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Soviet (council)

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	Topics Soviet (council) Topic Home A soviet (, , "council") originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. According to the official historiographyHistoriography Historiography has a number of related meanings.... of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state that existed... , the first Soviet (in this sense) was organized during the 1905 Russian Revolution in IvanovoIvanovo Ivanovo is the administrative center of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia.... (Ivanovo region) in May 1905. However in his memoirs VolinFacts About Volin Vsevolod Mikhailovich Eikhenbaum, known in later life as Volin, was a leading Russian anarchist.... claims that he witnessed the creation of the St Petersburg Soviet in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg Saint Petersburg listen is a city located in northwestern Russia on the delta of the Neva River at the east end of the Gulf... in January 1905. The councils were later adopted by the BolshevikBolshevik Bolsheviks were members of the Bolshevik faction of the Marxist Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party.... s, as the basic organizing unit of society. Originally the soviets were a grassrootsGrassroots A grassroots political movement is one driven by the constituents of a community.... effort to practice direct democracyDirect democracy Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy, comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereig... . Russian Marxists made them a medium for organizing against the state, and between the February and October Revolutions, the Petrograd SovietFacts About Petrograd Soviet The Petrograd Soviet, or Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, was the council set up in Petrograd in March 1... was a powerful force. The slogan ??? ?????? ??????? (Vsya vlast sovyetam; "All power to the soviets" or "All power to the workers' councils") was popular in opposing the Provisional GovernmentRussian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was formed in Petrograd after the deterioration of the Russian Empire and the tsar's abdi... led by Kerensky. Shortly after the October Revolution, the soviets, as organized into a larger body, formed the new basis for governing the post-revolutionary society through soviet democracySoviet democracy Soviet democracy is a form of democracy in which workers elect representatives in the organs of power called soviets.... . All parties were united in anticipation of a Constituent AssemblyRussian Constituent Assembly The All Russian Constituent Assembly was a democratically elected constitutional body convened in Russia after the October R... . However, a year of debate and discussion within the Bolshevik party resulted in a significant change in party policy. The Bolsheviks adopted the position that the Constituent Assembly was a bourgeois-democratic institution, and counterpoised to it the direct mode of workers' democracy represented by the Soviets. Thus, the post-October Constituent Assembly was dissolved with the mass support of the urban working class (the restoration of the Constituent Assembly soon became the slogan of some of the more liberal WhitesWhite movement The White movement, whose military arm is known as the White Army or White Guard and whose members are known as ... in the Russian Civil WarRussian Civil War The Russian Civil War was fought from 1917 to 1922.... ). The Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist Revolutionaries together held a majority of seats in the Congress of Soviets and formed a coalition government, which lasted until the Left Socialist Revolutionaries left the coalition in the summer 1918. Over time, the independence of the soviets was supplanted by the top-down authority of the increasingly bureaucratized ruling regime, based on the strict hierarchy of power within the CPSU. Despite this, the claim was still made after the rise of StalinismStalinism Stalinism is the political and economic system named after Joseph Stalin, who implemented it in the Soviet Union.... that Bolshevik power rested on the collective will of these soviets. The term also came to be used outside the Soviet UnionSoviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state that existed... by some Marxist-Leninist movements, for example, the Communist Party of ChinaCommunist Party of China Summary The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party is the ruling political party of the People'... 's efforts in the "Chinese Soviet Republic" immediately prior to the Long March. Based on the view of the state implicit in the Bolshevik use of the term, the word "soviet" naturally extended, or consciously was extended, to mean in effect any body formed by a group of soviets to delegate, up a hierarchy of soviets, the authority to express and effect their will. In this sense, post-Kerensky government bodies at local and republicRepublics of the Soviet Union In its final decades of its existence, the Soviet Union consisted of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics , often called simply ... levels (but in the Russian federated republicRussia Russia , also the Russian Federation , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Eurasia.... , local, republicRussia Russia , also the Russian Federation , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Eurasia.... , and federated republic levels) were called "soviets", and at the top of the hierarchy, the Congress of SovietsCongress of Soviets The Congress of Soviets was the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Soviet Un... was the nominal core of the Union government of the Union of Soviet Socialist RepublicsSoviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state that existed... , officially formed in December 1922. Further reading Edward Acton Rethinking the Russian Revolution 1990 Oxford University Press ISBN 0713165308 Tony CliffTony Cliff Tony Cliff was a Trotskyist revolutionary activist.... 1976 Pluto Press Voline The Unknown Revolution Black Rose Books Rex A. Wade The Russian Revolution, 1917 2005 Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521841550 See also Congress of SovietsCongress of Soviets The Congress of Soviets was the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Soviet Un... Workers' councilWorkers' council A workers' council is a council, or deliberative body, composed of working class or proletarian members.... Soviet democracySoviet democracy Soviet democracy is a form of democracy in which workers elect representatives in the organs of power called soviets.... Council communismCouncil communism Council communism is a Radical Left movement originating in Germany and the Netherlands in the 1920s.... Participatory democracyFacts About Participatory democracy Participatory democracy is a process emphasizing the broad involvement of constituents in the direction and operation of pol... Workers' controlWorkers' control Workers' control is the management of factories and other enterprises by the people who work there.... RadaFacts About Rada Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"... (Ukrainian equivalent)