The Bolshevik Initial Decrees were announced as soon as the Bolshevik declared their success in the October Revolution (October 26 1917). The decrees conformed to the popular slogan instigated by the Bolsheviks, predominantly during the July Days (July 1917) and taken up by the masses during an uprising of worker's and military forces, "Peace, bread and land." The slogan articulated the grievances of the peasantry, armed forces and proletariat (the working class sections of Russian society) and as revisionist historian Christopher Read suggests, "The Bolsheviks were successful in uniting the diverse revolutionary movements and directing them towards one goal."

The decree on peace outlined measures for Russia's withdrawal from the First World War without "payment of indemnities or annexations". This decree was aimed at securing the support of many soldiers on the disintegrating Russian front.

The decree on Land outlined measures for dividing up rural land between the peasantry, by the peasantry themselves and advocated the forceful dissolution of many wealthy estates by peasant forces. These measures no doubt contributed to an increase in Bolshevik support amongst the peasantry, but was counter-productive in that the Russian war front disintegrated as soldiers (formerly peasants) returned to secure themselves some land.

The Worker's decrees outlined measures for minimum wage, workers hours, the running of factories by elected workers' committees and secured Bolshevik support amongst the working classes.

The Bolsheviks also declared another 100 or so decrees outlining the formal set up of Bolshevik government in relation to Soviet administration.

The significance of the initial decrees has been the subject of much historical debate, some Liberal historians see it as policy making designed to secure the support of the population at a time of instability within the regime only so they could be betrayed by the Bolsheviks pointing the way to totalitarianism (Richard Pipes). More recently, revisionist historians see the initial decrees of a fusion of support of the masses and that of the Bolsheviks who intended to undertake measures to improve their quality of living. Historian Richard Acton says, "The cleavage of the goals of the masses and that of the Bolsheviks was fundamental."

References

• Acton, Edward (1990). Rethinking the Russian Revolution. London: E. Arnold. ISBN 978-0-7131-6609-5. 
• Fiehn, Terry; and Chris Corin (2002). Communist Russia Under Lenin and Stalin. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-7488-7. 
• Fitzpatrick, Sheila (1994). The Russian Revolution, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-289257-7. 
• Pipes, Richard (1990). The Russian Revolution. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-272086-1. 
• Read, Christopher (1996). From Tsar to Soviets: The Russian People and Their Revolution, 1917-21. London: UCL Press. ISBN 978-1-85728-358-7.