Customer Reviews

The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd

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That is, write another engrossing history of the Bolshevik Party in revolution. This volume picks up seamlessly where his earlier "The Bolsheviks Come to Power" left off. For those of us who enjoyed his lucid and - at the time - groundbreaking reconstruction of 1917, this volume dealing with the revolutionary aftermath of October has been too long-awaited.

Although the writing gets dense at times, those interested in the subject will find a fascinating wealth of information on just how confused, ad hoc and improvisational were these early days of "Communist conspiracy" and "scientific socialism." Rabinowitch begins with the early negotiations between the Bolsheviks and other parties on the limits of inclusion in the new Soviet government, and concludes with the first-year anniversary of the October Revolution. Throughout the narrative his focus is on the moderate Bolshevik faction and how it was marginalized by Lenin, as well as the pressures of civil war.

Realistically, however, Rabinowitch does not idealize these moderates nor overindulge the what-ifs of historiography. In outlining the transformation of Bolsheviks "from rebels to rulers" he keeps us aware of the harsh realities of civil war that made compromise and negotiation seem suicidal. And it must be remembered that attempts by moderate anti-Bolsheviks, to promote democracy and counsel conciliation on the White side, were brushed off by rightwing army officers and Western advisors who were determined to crush Bolshevism at all costs. With the narcosis of civil war gripping all parties it's very hollow indeed to berate the Bolsheviks alone for being dictators and fanatics, or expect them to rise above these circumstances. This is Rabinowitch's conclusion and is a refreshing counterpoint to the ideologically-driven anti-Bolshevik school led by Richard Pipes and Robert Conquest.

Written by Russian and Soviet historian Alexander Rabinowitch (Professor Emeritus of History, Indiana University Bloomington), The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd is an in-depth historiography of the Bolshevik Party's first year in power after the revolution of November, 1917 that so profoundly affected Soviet history and politics throughout the twentieth century. The Bolsheviks in Power denies the entrenched view that the party's severe ideology immediately changed the Soviet political system into one of brutal authoritarianism; rather, it is revealed that the Bolsheviks struggled to hold on to power amidst a sea of political, social, economic, and military crises, causing the oppressive regime that rose from it to appear virtually ad hoc. Issues discussed include the swift decline and fall of moderate Bolsheviks; the creation of the ruthless Cheka, the Bolshevik-Left SR alliance, and much more. Enthusiastically recommended as an addition to college library world history shelves.

I have now finished the trilogy (Prelude to Revolution, Bolsheviks Seize Power and Bolsheviks in Power). Although this review will concentrate on the third, much of my commentary applies to them all. First of all, Professor Rabinowitch is to be congratulated on the amount of detail that he has unearthed concerning the Bolsheviks and their relation to Petrograd in the period 1916-1919. However, it is not an easy read and the meetings and deliberations of such organizations as the Central Executive Committee, the Sovnarkom (Council of People's Commissars) and other entities merge into a bureaucratic morass.

Frankly, the second volume is the most interesting, since it is the narrative of the actual seizure of power. Professor Rabinowitch forcefully argues that the Bolsheviks were a relatively democratically-based organization, and I will concede his point. What he fails to do is explain how the Party became the totalitarian entity in a meaningful fashion. Yes, he does mention that the Red Terror was inspired by White threats and Allied machinations.

However, there is no real sense of what has happened in Petrograd during this time. Zinoviev, the "boss" of Petrograd, is described as such, but there is no explanation of why he remained in Petrograd while many of the other Bolsheviks decamped to Moscow. Yes, there was the threat that the Germans might seize Petrograd, but who determined who left and who stayed? The assassinations of Volodarskii and Uritskii are not placed in an easy to understand context, while the chronologically related assassination attempt of Lenin does not even mention the assassin (Fanny Kaplan). Granted the latter assassination attempt occurred in Moscow, but the fact remains that it too was responsible for the Red Terror which spread to Petrograd.

Most of the personalities are only described peripherally. They do not come alive in a cohesive fashion and they usually seem to be mere Party ciphers. Yet, there are instances of personal conduct which beg further explanation -- for example, the Shchastny Affair, wherein Trotsky arranges for the trial and execution of a Russian Captain who had become a naval hero. Professor Rabinowitch's tantalizing glimpses of this "show trial" are only that, and further references are to the Professor's own article (in Russian). Neither Figes nor Lincoln mention this episode in their histories of the Russian Civil War; Deutscher's first volume notes it in passing in a single page, while Volkogonov devotes two pages to it in his biography of Trotsky. Professor Rabinowitch notes that the Captain was rehabilitated in 1995, but there is so much more that could have been explained here.

Kamenev seems to pop up here and there but is an overall enigma, as are Radek, Bukharin and many of the Old Bolsheviks. These books may well belong in university libraries, it is just that they are not overly enlightening for the reader.

Examines the pivotal first year of Bolshevik rule. Using newly released Russian sources, he unravels the roots of Soviet authoritarianism, demonstrating that the Bolsheviks did not come to power with a plan to institute dictatorship. Instead, the Red Terror and the oppressive political system that developed was largely the result of ad hoc reactions to escalating crises - in particular the continuing war with Germany and the developing Civil War. An important lesson indeed. And it is far from the only instance when isolating and bombarding a nascent regime has served to harden its resolve and bring out the darkest of human inclinations. (Reviewed in Russian Life)