I know that provisional government election was not the same thing as the concurrent workers Soviets, I was illustrating a point that they didn’t even receive a plurality of the votes in that election to challenge the idea that the Bolsheviks were the most popular.
And I already said that most workers didn’t even bother voting in the provisional government elections, because the soviet government was the one that represented them, and that the election itself was hairy because the SRs had split shortly before the election without news spreading wide enough. Further, the left SRs did form a coalition with the Bolsheviks, and supported the revolution to overthrow the provisional government.
Not formally, no. In practice, due to World War I and the brewing civil war, the administrative failures of the Provisional Government, and the general chaos in Russia, voters were skewed heavily towards urban areas, while Russia was largely peasant at the time. The Bolsheviks were popular among the peasantry as well, and this is further backed by how the peasant soviet elections went.
In either case, the provisional government was deeply unpopular, and replacing it by soviet power was deeply popular. Carrying out the revolution was the correct action, and to go against the revolution would be to go against the people. The fact that the revolutionaries coalesced around the Bolsheviks after the fact does not mean that this was not the will of the people.
The Bolsheviks had broad support, the Left SRs were more among the peasantry. As I said, however, they both supported overthrowing the provisional government, which happened, and then support coalesced around the more correct Bolsheviks.
Asking you honestly, do you disagree with Lenin for going ahead with overthrowing the provisional government, or do you think the soviet government should have coalesced around the Left SRs simply because the provisional government swang that way? Which part was “undemocratic” in your view?
I find it convenient that the second their policies hit a snag in the assembly they dissolved the legislature and handed power to the Soviet congress that they had full control of due to the Mensheviks and the center and right SR’s walking out. That was clearly a blunder for those groups to back the wrong horse in the Provisional government, but if the Bolsheviks truly had a mandate from the people I don’t see why they couldn’t have won a new round of elections within the provisional government framework to then enact their policies as they saw fit. They chose after all to engage in electorialism in the first place with the 1917 election, after all.
I know that provisional government election was not the same thing as the concurrent workers Soviets, I was illustrating a point that they didn’t even receive a plurality of the votes in that election to challenge the idea that the Bolsheviks were the most popular.
And I already said that most workers didn’t even bother voting in the provisional government elections, because the soviet government was the one that represented them, and that the election itself was hairy because the SRs had split shortly before the election without news spreading wide enough. Further, the left SRs did form a coalition with the Bolsheviks, and supported the revolution to overthrow the provisional government.
What makes you say most didn’t bother voting? More than half of eligible voters cast ballots
Key words “eligible voters.”
That was just an age gate, though. 20 for civilians, 18 for military men. I know of no limits based on class, land ownership, etc.
Not formally, no. In practice, due to World War I and the brewing civil war, the administrative failures of the Provisional Government, and the general chaos in Russia, voters were skewed heavily towards urban areas, while Russia was largely peasant at the time. The Bolsheviks were popular among the peasantry as well, and this is further backed by how the peasant soviet elections went.
In either case, the provisional government was deeply unpopular, and replacing it by soviet power was deeply popular. Carrying out the revolution was the correct action, and to go against the revolution would be to go against the people. The fact that the revolutionaries coalesced around the Bolsheviks after the fact does not mean that this was not the will of the people.
I thought the Bolshevik support bent towards the urban proletariat whereas the SR support was from the rural peasantry
The Bolsheviks had broad support, the Left SRs were more among the peasantry. As I said, however, they both supported overthrowing the provisional government, which happened, and then support coalesced around the more correct Bolsheviks.
Asking you honestly, do you disagree with Lenin for going ahead with overthrowing the provisional government, or do you think the soviet government should have coalesced around the Left SRs simply because the provisional government swang that way? Which part was “undemocratic” in your view?
I find it convenient that the second their policies hit a snag in the assembly they dissolved the legislature and handed power to the Soviet congress that they had full control of due to the Mensheviks and the center and right SR’s walking out. That was clearly a blunder for those groups to back the wrong horse in the Provisional government, but if the Bolsheviks truly had a mandate from the people I don’t see why they couldn’t have won a new round of elections within the provisional government framework to then enact their policies as they saw fit. They chose after all to engage in electorialism in the first place with the 1917 election, after all.