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Soviet Historiography on the October Revolution: A Review of Forty Years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2019

Robert H. McNeal*
Affiliation:
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

Extract

Addressing the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in February, 1956, Anastas Mikoyan rhetorically asked, "Is it normal that, although almost forty years have passed since October [1917], we have neither a short nor a comprehensive Marxist-Leninist textbook on the history of the October revolution . . . ?" To this inquiry one can safely reply that the absence of such a book is not only normal, but represents the most salient characteristic of Bolshevik historiography of the October revolution. For forty years Bolshevik historians of the revolution have labored under the most frustrating circumstances.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies 1958

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References

1 Pravda, Feb. 18, 1956.

2 Pokrovskij, M. N., Oktjabr'skaja revoljucija; sbornik statej (Moscow-Leningrad, 1929), p. 142 Google Scholar; and Pokrovskij, (ed.), Ocherki po istorii Oktjabr'skoj revoljucii (Moscow-Leningrad, 1927), II, ivv Google Scholar. See also Pokrovskij, Oktjabr'skaja revoljucija; sbornik statej, op. cit., p. 168.

3 Piontkovskij, S. A., Oktjabr’ 1917g. (Moscow-Leningrad, 1927)Google Scholar. The articles appearing in the twelve issues of Proletarskaja revoljucija for 1927 are by such writers as Baevskij, Jakovlev, Jaroslavskij, Majorskij, Pashukanis and Piontkovskij.

4 The book was to have been entitled Istorija Oktjabr'skoj revoljucii, according to a note accompanying the article that was extracted from it. See Proletarskaja revoljucija, No. 2-3, 1927, p. 61. Judging by the detailed nature of the article, entitled “Fevral'skie dni 1917 g.,” it would have been a substantial volume.

5 Pokrovskij, Oktjabr'skaja revoljucija; sbornik statej, op. cit., II, iii.

6 Tolstikhina and Miller, speaking for “Brigada Instituta Krasnoj Professory,” “O rabotakh t. Piontkovskogo,” Istorik-Marksist, 1932, No. 1-2, pp. 192-200. The attack was directed against Piontkovskij, rather than Jaroslavskij, because, as Jaroslavskij had pointed out in the introduction to the volume bearing his name, the actual writing of the book was performed by Kin, Mine, Piontkovskij, Jaroslavskij “and others.” The most offensive portions were said to be Piontkovskij's work.

7 D. Ja. Kin, “Semnadcatyj god v izobrazhenii t. A. Shljapnikova,” Istorik-Marksist, No. 3, 1927, pp. 40-54.

8 The fourth volume was not published by Istpart, as were the three earlier volumes, but by the Gosudarstvennoe socialno-ekonomicheskoe izdatel'slvo. It was not reviewed, even unfavorably, in Soviet scholarly journals. The present writer is much indebted to Mr. Bertram D. Wolfe for bringing this volume to his attention.

9 The third volume of Istorija grazhdanskoj voiny v SSSR appeared in December, 1957. Since the “Secretariat of the Main Editors” of the series ceased to exist, the new work appeared under the auspices of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism. The new volume covers the period between the seizure of power and the Peace of Brest-Litovsk.

10 Bol'shaja sovetskaja enciklopedija, 1st ed., XLIII, 37-71.

11 I. I. Mine, “Izuchenie istorii velikoj proletarskoj revoljucii i grazhdanskoj voiny,” Dvadcaf pjaf let istoricheskoj nauki v SSSR, ed. by V. P. Volgin et. al. (Moscow, 1942).

12 “O nauchnoj razrabotke istorii Velikoj Okjabr'skoj revoljucii,” Voprosy istorii, No. 11, 1953, p. 10.

13 The first appearance of the article was in Istoricheskie zapiski, No. 41, 1952, pp. 73- 113, while the second run was in the same journal, No. 51, 1955, pp. 3-44. The second run bore no notation to the effect that a similar article had appeared earlier. Aside from the anti-Stalin changes, the only alteration was concentrated on one page, and was not significant.

14 “ XX s'ezd K.PSS i zadachi issledovanija istorii partii,” Voprosy istorii, No. 3, 1956, pp. 6-8; and “Za tvorcheskuju razrabotku istorii KPSS,” Kommunist, No. 10, 1956, pp. 20- 21.

15 E. N. Burdzhalov, “O taktike bol'shevikov v marte-aprele 1917 goda,” Voprosy istorii, No. 4, 1956, pp. 38-56. See also two articles expressing much the same point of view: Burdzhalov, “Eshche o taktike bol'shevikov v marte-aprele 1917 goda,” Voprosy istorii, No. 8, 1956, pp. 109-114; F. I. Drabkina, “Vserossijskoe soveshchanie bol'shevikov v marte 1917 goda,” Voprosy istorii, No. 9, 1956, pp. 3-16.

16 For the initial rebuke, see E. Bugaev, “Kogda utrachivaetsja nauchyj pokhod,” Partijnaja zhizn, No. 14, 1956, pp. 62-72. The defense of the editorial board of Voprosy istorii: “O stat'e tov. E. Bugaeva,” Voprosy istorii, No. 7, 1956, pp. 215-22. The crushing response of the party: “O zhurnale ‘Voprosy istorii,’ “ Partijnaja zhizn, No. 23, 1956, pp. 71-77; and “Strogo sobljudat’ leninskij princip partijnosti v istoricheskoj nauke,” Kommunist, No. 4, 1957, pp. 17-29. The last issue of Voprosy istorii to be published under the diffraction of the “erring” board was No. 2 (February), 1957, published in April. The next issue, under the direction of the new board was approved for publication on May 21. It contained a renunciation of their predecessors’ errors, “Za leninskuju partijnost’ v istoricheskoj nauke!”, No. 3, pp. 3-19.

17 “Za tvorcheskoe izuchenie istorii Velikoj Oktjabr'skoj socialisticheskoj revoljucii,” Voprosy istorii, No. 7, 1957, p. 6.

18 “Pod znamenem velikogo Oktjabrja,” Voprosy istorii, No. 10, 1957, pp. 17-18. See also M. E. Naidenov, “Velikaja Oktjabr'skaja socialisticheskaja revoljucija v sovetskoj istoriografii,” Voprosy istorii, No. 10, 1957, pp. 171-79

19 A partial survey of these works is “K 40-letiju velikoj Oktjabr'skoj socialisticheskoj revoljucii,” Voprosy istorii, No. 2, 1957, pp. 198-200. See also S. V. Utechin, “The Year 1917: New Publications on Party History,” Survey, No. 21-22, 1957, pp. 5-11.

20 For articles, see all the 1957 numbers of Voprosy istorii, Istorija SSSR and Voprosy istorii KPSS. At this writing, only two new secondary books have been available: Akademija nauk SSSR, Sovetskaja Rossija i kapitalisticheskii mir v 1917-1923 gg. (Moscow, 1957); and Akademija nauk SSSR, Oktjabr'skoe vooruzhennoe vosstanie v Petrograde (Moscow- Leningrad, 1957). The latter contains what may prove to be the most valuable recent contribution to the study of the revolution: a sixty-four page survey of the holdings of the seven principal Soviet archives that contain material relevant to the revolution. For the inquisitive, non-Soviet historian, these are exceedingly tantalizing pages.

21 The present writer is indebted to Mr. Wallace Littell, of the Foreign Service of the United States, for information concerning the availability of Pobeda velikoj Oktjabr'skoj socialisticheskoj revoljucii

22 The principal books, in addition to many articles, consulted to establish the consensus of the 1920's are: Jaroslavskij, E., Istorija VKP(B) (Moscow-Leningrad, 1929, Vol. IV)Google Scholar; Piontkovskij, , Oktjbr'skaja revoljucija v Rossii: ee predposylki i khod (Moscow-Leningrad, 1923)Google Scholar; Oktjabr’ 1917 god, op. cit.; Pokrovskij, Ocherki po istorii Oktjabr'skoj revoljucii, op. cit. (2 vols.); Oktjabr'skaja revoljucija; sbornik statej, op. cit.; Serebrjanskij, Z., Ot Kerenshchinu k proletarskoj diktature (Moscow-Leningrad, 1928)Google Scholar; Shljapnikov, A. G., Semnatsatyj god (Moscow- Leningrad, 1923-1927, vols. IIII)Google Scholar.

23 Tolstikhina and Miller, op. cit., pp. 192-200, passim.

24 I. Viktorov, “Oshibki M. N. Pokrovskogo v ocenke Oktjabr'skoj revoljucii,” Istorik- Marksist, No. 5, 1938, p. 177 and passim.

25 “O dialekticheskorn i istoricheskom materializme,” in Istorija VKP(B): Kratkij kurs (Moscow, 1938), pp. 99-127. This book is hereafter referred to as Kratkij kurs. Stalin is still considered the author of the section on dialectical and historical materialism, according to the director of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism.

26 Viktorov, op. cit., pp. 177, 182-84, 189.

27 The principal books consulted to establish the consensus of the mature Stalin period concerning this and other points are: Istorija grazhdanskoj voiny v SSSR, (Moscow-Leningrad, 1935 and 1943, Vols. I and II) Pankratova, A. M., Istorija SSSR (Moscow, 1951, Vol. III)Google Scholar , Kratkij kurs, op. cit., and Piontkovskij, Ocherki istorii Rossii v XIX-XX vv (Moscow, 1935, 2nd ed.) The latter is the revised version of a textbook that was vigorously attacked in 1932. The first edition, evidently containing the “errors” typical of the 1920's, was not available to the present writer. Many articles and brochures were also consulted. Of these the most valuable and authoritative general survey is the article on “Velikaja Oktjabr'skaja socialisticheskaja revoljucija” in the second edition of the Bol'shaja sovetskaja encyklopedija. The relevant article in the renowned academic volumes against Pokrovskij, unlike Viktorov's article cited above, dodges the issue of economic determinism. It is: E. A. Luckij, “Izvrashchenie M. N. Pokrovskim istorii inostrannoj voennoj intervencii i grazhdanskoj voiny v SSSR (1918-1920 gg.), in Protiv antimarksistskqj koncepcii M. N. Pokrovskogo (Moscow-Leningrad, 1940), 457-85.

28 Burdzhalov, “O taktike bol'shevikov v marte-aprele 1917 goda,” op. cit., passim. Subsequent articles accepting the gist of this revision include those cited in footnote 15 and Bugaev, “K voprosu o taktike partii v marte-nachale aprelja 1917 goda,” Voprosy istorii KPSS, No. 1, 1957, pp. 13-36, passim and I. I. Mine, “Ob osveshchenii nekotorykh voprosov istorii velikoj Oktjabr'skoj revoljucii,” Voprosy istorii KPSS, No. 2, 1957, pp. 16- 34, passim.

29 See especially the articles by Bugaev and Mine.

30 Khrushchev's latest major pronouncement tending to revive Stalin's place in the Soviet pantheon was his address on the anniversary of the revolution, Pravda, Nov. 7, 1957.

31 Voprosy istorii, No. 9, 1957, pp. 145-212; and Istorija SSSR, No. 4, 1957, pp. 9-39.

32 Lenin's statement to this effect, which was repeatedly cited by historians such as Pokrovskij and Piontkovskij, occurs in “K chetyrekhletnej godovshchine Oktjabr'skoj revoljucii,” Lenin, Sochimnija (3rd ed.), XXVII, pp. 24-30.

33 Stalin, Sochinenija, “O lozunge diktatury proletariata,” IX, 276.

34 Jaroslavskij, op. cit., pp. 42-43; D. Baevskij, “Leninskaja i kamenevskaja ocenka revoljucii 1917 g.,” Proletarskaja revoljucija, No. 12, 1927, pp. 17-18. Pokrovskij became only somewhat less entangled in an article of 1927, see Pokrovskij, Oktjabr'skaja revoljucija: sbornik statej, op. cit., pp. 110-111.

35 Kratkij kurs, op. cit., pp. 168-214, passim. Also, the works cited in footnote 24. The issue is rarely treated as an issue in Soviet historical literature after the early 1930's. Most writers simply did not discuss the theory of two revolutions, bourgeois and socialist, culminating in October, and customarily refer to the “February bourgeois revolution” and the “October socialist revolution.” One exceptional case, which explicitly attacks the theory that October combined bourgeois and socialist elements is Viktorov, op. cit., p. 179.

36 “Slavnoe 40-letie velikogo Obtjabrja,” Istorija SSSR, No. 4, 1957, p. 5. See also: Istorija grazhdanskoj voiny v SSSR, op. cit., II, 487, 489; G. N. Golikov and Ju. S. Tokarev, “Aprel'skij krizis 1917 g.,” Istoricheskie zapiski, No. 57, 1956, p. 79; M. I. Kapustin, “K voprose sdache Rigi v avguste 1917 g.,” Istoricheskie zapiski, No. 46, 1954, p. 44; P. N. Sobolev, “Splochenie bednejshego krest'janstva vokrug proletariata v 1917 g.,” Istoricheskie zapiski, No. 48, 1954, p. 43. These are only samples of the many allusions to the patriotic significance of the revolution.

37 Pravda, Nov. 7, 1957. Note that Khrushchev places the word “patriotic” ahead of “revolutionary.“

A correction has been issued for this article: