Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 26 - From Marx to Mao

556 NOTEScontrol of the newspaper Znamya Truda (see Note 54), whichsubsequently became the Central Organ of their Party.At the Second All- Russia Congress of Soviet, the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries constituted a majority of the Socialist- Revolutionarygroup, which split up on the question of participationin the Congress; the Right Socialist- Revolutionaries, acting ondirectives of their Party’s Central Committee, left the Congress,while the Left Socialist- Revolutionaries remained and voted withthe Bolsheviks on the major items of the agenda. The Bolsheviksbelieved that a bloc should be formed with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, who at that time had a considerable followingamong the peasants. Accordingly, they invited them to enter theSoviet Government, but they refused and insisted on the demandto set up a so- called “uniform socialist government” with the participationof the Mensheviks, Right Socialist- Revolutionaries andother parties and groups. After considerable hesitation, the LeftSocialist- Revolutionaries, intent on retaining their influenceamong the peasants, agreed to collaborate with the Bolsheviks.As a result of the talks held in late November and early December1917, an agreement was reached on their participation in theGovernment. They committed themselves to follow the commonpolicy of the Council of People’s Commissars, and were mademembers of several collegiums of People’s Commissariats.While collaborating with the Bolsheviks, the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries took wrong attitudes on vital aspects of socialistconstruction and opposed the dictatorship of the proletariat.In January and February 1918, their Central Committee launcheda campaign against the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk,and when it was signed and ratified by the Fourth Congress ofSoviets in March, they withdrew from the Government, but continuedto take part in the collegiums and local organs of power.In July, their Central Committee organised the assassination ofthe German Ambassador Mirbach in Moscow and an armed revoltagainst Soviet power in the hope of sabotaging the peace treatyand provoking war between Soviet Russia and Germany. TheFifth All- Russia Congress of Soviets, held after the suppressionof the July revolt, decided to expel Left Socialist- Revolutionarieswho shared the views of their leadership from the Soviets. Havinglost all support among the masses, the party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries launched an armed fight against Soviet power.Some of the Left Socialist- Revolutionaries who wanted to collaboratewith the Bolsheviks formed a party of Narodnik Communistsand Revolutionary Communists, and a considerable numberof them later joined the Communist Party. p. 270112The reference is to the Bolsheviks’ participation in a conferencecalled by the Vikzhel for talks on the composition of the government.The Vikzhel, the All- Russia Central Committee of the Railwaymen’sTrade Union which was dominated by the Mensheviksand Socialist- Revolutionaries, was one of the bulwarks of the