Question by <><><>: how did the Bolsheviks seize power so quickly?
I was reading about the October revolution and would like to know how Lenin took power so quickly (it took him just 10 days). I’m guessing it started when Kerensky armed the Bolsheviks against an attempted military coup. I’m aware there is a book called “10 days which shook the world” and a summary would be nice.
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Answer by megalomaniac
They seized power quickly because Russia was in turmoil, in fact utter chaos, because of its mishandling and misfortunes of WW1, (their timing was good) but don’t forget that it took several years of intense civil war (1918-1922) to consolidate that power. (White Russians with foreign support vs the Soviet Red Army)
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deadkenny says
The key was probably that the 'central authority' had effectively collapsed and the Bolsheviks were moving into a power vacuum. That being said, they didn't exactly have 'control' over all of the former 'Russian Empire' at that point in time. There were several more years of 'civil war' and wars against various 'nationalist' entities (e.g. Poland) before they were able to consolidate control over a large part of the country.