THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND ORGANIZED LABOR (FACTORY COMMITTEES, TRADE UNIONS).

摘要

The study deals with labor organizations--the factory committees and the trade unions--in the 1917 revolution. It traces the development of these organizations from their re-emergence on the Russian scene after the February revolution to the beginning of their incorporation into the state bureacracy following the Bolshevik takeover. The study outlines the factors which shaped labor politics during the period under consideration.; In interpreting labor politics in the revolution, the dissertation emphasizes political factors, rather than class conflicts. It views labor's support for the transfer of power to the soviets as a product of the failure of the coalition policy persued by the moderate socialists--the principal architects of the post-February political order. After the overthrow of the Provisional Government, the failure of the proponents of democracy among the socialist parties represented in the soviets to come to a consensus on the question of power was a major factor which caused a shift in favor of Lenin's political line among labor organizations. As this study also shows, the rivalry between the factory committees and the trade unions was another critical factor which allowed Lenin to manipulate labor organizations into supporting his solution to the problem of power.; The study also addresses some related topics. It deals with the role of labor organizations in creating the armed workers' movement and preparing the October insurrection. The study examines the participation of labor organizations in suppressing democracy at the enterprise level. It sketches a brief history of the shop-stewards' assemblies--a relatively uninvestigated movement which challenged the Bolshevik regime during the spring and summer of 1918. Among other related topics, the study discusses the effects of the post-February political system upon the economy, the struggle inside the Bolshevik party between the supporters of democracy and Lenin, and the early economic experiments of Lenin's government.