Chapter 6: The October Revolution - The Broom of History
"The Kerensky Provisional Government has laid bare its incompetence to the world, and now is the time for the Russian people to unleash the fury they have long suppressed! Our only path is armed revolution!"
"Nonsense! If a revolution were to occur now, we'd merely hand Russia over to the likes of Kornilov! This would be nothing more than a repeat of the July Days!"
"Things are different now! The Bolsheviks now hold a majority in the Petrograd Soviet, and the people support us! Opposing armed revolution... could you be a reactionary Socialist Revolutionary agent, taking orders from the Provisional Government?"
"What? Are you accusing me of treason?"
"Exactly! Are you complaining? You Kerenskyist can't even support armed revolution!"
"Quiet! Be quiet! I can't start the meeting like this!"
My first experience at a Bolshevik Central Committee meeting was a complete disaster.
Even though the Bolsheviks held a majority within the party, the Soviet still contained many Mensheviks who opposed an armed revolution.
Even among the Bolsheviks themselves, there were those who believed an armed uprising was premature. Today, I needed to persuade these party opponents.
It was October 5th, and if the October Revolution was to occur within the month, there were roughly three weeks left. Yet the Soviet, let alone the Bolsheviks themselves, remained deeply divided.
How on earth did the October Revolution succeed? I couldn't help but wonder.
Trotsky, as chairman of the Soviet, stood at the podium, remaining silent. Before him, Lev Kamenev and Gregory Zinoviev were quietly shouting for everyone to calm down. I knew their names, but I didn't recognize their faces.
According to Trotsky, both were "unrivaled fools." They publicly opposed Lenin's path of armed revolution and, in fact, acted as Kerensky's spies.
I didn't know the details, but as Bolsheviks who didn't follow Lenin, they were fools by modern standards too.
"Now, now, Comrades."
Trotsky, feigning solemnity, addressed the committee members. The deputies who had been shouting loudly moments before fell silent in an instant. Was this the power of Trotsky?
"Can't we save the verbal sparring for later? After all, we're here today to fight until one of us falls. There's no need to tire ourselves out beforehand, isn't that right?"
I smiled, sitting a little away from the official committee seats since I wasn't yet an official member. Trotsky's true strength lay not just in his eloquence, but in his ability to inspire the Armed Revolution Faction members. Simply being with him gave them an irreplaceable courage. Smiles began to spread across the faces of the other Bolshevik deputies.
"Let's begin the meeting! Today, we will decide the guidelines for the armed revolution!"
With thunderous applause, the curtain rose on the fateful meeting that would decide the fate of Russia.
"Comrade Siyoung, did you see that? This is how politics is done."
After the meeting adjourned, Trotsky swaggered back to the chairman's office. I nodded repeatedly to avoid dampening his spirits as I served him tea.
To get straight to the point, the armed revolution plan had passed. The Bolsheviks would now adopt armed revolution as their policy and refuse all cooperation with the counter-revolutionaries.
But I saw. It was never easy to get it passed. When the meeting began, only two of the Bolshevik leaders supported the revolution: Trotsky and Lenin. Moreover, Lenin hadn't even returned from exile yet.
Even if the ordinary Party members supported armed insurrection, if the Bolshevik committee members had opposed it, their votes could have easily swayed. In the end, Trotsky had to single-handedly defeat all the committee members who opposed armed revolution.
And he succeeded. Of course, this was partly because Trotsky was one step ahead of the Opposition in logic. He personally dismantled the Opposition's argument that armed revolution was impossible, thereby bolstering the position of the Armed Revolution Faction.
"...In other words, what Comrade Anisimov is saying makes absolutely no sense. I agree that Russia needs to unite as the German Army invades. But hasn't the Provisional Government been the one suppressing the Soviet and perpetuating conflict with the military old guard? The current situation is not unity, but division. And most importantly, unity will only come when the war ends!"
However, as Trotsky himself admitted, pure political maneuvering also played a part. He used his position as chairman of the Soviet to manipulate the flow of the meeting at will.
"Ah, Comrade Vladimir Zenzinov, it seems our time is up. Hm? You say it's not? According to my pocket watch, it's already been two minutes. If you have anything else to say, do so now. We'll now hear from those in favor."
"Yes, yes, so Kerensky claims his government is different from Kornilov's, yet he's trying to diminish the voice of the workers' and soldiers' soviets. By the way, this is similar to what the Riga Rifle Regiment... What? You say two minutes are up? It's only been one minute and thirty-five seconds, Comrade. You say the hall clock says otherwise? Then that clock must be wrong. We'll replace it along with finishing this meeting."
"Comrade Siyoung, you claim to be a Bolshevik, yet you're trying to split the party. You're just a military old guard in Bolshevik clothing."
"Comrade Anisimov, you're a member of the Petrograd Soviet, yet you're trying to split it. You're just a Kerenskyist in Bolshevik clothing."
"Comrade Kamenev, you're a member of the Smolny Institute, yet you're trying to split it. You're just a Kerenskyist in Bolshevik clothing."
"Comrade Trotsky, you're a member of the Petrograd Soviet, yet you're trying to split it. You're just a Kerenskyist in Bolshevik clothing."
The session began with the chairman cutting off an opposition member who was about to speak, citing time constraints. He then deliberately avoided checking his watch when workers and soldiers supporting the armed revolution took the floor. This was followed by subtly distorting the opposition's arguments as he summarized the debate.
In the end, when the votes of both party members and committee members were tallied, the pro-revolution faction won by more than double the votes of the opposition, securing a decisive victory. Although the committee vote went against them, the Armed Revolution Theory, having received overwhelming support from the party members, was now adopted as the Party Line.
"I wasn't worried about this meeting at all. It's all thanks to fools like Zinoviev and Kamenev at the top of the committee. But our party members weren't taken in by the committee's empty boasts. That's very encouraging."
Trotsky was busy boasting about himself, so I glanced at him furtively, making sure he didn't notice. *You're the one who subtly stirred up the party members, aren't you?*
"Then, Comrade Trotsky, what happens now?"
"What happens now? This is just the beginning."
Trotsky clenched his fist and raised it.
"First, we need to submit the Armed Revolution Theory to a vote in the Petrograd Soviet and get it passed. Since it was decided as the Party Line today, it should pass. Our Bolshevik comrades are stubborn and hard to convince, but once they understand, they follow through well."
"And if the Armed Revolution Theory is passed?"
"We'll withdraw from the Provisional Council. Until now, we've maintained cooperation with the Kerensky Government in name, but now that armed revolution is decided, there's no need for that anymore."
Trotsky cleared his throat before continuing.
"After that, we must devote ourselves to establishing the real institutions for the revolution. The Military Revolutionary Committee could be considered the most representative of these. Taking Petrograd with the Military Revolutionary Committee as the core, we will declare the fall of the Provisional Government. Then we will become the legitimate government of All-Russia."
Trotsky looked like Bob Ross about to say, "Isn't this easy?" But watching him, I felt an overwhelming sense of unease.
This plan is too sloppy.
"Do you really believe that everything will go smoothly just by capturing Petrograd? What if remnants of the White Army resist us and rebel?"
"Didn't you hear what I said in the meeting, Comrade Siyoung? The Trade Unions support us. Moreover, Bolshevik support is solid in urban areas. And Russia is a vast country. If we capture the cities, dominating the countryside will only be a matter of time."
I see. Though I wasn't fully convinced, I nodded reluctantly. After all, this was how it had unfolded in actual history.
The revolution that began in Petrograd soon spread from Moscow to Vladivostok. The Red Army, having seized control of the major cities, crushed the fragmented White Army.
Yet, a nagging worry persisted in the back of my mind: Is this really the right path? A single misstep here could send our future to the guillotine.
Moreover, following history exactly as it happened presented its own problems. If events unfolded as they had before, Trotsky, after falling from grace, would denounce Stalin and meet a brutal end, his skull cracked open by an ice pick.
Ultimately, I needed to create a point of divergence. That was my duty, having already entrusted my fate to Trotsky. For the Red Army to triumph, Trotsky's standing had to rise as well.
But how? Time was slipping away helplessly.
"The Bolsheviks have finally passed the Armed Revolution Theory in the Petrograd Soviet. A large-scale armed operation is expected soon."
"Additionally, all Bolshevik representatives in the Provisional Council have resigned today. At the same time, they publicly published an article opposing our government. The full text is here..."
"Just received a report. The German Baltic Fleet is conducting a show of force in the Gulf of Riga. Our naval power is currently inadequate, and we wouldn't be able to resist if they advance on Petrograd..."
"Hmph, get out of here."
Alexander Kerensky, Prime Minister of the Russian Republic's Provisional Government, ignored the barrage of reports and savored the brief peace in his private office.
The situation was deteriorating rapidly, day by day.
The Bolsheviks had finally secured a majority in the Soviet and decided to launch an armed revolution.
The Socialist Revolutionary Party wavered, unable to take decisive action.
The military old guard was sharpening their knives over Kornilov's arrest.
It was a perfect storm, leaving Kerensky completely isolated and without allies.
Kerensky had no political comrades he could trust or rely on at this critical juncture.
The Mensheviks were already eyeing the Bolsheviks, and it was only a matter of time before the Socialist Revolutionaries abandoned him. His rallying cry of "unity" echoed hollowly, devoid of meaning.
Kerensky understood. He knew that the position he held was a poisoned chalice. But he vowed to do his best, and he was confident in his ability to succeed.
Wasn't he better than the lunatic monk or the Tsar, who was blinded by his wife's skirt?
But when he finally opened the lid, he found Russia was far worse than he'd imagined.
The military old guard was completely out of control, and the Bolsheviks, backed by popular support, were calling for a second revolution.
He considered the Kerensky Offensive, launched to overcome his low popularity, an unavoidable necessity.
But the disastrous failure of the offensive spelled the end of his political career. Now he was just a puppet prime minister in a hollowed-out republic.
Kerensky pulled out the vodka he'd been keeping in his desk. Everyone kept telling him not to lose hope.
Let them all go to hell. Kerensky gulped down the vodka.
Now that the Bolsheviks had revealed their true colors, Kerensky was powerless. The workers and soldiers were backing the revolution.
To think that the Prime Minister of the Russian Republic can do nothing but twiddle his thumbs while the Bolsheviks methodically prepare their revolution! Even the King of Sweden probably has more power than I do.
Kerensky shook the bottle of vodka back and forth. It was already half-empty. He sighed and tossed it into the trash.
"Is our fate to be swept away by the broom of history?" Kerensky muttered, gazing out the window at the city of Petrograd. In the distance, the Smolny Institute, the Bolsheviks' headquarters, glimmered faintly.