Lenin's First and Second Government

Last updated
Lenin Government
Flag the Russian SFSR (1918).svg
12th Cabinet of Russia (as Russian SFSR)
Date formed8 November, 1917
Date dissolved21 January, 1924
People and organisations
Head of government Vladimir Lenin
Member parties Bolsheviks
Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (1917–1918)
Status in legislature Majority (1917–1921)
Sole legal party (from 1921)
Opposition cabinet Komuch (1918)
Ufa Directory (1918)
Omsk Government (1918–1920)
Priamurye Government (1920–1923)
Opposition parties Socialist-Revolutionaries (1917–1921)
Mensheviks (1917–1921)
Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (1918–1921)
History
Incoming formation Alexander Kerensky's Second Cabinet
Outgoing formation Alexei Rykov's Cabinet
Predecessor Alexander Kerensky
Successor Alexei Rykov
An early Sovnarkom decree, introducing the "Western European calendar" in Russia. The decree prescribed that 14 February, 1918 (New style) would immediately follow 31 January, 1918 (Old style) Sovnarkom-Gregorian-Calendar-Decree-izo39.jpg
An early Sovnarkom decree, introducing the "Western European calendar" in Russia. The decree prescribed that 14 February, 1918 (New style) would immediately follow 31 January, 1918 (Old style)

Following the October Revolution, Vladimir Lenin became the head of the new government of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. It was known officially as the Council of People's Commissars, effectively his cabinet. Ten of the council's fourteen members would later be killed during Joseph Stalin's Great Purge. [1] [2]

Contents

Council of People's Commissars

The Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR (Russian : Совет народных комиссаров РСФСР) was the governmental cabinet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) from 1917 through 1946. That year it was renamed the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR. Following the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR in 1922, state powers of this institution of the RSFSR were somewhat superseded by the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.

By September 1917, the councils ( soviets ) of workers, peasants and soldiers acquired considerable political and military power. The leaders of the Petrograd Soviet conspired to overthrow the Russian Provisional Government; the uprising started on 7 November 1917, when Red Guards units captured the Winter Palace. On the next day, 8 November 1917, the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets recognized the success of the uprising, and formally established the new government, reflecting the capture of the soviets by the Bolsheviks.

The government was formally called the Council of People's Commissars (Совет народных коммиссаров), abbreviated as Sovnarkom (Совнарком). Leon Trotsky devised the council and commissar names, thereby avoiding the more "bourgeois" terms of minister and cabinet .

The People's Commissars (Russian : Народный комиссар, translit.: Narodny komissar, or Narkom) functioned as government ministers. A ministry was called a People's Commissariat (Russian : Народный комиссариат, translit.: Narodny komissariat, abbreviated to narkomat).

Formation

Traditionally, the executive part of a government is directed by a council of ministers nominated by a ruler or by a president. The Bolsheviks considered this to be a bourgeois institution, and wanted to create what they believed was a new government made up of a 'soviet' of workers and peasants.

The role and structure of the Sovnarkom was formalized in the 1918 Constitution of the RSFSR. The Sovnarkom of the RSFSR was responsible to the Congress of Soviets for the "general administration of the affairs of the state". The constitution enabled the Sovnarkom to issue decrees carrying the full force of law when the Congress was not in session. The Congress would routinely approve these decrees at its next session.

Each People's Commissar was head of commissariat and had several deputies and a collegium, which functioned as a deliberative body to advise the commissar.

The Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, also elected by the Congress, had a function similar to that of a prime minister. The first Chairman of the Sovnarkom was Vladimir Lenin.

First People's Commissars

The first council elected by the Second All-Russian congress was composed by the following 14 members. Eight of the men were executed and one died in prison during the late 1930s, a time of the Great Purge by Joseph Stalin, then General Secretary of the Communist Party and leader of the USSR. Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico in 1940.

People's CommissarOriginal incumbentDeath
Chairman Vladimir Lenin Natural causes, 1924
Administrator of Affairs Vladimir Bonch-Bruyevich Natural causes, 1955
People's Commissariat for Agriculture of the RSFSR Vladimir Milyutin [ citation needed ]Died in prison 1937 [3]
People's Commissariat for Military Affairs of the RSFSR Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko

Nikolai Krylenko

Executed 1938 or 1939
People's Commissariat for Naval Affairs of the RSFSR Pavel Dybenko Executed 1938
People's Commissariat for Trade and Industry of the RSFSR Viktor Nogin Natural causes, 1924
People's Commissariat for Education of the RSFSR Anatoly Lunacharsky Natural causes, 1933
People's Commissariat for Food Ivan Teodorovich Executed 1937
People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR Leon Trotsky Assassinated 1940
People's Commissariat for Interior Affairs of the RSFSR Alexei Rykov Executed 1938
People's Commissariat for Justice of the RSFSR Georgy Oppokov Executed 1938
People's Commissariat for Labour of the RSFSR Alexander Shlyapnikov Executed 1937
People's Commissariat of Nationalities Joseph Stalin Natural causes, 1953
People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the RSFSR Nikolai Glebov-Avilov Executed 1937
People's Commissariat for Railways of the RSFSR Mark Yelizarov

(at first vacant)

People's Commissariat for Finance Ivan Skvortsov-Stepanov Typhus 1928

Related Research Articles

A People's Commissariat was a structure in the Soviet state from 1917–1946 which functioned as the central executive body in charge of managing a particular field of state activity or a separate sector of the national economy; analogue of the ministry. As a rule, a People's Commissariat was headed by a People's Commissar, which is part of the government – the Council of People's Commissars of the appropriate level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Soviet of the National Economy</span> Soviet government executive body

Supreme Board of the National Economy, Superior Board of the People's Economy, was the superior state institution for management of the economy of the RSFSR and later of the Soviet Union. There were two institutions with this name, at different times, 1917–1932 and 1963–1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Education (Soviet Union)</span> Government office in the Soviet Union

The Ministry of Education of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), formed on 3 August 1966, was one of the most important government offices in the Soviet Union. It was known as the People's Commissariat for Education, or Narkompros, until 1946. Narkompros was a Soviet agency founded by the State Commission on Education and charged with the administration of public education and most of other issues related to culture.

The Council of Labor and Defense, first established as the Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense in November 1918, was an agency responsible for the central management of the economy and production of military materiel in the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and later in the Soviet Union. During the Russian Civil War of 1917-1922 the council served as an emergency "national economic cabinet", issuing emergency decrees in an effort to sustain industrial production for the Red Army amidst economic collapse. In 1920–23 it existed on the rights of the commission of the Russian Sovnarkom and after 1923 of the Soviet Council of People's Commissariats. The Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union abolished the council on 28 April 1937. Its functions were split between the Economic Council of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union and the Defense Committee of the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union.

The People's Commissariat of Nationalities of the RSFSR, abbreviated NKNats or Narkomnats, an organisation functioning from 1917 to 1924 in the early Soviet period of Russian and Soviet history, tasked with dealing with non-Russian nationalities. Its head, Joseph Stalin, as the People's Commissar of Nationalities (1917–23), served as a member of the Council of People's Commissars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Finance (Soviet Union)</span> Soviet Union government department

The Ministry of Finance of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Министерство финансов СССР), formed on 15 March 1946, was one of the most important government offices in the Soviet Union. Until 1946 it was known as the People's Commissariat for Finance (Russian: Народный комиссариат финансов – Narodnyi komissariat finansov, or "Narkomfin"). Narkomfin, at the all-Union level, was established on 6 July 1923 after the signing of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR, and was based upon the People's Commissariat for Finance of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) formed in 1917. The Ministry was led by the Minister of Finance, prior to 1946 a Commissar, who was nominated by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and then confirmed by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. The minister was a member of the Council of Ministers.

People's Commissariat for Agriculture was set up in Petrograd in October 1917. Vladimir Milyutin was appointed the first People's Commissar of Agriculture. He was a member of the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Justice (Soviet Union)</span> Ministry of the Soviet Union responsible for law

The Ministry of Justice of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), formed on 15 March 1946, was one of the most important government offices in the Soviet Union. It was formerly known as the People's Commissariat for Justice abbreviated as Наркомюст (Narkomiust). The Ministry, at the All-Union (USSR-wide) level, was established on 6 July 1923, after the signing of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR, and was in turn based upon the People's Commissariat for Justice of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) formed in 1917. The Ministry was led by the Minister of Justice, prior to 1946 a Commissar, who was nominated by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and confirmed by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, and was a member of the Council of Ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Finance (RSFSR)</span> Soviet Union government department

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, known prior to 1946 as the People's Commissariat for Finance, or shortened to Narkomfin, was part of the government of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1918 until the fall of the USSR in 1991. It was subordinate to the Ministry of Finance of the USSR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the RSFSR</span> Soviet government agency (1917–1923)

People's Commissariat for Posts and Telegraphs of the RSFSR, known shortly as the Narkompochtel, was the central organ of government of the RSFSR that was in charge of the organisation and development of the different forms of communication, including postal service. It was founded in Petrograd on 7 November [O.S. 25 October] 1917 from the Russian Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs and retained its organisational structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Health (Soviet Union)</span>

The Ministry of Health (MOH) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), formed on 15 March 1946, was one of the most important government offices in the Soviet Union. It was formerly known as the People's Commissariat for Health. The Ministry, at the all-Union level, was established on 6 July 1923, after the signing of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR, and was, in turn, based upon the People's Commissariat for Health of the RSFSR formed in 1917. The Ministry was led by the Minister of Health, prior to 1946 a People's Commissar, who was nominated by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and confirmed by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, and was a member of the Council of Ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic</span> Government of the Russia SFSR (1917–1946)

The Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was the government of Soviet Russia between 1917 and 1946. It was established by the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies on November 9, 1917 "as an interim workers' and peasants' government" under the name of the Council of People's Commissars, which was used before the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic of 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union</span> Highest body of the executive Soviet authority from 1923 to 1946

The Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union was the highest collegial body of executive and administrative authority of the Soviet Union from 1923 to 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All-Russian Congress of Soviets</span> Supreme governing body of the RSFSR (1918–1937)

The All-Russian Congress of Soviets evolved from 1917 to become the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1918 until 1936, effectively. The 1918 Constitution of the Russian SFSR mandated that Congress shall convene at least twice a year, with the duties of defining the principles of the Soviet Constitution and ratifying peace treaties. The October Revolution ousted the provisional government of 1917, making the Congress of Soviets the sole, and supreme governing body. This Congress was not the same as the Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union which governed the whole Soviet Union after its creation in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexei Rykov</span> Premier of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1930

Alexei Ivanovich Rykov was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician and statesman, most prominent as premier of Russia and the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1929 and 1924 to 1930 respectively. He was one of the accused in Joseph Stalin's show trials during the Great Purge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gosplan</span> Soviet government agency responsible for economic planning

The State Planning Committee, commonly known as Gosplan , was the agency responsible for central economic planning in the Soviet Union. Established in 1921 and remaining in existence until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Gosplan had as its main task the creation and administration of a series of five-year plans governing the economy of the USSR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of People's Commissars</span> Government institution in the Russian SFSR and the Soviet Union

The Council of People's Commissars (CPC) (Russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), romanized: Sovet narodnykh kommissarov (SNK)), commonly known as the Sovnarkom (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the Soviet Union (USSR), and the Soviet republics from 1917 to 1946.

The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was a city council of Petrograd, the capital of Russia at the time. For brevity, it is usually called the Petrograd Soviet.

The People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the Russian SFSR was the central executive state body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic responsible for conducting the foreign policy and foreign relations of the Soviet state in 1917-1923 and in 1944–1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies</span>

The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was held on November 7–9, 1917, in Smolny, Petrograd. It was convened under the pressure of the Bolsheviks on the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the First Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

References

  1. ↑ "First council of people's Commiserate based on the original Soviet decree by Lenin. "Verified by edition: Decrees of the Soviet government. T.I. Moscow, State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1957."".
  2. ↑ Ellman, Michael (2002). "Soviet Repression Statistics: Some Comments" (PDF). Europe-Asia Studies. 54 (7): 1151–1172. doi:10.1080/0966813022000017177. S2CID   43510161. The best estimate that can currently be made of the number of repression deaths in 1937–38 is the range 950,000–1.2 million, i.e . about a million. This is the estimate which should be used by historians, teachers and journalists concerned with twentieth century Russian—and world—history
  3. ↑ D.B. Riazonov by Boris Souvarine, accessed 3 December 2008
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.