Electoral Manipulations of the RCP(b) During the Elections to the V All-Russian Congress of Soviets

Abstract

The process of electing delegates to the V All-Russian Congress of Soviets in July 1918 was an important event of the first year of Soviet power in Russia, since the fate of the foreign and domestic policies of the revolutionary state depended on the decision of this representative forum. The study of the election of delegates to this Congress has been conducted only sporadically, as earlier scholars considered some examples of electoral manipulations of the RCP(b) and showed the political interaction of parties in regional Soviets. However, a detailed study of the election process to the Congress of Soviets in the context of the Bolsheviks’ electoral manipulations has not yet been carried out. The novelty of this study concludes in the comprehensive analysis of the electoral manipulations of the RCP(b) during the process of electing delegates to the Congress, as well as in reviewing the activities of the credentials committee of this congress. Numerous archival documents show that representatives of the Bolshevik Party controlled the process of electing delegates to the Congress, which was expressed in the direction of the co-opted delegates from local RCP(b) organizations to the Congress and in refusal to many left Social Revolutionaries in obtaining mandates with the right to vote. These electoral manipulations were carried out both by the local party leaders of the RCP(b) and by the leadership of the Bolshevik Party. As a result of the study, it was found that in some cases the credentials committee of the Congress of Soviets acted in accordance with the interests of the RCP(b), giving the Bolshevik delegates the right to decide votes from Soviets that did not have this right.