7 Vladimir Ilich Lenin 7By the time Lenin arrived in Petrograd in April, a pro-
visional government had been formed by leaders of the
bourgeois liberal parties. Lenin believed this government
incapable of satisfying the desires of the workers, soldiers,
and peasants and that only a soviet government—that is,
direct rule by workers, soldiers, and peasants—could ful-
fill these demands. The Bolsheviks, Lenin exhorted, must
persuade these people to retrieve state power for the sovi-
ets from the provisional government.
Leadership in the Russian Revolution
From March to September 1917, the Bolsheviks remained
a minority in the soviets. By autumn, however, the provi-
sional government had lost popular support. Lenin had
gone underground in July after he was accused of being a
“German agent.” Around October 20, Lenin slipped into
Petrograd. A few days later, he attended a secret meeting of
the Bolshevik Central Committee. After heated debate he
convinced the majority to prepare for an armed takeover.
On November 7 and 8, the Bolshevik-led Red Guards
and revolutionary soldiers and sailors deposed the provi-
sional government. Lenin was elected chairman of the
Council of People’s Commissars, heading the revolution-
ary government of the largest country in the world.
Opposition groups were banned, and newspapers and
journals of other political groups were shut down. Banks
and industries throughout the country were placed under
the control of the new government. The Bolshevik gov-
ernment outlawed trade and the ownership of most private
property. Lenin argued that the severe measures would
facilitate the immediate transition to socialism in Russia.
Lenin immediately opened negotiations with Germany
to end the war between the two countries. The German