Red Petrograd: Revolution in the Factories, 1917–1918 by S.A. Smith

Red Petrograd: Revolution in the Factories, 1917–1918 Reviews

• 
  Paul

  In Red Petrograd Steve Smith examines the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 by stepping outside of high politics and focusing on the experiences of the working class in the book’s eponymous city. Arguing that the factories were an important realm in which the ambiguities of the new socialist rule were negotiated, Smith chronicles the workers’ attempts to run production by means of factory committees, which were intended to provide direct control of operations. In this aim they came into conflict with traditional managerial forms, as well as trade unions of skilled workers, who believed that a certain level of expert oversight was required for the smooth functioning of industry. The author argues that, rather than following an unambiguous directive from above, the factory employees were required to discern the true “meaning” of the revolution themselves, and discrepancies in interpretation arose as they attempted to reorganize the system to conform to a new political reality.
  
  Smith’s work is based heavily on statistical analysis and his first two chapters outline the conditions and nature of the factory shortly before the February Revolution. Even prior to the deposition of the Tsar, the workers were politically aware, but their activism grew as the year progressed, usually with little or no direction from political factions. In the turmoil of the civil war, the authorities had neither the time nor the interest in micromanaging the factories, and left the employees to organize themselves. As mentioned above, this split the working class into two major factions: the skilled men who were organized around trade unions and believed in centralized authority and the “new” and unskilled laborers who, consisting primarily of women, children, and recent rural immigrants, favored a system of direct control through factory committees. This latter group was more politically militant, prone to aggressive and sometimes violent tactics when seeking to have their demands met, and generally possessed a larger spectrum of grievances. The Bolsheviks’ initial support of the workers’ control movement was acknowledged by these unskilled groups, who appropriated it to organize quickly and acquire early victories in their struggle to win wage increases and new rights from management.
  
  By 1918, however, several factors, most of which related to the collapse of the economy during the war, had permitted the trade unions to gain the upper hand. As inflation skyrocketed, the factory committees grew even more vociferous in their quest to extract concessions from their employers. The harsh conditions left many managers unable to meet worker demands and remain profitable, and thus they opted (or at least threatened) to shut down their factories. This was unacceptable to the Bolsheviks who, now in power and fighting to stay there, were reliant on the operation of the factories to both supply the war effort and restore the economy. They quickly coopted and bureaucratized the trade unions, which had begun as genuinely independent grassroots movements, and made agreements with the management that ensured the future of the factories. This brought greater conflict between the trade unions and the workers’ committees, the latter of whom were later absorbed forcibly into the former.
  
  Although Smith’s work was groundbreaking for the time, and remains important today, non-specialists may find this book somewhat of a difficult read, due to the rarity of signposting and recapitulation (although the conclusion is an excellent summary), as well as the significant amount of “assumed” background knowledge for important figures, events, and locations. The expected level of familiarity with the topic likely stems from the fact that this is not a political history, and is therefore geared towards a specialist audience seeking a more in-depth study, as well as a fresh perspective that reevaluates and rejects previous narratives. Modern readers of any ilk, however, may find this work to be relatively dry, partially due to its highly statistical foundations, but also as a consequence of the author’s overall style. This book takes a long time to get through and cannot be skimmed or perused half-heartedly. Those who do make it through, however, will be well-rewarded. The author’s attempt to tell the story of the 1917 Revolution through the eyes of those most directly affected is a rare treasure and provides a unique perspective on the early days of Bolshevik rule, one that should not be missed by any scholar of the Soviet Union.