The myth that the Bolsheviks illegally dispersed the "Constituent Assembly" - supposedly the only source of legitimate power - is easily broken, and we have already considered this issue, relying on the data of V. Karpets: "Constituent Assembly" by the evening of January 5, 1918 (the moment of dissolution ) did not have a quorum, and therefore all his decisions were legally null and void.
S.G. Kara-Murza and S. Chernyakhovsky, according to whose works we will make a small reconstruction.
First, a little excursion into history Constituent Assembly.
Yu Chernyakhovsky writes that
The Provisional Government constantly postponed the convocation of the CA, and that the fundamental decision to convene the CA was made under pressure from the Petrosoviet
:
“If we consider the date of formation of the first Provisional Government on March 2, 1917, then we can say that for three and a half weeks it, on the one hand, simply postponed the issue of a decision on convening the Constituent Assembly, and on the other, refused to accept any significant issues of changes in life of Russia. "
Caricature "Provisional Government at Work". 1917 g.
More details.
***
The principal decision to convene the SC was made under pressure from the Petrosovet at a meeting of the contact group only on March 26. The term of its collection was attributed to the summer months, and for its preparation a special meeting was created, which was supposed to adopt a law on elections and hold the elections of the SC. Moreover, the first meeting of the Special Meeting was scheduled only for 25 May.
The convocation of the Constituent Assembly, which made sense and could have been assembled by May 1917 in order to prevent a vacuum of power in the country, was delayed in every possible way. different forces, but to a large extent - it was the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, who formed the ruling coalition since the spring-summer of 1917.
Even the draft regulation on the elections of the US was published only two months later - on July 26, 1917, and even then in incomplete form. Its second part, together with the order on the application, was approved in general only on September 11th. And the division of the provisions on elections in the army and navy, which for military conditions meant the representation of the interests of a huge part of the voters - even later: only on September 23rd.
Established under the Provisional Government, in addition to the Special Meeting, the Legal Meeting and the Special Commission developed and developed a number of future basic laws, among which were not devoted to either agrarian or labor issues (that is, their activities rolled back even in comparison with their work The State Duma who tried to resolve these issues),nor the issue of Russia's withdrawal from the war.
... In June, the Provisional Government nevertheless set the date for the convocation of the Council for September 30. On August 7, the All-Russian Commission for the Convening of the Constituent Assembly was established. The elections were first scheduled for July 14, then postponed to September 17. Then the right-wingers demanded that the convocation be postponed for a month. At the same time, the idea of replacing the Constituent Assembly with an interim president emerged. Moreover, all this took place not under the first, the Cadet Provisional Government, but under the second and third, composed on a coalition basis with a significant representation of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. In September, mass pressure forced the Provisional Government to set the election date for September 12, and the date for convening the Council of Ministers - for November 28.However, neither the elections, nor, of course, the collection of the Assembly were ensured, and this date was again postponed.
- already in January 1918.
Ultimately, the Bolsheviks who had already taken power took over the organization of the elections.The organizational conditions for this were created by the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of November 12 (that is, already five days after the seizure of power), which, in fact, made it possible at least to start the elections on November 25.<...>
On the results of the still held elections to the Constituent Assembly:
... Ultimately, the election results were as follows: the Social Revolutionaries collected 17,490,837 votes, the Bolsheviks in 60 precincts (not all precincts were given their ballots) - 9,563,358 votes, the Mensheviks in 54 precincts - 1.7 million votes. The Cadets received 1,856,639 votes, together with the more right-wing ones - 4.62 million.
A total of 35.5 million voters participated in the elections. The share of the Bolsheviks amounted to almost 27%, the share of the Socialist-Revolutionaries - about 54%, the Mensheviks - about 5%; the right got around 13% of the vote.
Very important figures that opponents of the Soviet regime prefer to keep silent:
= Number of elected delegates and quorum =.
A total of 715 delegates were elected, quorum is defined at 400 delegates... According to various sources, on January 18, at the time of the opening of the CA, from 402 to 410 delegates were present at the meeting - that is, it was difficult to recruit a quorum.
C. Kara-Murza:
... There are discrepancies in the data provided by historians on the number of votes cast in elections for certain parties. Apparently, about 44 million people participated in the elections.
voters. 715 deputies were elected (according to other sources, 703). For the SRs,
Mensheviks, various national parties voted about 60%. For the Bolsheviks about 25%. For the Cadets and other right-wing parties, about 15%.
Thus, parties with a fundamentally bourgeois program received about 15%
those who took part in the elections, parties with different socialist programs - 85%. The conflict that arose in connection with the Constituent Assembly is a conflict between the socialists, and above all, between the two revolutionary parties of socialists, the Bolsheviks and the Socialist-Revolutionaries (the Mensheviks had 16 seats, and the Socialist-Revolutionaries 410). Chernov from the chair even declared "the will to socialism." It is important to emphasize this because during the years of perestroika, the press introduced public conscience the idea that it was a question of choosing between the bourgeois-liberal and socialist path of development of Russia... On a number of issues (for example, in relation to terror), the Bolsheviks were a more moderate party than the Socialist-Revolutionaries. The transfer of power to the Constituent Assembly (considered as a speculative version) would mean not the emergence of a capable bourgeois statehood, but the continuation of "Kerenskyism".
The Constituent Assembly began its work on January 5, 1918 in Petrograd, in the Tauride Palace. About 410 deputies attended with a quorum of 400.
*
On the conflict of interest directly at the meeting and the loss of legitimacy by the Constituent Assembly:
S. Kara-Murza.
... The right Social Revolutionary V.M. Chernov (former Minister of the Provisional
government). Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Ya.M. Sverdlov read out " Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People"and proposed to the assembly to accept it, that is, to recognize the Soviet power and its most important decrees: on peace, land, etc. The Left SRs also called on the assembly to adopt the Declaration and transfer power to the Soviets.
The Constituent Assembly rejected the Declaration (237 votes against 138). After that the Bolsheviks and Left SRs left the meeting. The meeting, no longer having a quorum, passed a resolution stating that the supreme power in the country belongs to him.At five o'clock in the morning, the anarchist sailor in command of the guard, A.G. Zheleznyakov, suggested that V.M. Chernov stop the work of the meeting, saying: "The guard is tired."
Y. Chernyakhovsky writes about this in more detail:
The confrontation already at the beginning of the SC meeting took place through two votes: the election of the chairman and the approval of the agenda. 158 delegates voted for the first candidacy of the Left SRs and Bolsheviks, Maria Spiridonov, 244 delegates voted for the candidacy of Chernov, nominated by the Right SRs. That is, it immediately attracts attention that the Bolsheviks did not vote for a representative of their party and did not nominate themselves at all, but went to support the compromise figure of the leader of the Left SRs, that is, they initially focused on a compromise with the SR party, which was not accepted by the delegates of the latter.
On the second question, 273 delegates against 146 voted in favor of the agenda proposed by the SRs. This meant that the majority of the delegates refused to even consider the declaration of the working and exploited people proposed by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. After that the Bolshevik delegation at a separate meeting decided to leave the CA, announcing its declaration... The Left Social Revolutionaries tried to continue working in the US and issued their declaration, which required the US to immediately resolve issues of land and peace.
However, the Right Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks refused to discuss this too. At 2:30 am, the Left SRs left the conference room. Thus, the CA finally lost its quorum.About 270 out of 700 elected delegates remained in the hall. For another hour and a half, they made fiery speeches and bickered, but they could not vote for any meaningful decision.
At four o'clock in the morning he went up to the podium Zheleznyak and on behalf of the guard uttered his historical phrase: “ Guard mustache
tal».
S. Kara-Murza:
At 4.40 the Constituent Assembly ceased its activities. On January 6, 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted a decree "On the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly". ... The refusal of the Right SRs to cooperate with the Soviet government sent events into a worse corridor.
A compromise, according to V. I. Lenin, would have prevented a civil war. "
***
Lenin's fears were confirmed by the further history of the members of the Constituent Assembly.
*
This is the history of the activities of that very Constituent Assembly, on which the anti-Bolsheviks are pinning such high hopes in hindsight. Who use their Constituent Assembly myth only to fight history Soviet Russia, the world's first state of workers.
Single meeting
The Social Revolutionaries appointed a demonstration in support of the Constituent Assembly on the day of the opening of the Constituent Assembly, to the defense of which they planned to involve the soldiers of the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments, who at the critical moments of 1917 remained neutral or even opposed the Bolsheviks. The chairman of the Constituent Assembly, Socialist Revolutionary Viktor Chernov, recalled: "The Preobrazhentsy and Semenovites adopted resolutions in favor of the Constituent Assembly. They did not want to believe in the possibility of its defeat. But in the event of violent measures against the people's deputies, they agreed to go to its defense, especially if they were supported by an armored division, also repeatedly spoke in favor of the Constituent Assembly. The armored division was going to demonstrate this loyalty on the day of its opening. " However, Chernov continues, "on the night before the opening of the Constituent Assembly, the repair shop workers organized by the Bolsheviks did the job entrusted to them. By skillful" technical sabotage "the armored vehicles were turned into motionless, like paralyzed piles of iron." The result was logical: "In the barracks of the Transfiguration and Semenovites, the mood is gloomy and depressed. They were waiting for the arrival of armored cars and were ready to go with them to the Tauride Palace, hoping that under such conditions the Bolsheviks would retreat without bloodshed. The armored cars did not come. The mood fell."
Thus, only unarmed peaceful crowds remained on the side of the opponents of the Bolsheviks. "Pravda" threatened the day before: "This will be a demonstration of the enemies of the people. On January 5, saboteurs, the bourgeoisie, and the servants of the bourgeoisie will demonstrate on the streets of Petrograd. Not a single honest worker, not a single conscientious soldier will take part in this demonstration of enemies of the people. Every attempt to penetrate by groups of counterrevolutionaries" to the area of the Tauride Palace will be energetically stopped by military force. "
However, these threats did not work. From the morning of January 5 (18), many, many thousands of "saboteurs" and "servants of the bourgeoisie" walked from different parts of the city to the Tauride Palace.
However, already at distant approaches to it, they were stopped by armed patrols. What happened next is best described by an eyewitness: "A Red Guard in a gray jacket and white hat tore out the banner from the old man and beat him with his saber. The old man cried, but did not give the banner. A woman rushed to his aid. She began to ask the Red Guard to leave the old man. The Red Guard responded by hitting the woman with a saber on the hand. Blood spurted from under the coat. Having snatched the banner from the old man, the Red Guard burned it along with other taken away banners. "
None of the demonstrations in support of the Constituent Assembly ever made their way to the Tauride Palace that day.
According to official data, on January 5 (18), nine people died in Petrograd. They were buried on January 9 (22), on the 13th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, next to his victims. In Moscow, on the day of the opening of the Constituent Assembly, six people also became victims of the dispersal of a demonstration in support of it. There were victims in other cities as well. For example, as a result of the shooting of a demonstration in the city of Kozlov (now Michurinsk in the Tambov region), at least 20 people were killed the next day after the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly.
Pravda wrote the day after the demonstration in Petrograd: "Only the most insignificant groups of workers joined this counter-revolutionary demonstration, and, unfortunately, several casual victims were snatched from their ranks."
The opening of the Constituent Assembly itself was scheduled for noon. Viktor Chernov recalled: “The opening of the meeting was supposed to take place at noon: but the Bolsheviks and their allies still continue to confer. An hour passes in the afternoon: they are not ready. The second hour expires: the same. gain a quorum ".
As a result, the meeting of the Constituent Assembly was still opened at about four o'clock in the afternoon. And already at the stage of its opening it became obvious that its fate was a foregone conclusion.
In the "Conclusion of the Legal Conference on the Procedure for Opening the Constituent Assembly ..." it was suggested, by tradition, "to recognize the oldest deputy as the temporary presiding officer." However, on November 26 (December 9), the Council of People's Commissars adopted its decree on the conditions for the opening of the Constituent Assembly, which stated that "the meeting is opened by a person authorized to do so by the Council people's commissars".
The SRs, who had a majority in the Constituent Assembly, decided to adhere to the conclusion of the legal conference. The oldest deputy was the Socialist-Revolutionary Yegor Lazarev, however, obviously, given the severity of this mission in the circumstances, the Socialist-Revolutionaries opted for the second oldest, but physically stronger Sergei Shvetsov. Here is how Viktor Chernov describes what follows: "The figure of SP Shvetsov rises to the podium. And at once, at the signal, a terrifying cacophony is heard. Stamping feet, clattering of music stands, screams, a cat's concert. The Left Socialist-Revolutionary sector is competing with the Bolsheviks.
Yakov Sverdlov
Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee
Choirs join. Knocks the butts on the floor of the guard. He takes the bell. You can see how he dangles in his hand. But no sound is heard. He puts the bell on the table - a figure immediately takes possession of it and carries it away to hand it to Sverdlov, who enters the hall. Taking advantage of the momentary lull, Shvetsov manages to utter the sacramental phrase: "The meeting of the Constituent Assembly is opening." Another explosion of deafening din. Shvetsov leaves the podium and returns to us. His place is taken by Sverdlov to open the meeting for the second time in the name of the Council of People's Commissars. "
Chernov is biased, but he does not misrepresent the facts. This is what the Bolshevik Fyodor Raskolnikov recalled about this moment, not without pride: “Seeing that Shvetsov is seriously going to open the meeting, we start a frenzied obstruction: shouting, whistling, stamping our feet, banging our fists on thin wooden music stands. When all this does not help, we jump up from our seats and shouting “Down with!” we rush to the chairman’s rostrum. Right SRs rush to the defense of the oldest. A light hand-to-hand fight takes place on the parquet steps of the rostrum. ”
The choir audience, mentioned by Chernov, did indeed play a significant role in disorganizing the only meeting of the Constituent Assembly. As Chernov wrote, “tickets to the galleries were distributed by Uritsky. And distributed ...” Obviously, as a result of this distribution, the majority of the audience in the choirs were supporters of the Bolsheviks. There are memoirs of a typist from the apparatus of Uritsky E.P. Selyugina under the unambiguous title "How I Dispersed the Constituent Assembly", in which she tells how, equipped with rattles and whistles, on command, the audience raised a noise and shouted what the prominent party worker Sergei Gusev, hiding behind the curtain, suggested to them. “We gathered on this day for a meeting, like in a theater, we knew that there would be no action today, there would be only a spectacle,” wrote the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Sergei Mstislavsky, who was not himself a deputy.
Victor Chernov
Leader of the Social Revolutionaries-centrists
Maria Spiridonova
One of the leaders of the Left SRs
However, let us return to the question of the presiding officer, since Yakov Sverdlov only had to open the session. The Social Revolutionaries nominated Viktor Chernov as chairman, who had previously been elected head of the dispersed private meeting of the members of the Constituent Assembly. As the secretary of the Constituent Assembly Mark Vishnyak wrote, a much better candidate would be former chairman also dispersed by the Bolsheviks of the Pre-Parliament Nikolai Avksentyev, but "there was no choice - the natural chairman Avksentyev was in Peter and Paul Fortress"." Chernov, moreover, was less affected by the Bolshevik slander and falsehood than other Socialist-Revolutionary leaders, "added Vishnyak.
The Bolsheviks nominated, in defiance of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, and in the hope of pulling off some of their votes, the candidacy of the left-wing Socialist-Revolutionary Maria Spiridonova, famous for her terrorist past, but their plan failed: Chernov was nevertheless elected by a large margin as chairman of the Constituent Assembly.
The very fact that the Constituent Assembly had one chairman, and not a full-fledged presidium, was caused by the fear of the Socialist-Revolutionaries that the Bolsheviks would be able to disrupt the meeting, leaving it and thus making the incomplete presidium illegitimate. The "Constituent Assembly could" occupy "the presidium elections and kill the entire meeting.<...>It was necessary to end the first session by all means so that after it something would be left.<...>Hence the special "First Day Commission" formed by the Bureau of the Socialist-Revolutionary faction.<...>Her plan was simple. Yielding and retreating in front of the enemy, do not under any circumstances accept a battle at disadvantageous positions, "wrote Mark Vishnyak. However, as you know, these tricks did not save the Constituent Assembly." and the non-parliamentary cynicism of the Bolsheviks, "Vishnyak stated.
Already in a speech preceding Spiridonova's nomination as a candidate for chairperson, the Bolshevik Ivan Skvortsov-Stepanov said: “Citizens sitting to the right, the gap between us has long been completed. You were on one side of the barricade with the White Guards and cadets, we were on the other side of the barricade with the soldiers , workers and peasants. Everything is over between us. You are in one world - with the Cadets and the bourgeoisie; we are in another world - with peasants and workers. "
The Bolsheviks "came out" to the Constituent Assembly with the "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People" written by Lenin with the participation of Stalin and Bukharin, which, among other things, said:
The Constituent Assembly resolves:
Russia is declared a republic of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. All power in the center and in the localities belongs to these Soviets.
Supporting Soviet power and the decrees of the Council of People's Commissars, the Constituent Assembly recognizes that its tasks are limited to a general elaboration of the fundamental foundations of the socialist reorganization of society.
As Mark Vishnyak wrote, "Lenin could formulate his conditions in a simpler and shorter way: let the anti-Bolsheviks become Bolsheviks, and the Constituent Assembly will be recognized as competent and, perhaps, even sovereign." However, no one, primarily the Bolsheviks themselves, had the illusion that the non-Bolshevik part of the Constituent Assembly would never accept this document, which was a pretext to leave it. A few days later, the "Declaration ..." was adopted by the III Congress of Soviets with minimal changes. Where the "Constituent Assembly Decides" was previously printed, now there was "The Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies Decides".
Viktor Chernov wrote: "Whoever reads the verbatim report on this meeting will not have even the remotest impression of what actually happened." Indeed, the transcript of the only meeting of the Constituent Assembly looks oddly short given that it lasted about 12 hours. However, if you start reading it and know a few additional facts, it no longer seems strange. Firstly, the meeting was full of bedlam, and the speech of almost every speaker was constantly interrupted by shouts from their seats, if not worse. So, for example, in the transcript there is such a moment:
Efremov. Citizens are members of the Constituent Assembly. Before I say something that is torn from my heart and from my soul, I want to ... (Voice: There will be murder! A revolver is taken from a member of the Constituent Assembly.)
Perhaps the transcript reflects this situation described by Viktor Chernov: "The Left SR men are rebelling: they have been ordered from the Constituent Assembly to obtain a peasant labor right to land. There is disorganization and wrangling in their ranks. One Left SR suddenly grabs a revolver and threatens another."
Chernov himself was shouted from the audience during his speech: "You cannot do without a bullet!" Left SR Aleksey Feofilaktov nearly shot Irakli Tsereteli on the podium - at the last moment he was disarmed by one of the faction leaders Vladimir Karelin. This is how Mark Vishnyak describes this episode: "The revolvers were taken out and almost put into action in another place - on the Left SR and Ukrainian benches. All you can see are facial expressions, gestures and a revolver selected by the" senior "in the Left SR faction Karelin. forgiveness, bastard! "
Secondly, a huge part of the meeting was occupied by the introductory part. It is known that the presidential election alone lasted three (!) Hours. Another two hours took Viktor Chernov's speech, which was interrupted more than 60 times. Speech, by the way, was extremely weak. “It was not that. It was one of many, everyday and ordinary-patterned speeches - far from the best even for Chernov,” wrote Mark Vishnyak. Even worse, in the opinion of many, was the fact that in his speech Chernov seemed to flirt with the Bolsheviks and left a loophole for the possibility of further joint work with them.
Irakli Tsereteli
Member of the Menshevik faction in
Constituent Assembly
The remaining time was spent on recriminations and demagoguery. Against this background, the brilliant speech of the Menshevik Irakli Tsereteli, who in the summer of 1917 was perhaps the most authoritative figure in the Soviets, stands out sharply. "Met by a roar and howl, unusual even for this meeting: -" Traitor! .. Executioner! Traitor! .. Death penalty! (meaning support for recovery death penalty at the front by the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets, which included Tsereteli - approx. TASS) "- by the end of his speech he managed to force himself to listen to the Bolsheviks," wrote Vishnyak. However, even this brilliant speech could not influence the course of the one who was striving for the obvious end of the meeting.
As a result, at about 11 pm, at the request of the Bolsheviks, a break was announced in the meeting. During this break, a meeting of the Bolshevik faction took place, at which, after Lenin's speech, the decision to leave the Constituent Assembly was approved.
Fyodor Raskolnikov
Member of the Bolshevik faction in
Constituent Assembly
It is interesting that Lenin himself was extremely nervous on the eve of the opening of the meeting and at the initial stage of its meeting. Vladimir Bonch-Bruevich wrote that Lenin "was worried and was deathly pale as never before." However, very soon, seeing what was happening, Lenin calmed down, collapsed in his chair, and then completely "reclined on the steps (tribune - TASS note) now with a bored look, now laughing cheerfully." "Lenin in the" government box "demonstrates his contempt for the" Constituent Assembly ", lying down at full length and taking the form of a man who has fallen asleep from boredom," - confirmed Viktor Chernov. However, after a few hours, the stress suffered by Lenin still made itself felt. Nikolai Bukharin recalled: “On the night of the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly, Vladimir Ilyich called me over. I had a bottle of good wine in my coat pocket, and we sat at the table for a long time. he suddenly laughed. He laughed for a long time, repeated to himself the words of the narrator and kept laughing, laughing. Cheerfully, infectious, to tears. Laughed. We did not immediately understand that it was hysterics.
After the end of the break, only two Bolsheviks returned to the hall. One of them, Fyodor Raskolnikov, read out the following declaration on behalf of his faction:
The vast majority labor Russia- workers, peasants, soldiers presented to the Constituent Assembly a demand to recognize the gains of the great October Revolution, - Soviet decrees on land, peace, workers 'control, and above all to recognize the power of the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers 'and Peasants' Deputies.
The All-Russian Central Executive Committee, fulfilling the will of the vast majority of the working classes of Russia, proposed that the Constituent Assembly recognize this will as binding on itself. The majority of the Constituent Assembly, however, in accordance with the claims of the bourgeoisie, rejected this proposal, challenging all working Russia.
The whole day's debate showed firsthand that the party of the Right Socialist-Revolutionaries, like under Kerensky, feeds the people with promises, in words promises him everything and everyone, but in fact decided to fight against the workers', peasants' and soldiers' Soviets, against socialist measures, against the transfer of lands and all equipment without redemption to the peasants, against the nationalization of banks, against the cancellation of state debts.
Not wishing for a minute to cover up the crimes of the enemies of the people, we declare that we are leaving this Constituent Assembly in order to hand over to the Soviet power the final decision on the question of the attitude towards the counter-revolutionary part of the Constituent Assembly.
According to the memoirs of Mark Vishnyak, "she (the declaration announced by Raskolnikov - TASS note) made a tremendous impression on the soldiers of the guard. Many of them took their rifles at the ready", preparing to shoot the rest of the Constituent Assembly. Further stay in the hall of the Tauride Palace finally began to pose a danger to the life of the members of the congregation:
“After the Bolsheviks left, more and more often, to pass the time,“ for entertainment, ”they raised their rifles and took aim at either someone on the platform, or the glossy skull of old man Minor (Socialist-Revolutionary Osip Minor - approx. TASS) ... Shotguns and revolvers threatened to discharge themselves every minute, hand bombs and grenades - to explode themselves. ”Some sailor, recognizing in Bunakov-Fundaminsky (Socialist-Revolutionary Ilya Fondaminsky - approx. And only the frenzied cry of a random neighbor, "Brother, come to your senses!", accompanied by a blow on the shoulder, stopped the mischievous sailor.
Some of the members of the assembly are trying to convince the soldiers of the correctness of the Constituent Assembly and the crime of the Bolsheviks. I hear:
And a bullet for Lenin if he deceives him! ..
The commandant's office helpfully informs that the authorities do not guarantee the deputies from being shot in the meeting room. "
After leaving the Constituent Assembly, the Bolsheviks held a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars right there, in the Tauride Palace, at which Lenin sketched the theses of the decree on the dissolution of the meeting, which was adopted by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee a day later.
Soon after the Bolsheviks, the Left SRs also left the meeting. The "counterrevolutionary part" of the Constituent Assembly that remained in the hall, despite the behavior of the audience in the choirs, tried to move towards the adoption of the long-awaited laws on peace, land and the state structure of Russia.
However, pretty soon the famous scene took place, which already in the transcript itself is so eloquent that it does not need additional comments:
"Chairman (reads)." The right of ownership of land within the Russian Republic is now and forever canceled ... "
Citizen sailor. "I received instructions to inform you that everyone present should leave the meeting room because the guard is tired."
Anatoly Zheleznyakov
Head of the Tavrichesky
palace
The "citizen sailor" was the same anarcho-communist Anatoly Zheleznyakov appointed by the head of the security, who went down in history with this phrase. A few days later, speaking from the same rostrum of the Tauride Palace, Zheleznyakov, who became a celebrity, proclaimed: "We are ready to shoot not just a few, but hundreds and thousands, if a million is needed, then a million."
How crumpled the rest of the meeting of the Constituent Assembly was, is, again, quite eloquently evidenced by the transcript:
Chairman. The following proposal was made: to end the meeting of this meeting by adopting without debate the read part of the basic law on land, and transfer the rest to the commission for submission within seven days. (A ballot.) The proposal was accepted. The peace resolution was also adopted. So, citizens, members of the Constituent Assembly, you have adopted the main provisions that I announced about the land issue ... on an equal footing ... (inaudible) ... within seven days.
A statement on appeal to the civilized world is adopted, read and announced by the chairman on the convocation of a socialist conference in Stockholm, an international conference on behalf of the Constituent Assembly of the Federal Russian Republic is proposed to be adopted together with a declaration by the allied and other powers. (A ballot.) Accepted ... One more addition on behalf of the Social Democratic (Menshevik - TASS) faction. I propose the following addition: "The Constituent Assembly declares ..." (Reads.) (Ballot.) Accepted.
At 04:40 on January 6 (19), the meeting of the Constituent Assembly was closed. The next meeting was scheduled for 17:00 on the same day. "Comrades soldiers and sailors" were ordered by Lenin "not to allow any violence against the counter-revolutionary part of the Constituent Assembly and, freely letting everyone out of the Tauride Palace, not to let anyone into it without special orders." However, evidence has survived that Anatoly Zheleznyakov considered the possibility of disobeying Lenin's orders and that well-wishers warned Viktor Chernov not to get into his car, near which a group of sailors crowded. The chairman of the Constituent Assembly went on foot in the opposite direction.
When the next day the first deputies approached the Tauride Palace at the appointed time, they found guards with machine guns and two field guns in front of the sealed doors, on which hung a notice: "By order of the commissar, the building of the Tauride Palace is closed."
A day after the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly, on the night of January 7 (20), the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted a decree on its dissolution written by Vladimir Lenin, which stated:
The Constituent Assembly, selected from the lists drawn up before the October Revolution, was an expression of the old relationship political forces when Compromisers and Cadets were in power.
The people could not then, voting for the candidates of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, make a choice between the Right Socialist-Revolutionaries, supporters of the bourgeoisie, and the Left, supporters of socialism. Thus, this Constituent Assembly, which was supposed to be the crown of the bourgeois parliamentary republic, could not but stand in the way of the October Revolution and Soviet power.
Any refusal from the full power of the Soviets, from the Soviet Republic conquered by the people in favor of bourgeois parliamentarism and the Constituent Assembly would now be a step back and the collapse of the entire October workers 'and peasants' revolution.
The Constituent Assembly, which was opened on January 5, gave, by virtue of the circumstances known to all, the majority of the party of the Right Socialist-Revolutionaries, the parties of Kerensky, Avksentiev and Chernov. Naturally, this party refused to accept for discussion an absolutely precise, clear proposal that did not allow any misinterpretation. supreme body Soviet power, the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets, recognize the program of Soviet power, recognize the "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People", recognize the October Revolution and Soviet power. Thus, the Constituent Assembly severed all ties between themselves and Soviet Republic Russia. The departure from such a Constituent Assembly of the factions of the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, who now constitute an admittedly overwhelming majority in the Soviets and enjoy the confidence of the workers and the majority of peasants, was inevitable.
It is clear that the remainder of the Constituent Assembly can therefore play the role of only covering up the struggle of the bourgeois counter-revolution to overthrow the power of the Soviets.
Therefore, the Central Executive Committee decides:
The Constituent Assembly is dissolved.
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In films about the revolution filmed during the Soviet period, opponents of the Bolsheviks periodically shouted "All power to the Constituent Assembly!" Soviet youth hardly understood what they were talking about, but taking into account who was shouting, they guessed that this was something bad.
With the change in political orientations, part of the Russian youth realizes that the Constituent Assembly is, apparently, "something good, if against the Bolsheviks." Although he still has a hard time understanding what this is about.
How to live after renunciation?
The Russian Constituent Assembly really turned out to be a very strange phenomenon. Much was said and written about it, but it held only one meeting, which did not become fateful for the country.
The question of convening the Constituent Assembly arose immediately after the abdication Emperor Nicholas II and his refusal brother of Mikhail Alexandrovich take the crown. Under these conditions, the Constituent Assembly, which is a council of deputies, elected by the people, had to answer the main questions - about the state structure, about further participation in the war, about land, etc.
For a start, the provisional government of Russia had to prepare a regulation on the elections, which was to determine those who would be included in the electoral process.
Ballot paper with a list of members of the RSDLP (b). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Very democratic elections
A special meeting for the preparation of the draft Regulation on elections to the Constituent Assembly was convened only by May. The work on the Regulation was completed in August. The elections were declared general, equal, direct and secret ballot. No property qualification was envisaged - all persons over the age of 20 were allowed. Women also received voting rights, which was a revolutionary decision by the standards of that time.
Work on the documents was in full swing when the Provisional Government decided on the dates. Elections to the Constituent Assembly were to be held on September 17, and the first meeting was scheduled to be convened on September 30.
But the chaos in the country was growing, the situation was getting more complicated and it was not possible to resolve all organizational issues within the established time frame. On August 9, the Provisional Government changes its mind - now new date elections are announced on November 12, 1917, and the first meeting is scheduled for November 28.
A revolution is a revolution, and a scheduled vote
October 25, 1917, the October Revolution took place. The Bolsheviks who came to power, however, did not change anything. On October 27, 1917, the Council of People's Commissars adopted and published signed Lenin resolution to hold it on the appointed date - November 12.
At the same time, it was technically impossible to hold elections simultaneously in all corners of the country. In a number of regions, they were postponed to December and even to January 1918.
The victory of the socialist parties was unconditional. At the same time, the preponderance of the Socialist-Revolutionaries was explained by the fact that they were guided, first of all, by the peasantry - one must not forget that Russia was an agrarian country. Worker-oriented Bolsheviks won in the big cities. It is worth noting that a split occurred in the Socialist-Revolutionary Party - the left wing of the movement became the allies of the Bolsheviks. The Left SRs received 40 mandates in the elections, which ensured their coalition with the Bolsheviks 215 seats in the Constituent Assembly. This moment will subsequently play a decisive role.
Lenin establishes a quorum
The Bolsheviks who took power, created a government and began to form new government agencies, give up leverage to anyone government controlled were not going to. At first, there was no final decision on how to proceed.
On November 26, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Lenin, signed a decree "For the opening of the Constituent Assembly", which required a quorum of 400 people for its opening, and, according to the decree, the Assembly had to be opened by a person authorized by the Council of People's Commissars, that is, a Bolshevik, or, theoretically, a Left Socialist-Revolutionary allied to the Bolsheviks.
The Provisional Government, as already mentioned, set the convocation of the Constituent Assembly for November 28, and a number of deputies from among the Right Social Revolutionaries tried to open it on that very day. By that time, only about 300 deputies had been elected, slightly more than half of them were registered, and less than a hundred arrived in Petrograd. Some of the deputies, as well as the former tsarist officials who joined them, tried to hold a rally in support of the Constituent Assembly, which some of the participants viewed as the first meeting. As a result, the participants in the unsanctioned meeting were detained by representatives of the Military Revolutionary Committee.
"The interests of the revolution are above the rights of the Constituent Assembly"
On the same day, a decree of the Council of People's Commissars "On the arrest of the leaders of the civil war against the revolution" was issued, which outlawed the most right-wing party from among those that went to the Constituent Assembly - the Cadets. At the same time, “private meetings” of the deputies of the Constituent Assembly were prohibited.
By mid-December 1917, the Bolsheviks had decided on their position. Lenin wrote: “The Constituent Assembly, convened according to the lists of parties that existed before the proletarian-peasant revolution, in an atmosphere of bourgeois domination, inevitably comes into conflict with the will and interests of the working people and exploited classes, which began the socialist revolution against the bourgeoisie on October 25. Naturally, the interests of this revolution are above the formal rights of the Constituent Assembly, even if these formal rights were not undermined by the lack of recognition in the law on the Constituent Assembly of the right of the people to re-elect their deputies at any time. "
The Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries were not going to transfer any power to the Constituent Assembly, and they intended to deprive it of legitimacy.
Shooting demonstrations
At the same time, on December 20, the Council of People's Commissars decided to open the work of the Constituent Assembly on January 5.
The Bolsheviks knew that their opponents were preparing to take political revenge. The Central Committee of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party considered the option of an armed uprising in early January 1918. Few believed that the case could end in peace.
At the same time, some of the deputies believed that the main thing was to open a meeting of the Constituent Assembly, after which the support of the international community would force the Bolsheviks to retreat.
Leon Trotsky in this regard, he spoke rather caustically: “They carefully worked out the ritual of the first meeting. They brought candles with them in case the Bolsheviks put out the electricity, and plenty of sandwiches in case they were deprived of food. So democracy came to fight the dictatorship - fully armed with sandwiches and candles. "
On the eve of the opening of the Constituent Assembly, Social Revolutionaries and other oppositionists planned demonstrations in Petrograd and Moscow in support of it. It was clear that the actions would not be peaceful, since the opponents of the Bolsheviks had enough weapons in both capitals.
Demonstrations took place on January 3 in Petrograd and January 5 in Moscow. And there, and there they ended with shooting and casualties. In Petrograd, about 20 people died, in Moscow - about 50, and the victims were from both sides.
"Declaration" of discord
Despite this, on January 5, 1918, the Constituent Assembly began its work in the Tauride Palace of Petrograd. There were 410 deputies present, so there was a quorum for making decisions. Of those who were at the meeting, 155 people represented the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries.
Opened the meeting on behalf of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Bolshevik Yakov Sverdlov... In his speech, he expressed hope for "full recognition by the Constituent Assembly of all decrees and decisions of the Council of People's Commissars." The draft "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People" was presented to the Constituent Assembly for approval.
Photo of a single meeting. VI Lenin in the box of the Tauride Palace at a meeting of the Constituent Assembly. 1918, January 5 (18). Petrograd. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
This document was a constitutional act that proclaimed the basic principles of a socialist state according to the Bolsheviks. The "Declaration" has already been approved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and its adoption by the Constituent Assembly would mean recognition of the October Revolution and all subsequent steps of the Bolsheviks.
Was elected chairman of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly Socialist-Revolutionary Viktor Chernov, for which 244 votes were cast.
"We are leaving"
But in fact it was already just a formality - the Bolsheviks, after refusing to consider the "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People", switched to a different form of action.
Deputy Fyodor Raskolnikov announced that the Bolshevik faction was leaving the meeting in protest against the rejection of the "Declaration": parts of the Constituent Assembly ".
After about half an hour Deputy from the Left Social Revolutionaries Vladimir Karelin announced that his faction is leaving after the allies: “The Constituent Assembly is by no means a reflection of the mood and will of the working masses ... We are leaving, we are leaving this Assembly ... We are going in order to bring our strength, our energy to Soviet institutions, to the Central Executive Committee. "
The term "dispersal of the Constituent Assembly" in view of the departure of the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries is inaccurate. 255 deputies remained in the hall, that is, 35.7 percent of the total number of the Constituent Assembly. Due to the lack of a quorum, the meeting lost its legitimacy, like all documents it adopted.
Anatoly Zheleznyakov. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
"The guard is tired and wants to sleep ..."
Nevertheless, the Constituent Assembly continued its work. Lenin ordered not to interfere with the remaining deputies. But at five o'clock in the morning, patience snapped head of the security of the Tauride Palace Anatoly Zheleznyakov, better known as "Sailor Zheleznyak".
There are several versions of the birth of the historical phrase, known to everyone today. According to one of them, Zheleznyakov addressed the presiding officer Chernov and said: “I ask you to stop the meeting! The guard is tired and wants to sleep ... "
Confused Chernov tried to object, and exclamations were heard from the audience: "We do not need a guard!"
Zheleznyakov snapped: “The working people do not need your chatter. I repeat: the guard is tired! "
However, there was no particular bickering. The deputies themselves were tired, therefore they began to gradually disperse.
The palace is closed, there will be no meeting
The next meeting was scheduled for 17:00 on January 6th. However, the deputies, approaching the Tauride Palace, found armed guards near it, who announced that the meeting would not take place.
On January 9, a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly was published. By the decision of the Council of People's Commissars, references to the Constituent Assembly were removed from all decrees and other official documents. On January 10, the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets began its work in the same Tauride Palace of Petrograd, which became the Bolshevik alternative to the Constituent Assembly. At the Congress of Soviets, a decree on the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly was approved.
The situation in the Tauride Palace after the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly. Photo: RIA Novosti / Steinberg
A short story of Komuch: Kolchak dispersed the members of the Constituent Assembly for the second time
For some of the participants in the White movement, including those who were not elected to the Constituent Assembly, the demand for the resumption of its work became the slogan of the armed struggle.
On June 8, 1918, the Komuch (Committee of Members of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly) was formed in Samara, declaring itself the All-Russian government in defiance of the Bolsheviks. The People's Army of Komuch was formed, one of the commanders of which was the well-known General Vladimir Kappel.
Komuch managed to take control of a significant territory of the country. On September 23, 1918, Komuch merged with the Provisional Siberian Government. This happened at the State meeting in Ufa, as a result of which the so-called "Ufa Directory" was created.
It was difficult to call this government stable. The politicians who created Komuch were Socialist-Revolutionaries, while the military who made up the main force of the Directory were far more right-wing.
An end to this alliance was put by a military coup on the night of November 17-18, 1918, during which the Social Revolutionaries who were part of the government were arrested, and Admiral Kolchak came to power.
In November, about 25 former deputies of the Constituent Assembly, by order of Kolchak, were put on trial by military court "for attempting to raise an uprising and conduct destructive agitation among the troops." They were imprisoned, and later some of them were killed by Black Hundred officers.
ELECTIONS TO THE "ESTABLISHMENT"
The convocation of the Constituent Assembly as the organ of the supreme democratic power was a demand of all socialist parties in pre-revolutionary Russia - from the People's Socialists to the Bolsheviks. Elections to the Constituent Assembly took place at the end of 1917. The overwhelming majority of voters who participated in the elections, about 90%, voted for the socialist parties, the socialists accounted for 90% of all deputies (the Bolsheviks received only 24% of the votes). But the Bolsheviks came to power under the slogan "All power to the Soviets!" They could maintain their autocracy, obtained at the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets, only relying on the Soviets, opposing them to the Constituent Assembly. At the Second Congress of Soviets, the Bolsheviks promised to convene the Constituent Assembly and recognize it as the power on which "the solution of all major issues depends," but they did not intend to fulfill this promise. On December 3, at the congress of Soviets of Peasant Deputies, Lenin, despite the protest of a number of delegates, declared: “The Soviets are above any parliaments, any Constituent Assembly. The Bolshevik Party has always said that supreme body- Advice". The Bolsheviks considered the Constituent Assembly their main rival in the struggle for power. Immediately after the elections, Lenin warned that the Constituent Assembly "would condemn itself to political death" if it opposed Soviet power.
Lenin used the fierce struggle within the Socialist-Revolutionary Party and entered into a political bloc with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries. Despite disagreements with them on issues of a multi-party system and the dictatorship of the proletariat, a separate peace, freedom of the press, the Bolsheviks received the support they needed to stay in power. The Central Committee of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, believing in the unconditional prestige and invulnerability of the Constituent Assembly, did not take real steps to defend it.
Encyclopedia "Krugosvet"
FIRST AND LAST MEETING
The positions were determined. Circumstances forced the Socialist-Revolutionary faction. play a leading and leading role. This was due to the numerical superiority of the faction. This was also caused by the fact that the members of the Constituent Assembly of a more moderate persuasion, elected among 64, did not dare, with a few exceptions, to appear at the meeting. The cadets were officially recognized as "enemies of the people" and some of them were imprisoned.
Our faction was also in in a certain sense"beheaded". Avksentiev was still in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Kerensky was also absent, on whom the Bolshevik slander and rage were mainly concentrated. He was looked for everywhere and everywhere, night and day. He was in Petrograd, and it took a lot of effort to convince him to abandon the crazy idea of coming to the Tauride Palace to declare that he was resigning power before the legally elected and plenipotentiary assembly. Recklessly, the brave Gotz nevertheless appeared at the meeting, despite the arrest warrant for participating in the cadet uprising. Guarded by close friends, he was constrained even in movement and could not be active. Such was the position of Rudnev, who headed Moscow's broken resistance to the Bolshevik seizure of power. And VM Chernov, who had been designated as the chairman of the meeting, thereby also dropped out of the list of possible leaders of the faction. There was not a single person to whom the leadership could be entrusted. And the faction entrusted its political fate and honor to a collective of five: V.V. Rudnev, M.Ya. Gendelman, E.M. Timofeev, I.N. Kovarsky and A.B. Elyashevich.<...>
Chernov's candidacy for chairperson was opposed to Spiridonova's candidacy. During the ballot, Chernov received 244 white balls against 151 black balls. Upon the announcement of the results, Chernov took the monumental chair of the chairman on the stage, which towered over the oratory. There was a great distance between him and the hall. And the welcoming, fundamental speech of the chairman not only did not overcome the resulting "dead space" - it even increased the distance separating him from the meeting. In the most "shock" parts of Chernov's speech, a clear chill ran through the right sector. The speech caused dissatisfaction among the leaders of the faction and an innocent misunderstanding of this dissatisfaction on the part of the orator himself.<...>
Long and agonizing hours passed before the meeting was freed from the hostile factions that hindered its work. The electricity has been on for a long time. The tense atmosphere of the military camp was growing and was looking for a way out. From my chair as a secretary on the rostrum, I saw how the armed people, after the Bolsheviks left, more and more often began to throw up their rifles and take those on the rostrum or those sitting in the hall "to the gun". O.S. Minora's gleaming bald head was an attractive target for soldiers and sailors who whiled away the time. Shotguns and revolvers threatened to discharge themselves every minute, hand bombs and grenades to explode on their own.<...>
Coming down from the platform, I went to see what was going on in the choir. In the semicircular hall, grenades and ammunition bags are stacked in the corners, and rifles are drawn up. Not a hall, but a camp. The Constituent Assembly is not surrounded by enemies, it is in the enemy camp, in the very lair of the beast. Separate groups continue to "hold meetings" and argue. Some of the deputies are trying to convince the soldiers of the rightness of the assembly and the crime of the Bolsheviks. Sweeps:
And a bullet for Lenin if he deceives!
The room reserved for our faction has already been taken over by the sailors. The commandant's office helpfully informs that it does not guarantee the immunity of the deputies - they may be shot at the very session. Longing and grief are aggravated by the consciousness of complete powerlessness. Sacrificial readiness finds no way out for itself. What they are doing, let them do it as soon as possible!
In the meeting hall, the sailors and the Red Army men have finally ceased to be shy. They jump over the barriers of the boxes, click the bolts of their rifles on the move, rush into the choir in a whirlwind. Of the Bolshevik faction, only the more prominent left the Tauride Palace. The lesser known have just moved from the delegates' seats to the choirs and aisles of the hall, and from there they observe and give remarks. The audience in the choir is in alarm, almost in panic. Local deputies are motionless, tragically silent. We are isolated from the world, as the Tauride Palace is isolated from Petrograd and Petrograd from Russia. There is a noise all around, but we are, as if in the desert, given over to the will of a triumphant enemy, so that we can drink a bitter cup for the people and for Russia.
They say that carriages and cars have been sent to the Tauride Palace to take the arrested people away. There was even something reassuring about it - after all, a certain certainty. Someone begins to hastily destroy incriminating documents. We pass on something to our loved ones - in the public and in the box of journalists. Among the documents, the "Report to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly of the members of the Provisional Government" who were at large was also handed over. The prison carriages, however, do not arrive. New rumor - electricity will be turned off. A few minutes later, A.N.Sletova had already obtained dozens of candles.
It was five in the morning. The prepared land law was announced and voted on. An unknown sailor ascended to the podium - one of many who loitered all day and night in the lobbies and aisles. Approaching the chair of the chairman, busy with the voting procedure, the sailor stood for some time as if in thought and, seeing that they were not paying attention to him, decided that the hour had come to "go down in history." The owner of the now famous name, Zheleznyakov, touched the chairman by the sleeve and said that, according to the instructions he received from the commissar (Dybenka), those present should leave the hall.
An altercation began between VM Chernov, who insisted that "the Constituent Assembly can disperse only if force is used," and the "citizen sailor" who demanded that "they immediately leave the meeting room." The real power, alas, was on the side of the anarchist-communist, and it was not Viktor Chernov that won, but Anatoly Zheleznyakov.
We quickly hear a number of extraordinary statements and, in a hurry, adopt the first ten articles of the basic law on land, an appeal to the allied powers rejecting separate negotiations with the central powers, and a decree on the federal structure of the Russian democratic republic. At 4 hours 40 minutes. in the morning the first meeting of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly is closed.
M. Vishnyak. Convocation and dispersal of the Constituent Assembly // October Revolution. The 1917 revolution through the eyes of its leaders. Memoirs of Russian politicians and a commentary by a Western historian. M., 1991.
"CARAUL IS TIRED"
Citizen sailor. I received instructions to inform you that everyone present should leave the meeting room because the guard is tired. (Voices: we don't need a guard.)
Chairman. What instruction? From whom?
Citizen sailor. I am the head of the guard at the Tauride Palace and have instructions from the commissar Dybenka.
Chairman. All the members of the Constituent Assembly are also very tired, but no amount of fatigue can interrupt the promulgation of the land law that Russia is waiting for. (A terrible noise. Shouts: Enough! Enough!) The Constituent Assembly can disperse only if force is used. (Noise. Voices: Down with Chernov.)
Citizen sailor. (Inaudible) ... I ask you to leave the meeting room immediately.
Chairman. The Ukrainian faction asks the floor for an extraordinary statement on this question that unexpectedly burst into our meeting ...
I.V. Streltsov. I have the honor to make an extraordinary statement on behalf of a group of the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Party. Ukrainians of the following content: standing on the point of view of resolving the question of peace and land, as it is resolved by all the working peasantry, workers and soldiers, and as it is set forth in the declaration of the Central Executive Committee, a group of left-wing Socialist-Revolutionaries. Ukrainians, however, taking into account the situation that has arisen, subscribes to the declaration of the Party of Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionaries, with all the ensuing consequences. (Applause.)
Chairman. The following proposal has been made. To end the session of this Meeting by adopting without debate the read part of the basic law on land, and transfer the rest to the commission for submission within seven days. (A ballot.) The proposal was accepted. A proposal has been made to abolish the roll-call vote in view of the current situation to conduct an open vote. (A ballot.) Accepted. The announced main provisions of the land law are put to a vote. (A ballot.) So, citizens, members of the Constituent Assembly, you have accepted the main provisions, announced by me, on the land question.
There is a proposal to elect a land commission, which would consider all the remaining unpublished clauses of the land law within seven days. (A ballot.) Accepted. (Can't hear ... Noise.) Proposals have been made to adopt the announced statements: an appeal to the allies, to convene an international socialist peace conference, to accept by the Constituent Assembly peace negotiations with the belligerent powers and to elect a plenipotentiary delegation. (Is reading.)
"In the name of the peoples of the Russian Republic, the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, expressing the unyielding will of the people to immediately end the war and conclude a just universal peace," appeals to the powers allied with Russia with a proposal to start jointly determining the exact conditions of a democratic peace acceptable to all the belligerent peoples in order to present these conditions on behalf of the entire coalition to states waging a war with the Russian Republic and its allies.
The Constituent Assembly is filled with unshakable confidence that the desire of the peoples of Russia to end the destructive war will meet with a unanimous response in the peoples and governments of the allied states and that by joint efforts a speedy peace will be achieved that will ensure the good and dignity of all the belligerent peoples.
Expressing on behalf of the peoples of Russia regret that the negotiations with Germany begun without a preliminary agreement with the union democracies acquired the character of negotiations on a separate peace, the Constituent Assembly, in the name of the peoples of the Russian Federal Republic, continuing the established truce, takes over the further negotiations with the powers at war with us, so that, defending the interests of Russia, to achieve, in accordance with the will of the people, universal democratic peace "
"The Constituent Assembly declares that it will render every possible assistance to the initiatives of the socialist parties of the Russian Republic in the matter of the immediate convocation of an international socialist conference in order to achieve universal democratic peace."
"The Constituent Assembly decides to elect from among its members a plenipotentiary delegation to negotiate with representatives of the Allied Powers and to present them with an appeal for joint clarification of the conditions for an early end to the war, as well as to implement the decision of the Constituent Assembly on the issue of peace negotiations with the powers waging a war against us. ...
This delegation has the authority, under the leadership of the Constituent Assembly, to immediately begin to fulfill the duties entrusted to it. "
The delegation is proposed to elect representatives of various factions on a proportional basis.
(A ballot.) So, all the proposals have been accepted. A proposal has been made to adopt the following resolution on the state structure of Russia:
"In the name of the peoples, the state of the Russian constituent, the All-Russian Constituent Assembly decides: the Russian state is proclaimed the Russian Democratic Federal Republic, uniting in an indissoluble union the peoples and regions within the limits established by the federal constitution, sovereign."
(A ballot.) Accepted. (It is proposed to schedule the next meeting of the Constituent Assembly for tomorrow at 12 noon. There is another proposal - to schedule a meeting not at 12 noon, but 5 o'clock. (Voting.) For - 12, minority. So, tomorrow the meeting is scheduled for 5 pm (Voices: today.) My attention is drawn to the fact that it will be today. So today the meeting of the Constituent Assembly is declared closed, and the next meeting is scheduled for today at 5 pm.
From the transcript of the meeting of the Constituent Assembly
DECREE OF THE VTSIK ON THE DISSOLUTION OF THE CONSTITUENT MEETING
The Constituent Assembly, elected from the lists drawn up before the October Revolution, was an expression of the old correlation of political forces, when the Compromisers and the Cadets were in power.
The people could not then, voting for the candidates of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, make a choice between the Right Socialist-Revolutionaries, supporters of the bourgeoisie, and the Left, supporters of socialism. Thus, this Constituent Assembly, which was supposed to be the crown of the bourgeois parliamentary republic, could not but stand in the way of the October Revolution and Soviet power. The October Revolution, having given power to the Soviets and through the Soviets to the working and exploited classes, evoked desperate resistance from the exploiters and in the suppression of this resistance fully revealed itself as the beginning of the socialist revolution.
The working classes had to be convinced by experience that the old bourgeois parliamentarism outlived itself, that it is completely incompatible with the tasks of realizing socialism, that not national, but only class institutions (such as the Soviets) are able to defeat the resistance of the possessing classes and lay the foundations of a socialist society.
14.01.2018 at 17:03, views: 6228In the first days of January 1918, the fate of Russia was decided in the Tauride Palace. In that historical moment Civil war could have been prevented. The Constituent Assembly met in the Tauride Palace. Great hopes were pinned on him. After the abdication of the tsar, Russia waited for the Constituent Assembly to determine state structure, will form a government, will adopt new laws. The Provisional Government was called temporary because it had to act only until the convocation of the meeting.
I promise and swear before Almighty God and my conscience to serve the people of the Russian State with faith and righteousness ... I swear to take all measures to convene ... the Constituent Assembly, to transfer to its hands the fullness of power ... May God help me in fulfilling this oath of mine.
BOLSHEVIKS IN THE MINORITY
Elections to the Constituent Assembly turned out to be difficult in the belligerent country. But they were carried out almost flawlessly. The soldiers at the front were also able to vote. The elections began on November 12, 1917 and were supposed to end on November 14, and dragged on in many regions until the end of December. Two weeks were allotted to summing up the voting results - from November 14 to 28.
44 political parties participated in the elections: 13 all-Russian and 31 national. There was no universal suffrage anywhere except Russia. The freedom to vote ensured high voter activity. Fifty million people voted. Relatively small peoples were able to send their representatives. The results of the first free democratic elections to the Russian parliament were not in favor of the Bolsheviks.
767 deputies were elected. 370 SRs, 175 Bolsheviks, 40 Left SRs, 16 Mensheviks, 17 Cadets, 2 People's Socialists, 80 representatives of national parties received mandates. The Leninists received in the Constituent Assembly, which was to decide the fate of Russia, less than a quarter of the votes.
Russian society voted for the socialist parties, flattered by promises to distribute land and end the war. However, something else is also characteristic: they voted for political radicals, but not for extremism in politics. On the contrary, the convocation of the Constituent Assembly is an attempt to solve the problems by legislative means.
Until October, the Bolsheviks regarded the Constituent Assembly as "a truly popular representation" and accused the Provisional Government and the bourgeoisie of trying to disrupt the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. But while the first democratic elections in the history of Russia were going on, the situation changed. The Bolsheviks have already taken power. Why do they need a Constituent Assembly?
On November 29, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party, the question was already discussed whether it was worth calling the Constituent Assembly at all.
The elections must be postponed, said Lenin.
They objected to him:
It is inconvenient to delay now. This will be understood as the liquidation of the Constituent Assembly, especially since we ourselves accused the Provisional Government of delaying the Constituent Assembly.
Why is it inconvenient? Lenin objected. - And if the Constituent Assembly turns out to be Cadet-Menshevik-Socialist-Revolutionary, will that be convenient?
LENIN IS GONE
The first meeting of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly was held in the Tauride Palace on January 5, 1918. The palace was filled with armed sailors and Latvian riflemen loyal to the Bolsheviks. It was Lenin who ordered the delivery to Petrograd of one of the Latvian regiments, a worker in composition:
A peasant may hesitate if something happens; proletarian determination is needed here.
Pavel Dybenko, a drug addict for naval affairs, was instructed to summon armed sailors to Petrograd.
In the morning in Izvestia there is an ominous warning:
“The Extraordinary Commission for the Protection of the City of Petrograd has received information that counter-revolutionaries of all directions have united to fight the Soviet power and have appointed January 5, the day of the opening of the Constituent Assembly, for their speech. It is also known that the leaders of these counter-revolutionary plans are Filonenko, Savinkov and Kerensky, who arrived in Petrograd from the Don from Kaledin. "
The deputies, finding themselves in a hostile environment, felt uncomfortable. But they did not even imagine that the parliament would last only one day ...
Lenin settled himself in the government box. According to the description of a contemporary, Lenin “was worried and was deathly pale, as pale as ever. From this completely white pallor of his face and neck, his head seemed even larger, his eyes widened and burned with steel fire ... He sat down, convulsively squeezed his hands and began to circle the entire hall from edge to edge with flaming eyes that had become huge. "
Yakov Sverdlov, Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party, announced the "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People." The Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks rejected his proposal to approve the declaration. The deputies did not consider it correct to recognize the Soviet power, because the voters instructed them to determine political system Russia and decide who to rule the country, that is, to form a legitimate government.
Then, on behalf of the Bolshevik faction, Deputy People's Commissar for Naval Affairs Fyodor Raskolnikov announced that the majority of the Constituent Assembly expresses the yesterday of the revolution:
Not wishing for a minute to cover up the crimes of the enemies of the people, we declare that we are leaving the Constituent Assembly in order to hand over to the Soviet power the final decision on the question of the attitude towards the counter-revolutionary part of the Constituent Assembly.
Lenin was convinced that the parliament would not support the Bolsheviks, and, therefore, would only interfere with Soviet power. Leaving in the evening, Lenin ordered to let out all who wish to leave, but not to let anyone back in. At half past three in the night, the Left SRs also left the palace and entered into a coalition with the Bolsheviks.
The rest of the deputies, who made up the majority of the Constituent Assembly, continued their work. Responding to the desire of their voters to end the war as soon as possible, they called on the Allied Powers to conclude a just world peace as soon as possible. Proclaimed Russia "Russian Democratic The Federal Republic, uniting in an indissoluble alliance peoples and regions, within the limits established by the federal constitution, sovereign ”.
The guard of the Tauride Palace was carried by a detachment of two hundred sailors (from the cruiser Aurora and the battleship Respublika) under the command of the anarchist Anatoly Viktorsky (Zheleznyak). At about four o'clock in the morning on January 6, 1918, Pavel Dybenko ordered Zheleznyak, who contemptuously looked at the talkative deputies, to close the meeting. Dybenko was himself elected a deputy of the Constituent Assembly, but did not value his mandate very much.
The chief of the guard of the Tauride Palace touched the presiding officer on the shoulder and said rather impolitely:
I received instructions to inform you that everyone present should leave the meeting room because the guard is tired.
Viktor Chernov, elected chairman of the Constituent Assembly, at that moment proclaimed the abolition of land ownership. Chernov was one of the founders of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, who, of course, felt they were victors - the village voted for them, that is, the absolute majority of the population. The Social Revolutionaries considered it their duty to fulfill the main point of their program - to give the peasants land.
Chernov tried to reason with the sailor:
All the members of the Constituent Assembly are also very tired, but no amount of fatigue can interrupt the announcement of the land law that Russia is waiting for.
Zheleznyak indifferently repeated:
I ask you to leave the hall.
COUNTRY LOST PARLIAMENT
The deputies dispersed. They intended to continue working that same day in the evening. But they were simply not allowed into the palace. The Bolsheviks decided to dissolve the Constituent Assembly. It was a defining moment in the country's history: other parties, competitors and rivals were forcibly removed from political life.
A demonstration in support of the Constituent Assembly was shot. So it was not possible to establish the number of victims - usually the figure of thirty people appears.
“After the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly, - recalled a deputy from the Socialist-Revolutionary Party Vladimir Zenzinov, - political life in Petrograd froze - all political parties were persecuted by the Bolshevik usurpers. Party newspapers were forcibly closed, party organizations led a semi-legal existence, expecting every minute of the Bolshevik raid. "
Lenin said enough to Trotsky:
Of course, it was very risky on our part that we did not postpone the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. Very, very careless. But in the end it turned out better. Dispersal of the Constituent Assembly Soviet power there is a complete and open liquidation of formal democracy in the name of a revolutionary dictatorship. Now the lesson will be solid.
The country lost its parliament. The path of representative democracy was closed for Russia. The revolution is over. The next time, a freely elected parliament will not meet in Russia soon.
The ending. Beginning in the numbers "MK" dated December 19, 2016, January 9, then - on every Monday, as well as April 28, May 5, June 9, November 7, 2017.