Soviets in Revolutionary Russia

In revolutionary Russia, soviets were councils through which workers, soldiers and, in some cases, peasants organised and represented their interests. The Russian word means “councils”; these bodies brought together elected delegates and became centres of revolutionary authority, especially during 1917. They were not originally identical with the Bolshevik Party, although the Bolsheviks later brought them under party control.

Origins and representative character

Soviets emerged during the 1905 Revolution, when striking workers needed bodies to coordinate collective action. They reappeared and spread during the revolutionary upheaval of 1917.

• Workers elected delegates from workplaces, while soldiers formed councils representing military units; peasants also organised soviets.
• Soviets discussed immediate demands, organised political action and exercised influence over factories, troops and local affairs.
• The Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies became especially influential because it operated in the capital.
• Different socialist groups participated in soviets, so membership of a soviet did not automatically mean membership of the Bolshevik Party.

Soviets and dual power after February

After the February Revolution of 1917 overthrew the monarchy, the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet existed alongside one another. This overlapping authority is commonly described as dual power.

• The Provisional Government held formal governmental office, but the Soviet commanded substantial support among workers and soldiers, limiting the government’s ability to act independently.
• Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries initially held greater influence than the Bolsheviks in the Petrograd Soviet.
• Lenin called for power to pass to the soviets rather than remain with the Provisional Government, a demand expressed in the slogan “All power to the soviets”.
• The Bolsheviks gained support as dissatisfaction grew over the continuation of the war, economic hardship and unresolved demands for land.

Role in October and the subsequent state

By the autumn of 1917, the Bolsheviks had gained majorities in the Petrograd and Moscow soviets. The Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet organised the armed uprising associated with the October Revolution.

• The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets endorsed the transfer of power to the soviets and approved a new government headed by Lenin.
• Soviets subsequently became the formal institutional basis of the new state, linking local councils with higher congresses.
• As Bolshevik rule consolidated, independent political competition within the soviets diminished and effective authority increasingly rested with the Communist Party.