isaac-deutscher-the-prophet-armed-trotsky-1879-1921

T.ROTSKY IN THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION 299
rnmmissars who were to represent it with all detachments of
the garrison.'
While, partly by design and partly by the spur of great events
and trivial accidents, Trotsky was forging the machinery of
insurrection, the Central Committee of the party had not yet
taken any final decision. On 3 October it listened to the report
of an envoy from Moscow, Lomov-Oppokov, who spoke for
insurrection and demanded an end to irresolution. 'It was
decided', says the record of the Central Committee, 'not to
discuss this report' but to ask Lenin to come to Petrograd and
to put his arguments before the Central Committee.' On
7 October a Bureau was appointed to 'collect information on
the struggle against counter-revolution'. Its members were
Trotsky, Sverdlov, and Bubnov.3. Only on JO October, the
day after the formation of the Military Revolutionary Committee,
did that historic session take place at which Lenin was
present and at which, after grave debate, the leaders of the
party took by ten votes to two the decision in favour of the
rising. At this session, also, the first Political Bureau was elected
-Lenin, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Trotsky, Stalin, Sokolnikov, and
Bubnov-to offer the party day-to-day guidance on the insurrcction.
4 But the next day Zinoviev and Kamenev appealed to
the lower grades of the organization against the decision of the
Central Committee, and the party's attitude was again in flux.
In any case, the newly-elected Politbureau was incapable of
offering guidance. Lenin returned to his refuge in Finland.
Zinoviev and Kamenev were opposed to the rising. Stalin was
almost completely absorbed by editorial work. Sokolnikov's
views were a shade more cautious than Trotsky's. Lenin, however,
still distrustful of Trotsky's plan, urged the party to take
on itself alone the initiative of armed action. All members of the
Politbureau who were not in principle opposed to such action
preferred the rising to be conducted through the Soviet.
During the following week, Trotsky, assisted by the most
effective agitators, Lunacharsky, Kollontai, and Volodarsky,
was mustering the forces of the revolution. On IO October he
addressed a city conference of factory committees. On I I and
1
See the memoirs of the participants given on the third anniversary of the
insurrection in Proletar.rlr.aya Rei:ofotsia, no. to, 1922.
' Protokoly Tstn. Kom., p. 87. 3 Ibid., p. 94. • Ibid., pp. g8-101.