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Where was the first Soviet of Workers' Deputies formed? Soviets (councils of workers' deputies) in Russia. During the Civil War
(actual leaders Petersburg Council), Mensheviks, Socialist-Revolutionaries Maximalists. The Bolsheviks considered them rudimentary, scattered, spontaneous, and therefore powerless organs of the revolution. Later, V. I. Lenin put forward the idea of Soviets as a form of political organization of workers in the struggle for proletarian revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat.
These bodies were created exclusively by the revolutionary sections of the population, they were created outside of any laws and norms in a completely revolutionary way, as a product of original folk creativity, as a manifestation of the amateur activity of the people who have got rid or are getting rid of the old police fetters. These were, finally, precisely the authorities, despite all their embryonicity, spontaneity, lack of formality, vagueness in composition and functioning.
- Lenin"The victory of the Cadets and the tasks of the workers' party". 1906
During the first Russian revolution, 62 Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies arose. 47 Soviets were headed by the Bolsheviks or were under their influence, 10 were headed by the Mensheviks.
During December uprising in Moscow, the Bolshevik-led Moscow Soviet of Workers' Deputies and the Soviets of the Outskirts led the uprising of the workers, becoming revolutionary organs of power. The Soviets were liquidated by the government after the defeat Revolutions of 1905-1907 MPs were persecuted.
During the February Revolution
Immediately after the uprising in Petrograd, two Petrograd Soviets were elected - workers' and soldiers' deputies, which united on March 1 in Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies who exercised power in the capital along with Provisional Government and contrary to him, and in addition, trying to take on the powers of the All-Russian authority.
Following this, Soviets began to form throughout the country, becoming organs of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the poorest peasantry. The executive committees of the Soviets form a workers' militia. As a rule, united Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies were created. There were Soviets of Peasants' Deputies (provincial, district, volost). At the front, the functions of the Soviets were performed soldiers' committees(regimental, divisional, corps, army, front and others). At the All-Russian Conference of Soviets in March-April 1917, it was determined territorial system Councils: regional, provincial, district, district associations (congresses) and All-Russian associations (congresses, meetings). In March 1917, there were about 600 Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in the cities and provinces.
At this stage in the development of Soviet power, non-working classes (bourgeoisie, intelligentsia, employees, students) in practice did not have the opportunity to use the right to vote, although formally they were not deprived of it, since the elections to the soviets were held not according to the territorial, but according to the production principle:129 .
AUTHOR'S COMMENT:
Wikipedia about advice is a lie and this is quite natural. Parvus and Trotsky were dragged in, who never had anything to do with the Soviets. This only shows how important the question of Soviet power is.councils are not strike committees. Already the difference in the name indicates the difference between these organizations. Strike committees arose along with strikes (strikes). The strike committees were engaged in the organization of strikes - setting goals, planning, conducting, organizing public relations, material support for strikers - this is the work of strike committees. The Soviets arose (became known to the general literate public) during the 1905 REVOLUTION. Soviets emerged as a form of power. They were the centers of organizing the order of the new revolutionary power instead of the power of the tsarist administration. The fight against crime, the city economy, the organization of the work of enterprises, the fight against hunger, the economy of the city - these are the spheres of activity of the first councils in a far from full scope.
The Soviets were noticed by many parties, but it was Lenin who saw them as a form of workers' power. Before the advent of the soviets, Marxists discussed forms of power - based on the theory of Marx and the practice of the Paris Commune. The Soviets declared themselves practically throughout the country - in a matter of days, the Soviets appeared in all corners of Tsarist Russia. They arose as a completely ready-made form of power, effectively operating power and had the same structure throughout the country. Taking into account that no political party before the advent of the Soviets suspected the possibility of such a form of power, it can be concluded that the Soviets have always been (for centuries) in the Russian countryside, were a secret to the royal power and are the oldest form of Russian power. Trotsky and Parvus have absolutely nothing to do with it.
The main thing is 1. This form of power was in the village for a long time (a trace of primitive communes)
2. She was not heard of in Europe until 1905.
3. The choice is not based on money, but on authority among the working people.
4. Organizes all aspects of life.
5. Mobilely responds to all possible everyday problems.
6. Acts in the interests not of a minority, but of the entire population - the majority.
7. Even having recruited perestroika traitors to the Supreme Council, it was impossible to allow the thieves to fatten, they had to shoot the White House in 1993.
The strength and effectiveness of the Soviets were noticed in the 1905 revolution by many politicians, and in 1917 the bourgeois decided to block the possibility of real Soviet power, and created the Petrograd Council almost simultaneously with the provisional government. At the head of the Petrosoviet were the same representatives of the provisional government.
dual power
In March 1917, a regime of dual power was formed in Petrograd: on the one hand, the power of the State Duma and the Provisional Government, on the other, the power of the Petrograd Soviet. Initially, the leadership of the Petrosoviet, the majority of whom were Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, had no intention of creating an alternative structure of state power in the person of the Soviets. The Soviets spontaneously became a counterbalance to the Provisional Government. V. I. Lenin, having seen in Soviet system power tool through which the complete destruction of the bourgeois state is possible, due to its pragmatism, agreed to follow the spontaneous creativity of the masses, although he had previously opposed this form of power. He put forward in "April Theses" the idea of transferring all power to the Soviets and the slogan: "All power to the Soviets!", characterizing the system of Soviets as new type states. At the same time, he already understood then that after all the power in the state was transferred to the soviets, the next stage in the struggle for power for his party would be the seizure and Bolshevization of the soviets themselves.
However, the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, leaders in most of the Soviets, regarded Lenin's slogan as extremist, being sure of the need for a coalition with the bourgeoisie and the prematureness of reforms. socialist sense in Russia. Later, the period from February to July was characterized by the Soviet historical school as "the possibility of a peaceful transfer of power to the Soviets." The allies of the Bolsheviks of that time - the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks - considered the Soviets just a way to support the new government from below, temporary public organizations with the aim of "voluntarily transferring power to the bourgeoisie."
In the army and navy, the Provisional Government relied on the traditional command, while the Petrograd Soviet relied on the soldiers' and sailors' committees. Local power of the State Duma relied on the traditional zemstvos and city dumas, while the power of the Petrosoviet rested on local Soviets. The real power of the Petrosoviet was actually concentrated in the hands of its Executive Committee, an unelected body, without exception consisting of radical intelligentsia representing various socialist parties. Historian Richard Pipes characterized the Petrosoviet as a "layered structure": "above - a body acting on behalf of the Soviet, consisting of socialist intellectuals, formalized in the Executive Committee, below - an unmanaged rural gathering."
During March 1917, the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet formed a number of commissions parallel to the corresponding ministries of the Provisional Government, and in fact turned into shadow government. Commissions were formed for railways, mail and telegraph, food, finance, commissioners were appointed to the headquarters Supreme Commander and the headquarters of the commanders of the fronts and fleets. Also, the Executive Committee, at its discretion, was engaged in legislative activities, in particular, by issuing a decree on an eight-hour working day.
The main mechanism of the regime of "dual power" was the Contact Commission of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, formed on March 8 (21), 1917, and in fact exercising control of the Soviets over the Provisional Government "in order to inform the Council about the intentions and actions of the Provisional Government, inform the latter about the demands of the revolutionary people, influence government to meet these requirements and continuously monitor their implementation. The Contact Commission included N. S. Chkheidze, M. I. Skobelev, Yu. M. Steklov, N. N. Sukhanov and Filippovsky V. N.
In the spring of 1917, on the initiative All-Russian Conference of Soviets(March 29 (April 11) - April 3 (16)), preparations began for the convocation of the supreme body of power of the Soviets - the non-permanent Congress of Soviets. June 3-24 in Petrograd I All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. During 1917, two such congresses were held; in their absence, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was considered the highest body, consisting of 320 people (of which 123 Mensheviks, 119 Socialist-Revolutionaries, 58 Bolsheviks, 13 United Social Democrats, 7 representatives of other parties). In the period between the February Revolution and the First Congress of Soviets, which formed the first composition of the Central Executive Committee in the summer of 1917, the Executive Committee of the Petrosoviet was actually the highest authority. Even after the appearance of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Executive Committee of the Petrosoviet did not abandon attempts to interfere in the solution of all-Russian affairs, thus competing with the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
By May 1917, up to 50 thousand soldiers' and sailors' committees of various levels were formed, which consisted of up to 300 thousand people. becomes a significant revolutionary force Central Committee of the Baltic Fleet(Centrobalt) headed by Dybenko P. E. .
In Russian industry there was a spontaneous formation of factory committees, which put forward the slogan of workers' control over production. By June 1917, the Central Council of Factory Committees was formed; by October 1917, such committees were formed in 50 major industrial centers.
Under the conditions of Russia, with its centuries-old estate traditions, the Soviets were divided into workers' and soldiers' sections, until 1918 the Congresses of Peasants' Deputies were held separately from the Congresses of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. Representation rates were not equal; Thus, during the elections of the first composition of the Petrograd Soviet in 1917, the norms were adopted: one delegate from a thousand workers and one from a company of soldiers (that is, from about a hundred people).
At the elections of the I Congress of Soviets of Peasants' Deputies, the Organizing Committee for the convocation of the congress established the norm: one delegate from 150 thousand peasants, while at the same time at the I Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies the norm was one delegate from 25 thousand people. In fact, the representation was skewed, first of all, in favor of the soldiers, and secondly, in favor of the workers. The norms of representation of workers of large (one delegate from a thousand workers) and small enterprises (one delegate from each enterprise) also differed; small factory workers.
In general, the system of Soviets in 1917 was characterized by considerable chaos: in addition to the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies and the Soviets of Peasants' Deputies, there could also be Soviets of Military Deputies, Soviets of Sailors' and Officers' Deputies, Soviets of Landless Peasants, Soviets of Cossack Deputies, Soviets of Student Deputies, Soviets of Workers elders, councils of deputies of the labor intelligentsia, etc. According to the researcher Boris Kolonitsky, "Councils of pastoral deputies" were organized in the Baltic States; according to other sources, even unsuccessful attempts were made to organize a "Council of Noble Deputies". Representation norms in local elections at the level of volost councils were also assigned chaotically: in Rominskaya volost, 3-10 deputies were elected from the village, in Podbuzhskaya - 3 deputies from 1000 voters, in Budskaya - 1 out of 200, in Yarovshchinskaya - 5 from the village, Puppovskaya - 1 deputy from 10 households; apparently, not only the norms of representation, but even the units of measurement were not unified - in some cases it was a yard, in others a certain number of inhabitants, in others - the village as a whole. The norms of representation were unified only by the Bolshevik constitution of 1918. For all the chaotic power of the Soviets, it was commonplace that the bourgeois class (“qualified elements”, “qualified bourgeoisie”), which constituted the majority in the State Duma of the III convocation, was not represented in the Soviets ( cm. Electoral system of 1907 ). The consequence of this was a sharp predominance in the Soviets of representatives of socialists and anarchists.
Comparing the degree of representativeness of the Provisional Government and the Soviets, the historian Alexander Rabinovich wrote that the latter were more representative. In support of this conclusion, the historian cited the following arguments: the deputies of the Fourth Duma elected according to the rules, excluding, according to Rabinovich, the participation of the majority of the population in the elections; The Soviets were "grassroots democratic organizations" that sprang up in cities and rural areas across the country; in May, the I All-Russian Congress of Peasants' Deputies was convened in the capital, and in June - the I All-Russian Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, which elected permanent bodies - the Central Executive Committee of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (CEC) and the Executive Committee of the All-Russian Council of Peasants' Deputies (IVSKD ), "who together were more representative and, thanks to the support of the workers, peasants and especially the soldiers, are potentially stronger than the Provisional Government" .
July Uprising
After defeat July uprising, headed by the Bolsheviks, the dual power ended and power passed into the hands of the Second Coalition Government, the Bolsheviks quickly lost popularity, their influence in the councils was sharply reduced. In view of this Sixth Congress of the RSDLP(b) removed the slogan "All power to the Soviets!", directing the workers to prepare an armed uprising.
After the Kornilov speech
In the days Kornilov speech to protect the revolution through the Soviets, which fell under the influence of the Bolsheviks, armed detachments were organized - "red guard". After the suppression of Kornilov's speech, the popularity of the Bolsheviks increased dramatically. The re-elections that took place in September gave the Bolsheviks a majority in many Soviets. RSDLP(b) again put forward the slogan "All power to the Soviets!". Under the Soviets created Military Revolutionary Committees .
the day before October revolution There were 1429 Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. Among them, 706 were united Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, 235 were Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies, and 33 were Soviets of Soldiers' Deputies. All these 974 Councils were all-Russian organization, led by the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies of the first convocation. The remaining 455 were Peasant Soviets and were united by the Executive Committee of the Soviet of Peasant Deputies, elected at the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Peasant Deputies after October armed uprising .
During the October Revolution
After victory armed uprising, October 25 (November 7), 1917, opened in Petrograd II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, by the decision of which power in the country passed to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies.
For the first time in the world, the power of the state has been built in Russia in such a way that only the workers, only the working peasants, excluding the exploiters, constitute mass organizations—the Soviets, and all state power is transferred to these Soviets.
— Lenin, "What is Soviet Power?"
The Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies exercised the functions of power in the city, and the Soviets of Peasants' Deputies - in the countryside. The highest authority in the country in the period between the Congresses of Soviets was All-Russian Central Executive Committee Soviets (VTsIK). The Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government was Council of People's Commissars(SNK), elected by the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets. All three state bodies had legislative powers. On November 24, 1917, the Council of People's Commissars adopted the Decree on the Right of Recall, which introduced the right of voters to recall their deputies. According to the Russian cadet politician A. A. Cherven-Vodali and the Minister of the Interior in All-Russian government A. V. Kolchak, “The Soviets were based on the forcible imposition of the will of a small part of the entire population” .
In the autumn of 1917, most of the peasant Soviets were under the influence of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, many Socialist-Revolutionaries were delegated to the Extraordinary All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Peasant Deputies on November 10 (23) - November 25 (December 8) and II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Peasants' Deputies November 26 (December 9) - December 10 (23). The Bolsheviks were supported by the Left SRs, and the Congresses recognized all the decrees of the Soviet government and the need to unite the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. The Central Executive Committees of the Soviets of Peasants' Deputies and the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies merged, and then in January 1918 the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Peasants' Deputies merged with the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. III All-Russian Congress of Soviets workers', soldiers' and peasants' deputies became an alternative to the dispersed Constituent Assembly. Has been approved Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People, which declared Russia a Republic of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. By March 1918, the process of unification of the local Soviets was basically completed. A unified system of Soviets emerged. Local councils independently resolved local issues, but had to act in accordance with the regulations of the central bodies and higher councils. On January 15 (28), 1918, a Decree was adopted on the creation Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the Soviets began to be called Councils of Workers', Peasants' and Red Army Deputies(from the word "soldier" in Soviet Russia rejected as "counter-revolutionary" :129).
According to the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918
On July 10, 1918, the 5th All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopted the first Constitution of the RSFSR that determined the structure of Soviet power. The Bolshevik constitution unified the system of Soviets, which until then had been organized chaotically due to the spontaneity of its formation.
On the highest level Soviets represented All-Russian Congress of Soviets workers, peasants, Red Army and Cossack deputies - the highest authority in the RSFSR. Thus, the Congresses of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies were finally united with the Congresses of Soviets of Peasants' Deputies, which were held separately in 1917.
At the same time, the elections to the highest body of power remained, as in Russian Empire, indirect and unequal ( discriminatory): the corps of its deputies was made up of representatives of city councils "according to the calculation 1 deputy per 25,000 voters, and representatives of the provincial Congresses of Soviets, according to the calculation 1 deputy per 125,000 inhabitants": Art.25. In this way, the urban proletariat gained an advantage over the rural population, which had the right to vote. This was done on purpose in the interests of the ruling Bolshevik Party, since rural voters had less inclination towards Bolshevism than city voters. On the other hand, such an unequal representation arose as early as February-March 1917.
The All-Russian Congress was convened All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets(VTsIK) at least twice a year. The All-Russian Congress of Soviets elected its permanent body - the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets, among no more than 200 people, who was responsible to it and was the highest legislative, administrative and controlling body in the period between Congresses. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets formed an accountable government - Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR .
The separation of powers into legislative and executive constitutions was not provided: art. 41 obliged the Council of People's Commissars to submit for "consideration and approval" by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee decisions "of major general political importance", with the right to "directly" carry out measures requiring "urgent implementation." On the other hand, Art. 33 authorized the All-Russian Central Executive Committee to consider "draft decrees and other proposals" of the Council of People's Commissars and individual departments, and issue their own decrees.
Local authorities were regional, provincial (district), district (district), volost Congresses of Soviets, composed of representatives of urban and rural Councils of Deputies (Sovdepov), elected by the population by direct open voting at election meetings. Candidate lists or individual candidates could be proposed by public, party, professional organizations and individual citizens. The Congresses of Soviets and the Soviets of Deputies formed their executive bodies for the current work - executive committees(Executive committees).
In the Soviet republics and regions (Ukraine, Belarus, etc.), the system of Soviets was headed by the Republican Congresses of Soviets, which elected the Central Executive Committee of the republics.
The structure of the local Soviets was also unified. Attempts by individual local Soviets to establish their own Councils of People's Commissars and even "People's Commissariats for Foreign Affairs" became illegal: Art. 48 of the Constitution stated that "The title of People's Commissar belongs exclusively to members of the Council of People's Commissars, which is in charge of common affairs of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, and cannot be assigned to any other representatives of the Soviet power, both in the center and in the localities..
The constitution retained the multi-stage elections established in 1917. Yes, Art. 25 determined that the All-Russian Congress was elected not directly, but by city councils and provincial Congresses of Soviets. In turn, according to Art. The 53rd provincial Congresses of Soviets were composed of representatives of the city Soviets and volost Congresses of Soviets, and the volost Congresses were composed of representatives of individual village councils. The norms of representation, the number of Soviets and the terms of office of deputies were unified for the first time since February 1917 (see Art. 53, 54, 57, etc.)
The right to elect and be elected was enjoyed regardless of religion, nationality, settlement, etc., by all citizens of the RSFSR of both sexes who have reached 18 years of age (or even younger - if the decision on downgrading the age norm will be adopted by the local Council) and those who earn their livelihood by “productive and socially useful labor, as well as persons employed in the household, providing for the former the possibility of productive labor”: workers, farmers, employees (the above categories - only on condition that they do not use hired labor to make a profit), soldiers and sailors " Soviet army”and all of the above categories of citizens, if they have lost their ability to work to some extent. The right to elect and be elected was also granted to foreigners living on the territory of the Russian Soviet Republic and meeting the above requirements - a norm unprecedented in the practice of electoral law.
To implement the principle dictatorship of the proletariat The following persons were deprived of voting rights:
65. They do not elect and cannot be elected ...:
a) persons resorting to hired labor for the purpose of making a profit;
b) persons living on unearned income, such as interest on capital, income from enterprises, income from property, etc.;
c) private traders, trade and commercial intermediaries;
d) monks and spiritual ministers of churches and religious cults;
e) employees and agents of the former police, a special corps of gendarmes and security departments, as well as members of the house that reigned in Russia;
f) persons recognized in accordance with the established procedure as mentally ill or insane, as well as persons under guardianship:
g) persons convicted for mercenary and discrediting crimes for a term established by law or a court sentence.
During the Civil War
During the period civil war continued to convene All-Russian Congresses of Soviets, further organization and development of the system of local Soviets in the territories controlled by the Bolsheviks was carried out. In December 1919, the sessional procedure for the work of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets was established, sessions were convened every two months. In December 1920, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, which held meetings of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, monitored the implementation of its decisions, appointed people's commissars, etc., was endowed with legislative powers.
In November 1918, the governing body that concentrated all power in the field of defense became Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense(SRKO), transformed in April 1920 into Labor and Defense Council(STO) as a commission under the Council of People's Commissars. Emergency authorities have arisen - Revolutionary Committees(Revolutionary committees) for organizing defense, maintaining order, conducting mobilization, and so on. September 2, 1918 to exercise leadership of the armed forces of the country by a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was formed Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic(Revolutionary Military Council).
At the initial stage, in the Soviets, especially in rural areas, there was a multi-party system (a spectrum of left-wing parties was represented). However, already at that time the Bolshevik Party claimed monopoly control over the activities of the Soviets through party factions. Such aspirations of the Bolshevik Party to control the Soviets were not always carried out in a democratic way. On June 14, 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee expelled the Social Democrats (Mensheviks) and Socialist-Revolutionaries (all except the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries) from their councils, motivating this decision by the participation of these parties in the armed struggle against the “Soviet power” (and in fact against the power of the Bolsheviks). After the defeat of the July Left SR uprisings in the same year and the banning of their party, they were also expelled from the Soviets. After that, the Soviets de facto turned into purely Bolshevik bodies, which were guided in their decisions by the instructions of the Central Committee of the RCP (b):130. Throughout the Soviet country, the Bolsheviks dispersed those Soviets in which, as a result of elections, other parties gained predominance. For example, in Odessa, one of the largest centers of Soviet Ukraine, the Bolsheviks, with the help of revolutionary committees, expelled deputies they objected to from the councils (elected, however, according to the current election system), thus achieving unconditional subordination of the Soviets to local cells of the Bolshevik Party. As stated in the resolution of the Eighth Congress of the RCP(b), "the Communist Party especially strives for the implementation of its program and its complete dominance in modern state organizations, which are the Soviets."
According to the Constitution of the USSR of 1924
December 22, 1922 was formed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Constitution of the USSR and the Constitutions of the Union Republics reflected the changes in the system of Soviets. The Congress of Soviets of the USSR became the supreme body of power, convened once a year, and on demand, an extraordinary Congress was convened. It was composed of representatives of city councils and councils of urban settlements - 1 deputy per 25 thousand inhabitants (workers) and from representatives of provincial congresses of Soviets - 1 deputy per 125 thousand inhabitants (peasants).
To lead the country in the period between the Congresses was elected Central Executive Committee of the USSR, which in turn elected the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR from 21 members. The Presidium convened regular sessions of the CEC at least 3 times a year. The Central Executive Committee consisted of two equal chambers: the Union Council and the Council of Nationalities. The Congress of Soviets of the USSR elected the Union Council from representatives of the Union republics, in proportion to the population of each, consisting of 414 people. The Council of Nationalities was formed from representatives of the union and autonomous republics (5 people each), autonomous regions of the RSFSR (one from each) and was approved by the Congress of Soviets of the USSR.
The Central Executive Committee of the USSR formed an executive and administrative body - headed by the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.
In the union and autonomous republics, power was exercised by the Congress of Soviets. For the period between congresses, they elected the Central Executive Committees of the republics, which formed their executive bodies - the Council of People's Commissars of the republics. Territorial, regional, provincial, district, district, district and volost Congresses of Soviets, elected by the Councils of Deputies of cities and villages, elected their executive bodies - Executive Committees and their Presidiums. With the change in the administrative-territorial division, the Soviet bodies also changed.
The deputies were elected by the working people by direct, open voting at electoral meetings from among Communist and non-Party candidates. A list of persons deprived of voting rights (disenfranchised) was established, similar to Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918. The number of people deprived of voting rights decreased: in cities in 1923 - 8.2%, in 1934 - 2.4%.
According to the Constitution of the USSR of 1936
The USSR Constitution of 1936 created a new unified system of state authorities in the center and in the localities, transforming the Soviets of Workers', Peasants', Cossacks and Red Army Deputies into Soviets of Working People's Deputies. This became a consequence dictatorship of the proletariat- victory over the classes of exploiters of two friendly classes: workers and peasants. All restrictions on voting rights were abolished, general, equal and direct elections by secret ballot were introduced to all Soviets. The right to vote was granted to citizens of the USSR who had reached the age of 18, with the exception of the insane and convicted by the court with deprivation of voting rights. Candidates were nominated in constituencies by public organizations and workers' societies.
The highest body of state power in the USSR was Supreme Soviet of the USSR elected for 4 years. It consisted of two chambers: the Council of the Union and the Council of Nationalities. The Council of the Union was elected by the citizens of the USSR in electoral districts according to the norm: 1 deputy per 300 thousand inhabitants. The Council of Nationalities was elected by the citizens of the USSR according to the norm: 25 deputies from a union republic, 11 from an autonomous republic, 5 from an autonomous region, and 1 from each national district. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR elected Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR- supreme authority USSR between sessions of the Supreme Council. Also, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR elected the government of the USSR - Council of People's Commissars of the USSR(after 1946 - Council of Ministers of the USSR), the highest executive and administrative body. The system of authorities and administrations of the union and autonomous republics was formed in a similar way. The local authorities in the krais, oblasts, autonomous oblasts, districts, districts, cities, and villages were the Soviets of Working People's Deputies, elected by the citizens of the USSR for 2 years. The executive and administrative bodies of the local Soviets were Executive Committees. All Councils were elected by citizens according to the norm of representation established by the Constitution and the Regulations on Elections to Councils.
When drafting the Constitution in 1936, it was planned to make the elections alternative, that is, with alternative candidates when voting for each deputy mandate. However, the negative attitude of the party nomenklatura
All Soviets of Working People's Deputies were elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot: Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Soviets of the Union and Autonomous Republics - for 4 years, local Soviets - for 2 years. The Soviets formed a system, the lower level of which were rural and settlement Soviets, the highest - Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The Soviets were obliged to systematically report to the population in their work.
The Supreme Soviet of the USSR was the highest representative and the only legislative body in the USSR. The Supreme Soviets of the Union and Autonomous Republics are the highest authorities on the territory of the republics. Local Councils - authorities on the territory of administrative-territorial units (krais, regions, autonomous regions, districts, districts, cities, villages, villages, villages, farms, kishlaks, auls). The powers of each level of the system of local Soviets were determined in detail by Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, laws of the Union and Autonomous Republics. Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On the Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties of Rural and Settlement Soviets of Working People's Deputies" (1968), "On the Fundamental Rights and Duties of City and District Councils of Workers' Deputies" (1971), "On the Fundamental Rights and Duties of District Councils of Working People's Deputies” (1971), Law of the USSR on the Status of Deputies of Soviets of Working People's Deputies in the USSR (1971).
The Supreme Council elected Council of Ministers of the USSR, and the Soviets of the Republics elected the Councils of Ministers of the Union and Autonomous Republics. Local Soviets elected Executive Committees (Executive Committees) from among the deputies - the executive and administrative bodies of the Soviets, accountable to them and to higher executive committees.
The executive committees convened Council Sessions (general meeting of deputies) at least 4 times a year (for regional, regional and city councils of cities with district division); for district, city (in cities without district division), district in cities, rural and settlement Soviets - at least 6 times a year. Issues related by law to the powers of this Council were resolved at the sessions. Extraordinary Sessions were convened at the initiative of the deputies of the Council and higher Councils. Decisions were made by a simple majority vote of the deputies present. The Soviets formed sectoral deputy commissions.
In my work Soviet civilization, sociologist Sergey Kara-Murza wrote:
At first, the acquisition of power by the Soviets took place even contrary to the intentions of their leadership (Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks) ... ... That force, which began to take shape first in agreement, and then in opposition to the Provisional Government and which was subsequently headed by the Bolsheviks, was an expression of mass spontaneous movement. Its ideological basis was not Marxism or ideology, but folk philosophy of a more fundamental level. This force was not of a “Party” type. ... At the state level it was, of course, a new type, but at the level of self-government it was precisely the traditional type characteristic of an agrarian civilization - the type of military, craft and peasant democracy of a pre-industrial society. In Russia, the Soviets grew precisely out of peasant ideas about ideal power. .. The Council, having authority among the workers and soldiers, turned out to be much more capable, sensitive and flexible in creating the living conditions of citizens.
The supreme body of the party committees of the CPSU are, in full accordance with the party rules, the plenums of these committees, that is, the meetings of all their members. But in fact, it is not the plenums that decide questions. They are decided by the bureau (in the Central Committee of the CPSU - the Politburo) and the secretariats of party committees. This is where the final decisions are made. Only a few of them are submitted for consideration by the plenums, and only for the sake of formality.
In February 1979, the Elections-79 group arose, whose members intended to secretly carry out the provided USSR Constitution the right to nominate independent candidates for elections in Supreme Soviet of the USSR political crisis Verkhovna Rada
, relying more and more on the class of the Soviet bureaucracy, the so-called party "nomenklatura" .
Page 8 of 30
N. I. Podvoisky
Ivanovo-Voznesensk is a city with over 60,000 workers. By the very way of its proletarian life, it differs from all other cities in Russia. Class strife hits the eye here like nowhere else: luxury and horrendous poverty are literally nearby; on the main street there are palaces of capitalists, asphalt, lighting, fast-paced trotters, rich shops, and turned around the corner - shacks, miserable shops, dirt, rare kerosene lanterns, poorly dressed, exhausted people ...
In the center - wealth, around - a ring of working districts. And from morning to night, dozens of factory chimneys smoke continuously, whistles of different voices hum, endless carts of bales rumble along the pavements, and a mass of workers hastily moves from the outskirts to the factories and back. This working life, interests, deprivations, the sharpness of class contradictions and the demands and demands arising from this had to result in a powerful proletarian mass movement, to create strong workers' organizations ...
At the beginning of 1905, when the working class of Russia had already entered into an armed struggle with tsarism, the Ivanovo Voznesensk people already had one of the most well-organized workers' Social-Democratic Bolshevik organizations in Russia. It immediately became clear how influential the Social Democratic organization of the Bolsheviks was among the working masses. In response to Bloody Sunday, January 9, the Ivanovo-Voznesensk group in St. Petersburg carried out a series of strikes, deepening its influence on the masses. It skilfully accumulates and organizes proletarian forces. Proclamations are drawn up and distributed in large numbers both among the workers and among the peasants and soldiers. The requirements of the workers of the various factories are harmonized in such a way as to unite all factories positively. By April, the will of the workers of all factories for a unanimous strike was finally revealed. A proclamation appears signed by the Ivanovo-Voznesensk group of the Northern Committee (seal - "Kostroma group of the Sev. Kom. RSDLP"). It is widespread throughout the city and even the region.
On May 1, the Ivanovo-Voznesensk proletariat created its own mass holiday of labor, and on this day, the Social Democratic speakers not only used May Day slogans, but also expressed in their speeches those economic demands that were at that time in Ivanovo-Voznesensk the requirements of every weaver and weaver .
The war greatly inflated the prices of basic necessities, while wages remained almost at the level of previous years. The demands made by the workers of individual factories were systematically left unsatisfied by the factory owners. The position of the proletariat has deteriorated to the extreme.
Shortly after May 1, Ivanovo-Voznesensk was engulfed in a general strike. Up to 60,000 men and women went on strike. This mass of workers, emerging from their slave position, immediately became the master of the city. The bourgeoisie, along with the police and officials, trembled. The Social Democratic Party firmly led the people of Ivanovo along the path of organized revolutionary struggle.
On May 15, at a general meeting of 35,000 workers on the Talka River, a workers' organization unprecedented in the world was created - the Council of Workers' Deputies, which served as a prototype for the St. Petersburg and Moscow Soviets in 1905.
Only the revolutionary proletarian vanguard, connected with the depths of life of the working masses, could create such an organization, having absorbed all the rich experience of the mass working-class movement for many years.
The council immediately became popular in the eyes of the workers, since it included representatives of all factories and factories, and became even more influential because women, who constituted the predominant element of the proletariat of Ivanovo-Voznesensk, also entered it. From the very first steps, the Soviet took it upon itself to take care of the vital interests of the workers during the strike: negotiations with the city duma, the governor, the police, and also with local shopkeepers in order to get the latter to sell products on credit to the workers during the strike. The Council acted as an organ of power representing the interests of the working masses. The police felt completely at a loss. The bourgeoisie with the directors left Ivanovo; the City Duma did not meet (all of May and June). The Ivanovo-Voznesensk Council was extremely popular not only in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, but throughout the region. To communicate with him, delegations were sent from the nearest factory centers: Teikov, Sereda, Rodnikov, Shuya, Kokhma, etc. etc. Requested to send speakers, leaflets and instructions.
As the forces of the Soviet itself strengthened and developed, the faith of the proletariat in its own strength grew stronger, and with it the influence of the Social Democratic Party, which created the Soviet and led it, grew stronger.
The Party felt the greatest responsibility for the course of the strikes, worked with gigantic perseverance and energy, transferred Party discipline to the broad working masses, taught the masses of selflessness, setting an example of this selflessness, and by its intense work showed an example of energy. The Ivanovo-Voznesensk organization of the Bolsheviks, having set up a Soviet to lead the strike, set yet another important task: to train and create cadres of revolutionary workers on the basis of their grandiose organizational work. After the meeting, and at every free moment, the Soviet assumed the position of a Party school. Regular lectures were given on questions of Marxism and the labor movement. In this way, up to 200 revolutionary workers were trained, who in October 1905 played a major organizational role in the labor movement, and many of them continue to play the same role in our Great Revolution to this day.
The factory owners, together with the police, could not be indifferent to the systematic and deeply socialist work carried out by the leaders of the strike movement. The factory owners demanded that the police put an end to this and put an end to the "socialist university on the Talka River." Unable to break the strike organized by the Soviet of Workers, the factory owners set about a provocation. They demanded the arrest of delegates and deputies. The governor banned the meeting. In response, the workers decided to continue the strike and continued to gather on Talka. The Ivanovo-Voznesensk strike, which dragged on for several weeks, began to attract the attention of the workers of all Russia. When the bourgeois newspapers, like Russkoye Slovo, which sent their correspondents to Ivanovo-Voznesensk, began to write about how unitedly and disciplined under the able leadership of such leaders as Comrade. Dunaev, a strike is going on, and when, thus, the fame of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk strike spread throughout Russia, the Ivanovo-Voznesensk workers felt responsible to all the workers of Russia and instinctively refrained from taking any step without the order of the Soviet.
The entire bourgeoisie of Russia became agitated and demanded reprisals against the workers.
On June 3, such a massacre followed with the help of the Cossacks and the police. The Astrakhan Cossacks, drunk by the police, committed this savage massacre. Workers were shot in groups and alone, tortured and mutilated. In response to the executions and in retaliation for the murdered comrades, the workers began to burn the houses and dachas of the manufacturers, smash the shops, from which the sellers did not want to lend to the workers. Ivanovo-Voznesensk was placed under a state of siege. Strikers were seized, arrested, beaten, sent to prison. But the manufacturers and the police had to yield. The workers again won the right to assemble on Talka. The Soviet of Workers' Deputies, whose work had been disrupted by the police, was now deprived of the opportunity to be responsible for order in the city.
On June 23 (I don't remember exactly), a grandiose procession of many thousands of workers took place from Talka to the city to the square in front of the city duma. Arriving at the square, the mass of the workers, seeing themselves surrounded on all sides by the Cossacks, sat down on the ground and began to quietly arm themselves ... with stones. But the police did not dare to attack the workers. The rally went on for several hours. The slogan of the speakers' speeches was "bread and work." Anger boiled in the chest of the working masses. On June 23, it was decided to continue the strike and seek satisfaction of the demands of the workers. The manufacturers rejected these demands. The excitement of the workers reached extreme tension.
After the refusal of the manufacturers on June 25, the Soviet of Workers' Deputies resigned, declaring at a meeting that it was no longer responsible for the consequences. In Ivanovo-Voznesensk, pogroms of flour and grocery stores began. Hungry workers rushed to the food supplies. Up to 150 shops were destroyed. The manufacturers then decided to make concessions, but only petty concessions. The workers continued to strike. By an enormous exertion of all their strength, the hungry, exhausted workers continued their struggle and did not give up. The manufacturers made a few more concessions.
The strike ended on 17 July. The party organization of the Bolsheviks brilliantly passed the test in terms of organization and agitation. The Soviet of Workers' Deputies showed the full strength and significance of proletarian power. The Ivanovo-Voznesensk textile workers became at the head of the entire workers' revolutionary movement in Russia. The Ivanovo-Voznesensk strike and the Soviet of Workers' Deputies showed what the victory of the proletariat lies in and what path must be followed in order to achieve it.
The form of proletarian power laid down by the Ivanovo Voznesensk people on the Talka River in the form of a local Council of Deputies was recreated by the St. Petersburg and Moscow proletariat in the autumn of the same year in the form of the same Soviets.
The victory of the proletariat then turned out to be short-lived and fragile, but the Soviet of Workers' Deputies, which flashed brightly for a moment, entered the pages of history in order to occupy there in a few years the grandiose world position that it has now occupied.
Podvoisky N. The First Council of Workers' Deputies (Ivanovo-Voznesensky - 1905). M., 1925. p. 3 - 10
F. N. Samoilov
On the morning of May 12, work in all factories and factories proceeded at the usual pace. Around noon, the workers of the Bakulin factory quit their jobs and went out the gate. I then worked at the weaving factory of the Partnership of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk Weaving Manufactory. We, members of the party organization, having gathered in a group of several people, went on reconnaissance two or three times to find out what was being done at other factories. We looked into Bakulin's factory: the workers, having abandoned their work, were standing in a large crowd at the gate and talking noisily. At a short distance from them, just opposite the factory, a detachment of Cossacks stood in full battle formation ...
A rumor suddenly spread among the assembled workers that some personalities, who had appeared from nowhere, were walking among the strikers and were imperceptibly making marks with chalk on the backs of the most prominent leaders of the strike. Everyone quickly and anxiously began to look around and move from place to place, looking for these mysterious faces in order to deal with them. But no one was found. It is possible that this provocative rumor was spread by police agents in order to confuse the ranks of the strikers.
When we returned to our factory from the last reconnaissance, it was already about four or five in the evening. The workers were still working. Despite the upbeat, clearly strike mood, it was not easy to rouse the working masses to strike. All members of the organization at the factory walked around the buildings and agitated for a strike, but the workers did not dare to quit their jobs.
Finally, we learned that strikers from the neighboring textile factories Zubkov and Polushin had come up to the rear gate of the factory and demanded that we immediately join them. Then we got down to business more resolutely and began to shout loudly everywhere: “Give up work! Long live the strike! The workers quickly, as if on cue, stopped the machines in two weaving houses and in the spinning house, and in a dense crowd began to go out into the wide courtyard of the factory. And there, behind the back gate, the weavers of two neighboring factories demanded to open the gate.
When we, a group of party members, at the head of a huge crowd of weavers and spinners, approached the gate, there were already two policemen and several watchmen there. The policemen stood at the very gates in a resolute pose, with the clear intention of not letting anyone through. Before reaching a few steps from the police, we stopped in indecision. There was silence for a few seconds. The policemen didn't move. Finally, I and some others went to the police. The whole crowd followed us. The policemen were thrown back. The gates opened. The strikers from neighboring factories quickly joined us, and we moved across the yard in a mass to another, the so-called upper gate.
At this time, one of the comrades said that I should immediately appear at a secret meeting. I quickly headed there. The meeting took place in the forest, near the Talka River. When I arrived, comrades Terenty, Marta and many others were already there. We discussed the situation and adopted a number of decisions on the question of leading the strike.
Meanwhile, the strikers from all factories and factories moved to the main city square along the city street. Here, after a brief speech by one of the comrades, it was decided to immediately disperse to their homes, and the next day to gather again right there by 10 o'clock in the morning.
The next day, already at 9 o'clock, the strikers were drawn in dense crowds from all the workers' quarters to the main city square. At about 10 o'clock, the entire square and a significant part of the streets adjacent to it were completely crowded with workers. In the center of the square, just opposite the building of the city council, the entire city social-democratic organization gathered, surrounded by a living wall of workers. Everything stopped in the city, the factory chimneys stopped smoking, industrial life came to a standstill. All shops and shops are closed. The workers have become masters of the situation; the authorities and the manufacturers were powerless...
The square was already crowded, and people continued to arrive. It was quiet. Those gathered behaved very calmly and peacefully. Thick red faces peered expectantly from the windows of the city council.
According to the Governor's report to the Minister of the Interior, the number of strikers on the first day was 40,000.
At about 11 o'clock one of the comrades brought a stool and placed it in the center of our group of party members. E. Dunaev got up, and silence instantly fell. All eyes turned to the speaker. Having examined the huge crowd, Dunaev, after a pause that lasted several seconds, made a short speech. He talked about the need to fight until our demands, which we present to manufacturers and breeders, are satisfied. He urged to keep himself as calm as possible: do not make noise, do not shout, do not touch anyone.
In vain did these people close their shops and stores, he said, we are not thieves, not robbers, not some kind of swindlers, but honest workers, toilers who never lived at someone else's expense or by someone else's labor. All our life we support by our own labor a multitude of all sorts of exploiters and parasites, idle bums. Therefore, let the people who have closed shops and shops not measure us by their own arshin; let them know that honest workers - workers - are not at all what they are.
When Dunaev finished speaking, a roar of approval swept through the crowd. After that, at the initiative of the Social Democratic organization, it was proposed to make collections in favor of the strikers. Reliable comrades, 10 ^ - 15 people, were offered as candidates for the assemblers. By a unanimous show of hands, the assembly approved them. I was one of those collectors. We immediately began to collect, dispersing in different directions. A lot of time passed before we went around the whole huge crowd, collecting labor coppers, small silver coins, and sometimes small papers in our caps. I made the rounds not only of the striking workers, but also of all the owners of shops and stores, who, after Dunaev's speech, reopened trade. They also threw various trifles into my cap, but they did it very reluctantly. Many of them anxiously asked:
When will all this end for you?
What's this? I asked them in turn.
Yes, this is it, - they continued, nodding their heads at the meeting, - is it your strike, or what?
Why, it has only just begun, and you want it to end,” I replied.
But it's a mess, they didn't let up.
And when the owners tear up three skins from us, is that okay? - I asked them a question, already starting to worry. - As soon as the owners satisfy our demands, we will end the strike.
After that, those who asked were sullenly silent and went to their shops.
When all the collectors returned, each had an almost full cap of coppers, silver coins and small papers. This marked the beginning of the strike fund.
In addition to Dunaev, other comrades spoke at the meeting: they talked about the demands put forward by the workers and explained why it was necessary to fight for these demands.
Cossacks and police behaved calmly. The meeting ended late in the evening; The next day we decided to meet again. Immediately after the meeting, we went to the safe house and counted the money we had collected. There were already several hundred rubles in the strike fund...
The governor has arrived. Together with other royal officials, he restlessly looked out of the windows of the city council at the sea of heads that flooded the city square. From the very first days of the strike, the governor began to gather troops in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, informing the central authorities in detail about the situation that had arisen ...
The next day the meeting in the square resumed. At the same time, speeches by prominent members of the Social Democratic organization were organized in different parts of the square, explaining the demands made to the owners. Then speeches of a general nature began: they talked about the difficult situation of the working class, about the reasons for this and the need for a resolute struggle to improve their situation. On the square stood the Cossacks in full armor. During the speeches of the agitators, representatives of the authorities and some well-dressed ladies and gentlemen watched from the windows of the city council.
Comrade Lakin, a worker from the Gryaznov factory, stepped onto the podium and, making an impressive gesture towards the council, began to recite Nekrasov's Reflections at the Front Door. His voice was loud, and his recitation made a strong impression. The audience was delighted, but all the physiognomies peeping out of the windows of the council instantly disappeared, the windows closed and did not open for a long time. Tov. Lakin was one of the leaders of the strike and subsequently gained great fame among the workers as a fiery and talented speaker and organizer.
During the first days of the strike, the mood among the workers was very great, and the number of strikers increased every day. The striking workers of the textile factories and mechanical factories were joined by new groups of workers from small workshops. Those who had rejoined the strike went straight to the square, joined the general masses, and spoke through their leaders in simple and unsophisticated words about their plight and their demands. Listening to the terrible stories of the workers of small enterprises about the inhuman exploitation by their owners, the crowd was dumbly worried, approvingly greeted all those who rejoined its ranks and promised them their fraternal support.
During the days of the strike, the manufacturer Burylin wrote in a letter to his relative: “What happened in three days is indescribable. An unprecedented picture of events ... I am deprived of a coachman, I boil tea myself, the last watchman was removed from the factory, I guard the factory myself. The authorities were at a loss ... One feels dual power in the city ... "
A few days later, the authorities suggested that the strikers stop gathering in the square "so as not to disrupt traffic." From that time on, meetings took place near the railway station, at the edge of the forest, on the Talka River.
The senior factory inspector of the Vladimir province, Svirsky, on behalf of the owners of enterprises and the authorities, suggested that the strikers break into factories and negotiate with each owner separately; but we rejected this impudent demand at once.
On May 14, the strikers elected 150 deputies to negotiate with government officials and to lead the strike. This was done with the knowledge and consent of the governor, who gave a guarantee of the inviolability of the personality of the workers' deputies. Elections of deputies (authorized) were carried out in factories under the leadership of local party cells. There were no special instructions from the group of the Northern Committee in this regard, and it did not discuss the issue of the composition of the Council of Commissioners. When, at a meeting with M. V. Frunze, I informed him that the workers of our factory had elected me and S. Balashov (Wanderer) as a deputy, Mikhail Vasilyevich asked in bewilderment:
Well, Arkhipych 2, after all, you are both members of the group, and who will work in the group?
In response to my remark that the workers trust us and have unanimously elected us and that we will be able to work in the Deputy Assembly and in the group, Frunze, after thinking, said:
Perhaps it is better this way - through you the group will be more closely connected with the meeting of deputies, and through it with the working masses ...
On May 15, the first meeting of workers' deputies took place in the petty-bourgeois council, at which a presidium was elected. This is how the Council of Commissioners was formed, which went down in history as the Ivanovo-Voznesensk Council of Workers' Deputies.
This first Soviet of Workers' Deputies arose as a body directing the economic strike. His initial role was limited to negotiating with the authorities and manufacturers and the general direction of the economic struggle of the Ivanovo workers. But in the natural course of the struggle of the working class, the general strike of the Ivanovites, which began on economic grounds, very soon took on a political coloring, as can be seen even from the demand for the convocation of a Constituent Assembly, which was unanimously adopted by the strikers at a meeting of many thousands already on the third day of the strike, May 15.
Was the Ivanovo-Voznesensk Assembly of Deputies a true Soviet of Workers' Deputies in the true sense of the word? In solving this problem, for a long time, one had to be guided only by the memoirs of the participants in the strike and a small number of secondary archival documents. The main documents - protocols, despite all efforts, were not found (according to the participants in the events, they were taken away by one of the leaders of the strike abroad and got lost there).
At present, important archival documents have been found that shed light on this issue.
The first meeting of the Council of Workers' Deputies of Ivanovo-Voznesensk was attended by the senior factory inspector of the Vladimir province, Svirsky, and two of his assistants. The economic and political demands made by the striking business owners and the authorities were discussed.
Much was said at this meeting about the introduction of an 8-hour working day. All the speakers ardently argued the need to put this demand into effect at all costs, and only E. Dunaev, during the discussion of this question, suddenly threw out a few words to the effect that, in an extreme case, we could temporarily be satisfied and 9- hourly day. But this proposal met with a decisive rebuff. The decision to introduce an 8-hour working day was adopted unanimously.
At this meeting, the representatives of the factory inspectorate, as in the first days of the strike, suggested that the workers split into factories and make demands separately to each owner of the enterprise. This proposal also met with strong objections and was unanimously voted down. Decisions on all issues discussed at this meeting were taken unanimously, without much controversy.
Representatives of the factory inspectorate pretended to observe the impartiality of a third, disinterested party. But after the failure of their offer to break into factories, the mood of the inspectors changed, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. Representatives of the factory inspectorate became even more nervous after the Soviet of Workers' Deputies refused a request from a government official to print urgent paper in one of the striking printing houses. This request was strongly supported by the Inspectorate.
At the very first meeting of the Soviet, the demands of the workers were considered, which were then printed on a hectograph by the Social Democratic organization, and at the top of the sheet it appeared: “Russian Social Democratic Labor Party” and “Proletarians of all countries, unite!”. I remember when we submitted these demands to the director of our factory, he resolutely refused to accept them, on the grounds that they came from the Social Democratic Party and not from the workers of his factory. We had an argument about this. We insisted on accepting the demands in this form, but he stubbornly refused to accept them, declaring that the Social-Democratic Party was illegal and could not officially act on behalf of the workers. But in the end he was forced to yield and accepted the demands of the workers in the form in which we offered them to him.
In the first days, the meetings of the Council took place in the petty-bourgeois council, the police did not interfere with them. Then the police demanded that the protocols be presented to her for review. The council flatly refused. After this, meetings in the premises of the petty-bourgeois council were prohibited, and the Soviet of Workers' Deputies moved them to the bank of the Talka River, where meetings of all the striking workers were held daily. MV Frunze has always actively participated in the meetings of the Council.
From the very first days of the formation of the Soviet, the authorities entered into negotiations with it on various issues related to the strike, and thereby actually recognized in the Soviet an organ of legal representation of the striking workers.
In the very first days of the meetings on Talka, the workers of each factory and plant, in addition to general requirements, developed additional requirements of a private nature regarding the construction of laundries, baths, etc.
In the mornings, before the start of the rally, the city committee of the party with party activists met and outlined the order of the day for the Council of Commissioners.
Meetings on Talka took place every day from 10 o'clock in the morning. Their order of conduct was approximately the following. In the morning, at 9 o'clock, the plenum of the Council of Commissioners met. The meetings of the plenum took place at the forest gatehouse, on a small lawn separated from the place of the general meeting of workers by the Talka River, which in this place makes a sharp bend, forming a small peninsula in the form of a semicircular area overgrown with thick green grass. At the plenum, all questions on the leadership of the strike were discussed and the order of the day for the general meeting of the strikers was worked out. Only members of the Soviet and representatives of the party organization were present at the plenum. The outside public was not allowed, except when it was necessary to make an important and urgent message.
Every day, by the end of the plenum of the Council of Commissioners, several thousand strikers gathered at Talka. Then the plenum closed. The deputies went to the podium, to the place of the general meeting (a barrel served as a podium), and the meeting was opened by a speech by one of the deputies or party workers: the workers were informed about the progress of the strike, about negotiations with the owners, about relations with the authorities, etc. a brief discussion of practical questions concerning the current affairs of the strike, and the proposals made on behalf of the Council were voted on. And then usually one of the party workers made a long agitational political speech on the topic of the condition of the working class, the causes of its lack of rights and economic need, and ways to eliminate them. The speakers also talked about the development of the working-class movement in our country and abroad, about political parties, about trade unions, spoke about other topics that aroused the consciousness of the workers; the assembly turned into a kind of free working university. The strikers listened to these speeches with great attention, often interrupted by shouts of approval and applause. The first speaker was followed by a second, a third, and the meeting continued until the listeners were exhausted; then revolutionary songs were sung, and the meeting closed.
In the very first days of the strike, the Council of Deputies demanded that the authorities close all government wine shops for the duration of the strike. This requirement was granted. In the city at that time there was an order that had never been before the strike: there were no drunks to be seen, no fights, no scandals, no gambling, which the Council also forbade.
But, despite the great revolutionary upsurge, at first there were no decisive calls for armed struggle in the speeches at these meetings; most of the strikers were still under the illusion that anything could be achieved peacefully.
Once F. Kukushkin (nicknamed Gogol) 3 after a short speech shouted from the podium: "Down with the autocracy!" The assembly protested, and it took no small effort to calm it down. After this incident, it became especially clear to us that the strikers still needed to be prepared for the struggle, educated politically, and that the approach to them must be skillful and cautious.
During the rallies on Talka, cases of hostile agitation among the strikers were often observed; deputies and party members who were among the workers, immediately intervene in conversations directed against the strike, exposed the enemies.
The most prominent and popular deputies were E. Dunaev, N. Grachev (Secretary of the Council), M. Lakin, D. Shorokhov, Kosyakov, V. Morozov (Ermak), K. Makarov, N. Zhidelev, D. Chernikova, Saramantova (Marta ), P. Kozlov (Tolstoy), Tsarsky.
For negotiations with the manufacturers and the authorities, as representatives of the Soviet, Kosyakov and Grachev went most often.
Once, several people, authorized by the Soviet of Workers' Deputies, came to the governor to clarify the situation that had arisen in connection with the stubborn intransigence of the owners. The delegates waited for the governor for a long time in the reception room, no one even invited them to sit down.
Finally, the governor came out, accompanied by several close associates. We greeted each other and were about to start a business conversation, when suddenly there was a deafening peal of thunder and a bright, dazzling lightning flashed. The governor and his entire retinue crossed themselves vigorously.
And we, - said one of the delegates, - did not blink an eye, no one thought to be baptized. We stand still, watching them cross themselves, and some of us couldn't even suppress an ironic smile. "Don't you believe in God?" - exclaimed the governor, surprised by our behavior. Then Comrade, who was among the delegates. Kosyakov answered him that we, they say, have nothing to fear from a thunderstorm, we have seen all sorts of thunderstorms, but if hunger threatens us, then we are afraid of it - we know him very well and know that he is more terrible than any thunderstorm and it is impossible to disown him. Without answering Kosyakov, the governor cited some excerpt from Krylov's fable. Then tov. Kosyakov answered him with Krylov's fable "The Pig under the Oak".
After that, the mood of the authorities changed a lot for the worse for us, - another delegate reported. - There were no more private conversations that were not directly related to the case. After a short answer from the governor that he could do nothing, that the owners had the right to yield to us or not to yield, we, as always happened, left the authorities with nothing.
At meetings and in negotiations with the authorities, the worker Yevlampy Dunaev spoke especially often. He was very popular among the strikers. He spoke in simple language, understandable to the broad working masses. He approached questions skillfully and covered them sensibly and clearly. He looked like the most ordinary worker: thin, of medium height, always dressed in a worn blue blouse or a plain shirt of the same color. With his clear and simple speech, he inspired the workers with special confidence; they felt that this was their own person. The authorities considered Dunaev one of the prominent leaders of the strike and took all measures to arrest him, but due to good secrecy, they did not succeed. One day, a worker came to a general meeting on Talka and said that they had arrested him, mistaking him for Dunaev, and kept him under arrest for several days, until they found out that Dunaev continued to speak daily at the meetings of the strikers.
On May 17, the owners sent answers to the demands of the workers through the factory inspection. Each host answered separately, and these answers, sealed in envelopes, accumulated a mass. At the moment these answers were received, a general meeting of the strikers was taking place; one of the party workers, comrade. Terenty, taking this whole bunch of envelopes with the master's answers in an armful, went up to the podium and, showing them, said: “Now we finally received an answer to our demands from the hosts. Let's see what they, our "breadwinners" and "benefactors", write to us," and announced a break in the meeting.
To consider the master's responses to the demands of the workers, a plenum of the Soviet was urgently convened. The answers to all demands were negative, except for the consent of the owners to some insignificant increases and the satisfaction by them of certain petty demands regarding baths and laundries in factories. On political demands, the owners said that they were sent to the wrong address, that their satisfaction did not depend on them. ..
After considering the answers of the hosts, it was decided to continue the strike, political demands were sent to the Minister of the Interior. They were signed by the deputies, accurately indicating their professions...
At the end of May, the workers of Shuya (9048 people), then the workers of Teikov (9127 people) joined the Ivanovo workers on strike. Factories went on strike in the village of Yuzha (6127 people), Grodzilovo (1805 people) and some others. During this period, there were about 70,000 strikers in the Ivanovo region. All of them kept in touch with the Ivanovo Soviet, received advice and instructions from it. Thus, the Ivanovo Soviet actually directed the strike movement of the entire region.
The technique in the Social-Democratic organization was not bad at that moment. I was instructed to supply the printing house with paper, paint and other materials. The printing house was located on the outskirts of the city, along the Bolshoi Lezhnevsky tract. I bought paper, paint, and so on in Ilyinsky's shop and, with the help of several comrades, delivered it by detour to the printing house. The printing house printed daily bulletins on the course of the strike, which were distributed at general meetings; These ballots were of great propaganda value...
Contrary to the prohibition of the authorities, on May 23, a meeting of the strikers under the slogan "Work, bread!" was again held in the city square by the decision of the Council. Returning from the square to Talka, the demonstrators threw out a red flag and sang "Be brave, comrades, in step ...". It was the first demonstration with a red banner during the entire strike.
Business owners have disappeared from the city. Only managers, directors and other administration remained at the factories, with which the workers entered into negotiations through their deputies. At one of the meetings on Talka, at the suggestion of the Soviet, it was decided to go to the factories demanding payment of wages during the strike. But when the workers' deputies came to the factories, the administration answered them that there were no owners and that no authority had been left to anyone on this issue. There were big disputes in many factories. As a result, on the very next day, the governor issued an order in which he threatened "to take measures against those who allow themselves threats and noise during negotiations with the factory administration on the question of payment for the duration of the strike."
The owners nevertheless decided to give the workers a certain amount, though a very small amount, I think, one ruble per person. During the strike such distributions were made two or three times.
The popularity of the strike and the authority of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies grew every day and spread far beyond the city limits. Various requests and complaints came to our Council from the workers of the nearest cities and towns about harassment by the owners. It is important to note that the Council also received complaints from peasants about harassment by landowners and various rural authorities. So, for example, the Shuya peasants sent walkers with a complaint about the illegal actions of the forester. Another ten walkers of the peasants asked for instructions on "how to take away the land and destroy the zemstvo chiefs." The peasants of Murom and other counties applied to the Soviet...
Delegates from workers from different parts of the province often came for advice and with all kinds of complaints about the owners. They were invited to meetings of the Soviet, listened to, given the necessary instructions, advice, and sometimes one of the deputies or party workers was sent with them to their place to organize a strike. Walkers from the workers Shuya, Teikov, Lezhnev, Rodnikov and other industrial centers of the Ivanovo region came to the Soviet of Workers' Deputies.
In the bourgeois newspapers (" Russian word”, “Russian Vedomosti”, etc.) much was written then about the events in the “Russian Manchester”, as they called Ivanovo-Voznesensk. These newspapers covered the strike in different ways: some, like Russkoye Slovo and Russkiye Vedomosti, printed lengthy articles about the strike, fawned over, “approved” restraint, discipline, and so on, but did not approve of the excesses of such demands as the demand for a etc.; others, like the Russky Leaflet, swore and slandered the strikers in every possible way...
The police continued to behave calmly outwardly, but they followed the leaders of the strike and even surreptitiously hunted them. Some comrades were arrested during the first weeks of the strike, but were released some time later. These arrests embittered the strikers and invariably contributed to the still greater growth of class consciousness. When one of the comrades, after two or three weeks of arrest, appeared on the podium, an enthusiastic meeting was arranged for him ...
The council instructed the police to monitor order in the city and not allow strikebreakers to work. During the first weeks of the strike, Soviet-appointed militia patrols were stationed near the factories in the morning to check if anyone was going to work. I also had to visit the patrol on behalf of the Council more than once. Early in the morning, when the sun was just rising, you used to stand on the main road leading to the factory and see if a scab would show up somewhere. But an hour passes, then another - all around is quiet and deserted. There are silent buildings-giants of factories and plants located on both banks of the river Uvodi flowing through the city. Their huge chimneys do not smoke, the usual noise and rattling of looms is not heard.
A lot of bitterness has accumulated in the hearts of the workers from all sorts of insults and harassment over the course of decades. The struggle against unequal in strength enemies - the capitalists - is difficult: one has to starve and endure the need for everything most necessary. But the Ivanovo workers do not bend. There are no strikebreakers, there is complete desertion around ...
Once, while on duty, I had to meet with the police chief of the city of Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Kozhelovsky, who later shot at the workers. The sun was already high, the usual silence and solitude all around. The patrolmen were standing on the bank of a steep ravine near the factory of the "Company" when the chief of police appeared on the road from the town of Dmitrievka. We all knew his figure well. He rode in a cab with a coachman and an armed guard and was heading towards us. We pretended not to pay attention to him. Before reaching us a few dozen steps, he said:
What? Are you careful not to let those who want to get a job? Forced to strike? Look in vain: the factories will not work! Don't be afraid, they won't roll anymore! Soon you yourself will ask to be let in, but no, no, they won’t turn around! They won't wrap up for a long time! Go on strike now, go on strike!
We did not answer, pretending that this did not apply to us, and he left. Later it became known that the employers wanted to "starve us out" by artificially dragging out the strike.
Time passed, and the manufacturers were silent. The need among the strikers grew and became more and more unbearable. At first, apart from a few hundred rubles collected by us on the first day of the strike, there was nothing in the Soviet's cash box. Then the money collected by the workers of other cities and industrial towns began to arrive. Organized a commission for the issuance of benefits. During the strike, as far as I remember, about 15,000 rubles were received. The number of those in need grew, and since it was impossible to satisfy everyone, the commission had to strictly select those who were especially in need of benefits. Benefits were not given in money, but by checks and coupons of the consumer society, and those in need received benefits in food.
The cooperative "Unity is Strength" played a large positive role in the strike, providing food assistance to the strikers; he was a thorn in the side of the police. The police decided to interfere with the cooperative; under the pretext that the striking workers, who came to the shop of the cooperative for groceries, allegedly interfere with trade, the police sent Cossacks to the shop, who brutally beat the workers.
The "University" on Talka continued to exist. The results of his political and educational work were more and more noticeable. The same workers who, at the beginning of the strike, did not even want to listen to the revolutionary calls “Down with the autocracy!”, “Long live the armed uprising!” etc., now, after passing the "initial course of political literacy", they loudly applauded the heated political speeches directed against the tsarist autocracy. Now the workers sang revolutionary songs with great enthusiasm.
The most popular songs on Talka were Whip, Dubinushka, Car, Trepov General; they were sung by striking workers. Here are the words of "Nagayka" - a song composed by the people in 1905:
Once in connection with this song there was an interesting episode. A group of warriors returning from a meeting encountered two Cossacks. In a short fight, the Cossacks were disarmed, and whips were taken from them. At the next meeting, Yevlampiy Dunaev sang the song Whip, conducting a real Cossack whip. This caused general merriment, witticisms about the goofy Cossacks and laughter. On this day, "Nagayka" was sung with special enthusiasm.
They often sang "Machinushka". The song ended with angry prophetic words:
But fear, formidable king!
We will not, as of old,
Be patient with your grief.
Like a wave in a storm
Waking up from sleep
The working people are raging like the sea.
Your luxurious palace
We will destroy completely!
And only ashes will be left from the throne,
And we will take your purple in battle
And cut ourselves into banners!
merchant merchants,
Your faithful sons
We, like clouds, will scatter across the field,
And in the place of enmity
Yes severe need
We will establish brotherhood and freedom!
From these battle songs of the revolution, the working people drew energy, perseverance and the will to fight, faith in the inevitable victory of the workers' cause.
The political and educational work of the party organization was not limited to daytime, open rallies on the banks of the Talka. In the evenings, and sometimes late at night, conspiratorial meetings were held for a narrower circle of party and non-party activists in the forest, by the fire, where reports on political and social issues were listened to. All the party leaders were usually present at these meetings, and the night passed unnoticed in a lively exchange of opinions.
The authorities could not ignore this. They understood that anti-government agitation had been going on for a long time on Talka. And they decided to put an end to this by cracking down on the strikers.
On June 2, the governor's decree was pasted up, according to which meetings of workers on Talka were strictly forbidden ...
The authorities threw off the mask of a "third party" in the "dispute" between the workers and factory owners and the prohibition of meetings, they tried to break our solidarity and organization.
A secret meeting of deputies and party workers was held, at which it was decided, despite the prohibition, to still meet in regular time on Talka. This decision was orally conveyed to the strikers. Before the meeting, on the morning of June 3, combatants carried out reconnaissance of the forest that surrounded the place of the meeting of the strikers; large groups of Cossacks and dragoons were found in different places in an ambush. At about 11 o'clock at the edge of the forest, near the forest gatehouse, on the side of Talka opposite the usual meeting place, about three thousand workers gathered. Everyone sat on the ground and waited for the others to come up to open the meeting. People kept coming.
But now, from the side of the station, a large detachment of Cossacks appeared with police chief Kozhelovsky at the head. Those gathered continued to sit quietly, vigilantly watching the movement of the Cossacks.
The Cossacks drove up to a small bridge spanning the Talka. After a moment's stop at the bridge, they quickly moved across it. Having crossed the river, the Cossacks again stopped for a minute. At the attempt of some members of the Council to negotiate, the chief of police responded with curses and threats. He shouted three times in a row: “Disperse! Disperse! Disperse! ”, At the same moment he commanded:“ Cossacks, forward! - and he was the first to rush into the crowd. Behind him, spurring their horses, the Cossacks rushed with a shout and whoop.
People were already on their feet and began to retreat, at first slowly, and then faster and faster, and finally rushed into the forest in an avalanche in different directions. Most moved to the railroad line. We, the deputies, tried to stop this spontaneous flow, since in the forest it was possible, not without success, to resist the mounted Cossacks. But the wild howling, cursing and whooping of drunken Cossacks had their effect. The retreating Cossacks fired several volleys from rifles...
I somehow found myself in a crowd of those who were moving towards the railroad tracks. With a feeling of great anger, I, along with other comrades, began to collect stones on the railway line, intending to organize resistance to a gang of scoundrels. The Cossacks continued to shoot at those running across the railway embankment, "shooting" them from there with bullets; Panic seized the fugitives, and I realized that nothing could be done, that I had to leave. He joined a group of comrades heading into the forest, to the left of the railway. We walked through the forest for a long time until we reached the lodge, which was at a fairly large distance from Talka.
There were already several people in the gatehouse. We went in to ask for a drink. But the watchman, who was at that time in the yard, suddenly ran into the gatehouse and grabbed a revolver from the wall. At one point, several people attacked the watchman and disarmed him. He looked at us like a beast. At first we thought that he mistook us for robbers, and we began to explain to him who we were, we said that we did not wish him anything bad and would not do it. But he continued to look at us with hostility, and we moved on. We walked again for a long time through the forest until we came to the village of Bogorodskoye. There we met several comrades and, having rested a little, went to the city ... On the same evening, several wine shops were destroyed, many telephone and telegraph wires were torn. The streets were littered with twisted telegraph poles. Telegraph and telephone communication was interrupted. Crowds of embittered workers beat the policemen they came across.
It was clear that for the armed action of the workers, driven to the extreme by the brutal execution, only weapons were lacking. Rumors circulated in the city about a large number of dead and wounded, and curses and threats were heard everywhere against the perpetrators of the savage reprisals against the strikers ...
Samoilov F.I. In the wake of the past. M.. 1954. p. 63 - 75. 77 - 78
Notes:
1 He was killed by the Black Hundreds in 1905 in the city of Undola, Vladimir province. Note. ed.
2 My then party nickname. Note. ed.
3 Later turned out to be a provocateur. Note. ed.
Soviets of Working People's Deputies, Soviets- elected representative bodies of state power in some socialist states, a form of the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Elected political organizations of the working class of Russia, which first arose during the Revolution of 1905-1907. During the February Revolution of 1917, they were created as organs of revolutionary power; in most cases, united Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies were formed.
Elected political organizations of the proletariat of the indigenous nationalities of Central Asia arose as a result of the creativity of the masses during the February Revolution of 1917, following the example of the Soviets of Workers' Deputies, with which they were closely connected.
Elected political organizations that first arose in a number of places in Russia during the Revolution of 1905-1907 following the example of the Soviets of Workers' Deputies. In the course of 1917, they were created as organs of revolutionary power; in most cases, united Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies were formed; on the fronts, the functions of the Soviets of Soldiers' Deputies were performed.
Elected political organizations that first arose in a number of places in Russia during the Revolution of 1905-1907, following the example of the Soviets of Workers' Deputies. In the course of 1917, they were created as organs of revolutionary power. After 1917 they merged with the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.
Elected political organizations of workers and soldiers of Russia that arose during the February Revolution of 1917. After the victory of the October Revolution of 1917 - the organs of power of the working people. They were created on the basis of the experience of the Soviets of Workers' Deputies in 1905-1907. Having gone through a difficult path of development, the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies became Bolshevik by October 1917. With the establishment of Soviet power, the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies merged with the Soviets of Peasants' Deputies and a single system of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies was formed.
Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies
Elected bodies of state power of the Soviet Republic after the victory of the October Revolution of 1917. With the adoption of the decree on the creation of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army on January 15 (28), 1918, they began to be called the Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Red Army Deputies.
Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Red Army Deputies
Elected bodies of state power of the Soviet Republic since the end of January 1918. The USSR Constitution of 1936 renamed the Soviets of Working People's Deputies.
The soviets arose as a result of the revolutionary creativity of the masses in the revolution of 1905-07 in Russia as organs of leadership in the strike struggle of the workers and were the rudimentary organs of a new, revolutionary power - the revolutionary-democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry. Some Soviets during the period of the highest upsurge of the revolution became organs of leadership in an armed uprising. One of the first Soviets was the Council of Commissioners, created by the workers during the Ivanovo-Voznesensk strike in May 1905. In the autumn of 1905, Soviets of Workers' Deputies arose in many cities and workers' settlements. In Moscow, along with the Soviets of Workers, a Soviet of Soldiers' Deputies was organized; in Chita, a Council of Soldiers' and Cossacks' Deputies was created; in Sevastopol, a Council of Sailors', Soldiers', and Workers' Deputies. In some rural areas, Soviets of Peasant Deputies (Tver Province) and Peasant Committees (in Latvia and Georgia) emerged, which played the role of Soviets. In the St. Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Deputies in mid-November 1905, there were 562 deputies. The Petersburg Soviet included representatives of the Bolsheviks, Socialist-Revolutionaries, and Mensheviks. The petty-bourgeois parties managed to occupy a leading position in it; they regarded the Soviets not as militant revolutionary organizations of the masses, but as bodies of local self-government; as a result, the Petersburg Soviet did not become an organ of an armed uprising. The Bolsheviks played a leading role in the Moscow Soviet of Workers' Deputies: this Soviet was headed by the workers of Moscow, whose struggle marked the beginning of the December armed uprisings. Of the 62 Soviets that arose during the revolution, 47 were headed and influenced by the Bolsheviks, 10 were Menshevik, 1 was Socialist-Revolutionary. The Bolsheviks formed the leading nucleus in the Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Kostroma, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Chita, Krasnoyarsk, Motovilikha (near Perm) and other Soviets. The Soviets, led by the Bolsheviks, acted as a revolutionary power. With the defeat of the Revolution of 1905-07, the Soviets ceased to exist.
The system of Soviets was first enshrined in the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918, adopted by the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets. This system included the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, regional, provincial, district and volost congresses of Soviets and Soviets of cities, towns, villages, villages, and in the period between congresses - the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR - the executive committees of the Soviets. The right to elect and be elected was enjoyed by all citizens of the RSFSR who had reached the age of 18 and were engaged in socially useful work, soldiers, sailors, regardless of religion, nationality, settlement. The disenfranchisement was caused by the stubborn struggle of the enemies of the Owls. authorities. Those who used hired labor to make a profit, who lived on unearned income, private merchants, monks, clergymen, employees and agents of the former police, gendarmerie and security departments, members of the reigning house in Russia, as well as insane, mentally ill people who were under guardianship, and convicted of mercenary and other discrediting crimes.
The Communist Party directed the activities of the Soviets through party factions that were created in all Soviet bodies. “Its decisions,” the resolution of the Eighth Congress of the RCP(b) stated, “the party must carry out through Soviet bodies, within the framework of the Soviet constitution. The Party is trying to direct the activities of the Soviets, but not to replace them.
The development of the system of Soviets proceeded in close connection with national state building. With the formation of autonomous republics and regions in the RSFSR, their local Soviets were united by congresses of Soviets of autonomies. In the sovereign Soviet republics (Ukraine, Belarus and others), the highest link in the system of Soviets was the republican congresses of Soviets, which elected the Central Executive Committee of the republics. Through the system of Soviets of national republics and regions, direct and broad participation of the working masses of all nationalities in state administration was ensured.
The Soviets became an example for workers foreign countries. During the revolutionary upsurge that began in Western Europe under the influence of the October Revolution, the workers of Hungary, Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia began to create organizations similar to Soviets. In the late 1920s, Soviets arose in China. Lenin noted that the international significance of the Soviets does not imply their exact copying in other countries - "The Soviet type, not yet the Soviets, as they exist in Russia, but the Soviet type is becoming international."
With the formation in 1922, changes took place in the system of Soviets, reflecting the structure of a multinational union state and enshrined in the Constitution of the USSR of 1924 and the constitutions of the union republics. The All-Union Congress of Soviets became the supreme organ of state power; in the period between congresses, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR was the supreme organ of power. The supreme authorities in the union and autonomous republics were the congresses of Soviets (in the period between congresses - the CEC elected by them), local authorities - regional, regional, provincial, district, county, district and volost congresses of Soviets (in the period between them - their executive committees) . The peoples of the USSR (the majority for the first time in history) created their national statehood on the basis of the Soviets. In connection with the change in the administrative-territorial division, the restructuring of Soviet bodies was carried out.
The Soviets involved the broad masses in state and social work. The growth of the political activity of the working people was clearly manifested during the elections to the Soviets. In the process of liquidation of the private sector and further democratization of the electoral system in the 1930s, the number of persons deprived of the right to vote sharply decreased; in 1923 in the cities there were 8.2% of those deprived of their rights, in 1934 - 2.4%.
Adopted by the Extraordinary Eighth Congress of Soviets of the USSR, it reflected the social and economic changes that occurred in the country as a result of socialist construction after the adoption. The USSR Constitution of 1936 enshrined new system of state authorities in the center and locally, transformed the Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Red Army Deputies into Soviets of Working People's Deputies, which reflected the moral and political unity of Soviet society, which consisted of two friendly classes - the working class and the collective farm peasantry - and the working intelligentsia. In connection with the liquidation of the exploiting classes in the USSR, all restrictions on voting rights were abolished, and general, equal and direct elections by secret ballot were introduced. All units of the Soviets are elected directly by voters according to the norm of representation established by the Constitution and the Regulations on Elections to the Soviets.
In the spring and summer of 1905, unrest spread to the army and navy. In the Odessa region, the battleship "Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky" entered the exercises. On June 14, the team refused a dinner made from rotten meat. The commander ordered everyone to line up on deck and called the guard. Among the sailors suddenly there were shouts: "Brothers! Enough to endure!" At that very moment, one of the officers fired at the sailor leader G.N. Vakulenchuk. The sailors began to crack down on the officers. Power passed into the hands of the rebels. Two more ships joined the Potemkin.
The sailors elected a ship committee headed by A.N. Matyushenko and decided to go to Odessa, where strikes had been going on since June 8. But local authorities took steps to isolate the rebellious sailors from the workers.
The Black Sea squadron came out to suppress the uprising, but the sympathy of the sailors for the Potemkins was so obvious that the squadron was taken to Sevastopol.
For 11 days, the insurgent battleship was at sea under a red flag, and when fuel and food ran out, she surrendered to the Romanian authorities. In the Romanian port of Constanta, the sailors drafted an appeal "To the entire civilized world," in which they demanded an immediate end to the Russo-Japanese war, the overthrow of the autocracy, and the convening of a Constituent Assembly.
An important event in the history of the 1905 revolution was the creation of the first Soviet of Workers' Deputies. On May 12, a strike began in Ivanovo-Voznesensk. It was headed by the head of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk organization of the RSDLP, F.A. Afanasiev, and a 19-year-old student of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, M.V. Frunze.
To lead the strike movement, it was decided to elect the Soviet of Workers' Deputies, which soon turned into an organ of revolutionary power in the city. The Soviet took over the protection of factories and plants, forbade for a certain period the eviction of workers from their apartments, raising food prices, closed government wine shops, kept order in the city, creating detachments of workers' militia. Financial, food, investigative, agitation and propaganda commissions, an armed squad were formed in the Council. All over the country there was a collection of funds for the striking workers. However, weary of more than two months of strike, the workers agreed to go to work at the end of July, as the owners of a number of factories made concessions.
"Union of Unions". Back in October 1904, the left wing of the "Union of Liberation" began work to unite all streams of the liberation movement. To this end, work is underway to create professional political unions, which have become a form of involving democratic intelligentsia and employees in political life. By 1905, there were already unions of lawyers, engineers, professors, writers, medical staff, etc. The "Liberators" claimed a leading role in the liberation movement: they were even members of the governing bodies of the All-Russian Peasant Union. Their influence prevailed in the unions of railway employees and workers , clerks, accountants, agronomists, statisticians, teachers, postal and telegraph employees, etc. Different unions put forward different demands, but they also contained general provisions for all unions.
On May 8-9, 1905, a congress was held at which all unions were united into a single "Union of Unions". P.N. Milyukov became its head. The Bolsheviks accused the congress of moderate liberalism and left it.
Four unions in the "Union of Unions" were created not on a professional basis: Krestyansky, Zemtsev-constitutionalists (landlords), the Union of Jewish Equality and the Union of Equal Rights of Women.
At the II Congress of the "Union of Unions" (end of May 1905) it was decided to organize a general political strike together with the revolutionary parties. Being on the left positions in the liberal-bourgeois camp, the "Union of Unions" tried to unite all the forces opposed to tsarism. He offered a peaceful, legal way of struggle.
Bulygin Duma. In the conditions of the growing revolution, tsarism undertook another maneuver: on August 6, 1905, the highest manifesto was issued on the establishment of the State Duma. The manifest said: " The State Duma It is established for the preliminary development and discussion of legislative proposals, ascending, according to the strength of the fundamental laws, through the State Council to the Supreme Autocratic Power.
The Duma was supposed to discuss issues of the budget, states, and some laws, but remained at the same time a legislative body. In elections, the peasants were given priority "as the predominant ... most reliable monarchist and conservative element."
The project of the Duma was developed under the leadership of Bulygin, so it went down in history under the name "Bulygin". Most of the population of Russia was deprived of voting rights: women, military personnel, workers, students, wandering "foreigners", etc.
Under such an electoral system, St. Petersburg, with a population of over 1.5 million people, would give only 7,000 voters.
Naturally, a significant part of the supporters of the liberal and revolutionary camp spoke in favor of a boycott of the Bulygin Duma.
Deputies on the banks of the Talka. June 1905. Photo by N. Alekseev
Council of Workers' Commissioners(became known after 1917 as Ivanovo-Voznesensk City Council of Workers' Deputies) - an elected representative body of workers' power that existed in Ivanovo-Voznesensk (now Ivanovo) during the First Russian Revolution from May 15 (28) to July 19 (August 1), 1905. 151 deputies were elected to the Soviet from factories with more than a thousand workers (one deputy for every 500 people). There are 151 deputies in total. Chairman - A. E. Nozdrin. It is considered the first Council in Russia.
Creation
The council appeared in 1905 during the Ivanovo-Voznesensk strikes. Since May 12, a strike has been going on in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, in which more than 70 thousand people took part. The leading role in the strike was played by the Bolsheviks. The strikers demanded an eight-hour working day, wage increases, the abolition of fines, the liquidation of the factory police, freedom of speech, unions, the press, strikes, and the convening of a Constituent Assembly, but economic demands still prevailed.
On May 13, a rally gathered at the city government (now Revolution Square), at which the workers put forward their demands to the manufacturers. However, the manufacturers refused to negotiate with the crowd and insisted on the election of representatives from each enterprise by the workers. In the evening of the same day, the norm of representation was established on Talka: one deputy was elected for 500 workers from factories with more than a thousand workers, and elections began by open voting. On this day, 50 people were selected. On May 15, the elections ended on Talka. 151 deputies were elected, including 25 women. As it turned out later, three (or two: the affiliation of V.P. Barashkov is debatable) deputies were agents of the Okhrana. The Ivanovo-Voznesensk poet Avenir Evstigneevich Nozdrin became the chairman. Contrary to the intentions of the manufacturers, the deputies refused to conduct separate negotiations at each factory separately, but united in a city council. The council almost entirely (with the exception of one employee) consisted of workers, average age deputies was 23 years old.
Activity
The Soviet was called upon to lead the strike and negotiations with the authorities and the factory owners, and also to organize among the workers the propaganda of Marxism and revolutionary ideas. On the evening of May 15, the first meeting of the Council was held in the building of the Meshchanskaya Council (now known as the House of the First Council), during which the council was guarded by workers. Later, the meetings were moved to the shore of Talka. The council created fighting squads and an elected court. On May 20, a workers' militia was created, led by I. N. Utkin. On May 22, she was sent to maintain order in the city and protect factories from scabs. The legitimate authorities tried to suppress the strike movement by evicting workers from factory barracks, raising food prices, but the Soviet tried to counteract this by opening factory shops and supplying the strikers with food. He created a commission to lead the strikes, headed by S. I. Balashov, financial and food commissions. The power in the city was partially in the hands of the Council, with the connivance of which arson and pogroms of the houses of manufacturers, shops and shops began in the city, and communication was broken in many places. There was a split in the ranks of the manufacturers.
The owners did not satisfy all the demands of the workers, but made significant concessions. On average, the working day was reduced to 10.5 hours, wages increased by 10%.
At the end of June, the breeder P. Gryaznov was the first to make concessions to the workers, and other manufacturers soon joined in: at the enterprises of the city, the working day was reduced by different times(for example, at the Murashkin plant for 1.5 hours, at the Zhokhov plant for half an hour) and now it was 10.5 hours on average, wages increased by 10%, pregnant women and nursing mothers received some benefits, and the strikers were promised not to be fired. In view of this, on June 27 the Soviet adopted a resolution to end the strike from July 1. But at the beginning of July, the manufacturers decided to refuse all concessions and arrange a lockout in order to suppress the revolutionary movement. Despite the strikers' lack of funds, the rallies resumed. The Council began to meet again. The factory owners again made concessions, and although far from all the demands were met, the workers were satisfied with them. On July 19, the last meeting of the Ivanovo-Voznesensky Soviet took place, at which the deputies decided to resume work.
Memory
In honor of the events of 1905, in Soviet time, since the 1970s, the city of Ivanovo bore the unofficial nickname "The Motherland of the First Council". The Museum of the First Council is located in the city. In the 1970s, monuments were erected in the city in honor of the revolutionary events of 1905 - the Monument to the Fighters of the Revolution of 1905 (1975), the Krasnaya Talka Memorial Complex (1975), a panel with a bas-relief and Lenin's statement on the building of the House of Soviets (1977) ( cm.
