The Civil War, which was started by the Cadet Colledin counter-revolutionary revolt against the Soviet authorities,

has destroyed every chance of settling in a formally democratic way the very acute problems with which history has confronted the peoples of Russia.

Every direct or indirect attempt to consider the question of the constituent assembly

from a formal legal point of view within the framework of ordinary bourgeois democracy

and disregarding the class struggle and the civil war would be a betrayal of the proletariat's cause.

The crisis in connection with the constituent assembly can be settled only in a revolutionary way,

by Soviet power adopting the most energetic, speedy, firm, and determined revolutionary measures

against the Cadet-Calladine counter-revolution, no matter behind what slogans and institutions,

even participation in the constituent assembly, this counter-revolution may hide.

Any attempt to tie the hands of Soviet power in this struggle

would be tantamount to aiding counter-revolution.

Vladimir Lenin, Theses on the Constituent Assembly, published in Pravda, December 26, 1917.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century. Episode 163, A State Not Yet Born

One of the remarkable things about the February Revolution in Russia

was how the Russian nation accepted the overthrow of the emperor

and the institution of the provisional government. This acceptance was rapid and it was broad-based,

so much so that its few opponents must have found their heads spinning. By the time they got

their heads together and began thinking about how to oppose it, it was already too late.

And here I'm including the Emperor himself.

The October Revolution, by contrast, did not have anything like this kind of broad-based support.

As we saw in episode 156, the new Sovnarcombe, had difficulty winning recognition

even from the civil servants in the Russian government ministries, their nominal subordinates.

...