Socialist Revolution.
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