more practical Russia-oriented people was already apparent (Pipes, 127). The Bolsheviks hope of seizing power was hardly secret. Bold refusal of the provisional Government was one of their major ideals. Three weeks before the revolt they decided to stage a demonstrative walkout from the advisory assembly. When the walkout was staged, Trotsky denounced the Provisional Government for its alleged counterrevolutionary objectives and called on the people of Russia to support the Bolsheviks (Daniels, 110). On October 10 of 1917, Lenin made the decision to take power. He came secretly to Petrograd to try and disperse any hesitancies the Bolshevik leadership had over his demand for armed revolt. Against the opposition of two of Lenin's long- time lieutenants, Zinovieiv and Kamenev, the Central Committee accepted Lenin's resolution which formally instructed the party organizations to prepare for the seizure of power. Finally, of October 25 the Bolshevik revolution took place to overthrow the provisional government. They did so through the agency of the Military-Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet. They forcibly overthrew the provisional government by taking over all of the government buildings, such as the post office, and big corporations, such as the power companies, the shipyard, the telephone company. The endorsement of the coup was secured from the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which was concurrently in session. This was known as the October revolution (Luttwak, 74) Through this, control of Russia was shifted to Lenin and the Bolsheviks. IN a quick series of decrees, the new soviet government instituted a number of sweeping reforms, some long overdue and some quite revolutionary. They ranged from democratic reforms, such as the disestablishment of the church and equality for the national minorities, to the recognition of the peasants land seizures and to ope...
