Michael Melancon

Early Soviet Revolutionary Culture and Soviet Power

Revolutionary Culture in the Early Soviet Republic:

Communist Executive Committees versus the Cheka, Fall 1918

This study examines the responses of provincial soviet executive committees to the activities of

local chekas during the second half of 1918, when the executive committees, as well as the

chekas, consisted almost entirely of Communists. Communist activists widely objected to cheka

methods and autonomy, which they saw as in violation of the idea of soviet power and as harmful

to revolutionary ideals. During the very inception of the Red Terror, launched after the

assassination attempt against Lenin, these activists, most familiar with local conditions, found

cheka activities unnecessary and objectionable. In doing so, they defied central party and state

authorities. Their approach, this study argues, represented a deeply-rooted political culture, shared

with other leftist groups and broad social elements, that focused on participatory soviet power

and humane revolutionary norms, rather than on one-party rule imposed by force. It suggests that

the rise of the one-party state enforced by a repressive secret police represented specifically

Leninist priorities rather than revolutionary exigencies.

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