Revolutionary Politics in Provincial Russia: The Tsaritsyn “Republic” in 1917

Abstract

In a recent article inVoprosy istorii KPSSentitled “The Bolsheviks and Revolutionary Creativity in the Provinces (July-October 1917),” A. S. Smirnov analyzes those hotbeds of radicalism where events took a sharp swing to the left, at a rate often surpassing revolutionary developments generally, even those in Petrograd itself.1 In such diverse and far-flung places as Helsingfors, Lugansk, Shlissel'burg, Minsk, Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Kazan', and Tsaritsyn, revolutionary politics bred endless crises, demoralizing the national government and at times embarrassing and perplexing leaders of revolutionary parties. One would think that Soviet historians and propagandists would seize eagerly upon the opportunities these case studies provide to show the degree to which revolutionary ideas had gained support from local populations across the country. But this is not necessarily the case.

The year of 1917 in Yaroslavl

“…The provincial committees themselves were responsible for the Party's activities within the provinces. The smaller party units -those of parish (uyezd) and volost (rural) -were defined in the charter as auxiliary ones, and all the work on their development was assigned exclusively to the gubernia committees in the cadet milieu 18 . This approach to solving the most important organizational problems under the conditions of the revolutionary onset predetermined the future collapse of the Cadets, whose competitors, the Socialist-Revolutionaries (SRs) and the Mensheviks, acquired a large share of influence in the provincial power since the first days of the revolution.…”

“…Within the committees of public security, under the leadership of the Soviets, certain groups representing interests of the most popular layers of the population were formed (the Soviets of Workers' Deputies were headed by working groups, the Soviets of Peasants' Deputies were headed by peasants, and the military oversaw the Soviets of Military Deputies). Most of these 18 Dumova N.G. The Cadet Party in World War I and February Revolution.…”

The year of 1917 in Yaroslavl

“…Отвечать за деятельность партии внутри губерний должны были сами губернские комитеты. Более мелкие партийные подразделения -уездные и волостные (сельские) -определялись в уставе как вспомогательные, и вся работа по их развитию возлагалась в кадетской среде исключительно на губкомы18 . Такой подход к решению важнейших организационных вопросов в условиях начавшейся революции предопределил будущий крах кадетов, конкуренты которых, эсеры и меньшевики, приобрели большую долю влияния на губернскую власть уже с первых дней революции.В комитетах общественной безопасности эсеры возглавляли влиятельные крестьянские группы.…”