From October to Brest-Litovsk

A firsthand account and analysis traces the course of the October revolution and the subsequent Brest-Litovsk negotiations, describing how rapid wartime developments empowered the army and peasantry, elevated petty‑bourgeois intellectuals into leadership roles, and shaped the soviets. It examines tensions among socialist factions, the Mensheviks and Social‑Revolutionists' accommodation with liberal forces, and the Bolshevik conviction that class struggle would ultimately displace moderate coalitions. The narrative combines memoir, political explanation, and reflections on organizational dynamics, interruptions in peace talks, and the social forces that determined the transfer of power.