Sometimes you hear that the founder of the Soviet state, V.I. Lenin supposedly “surrounded himself with Jews” and from the very beginning “the Bolshevik government was the government of the Jews.” Even President Putin once hinted at this, clearly having messed something up. Let's figure it out - is this really so?
On the night of November 7–8, 1917, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopted three historical documents: “Decree on Peace,” “Decree on Land,” and “Resolution on the Formation of the Council.” People's Commissars" - the first Soviet government.
The first composition of the Council of People's Commissars (Council of People's Commissars) consisted of 15 people (This information is easy to find even through an Internet search engine)
National composition government approximately corresponded to the national composition of the entire Russian state. So, of these 15 members there were:
Representatives Caucasian peoples(Georgians) – one (I. Dzhugashvili);
Representatives of Western peoples (Pole) – one (I. Teodorovich);
Representatives of Mediterranean peoples (Jews) – one (L. Bronstein);
There are three representatives of Little Russia (Ukrainians) (P. Dybenko, N. Krylenko, V. Ovseenko).
9 out of 15 people were Russian. Let's list them by name:
People's Commissar of Internal Affairs - RYKOV Alexey Ivanovich. Born in 1881 into a peasant family in the Vyatka province, Yaran district, Kukarka settlement. Russian. Studied at Kazan University, expelled for participating in revolutionary movement, member of the RSDLP since 1898.
People's Commissar of Agriculture - MILYUTIN Vladimir Pavlovich. Born in 1884 in the village of Tugantsevo, Lgovsky district, Kursk province, in the family of a rural teacher. Russian. He studied at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, participated in the revolution. movement, member of the RSDLP since 1903. In 1917 he was chairman of the Saratov Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.
People's Commissar of Labor - SHLYAPNIKOV Alexander Gavrilovich. Born in 1885 in Murom into a family of Pomor Old Believers. Russian (has anyone heard of Old Believers Jews?). His father worked as a miller, carpenter, and laborer, and his mother was the daughter of a miner. Member of the RSDLP since 1901, arrests, emigration, work in the French Socialist Party. Active participant in the February Revolution of 1917, member of the initiative group for the creation of the Petrograd Soviet.
People's Commissar for Trade and Industry - NOGIN Viktor Pavlovich. Born in 1878 in Moscow in the family of a clerk. Russian. After graduating from the city school in Kalyazin, Tver province, he worked as a clerk, and from 1896 he was a worker in St. Petersburg, a participant in the revolution. circles, party member since 1898. In 1917 he was chairman of the Moscow Council of Workers' Deputies.
People's Commissar of Education - LUNACHARSKY Anatoly Vasilievich. Born in 1875 in Poltava in the family of an official. Russian, hereditary nobleman. While studying at the gymnasium, he organized and headed Marxist circles, a party member since 1895. He studied at the University of Zurich, was engaged in literary work. He is the only one of the first people's commissars who worked in his post for 12 years.
People's Commissar of Finance - SKVORTSOV Ivan Ivanovich (pseudonym Stepanov). Born in 1870 in Bogorodsk in the family of a factory employee. Russian, oddly enough. He graduated from the Moscow Teachers' Institute and worked almost his entire life in Moscow, in the Moscow organization of the RSDLP (Party experience since 1896). Author of a number of fundamental works on political economy, translator of Marx's works.
People's Commissar of Justice - OPPOKOV Georgy Ippolitovich (pseudonym Lomov). Born in 1888 in Saratov into a noble family. His father served here as a branch manager of the State Bank for more than 30 years. Russian. From the age of 13 he participated in circles, a member of the party since 1903. He studied at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, during the Arkhangelsk exile (1911-1913) he participated in polar expeditions (to New Earth and Czech Lip).
People's Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs - AVILOV Nikolai Pavlovich (pseudonym Glebov). Born in 1887 into the family of a Kaluga shoemaker. Russian. From the age of 12 he worked in a printing house, from 1904 a member of the RSDLP. He conducted party work in Moscow and the Urals, and studied at the Bologna party school. “The February Revolution finds him on the run from the Narym region.” Later he worked as chairman of the Leningrad Trade Union Council.
The board of the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs was composed of:
DYBENKO Pavel Efimovich. Born in 1889 into a family of hereditary peasants in the village of Lyudkov, Novozybkovsky district, Chernigov province. As he noted in his autobiography of the mid-1920s, “Mother, father, brother and sister still live in the village of Lyudkov and are engaged in farming.” He graduated from a 4-year city school, from the age of 17 he worked as a loader in the port, then as a sailor. In 1911 he was handed over to the army for participating in strikes and served in the Baltic Fleet. In 1917, chairman of Tsentrobalt, an active participant in the October Revolution and the Civil War.
KRYLENKO Nikolai Vasilievich is a hereditary revolutionary. Born in 1885 in Sychevsky district of Smolensk province into a family of exiled Ukrainians. He graduated from St. Petersburg University, participated in the student movement, and was a Bolshevik since 1904. During the First World War, he was mobilized into the army and received the rank of ensign. In 1917 he was elected successively chairman of the regimental, division, and army committees. During the October Revolution he was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
OVSEENKO Vladimir Alexandrovich (pseudonym Antonov). Born in 1884 in Chernigov. Father Alexander Anisimovich - nobleman, lieutenant, then captain of the reserve regiment, veteran Russian-Turkish war, so Vladimir Ovseenko can be considered a hereditary military man. After graduating from the Voronezh Cadet Corps, he studied at the Nikolaev Military Engineering and St. Petersburg Junker Schools. During 1 Russian revolution, as an active participant, was sentenced by the Sevastopol Military Court to death penalty, but escaped. On November 7, 1917, he personally led the seizure of the Winter Palace.
And finally, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars ULYANOV Vladimir Ilyich (Lenin). I would like to emphasize that in the mentioned “Resolution” all people’s commissars are named by their real names (pseudonyms are given in parentheses). There are the most rumors about Vladimir Ilyich, as the leader of the Bolsheviks. Near " commonplace” became the statement that he was of Jewish origin. However, this thesis is not an axiom, but a version. Indeed, there is documentary evidence that his ancestor Alexander Dmitrievich Blank was actually cross-bred Israel Blank. But the research of the Moscow historian M. Bychkova (1993) showed that in the first half of the 19th century, two full namesakes served in the medical department in St. Petersburg - two A.D. Blanks, approximately the same age. One of them was actually a baptized Jew, and the other came from an Orthodox Moscow merchant family. So, the Russian Blank rose to the rank of court councilor, which gave him the right to hereditary nobility. The blank Jew was not in the civil service, but worked in private hospitals (for example, at the Zlatoust factory), so he did not have such a right. As is known, V.I. Ulyanov was a nobleman, so we can definitely assume that his grandfather was the Russian A.D. Blank. According to M. Bychkova, at one time the persons of the two Blanks were deliberately mixed by someone. Let's put aside speculation: V.I. Ulyanov, who grew up in the Great Russian cultural environment, was Russian in spirit, in language and in origin. It is difficult to understand how a quarter of Jewish blood (even if there was one, which is problematic) could outweigh; Great Russian.
It may be objected: but all of the above are only the first composition of the Soviet government. So what is next? Well, let's look further. According to the text of the “Resolution,” the post of People’s Commissar for Railway Affairs “temporarily remains unfilled.” A few days later this place was taken
ELIZAROV Mark Timofeevich, son of a serf peasant from the village of Bestuzhevka, Samara province. Russian. While studying at St. Petersburg University, he joined the Samara community and became close to the Ulyanovs - Alexander and Anna. Vladimir Ilyich even witnessed the wedding of Mark and Anna. Later Elizarov studied at the Moscow engineering school Ministry of Railways, worked in the management of the Moscow-Kursk railway and at the same time led the rev. circles among workers. In 1919 he died of typhus.
On November 12, 1917, the WORLD'S FIRST female minister, Alexandra Mikhailovna KOLLONTAI, was appointed People's Commissar of State Charity. Nee Domontovich, the daughter of a general from a noble noble family of Ukrainian origin, dating back to the Pskov princes. She studied at the University of Zurich and in 1906 joined the RSDLP.
The People's Commissar of State Control from November 19, 1917 was ESSEN Eduard Eduardovich, one of the Russified German barons. Born in 1879 in St. Petersburg, member of the RSDLP since 1898. In 1917 - Chairman of the Vasileostrovsky District Council of Deputies.
Two weeks later, several people's commissars resigned due to disagreement with Lenin's political line. Their places were taken by:
People's Commissar for Internal Affairs PETROVSKY Grigory Ivanovich. From hereditary peasants in the village of Pechenegs, Kharkov province, Ukrainian. He studied for two and a half years at school and was expelled due to lack of money to pay for his studies. He worked in a forge, a metal shop, then as a turner at a factory, a member of the RSDLP since 1897. He was a deputy of the State Duma of Russia from the workers of the Ekaterinoslav province (1912-1914).
People's Commissar Podbelsky Vadim Nikolaevich. Born in 1887 in Yakutia into a family of exiled Narodnaya Volya members. Russian. An active participant in the Revolution of 1905, joined the RSDLP, conducted party work in Tambov and Moscow. Died in 1920.
People's Commissar of Health Nikolai Alexandrovich SEMASHKO. From the peasants of the Oryol province of the Eletsk district of the village of Livenskaya. He studied at the medical faculty of Moscow University, participated in the student movement, was expelled and expelled. After finishing his education at Kazan University, he worked as a doctor, then in exile - secretary of the Foreign Bureau of the RSDLP. In 1917 he was chairman of the Zamoskvoretsk district government in Moscow.
The People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs was reorganized. Nikolai Ilyich PODVOSKY, the son of a priest from the village of Kunashovka, Nizhyn district, Chernigov province, became the People's Commissar of Military Affairs (really a Jew?). He studied at the Chernigov Theological Seminary and the Yaroslavl Legal Lyceum, a party member from 1901, and in 1917 - leader Military organization RSDLP and Military Revolutionary Committee.
People's Commissar PROSHYAN Prosha Perchevich, whom even Pan Lukyanenko recognized as an Armenian. But not a Bolshevik - from 1905 a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, in 1917 a left Socialist Revolutionary. An ardent polemicist, he resigned in March 1918 during the Brest Discussion, took part in the anti-Bolshevik uprising in July 1918, was declared an outlaw and soon died of typhus.
People's Commissar of State Property Vladimir Aleksandrovich KARELIN. Born in 1891. Russian, from the nobility, the son of a collegiate adviser. Graduated from university, lawyer, journalist. In 1917 he was elected chairman of the Kharkov City Duma, a left Socialist Revolutionary.
People's Commissar KOLEGAEV Andrey Lukich. Born in Surgut, Tyumen province, into a bourgeois family. Russian. Since 1905, member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. In exile he studied at the University of Paris. In 1917 he was elected chairman of the Kazan Council of Peasant Deputies. Under his leadership, the board of the People's Commissariat, consisting entirely of left Socialist Revolutionaries, developed a draft Law on the Socialization of the Land, approved by the 3rd All-Russian Congress of Soviets in 1918.
And finally, STEINBERG Isaac Zakharovich. Lawyer with a university education, People's Commissar of Justice from 12/13/1917 to 3/18/1918. Distinguished himself by being released from arrest under honestly a number of major anti-Bolshevik figures (V. Burtsev, A. Gots). Yes, he’s a Jew, but here’s the catch: he’s not a Bolshevik. Steinberg represented the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party, which was then part of the government coalition with the RSDLP(b).
So this example does not in any way support the legitimacy of the term “Jewish Bolsheviks”, which is so famously used by domestic “nationally concerned” anti-communists.
It is appropriate to recall the description of the English diplomat Colonel R. Robins, given back in 1917: “The first Council of People’s Commissars, based on the number of books written by its members and the languages they spoke, was higher in culture and education than any cabinet of ministers in the world.” .
I note that out of 92 people who worked in the Council of People's Commissars in 1917-1918, 51 had a higher or incomplete higher education, 18 – secondary or special.
Council of People's Commissars (1917-1937) and its functional activities.
Soviet history government controlled dates back to the Second Congress of Soviets. It gathered at a turning point, when Petrograd was in the hands of the rebel workers and peasants, and Winter Palace, where the bourgeois Provisional Government met, had not yet been taken by the rebels. Creation new system public administration began with the development and proclamation of certain political postulates. In this sense, the first “managerial” document of the new emerging government should be recognized as the appeal of the Second Congress of Soviets “To workers, soldiers, peasants!”, adopted at the first meeting of the congress on October 25, 1917. This document proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power, i.e. formation of the Soviet state. Here the main directions of internal and foreign policy new state:
the establishment of peace, the free transfer of land to the peasantry, the introduction of workers' control over production, the democratization of the army, etc. The next day, October 26, these programmatic theses were concretized and embodied in the first decrees of the Soviet government - “On Peace” and “On Land”. Another decree established the first Soviet government. The resolution of the congress stated: “Educate to govern the country until the convocation of Constituent Assembly, a temporary workers' and peasants' government, which will be called the Council of People's Commissars. Management of individual industries state life entrusted to commissions, the composition of which must ensure the implementation of the program proclaimed by the congress.” The decree established the following people's commissariats: agriculture, labor, military and naval affairs, trade and industry, public education, finance, foreign affairs, Justice, Food Affairs, Posts and Telegraphs, Nationalities Affairs and Railway Affairs. Control over the activities of the people's commissars and the right to remove them belonged to the Congress of Soviets and its Central Executive Committee.
Soviet statehood was born under the strong influence of democratic sentiments that reigned in society. At the same II Congress of Soviets V.I. Lenin argued that the Bolsheviks sought to build a state in which "the government would always be under control public opinion of his country... In our opinion,” he said, “the state is strong in the consciousness of the masses. It is strong when the masses know everything, can judge everything and do everything consciously.” Such widespread democracy was supposed to be achieved by involving the masses in governing the state.
Is it natural for the emergence of a new government in Russia and the creation of a new management system? In the literature one can find a point of view about the illegality of the decisions of the Second Congress of Soviets due to its lack of representativeness. Indeed, representation at the congress was not national, but class-based: it was a congress of workers' and soldiers' deputies. The Peasant Congress of Soviets met separately, and the unification of the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies took place only in January 1918. Nevertheless, such global changes in the life of the country could not happen without reason. The Second Congress of Soviets was, undoubtedly, the organ of the insurgent people, the organ of the revolutionary masses, representing practically the entire country and all more or less significant national regions. The congress expressed the will of the most organized and socially active part of society, which wanted changes to better life and actively pursued them. Although the congress was All-Russian, it was not and could not be nationwide.
Soviet system governance arose in a multi-party environment. According to researchers, there were about 300 political parties in Russia, which can be divided into regional, national and all-Russian. There were about 60 of the latter. The composition of the Second Congress of Soviets in terms of party affiliation was, as is known, mainly Bolshevik. But other socialist and liberal parties were also represented there. The Bolsheviks' positions were further strengthened when representatives of the right Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and Bundists left the congress. They demanded that the forum be suspended because, in their opinion, Lenin’s supporters had usurped power. More than 400 local Soviets from the largest industrial and political centers of the country were represented at the congress.
The congress formed the supreme and central authorities. The All-Russian Congress of Soviets was declared the supreme body. He could solve any issues state power and management. The Congress created the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK), which performed the functions of supreme power between Congresses of Soviets. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee was created on the basis of proportional representation from all party factions of the congress. Of the 101 members of the first composition of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, 62 were Bolsheviks, 29 were left Socialist Revolutionaries, 6 were Menshevik internationalists, 3 were Ukrainian socialists and 1 Socialist Revolutionary maximalist. Bolshevik L.B. was elected Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. Kamenev. The central authority was the government formed by the decision of the Second Congress of Soviets - the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom, SNK). It was also headed by the Bolshevik V.I. Lenin. The Left Socialist Revolutionaries and Menshevik Internationalists received an offer to join the government, but they refused. Distinctive feature new bodies of power and administration were a combination of legislative and executive functions. Not only the resolutions of the Congress of Soviets and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, but also the decrees of the Council of People's Commissars and even acts of individual people's commissariats had the force of law.
Thus, the Second Congress of Soviets proclaimed the creation of a new state and formed the bodies of power and administration. At the congress the most general principles organization of Soviet statehood and the beginning of the creation of a new system of public administration.
The Bolsheviks, having seized power, looked for ways to expand its social base. For these purposes, they negotiated with the leaders of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries on the conditions for their entry into the Council of People's Commissars. At the beginning of November 1917, at a plenary meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, a compromise resolution “On the terms of the agreement of socialist parties” was adopted. It emphasized that an agreement is possible only if the Second Congress of Soviets is recognized as “the only source of power” and the “program of the Soviet government, as expressed in the decrees on land and peace,” is recognized.
Negotiations between the Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist Revolutionaries ended in December 1917 with the creation coalition government. Along with the Bolsheviks, the Council of People's Commissars included seven representatives of the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party. They headed the People's Commissariats of Agriculture (A.L. Kolegaev), Posts and Telegraphs (P.P. Proshyan), local government(V.E. Trutovsky), property (V.A. Karelin) and justice (I.Z. Steinberg). In addition, V.A. Aglasov and A.I. Diamonds became people's commissars without a portfolio (with a casting vote). The first was a member of the board of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, the second - the People's Commissariat of Finance. The Left Social Revolutionaries, occupying important positions in the cabinet, like the Bolsheviks, were responsible for the key areas of government activity in the conditions of the revolution. This made it possible to expand the social base management processes and thereby strengthen state power. The alliance with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries left a noticeable mark on the management practice of the first months of Soviet power. Representatives of the Left Social Revolutionaries were included not only in the central government bodies, but also in the governments national republics, revolutionary committees of the bodies fighting counter-revolution, leadership of army units. With their direct participation, the “Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People” was developed and adopted by the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which proclaimed Russia a Republic of Soviets. Together with the Bolsheviks, the Left Socialist Revolutionaries unanimously voted in the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly.
The bloc with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries allowed the Bolsheviks to solve the most important political and managerial task - to unite the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies with the Soviets of Peasants' Deputies. The unification took place at the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets in January 1918. At the congress, a new composition of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was elected, which included 160 Bolsheviks and 125 left Socialist Revolutionaries.
However, the alliance with the Left Social Revolutionaries was short-lived. March 18, 1918, without recognizing ratification Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Left Socialist Revolutionaries left the government
The Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR (Sovnarkom of the RSFSR, SNK of the RSFSR) is the name of the government of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from the October Revolution of 1917 to 1946. The SNK included people's commissars who led the people's commissariats (People's Commissariats, NK). Similar Councils of People's Commissars were created in other Soviet republics; During the formation of the USSR, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR was also created at the union level.
The Council of People's Commissars (SNK) was formed in accordance with the "Decree on the establishment of the Council of People's Commissars", adopted by the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies on October 27, 1917.
Immediately before the seizure of power on the day of the revolution, the Bolshevik Central Committee instructed Kamenev and Winter (Berzin) to enter into political contact with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries and begin negotiations with them on the composition of the government. During the Second Congress of Soviets, the Bolsheviks invited the Left Socialist Revolutionaries to join the government, but they refused. The factions of the right Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks left the Second Congress of Soviets at the very beginning of its work - before the formation of the government. The Bolsheviks were forced to form a one-party government.
The name "Council of People's Commissars" was proposed by Trotsky:
Power in St. Petersburg has been won. We need to form a government.
What should I call it? - Lenin reasoned out loud. Just not ministers: this is a vile, worn-out name.
It could be commissioners, I suggested, but now there are too many commissioners. Perhaps high commissioners? No, “supreme” sounds bad. Is it possible to say “folk”?
People's Commissars? Well, that'll probably do. What about the government as a whole?
Council of People's Commissars?
The Council of People's Commissars, Lenin picked up, is excellent: it smells terrible of revolution.
The Council of People's Commissars lost the character of a temporary governing body after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, which was legally enshrined in the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1918. Organ general management Affairs of the RSFSR - which in the Constitution of the RSFSR was called the "Council of People's Commissars" or the "Workers' and Peasants' Government" - was the highest executive and administrative body of the RSFSR, having full executive and administrative power, the right to issue decrees having the force of law, while combining legislative, administrative and executive functions.
Issues considered by the Council of People's Commissars were resolved simple majority votes. The meetings were attended by members of the Government, the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the manager and secretaries of the Council of People's Commissars, and representatives of departments.
The permanent working body of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR was the administration, which prepared issues for meetings of the Council of People's Commissars and its standing commissions, and received delegations. The administrative staff in 1921 consisted of 135 people. (according to data from the Central State Archive of the Russian Federation of the USSR, f. 130, op. 25, d. 2, pp. 19 - 20.)
By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR dated March 23, 1946, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR was transformed into the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR.
[edit]Legislative framework of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR
According to the Constitution of the RSFSR of July 10, 1918, the activities of the Council of People's Commissars are:
management of general affairs of the RSFSR, management of individual branches of management (Articles 35, 37)
issuing legislative acts and taking measures “necessary for the correct and fast current state life." (v.38)
The People's Commissar has the right to individually make decisions on all issues within the jurisdiction of the commissariat, bringing them to the attention of the collegium (Article 45).
All adopted resolutions and decisions of the Council of People's Commissars are reported to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (Article 39), which has the right to suspend and cancel a resolution or decision of the Council of People's Commissars (Article 40).
17 people's commissariats are being created (in the Constitution this figure is indicated erroneously, since in the list presented in Article 43 there are 18 of them)..
on foreign affairs;
on military affairs;
on maritime affairs;
By internal affairs;
social security;
education;
Posts and telegraphs;
on nationalities affairs;
for financial matters;
communication routes;
agriculture;
trade and industry;
food;
State control;
Supreme Council National economy;
healthcare.
Under each people's commissar and under his chairmanship, a collegium is formed, the members of which are approved by the Council of People's Commissars (Article 44).
With the formation of the USSR in December 1922 and the creation of an all-Union government, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR became the executive and administrative body of state power of the Russian Federation. The organization, composition, competence and order of activity of the Council of People's Commissars were determined by the Constitution of the USSR of 1924 and the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1925.
From this moment on, the composition of the Council of People's Commissars was changed in connection with the transfer of a number of powers to the Union departments. 11 people's commissariats were established:
domestic trade;
finance
internal affairs
enlightenment
health
agriculture
social security
The Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR now included, with the right of a decisive or advisory vote, representatives of the USSR People's Commissariats under the Government of the RSFSR. The Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR allocated, in turn, a permanent representative to the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. (according to information from the SU, 1924, N 70, art. 691.) Since February 22, 1924, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR have a single Administration. (based on materials from the USSR Central State Archive of Ordinance, f. 130, op. 25, d. 5, l. 8.)
With the introduction of the Constitution of the RSFSR on January 21, 1937, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR was accountable only to the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, and in the period between its sessions - to the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR.
Since October 5, 1937, the composition of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR has included 13 people's commissariats (data from the Central State Administration of the RSFSR, f. 259, op. 1, d. 27, l. 204.):
light industry
forestry industry
agriculture
grain state farms
livestock farms
finance
domestic trade
health
enlightenment
local industry
utilities
social security
Also included in the Council of People's Commissars is the Chairman of the State Planning Committee of the RSFSR and the head of the Department of Arts under the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR.
The Bolsheviks introduced only one Jew into the first composition of the Council of People's Commissars, Trotsky L.D., who took the post of People's Commissar.
The national composition of the Council of People's Commissars is still the subject of speculation:
Andrei Dikiy in his work “Jews in Russia and the USSR” claims that the composition of the Council of People’s Commissars was allegedly as follows:
Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom, SNK) 1918:
Lenin is the chairman,
Chicherin - foreign affairs, Russian;
Lunacharsky - enlightenment, Jew;
Dzhugashvili (Stalin) - nationalities, Georgians;
Protian - agriculture, Armenian;
Larin (Lurie) - economic council, Jew;
Shlikhter - supply, Jew;
Trotsky (Bronstein) - army and navy, Jew;
Lander - state control, Jew;
Kaufman - state property, Jew;
V. Schmidt - labor, Jew;
Lilina (Knigissen) - public health, Jewish;
Spitsberg - cults, Jew;
Zinoviev (Apfelbaum) - internal affairs, Jew;
Anvelt - hygiene, Jew;
Isidor Gukovsky - finance, Jew;
Volodarsky - seal, Jew; Uritsky—elections, Jew;
I. Steinberg - justice, Jew;
Fengstein - refugees, Jew.
In total, out of 20 people's commissars - one Russian, one Georgian, one Armenian and 17 Jews.
Yuri Emelyanov in his work “Trotsky. Myths and Personality” provides an analysis of this list:
The “Jewish” character of the Council of People's Commissars was obtained through machinations: not the first composition of the Council of People's Commissars, published in the decree of the Second Congress of Soviets, was mentioned, and from the many times changed compositions of the Council of People's Commissars, only those people's commissariats were pulled out that were ever headed by Jews.
Thus, L. D. Trotsky, appointed to this post on April 8, 1918, is mentioned as the People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, and A. G. Shlikhter, who actually occupied this post, is indicated as the People's Commissar for Food (here: “supply”) post, but only until February 25, 1918, and, by the way, he was not a Jew. At the time when Trotsky actually became People's Commissar of Military Affairs, the Great Russian Tsyurupa A.D. had already become People's Commissar of Food instead of Schlichter.
Another method of fraud is the invention of a number of people's commissariats that never existed.
Thus, Andrei Dikiy mentioned in the list of People's Commissariats the never-existing People's Commissariats for cults, elections, refugees, and hygiene.
Volodarsky is mentioned as People's Commissar of the Press; in fact, he was indeed a commissar of the press, propaganda and agitation, but not a people's commissar, a member of the Council of People's Commissars (that is, actually the government), but a commissar of the Union of Northern Communes (a regional association of Soviets), an active implementer of the Bolshevik Decree on the Press.
And, conversely, the list does not include, for example, the actually existing People's Commissariat of Railways and the People's Commissariat of Posts and Telegraphs.
As a result, Andrei Dikiy does not even agree on the number of people’s commissariats: he mentions the number 20, although in the first composition there were 14 people, in 1918 the number was increased to 18.
Some positions are listed with errors. Thus, the Chairman of the Petrosoviet Zinoviev G.E. is mentioned as the People's Commissar for Internal Affairs, although he never held this position.
People's Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs Proshyan (here - "Protian") is credited with the leadership of "agriculture".
A number of persons are arbitrarily assigned Jewishness, for example, the Russian nobleman Lunacharsky A.V., the Estonian Anvelt Ya.Ya., the Russified Germans Schmidt V.V. and Lander K.I., etc. The origin of Schlichter A.G. is not entirely clear , most likely, he is a Russified (more precisely, ukrainized) German.
Some persons are completely fictitious: Spitsberg (perhaps referring to the investigator of the VIII liquidation department of the People's Commissariat of Justice I. A. Spitsberg, famous for his aggressive atheistic position), Lilina-Knigissen (perhaps referring to the actress Lilina M. P., never joined the government who was a member, or Lilina (Bernstein) Z.I., who was also not a member of the Council of People's Commissars, but worked as the head of the department of public education under the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet), Kaufman (possibly referring to cadet Kaufman A.A., according to some sources, who was attracted by the Bolsheviks as an expert during the development of land reform, but was never a member of the Council of People's Commissars).
Also mentioned in the list are two left Socialist Revolutionaries, whose non-Bolshevism is not indicated in any way: People's Commissar of Justice I. Z. Steinberg (referred to as “I. Steinberg”) and People’s Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs P. P. Proshyan, referred to as “Protian-Agriculture” . Both politicians had an extremely negative attitude towards post-October Bolshevik policies. Before the revolution, I. E. Gukovsky belonged to the Menshevik “liquidators” and accepted the post of People’s Commissar of Finance only under pressure from Lenin.
And here is the actual composition of the first Council of People's Commissars (according to the text of the decree):
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars - Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin)
People's Commissar for Internal Affairs - A. I. Rykov
People's Commissar of Agriculture - V. P. Milyutin
People's Commissar of Labor - A. G. Shlyapnikov
The People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs is a committee consisting of: V. A. Ovseenko (Antonov) (in the text of the Decree on the formation of the Council of People's Commissars - Avseenko), N. V. Krylenko and P. E. Dybenko
People's Commissar for Trade and Industry - V. P. Nogin
People's Commissar of Public Education - A. V. Lunacharsky
People's Commissar of Finance - I. I. Skvortsov (Stepanov)
People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs - L. D. Bronstein (Trotsky)
People's Commissar of Justice - G. I. Oppokov (Lomov)
People's Commissar for Food Affairs - I. A. Teodorovich
People's Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs - N. P. Avilov (Glebov)
People's Commissar for Nationalities - I. V. Dzhugashvili (Stalin)
The post of People's Commissar for Railway Affairs remained temporarily unfilled.
The vacant post of People's Commissar for Railway Affairs was later filled by V.I. Nevsky (Krivobokov).
But what does it matter now? The boss said 80 - 85% Jews! So that's how it was! By the way, in new textbook history, don't forget to write it down. This certainly corresponds to the geopolitical interests of Russia, since Putin believes there...
Or do you want to correct yourself? Oh, Jews, don’t even think about it! Otherwise, blame yourself. In short, now the problem with Bolshevik repressions is definitely on you!
Here is the exact quote from the guarantor:
“The decision to nationalize this library (Schneerson - AK) was made by the first Soviet government, and its members were approximately 80-85% Jews. But they, guided by false ideological considerations, then went for arrests and repressions of both Jews and Orthodox Christians, and representatives of other faiths - Muslims - they all rated them all with the same brush. These are ideological blinders and false ideological guidelines - they, thank God, have collapsed. And today we are, in fact, handing over these books to the Jewish community with a smile."
As they say, "Ostap suffered..."
The first government after the victory of the October Revolution was formed in accordance with the “Decree on the establishment of the Council of People's Commissars”, adopted by the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies on October 27 (old style) 1917.
Initially, the Bolsheviks hoped to agree on the participation of representatives of other socialist parties, in particular the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, in it, but they failed to achieve such an agreement. As a result, the first revolutionary government turned out to be purely Bolshevik.
The authorship of the term “people’s commissar” was attributed to several revolutionary figures, in particular Leon Trotsky. The Bolsheviks wanted in this way to emphasize the fundamental difference between their power and the tsarist and Provisional governments.
The term “Council of People's Commissars” as a definition of the Soviet government will exist until 1946, until it is replaced by the now more familiar “Council of Ministers”.
The first composition of the Council of People's Commissars will last only a few days. A number of its members will resign from their posts due to political contradictions, mainly related to the same issue of participation in the government of members of other socialist parties.
The first composition of the Council of People's Commissars included:
- Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin);
- People's Commissar for Internal Affairs;
- People's Commissar of Agriculture;
- People's Commissar of Labor;
- People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs - committee consisting of: Vladimir Ovseenko (Antonov), Nikolai Krylenko and Pavel Dybenko;
- People's Commissar for Trade and Industry;
- People's Commissar of Public Education;
- People's Commissar of Finance;
- People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs;
- People's Commissar of Justice;
- People's Commissar for Food Affairs;
- People's Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs;
- People's Commissar for National Affairs Joseph Dzhugashvili (Stalin);
- fast people's commissar on railway matters he remained temporarily unsubstituted.
The biographies of the head of the first Soviet government, Vladimir Lenin, and the first People's Commissar for Nationalities are known to the general public quite well, so let's talk about the rest of the People's Commissars.
The first People's Commissar of Internal Affairs spent only nine days in his post, but managed to sign a historical document on the creation of the police. After leaving the post of People's Commissar, Rykov went to work for the Moscow Soviet.
Alexey Rykov. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Subsequently, Alexey Rykov held high government positions, and from February 1924 he officially headed the Soviet government - the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.
Rykov's career began to decline in 1930, when he was removed from his post as head of government. Rykov, who has long supported Nikolai Bukharin, was declared a “right-wing draft dodger,” and was never able to get rid of this stigma, despite numerous speeches of repentance.
At the party plenum in February 1937, he was expelled from the CPSU (b) and arrested on February 27, 1937. During interrogations he pleaded guilty. As one of the main accused brought to open process in the case of the Right-Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Bloc. On March 13, 1938, he was sentenced to death and executed on March 15. Rykov was completely rehabilitated by the Main Military Prosecutor's Office of the USSR in 1988.
Nine days after the creation of the first Soviet government, Milyutin spoke out for the creation of a coalition government and, in protest against the decision of the Central Committee, submitted a statement of resignation from the Central Committee and the Council of People's Commissars, after which he admitted the fallacy of his statements and withdrew his statement of resignation from the Central Committee.
Vladimir Milyutin. Photo: Public Domain
Subsequently, he held high positions in the government, from 1928 to 1934 he was Deputy Chairman of the USSR State Planning Committee.
On July 26, 1937 he was arrested. On October 29, 1937, he was sentenced to death for belonging to a counter-revolutionary organization of the “right.” On October 30, 1937 he was shot. Rehabilitated in 1956.
Shlyapnikov also advocated the inclusion of members of other political parties in the government, however, unlike his colleagues, he did not leave his post, continuing to work in the government. Three weeks later, in addition to the duties of People's Commissar of Labor, he was also assigned the duties of People's Commissar of Trade and Industry.
Alexander Shlyapnikov. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
In the Bolshevik Party, Shlyapnikov was the leader of the so-called “workers’ opposition,” which manifested itself especially clearly in the party discussion about the role of trade unions. He believed that the task of the trade unions was to organize the management of the national economy, and they should take this function from the party.
Shlyapnikov's position was sharply criticized by Lenin, which affected the further fate of one of the first Soviet people's commissars.
Subsequently, he held minor positions, for example, he worked as chairman of the board joint stock company"Metalimport".
Shlyapnikov’s memoirs “The Seventeenth Year” aroused sharp criticism in the party. In 1933, he was expelled from the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), in 1934 he was administratively exiled to Karelia, and in 1935 he was sentenced to 5 years for belonging to the “workers’ opposition” - a punishment replaced by exile to Astrakhan.
In 1936, Shlyapnikov was arrested again. He was accused of the fact that, as the leader of the counter-revolutionary organization "Workers' Opposition", in the fall of 1927 he gave a directive to the Kharkov center of this organization on the transition to individual terror as a method of struggle against the CPSU (b) and the Soviet government, and in 1935-1936 he gave training directives terrorist attack against Stalin. Shlyapnikov did not admit guilt, but according to the verdict of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, he was shot on September 2, 1937. January 31, 1963 Military Collegium Supreme Court The USSR rehabilitated Alexander Shlyapnikov due to the absence of corpus delicti in his actions.
The fate of the members of the triumvirate who headed the defense department was quite similar - they all occupied high government positions for many years, and they all became victims of the “Great Terror.”
Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, Nikolai Krylenko, Pavel Dybenko. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, who arrested the Provisional Government during the armed uprising in Petrograd, was one of the founders of the Red Army, spent many years in diplomatic work, during Civil War in Spain he was the USSR Consul General in Barcelona, providing great assistance to the Republican troops as a military adviser.
Upon his return from Spain, he was arrested and sentenced to death on February 8, 1938 “for belonging to a Trotskyist terrorist and espionage organization.” Shot on February 10, 1938. Rehabilitated posthumously on February 25, 1956.
Nikolai Krylenko was one of the creators of Soviet law, held the posts of People's Commissar of Justice of the RSFSR and the USSR, prosecutor of the RSFSR and chairman of the Supreme Court of the USSR.
Krylenko is considered one of the “architects of the Great Terror” of 1937-1938. Ironically, Krylenko himself became its victim.
In 1938, at the first session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Krylenko was criticized. Soon after this, he was removed from all posts, expelled from the CPSU(b) and arrested. According to the verdict of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, he was executed on July 29, 1938. In 1956 he was rehabilitated for lack of evidence of a crime.
Pavel Dybenko made a military career, held the rank of army commander of the 2nd rank, and commanded troops in various military districts. In 1937, he took an active part in repressions in the army. Dybenko was part of the Special Judicial Presence, which convicted a group of senior Soviet military leaders in the “Tukhachevsky Case” in June 1937.
In February 1938, Dybenko himself was arrested. He pleaded guilty to participating in an anti-Soviet Trotskyist military-fascist conspiracy. On July 29, 1938, he was sentenced to death and executed on the same day. Rehabilitated in 1956.
Advocating for the creation of a “homogeneous socialist government,” Nogin was among those who left the Council of People’s Commissars a few days later. However, after three weeks Nogin “admitted his mistakes” and continued to work in leadership positions, but for more low level. He held the posts of Labor Commissioner of the Moscow Region, and then Deputy People's Commissar of Labor of the RSFSR.
Victor Nogin. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
He died on May 2, 1924, and was buried on Red Square. The name of one of the first Soviet People's Commissars is immortalized to this day in the name of the city of Noginsk near Moscow.
The People's Commissar of Education was one of the most stable figures in the Soviet government, holding his post continuously for 12 years.
Anatoly Lunacharsky. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Thanks to Lunacharsky, a lot of historical monuments, the activities of cultural institutions have been established. There were, however, very controversial decisions - in particular, already at the end of his career as People's Commissar, Lunacharsky was preparing to translate the Russian language into the Latin alphabet.
In 1929, he was removed from the post of People's Commissar of Education and appointed chairman of the Academic Committee of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR.
In 1933, Lunacharsky was sent as USSR plenipotentiary envoy to Spain. He was deputy head of the Soviet delegation during the disarmament conference at the League of Nations. Lunacharsky died in December 1933 on his way to Spain in the French resort of Menton. The urn with the ashes of Anatoly Lunacharsky is buried in the Kremlin wall.
At the time of his appointment as People's Commissar, Skvortsov served as a member of the Moscow Military Revolutionary Committee. Upon learning of his appointment, Skvortsov announced that he was a theorist, not a practitioner, and refused the position. Later he was engaged in journalism, since 1925 he was the executive editor of the newspaper “Izvestia of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee”, since 1927 - deputy. executive secretary of the newspaper "Pravda", at the same time since 1926, director of the Lenin Institute under the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks.
Ivan Skvortsov (Stepanov). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
In the party press, Skvortsov spoke as an active supporter of Stalin, but did not reach the highest government posts - on October 8, 1928, he died of a serious illness. The ashes are buried in the Kremlin wall.
One of the main leaders of the Bolsheviks, the second person in the party after Lenin, completely lost in the internal party struggle in the 1920s, and in 1929 was forced to leave the USSR as a political emigrant.
Lev Bronstein (Trotsky). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Trotsky continued his correspondence confrontation with Stalin's course until 1940, until it was interrupted in August 1940 by an ice pick blow from an NKVD agent. Ramon Mercader.
For Georgy Oppokov, his tenure as People's Commissar for several days was the pinnacle of his political career. Subsequently, he continued his activities in secondary positions, such as chairman of the Oil Syndicate, chairman of the board of Donugol, deputy chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR, member of the bureau of the Commission of Soviet Control under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.
Georgy Oppokov (Lomov). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
In June 1937, as part of the “Great Terror”, Oppokov was arrested and, according to the verdict of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, was executed on December 30, 1938. Posthumously rehabilitated in 1956.
Like other supporters of creating a government from among members of various socialist parties, Teodorovic announced his resignation from the government, but fulfilled his duties until December 1917.
Ivan Teodorovich. Photo: Public Domain
Later he was a member of the board of the People's Commissar of Agriculture, and since 1922, deputy people's commissar of agriculture. In 1928-1930 general secretary Peasant International.
Arrested on June 11, 1937. Sentenced by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR on September 20, 1937 on charges of participation in an anti-Soviet terrorist organization to death and executed on the same day. Rehabilitated in 1956.
Avilov held his post until the decision to create a coalition government with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, after which he changed the post of People's Commissar to the post of assistant director of the State Bank. Later he held various positions of the second rank, and was the People's Commissar of Labor of Ukraine. From 1923 to 1926, Avilov was the leader of the Leningrad trade unions and became one of the leaders of the so-called “Leningrad opposition,” which ten years later became fatal for him.
Nikolay Avilov (Glebov). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Since 1928, Avilov headed Selmashstroy, and since 1929 he became the first director of the Rostov agricultural machinery plant Rostselmash.
On September 19, 1936, Nikolai Avilov was arrested on charges of terrorist activities. On March 12, 1937, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced him to death on charges of participation in a counter-revolutionary terrorist organization. The sentence was carried out on March 13, 1937. Rehabilitated in 1956.
However, this list strongly diverges from official data on the composition of the first Council of People's Commissars. Firstly, he writes Russian historian Yuri Emelyanov in his work “Trotsky. Myths and Personality,” it includes people’s commissars from various compositions of the Council of People’s Commissars, which have changed many times. Secondly, according to Emelyanov, Dikiy mentions a number of people’s commissariats that never existed at all! For example, on cults, on elections, on refugees, on hygiene... But the actually existing People's Commissariats of Railways, Posts and Telegraphs are not included in the Wild's list at all!
Further: Dikiy claims that the first Council of People's Commissars included 20 people, although it is known that there were only 15 of them.
A number of positions are listed inaccurately. Thus, Chairman of the Petrosovet G.E. Zinoviev never actually held the post of People's Commissar of Internal Affairs. Proshyan, whom Dikiy for some reason calls “Protian,” was the People’s Commissar of Posts and Telegraphs, not of Agriculture.
Several of the mentioned “members of the Council of People’s Commissars” were never members of the government. I.A. Spitsberg was an investigator of the VIII liquidation department of the People's Commissariat of Justice. It is generally unclear who is meant by Lilina-Knigissen: either the actress M.P. Lilina, or Z.I. Lilina (Bernstein), who worked as head of the public education department of the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet. Cadet A.A. Kaufman participated as an expert in the development of land reform, but also had nothing to do with the Council of People's Commissars. The name of the People's Commissar of Justice was not Steinberg at all, but Steinberg...