The Evolution of Local Soviets in Petrograd, November 1917-June 1918: The Case of the First City District Soviet

Slavic Review ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Rabinowitch
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Early History ◽  
October Revolution ◽  
Soviet Power ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Revolutionary Politics ◽  
City District ◽  
Primary Institutions ◽  
Urban Local Government

During the first months after the October Revolution, Russian workers, soldiers, and sailors who had supported the overthrow of the Provisional Government in the name of soviet power—power to ordinary citizens exercised through democratically operated Soviets—participated in revolutionary politics most actively and directly through city and district Soviets. The lowest rungs on the ladder of democratic councils established throughout much of urban Russia after the fall of the tsar, these Soviets became the new regime's primary institutions of urban local government. Their early history reveals much about the extent to which the revolutionary ideal of popular grass-roots democracy was attempted and realized at that time, as well as about the first stages of the process by which that ideal was undermined and Bolshevik party-controlled authoritarianism became irreversibly entrenched. This history can be illustrated by close examination of the evolution of one Petrograd district soviet—that of the First City District— between November 1917 and the full explosion of the civil war crisis in June 1918.

Peasants, Nation, and Local Government in Wartime Russia

Slavic Review ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott J. Seregny
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
Soviet Power ◽  
Russian State ◽  
The World ◽  
Village Communities

More than a decade ago, in a discussion in this journal, Leopold Haimson argued that peasant soldiers’ perception of Soviet power in 1917-18 “did not encompass any conception of the relationships between themselves, their village communities, or even the peasant estate as a whole, and other social groups—let alone any generalized view of the Russian body politic as a whole.” He went on to note that this peasant particularism “reflected a continuity in the mentalité of Russian peasants stretching back to the very inception of the Russian state.” Peasants rejected any superordinate authority and consistently acted out “a profound urge to be left alone.” Haimson's description of Russian peasants at the outset of civil war is a powerful evocation of peasant mentalités, not only of peasants in Russia but of peasants the world over, and would seem to preclude their inclusion in a nation.

Local Government, Passive Defense and Aerial Bombardment in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, 1936–9

2021 ◽  
pp. 002200942199789
Author(s):  
David A. Messenger
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Spanish Civil War ◽  
Regular Feature ◽  
The Public ◽  
Republican Government ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Civilian Defense ◽  
Regional Authorities

The bombardment of civilians from the air was a regular feature of the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. It is estimated some 15,000 Spaniards died as a result of air bombings during the Civil War, most civilians, and 11,000 were victims of bombing from the Francoist side that rebelled against the Republican government, supported by German and Italian aviation that joined the rebellion against the Republic. In Catalonia alone, some 1062 municipalities experienced aerial bombardments by the Francoist side of the civil war. In cities across Spain, municipal and regional authorities developed detailed plans for civilian defense in response to these air campaigns. In Barcelona, the municipality created the Junta Local de Defensa Passiva de Barcelona, to build bomb shelters, warn the public of bombings, and educate them on how to protect themselves against aerial bombardment. They mobilized civilians around the concept of ‘passive defense.’ This proactive response by civilians and local government to what they recognized as a war targeting them is an important and under-studied aspect of the Spanish Civil War.

The Soviet Union's Secret Diplomacy Concerning the Chinese Eastern Railway, 1924–1925

1994 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 459-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce A. Elleman
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
October Revolution ◽  
Soviet Power ◽  
The South ◽  
Soviet Authority ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Majority Control ◽  
Beijing Government

Following the october revolution, the Soviet Union regained majority control over the strategically located Chinese Eastern Railway, which ran through Manchuria, by signing two previously unpublished secret agreements: the first with the Beijing government on May 31, 1924, and the second with Zhang Zuolin's government in Manchuria on September 20, 1924. These secret agreements were signed despite the Soviet government's repeated promise that it would never resort to secret diplomacy. The Soviet Union also renewed control over the Russian-built Chinese Eastern Railway despite a 1919 Soviet manifesto promising that this railway would be turned over to China without compensation. To consolidate Soviet power over this railway, the USSR then signed the January 20, 1925, convention with Japan that recognized Japan's authority over the South Manchurian Railway in return for Japan's acquiescence to full Soviet authority over the Chinese Eastern Railway.

scholarly journals Soviets of Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Deputies in memorandum of E. G. Gerasimov (Gerasin) of June 14, 1918

2021 ◽  
pp. 53-59
Author(s):  
Tatiana Mikhailovna Akimova
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Administration ◽  
Central Administration ◽  
Democratic Centralism ◽  
Internal Affairs ◽  
Socialist Movement

This article discusses the a memorandum of the member of the Control and Audit Committee under the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs – Efim Grigorievich Gerasimov (Gerasin). Having supported the socialist movement and subsequently the February and October Revolutions of 1917 since his youth years, the author of the document has analyzed the system of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers 'and Peasants' Deputies that established on the local level in late 1917 – early 1918 and gradually replaced the county self-government. The value of the source lies in the fact that the author of self-censorship revealed the flaws of the new local government, having expressed the concern that they may lead to a civil war in the country. E. G. Gerasimov (Gerasin) dedicated particular attention to the problem of dialogue between the Soviet deputies and central government, and proposed to institute the post of special emergency mediators for controlling the execution of all provisions and “encourage” the representatives of the Soviets. The conclusion is made that the elimination of the existing flaws required the so-called “democratic centralism” in Russia, which suggested the combination of electivity of local administration along with the governing and supervisory power of the central administration. In this regard, the content of the document allows taking a look at the Soviets of Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers’ Deputies through the prism of a person who worked in that system, without idealization or “touchup”.

Women in Bangladesh Local Government

2016 ◽  
pp. 80-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Mostafizur Rahman Khan ◽  
Fardaus Ara
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Social Resources ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Second Amendment ◽  
Policies And Programs

The Governments of Bangladesh have announced various policies and programs to empower women. The Local Government (Union Parishad) Second Amendment Act 1997 of Bangladesh is such an initiative which creates the provision of one third reserve seats for women in the local government bodies to be elected directly by the voters. This law creates new opportunities and enable women to step-in into the elective positions of grass-roots level local government and to raise their voices and influence the decisions taken in the Union Parishad. The study finds that the elected women members seriously lack material, human, and social resources required to be able or empowered enough to influence decisions at the Union Parishad.

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