St. Petersburg Soviet of Worker's Delegates was a workers' council, or soviet in St. Petersburg in 1905. It should not be confused with the Petrograd Soviet of 1917. A workers council is a council, or deliberative body, composed of working class or proletarian members. ... A soviet (Russian: сове́т) originally was a workers local council in late Imperial Russia. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... An assembly of the Petrograd Soviet, 1917 The Petrograd Soviet, or the Petrograd Soviet of Workers and Soldiers Deputies, was the council set up in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg, Russia) in March 1917 as the representative body of the citys workers. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

Origins

The idea of a Soviet as an organ to coordinate workers' strike activities arose during the meetings of workers at the apartment of Voline (later a famous anarchist) during the abortive revolution of 1905. Its first chairman was Khrustalyov-Nosar (Georgy Nosar, alias Pyotr Khrustalyov, Хрусталев Петр Алексеевич (Носарь Георгий Степанович) (1877-1918)). However, its activities were quickly ceased due to governmental repression. Vsevolod Mikhailovich Eikhenbaum (August 11, 1882 - September 18, 1945), known in later life as Voline (Волин), was a leading Russian anarchist. ... Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ... The Russian Revolution of 1905 was an empire-wide spasm of both anti-government and undirected violence. ...

During the General Strike of October 1905, the Soviet recommenced its work and became known as the Soviet of Workers' Deputies. A constituent meeting of 40 deputies was held on October 13 in the building of the St.Petersburg Technological Institute. Lapel pin of a graduate from Saint-Petersburg State Institute of Technology Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology (Technological University) (Russian: ) is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Russia (founded in 1828), that currently trains around 5000 students. ...

Achievements of the Soviet

The Soviet of Workers' Deputies had between 400-500 members (elected by around 200,000 workers), representing five trade unions and 96 factories around St. Petersburg. Initially, its members were largely local politically conscious workers but it was rapidly dominated by established radical groups. The Mensheviks were most influential, while members from the bolsheviks and Esers remained a minority. During the 1905 revolution, Leon Trotsky returned from exile to becaome Nosar's deputy in the soviet. After the arrest of Nosar, Trotsky became chairman and swiftly altered the party's agenda. Under his more pragmatic leadership, the general strike was called off because it was feared that it would provide the imperial government with an excuse for greater oppression. Leaders of the Menshevik Party at Norra Bantorget in Stockholm, Sweden, May 1917. ... Bolshevik Party Meeting. ... The Socialist-Revolutionary Party (SRs, or Esers; Партия социалистов-революционеров (ПСР), эсеры in Russian) were a Russian political party active in the early 20th century. ... (Russian: Лев Давидович Троцкий; also transliterated Leo, Lev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij, Trockij and Trotzky) (November 7 [O.S. October 26] 1879 – August 21, 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronstein (Лев Давидович Бронштейн), was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start...

Its work consisted of the organisation and coordination of strike action and supplies for the workers. In practice, the Soviet's policies remained moderate, with its most extreme actions being an appeal for its supporters to refuse to pay taxes and to withdraw their bank deposits. Its influence within St. Petersburg was arguably greater than that of the imperial government during the revolution, but its effectiveness has been questioned. The general strike of October 1905 occurred spontaneously without the Soviet's intervention, and its attempts to call a second general strike in November failed.

The St. Petersburg Soviet ceased to exist on December 3, 1905, when its leaders (including Trotsky) were arrested by government troops and charged with supporting an armed rebellion. December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Aftermath

Due to political reasons Bolsheviks, beginning with Trotsky, falsified the history of its creation and shifted the date of its establishment to the period of the October Strike, when Trotsky took an active part in its work and attributed the initiative of its creation to one of Social Democrat groups. Bolsheviks in their early articles wrote that the first soviets were "spontaneously created by workers", without any attribution to party affiliation. Later the official Soviet hagiography declared the Ivanovo Soviet to be the first Soviet in the history. Leaders of the Bolshevik Party and the Communist International, a painting by Malcolm McAllister on the Pathfinder Mural in New York City and on the cover of the book Lenin’s Final Fight published by Pathfinder. ... The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, or RSDLP (Росси́йская Социа́л-Демократи́ческая Рабо́чая Па́ртия = РСДРП), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organisations into one party. ... Hagiography is the study of saints. ... Ivanovo (Russian: Ива́ново) is the administrative center of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia. ...

References

• Voline: La révolution inconnue - Russie 1917-1921 (in French)
• Robert Wolfson, Years of Change, Edward Arnold, 1978
• David Warnes, Chronicle of the Russian Tsars, Thames & Hudson, 1999