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The Kronstadt Uprising
On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the 'October Revolution', where the Bolsheviks seized control of a popular uprising, there can still be found those who celebrate the events as a victory of 'workers control'. Ida Mett's account was among the first to expose such illusions. The sailors of Kronstadt had been instrumental in aiding the Bolsheviks to power, but by 1921 they had become disillusioned with the direction that events were taking. Frustrated by worsening economic conditions and by the Bolsheviks increasingly brutal attempts at centralising power, the sailors and soldiers of Kronstadt put forward a series of demands designed to win back the control and autonomy that had been promised. The Kronstadt uprising of 1921 was one of the most important yet often overlooked events of the Russian civil war. The bloody suppression of the rebels by the 'government of the workers and peasants' marked the final blow to any hopes of a genuine popular revolution based on democratic self-management. Ida Mett dispels the myths of the Bolsheviks and provides a dramatic and engaging account of the events that made clear the true nature of the 'proletarian' dictatorship. Originally published in French in 1938, and in English by the libertarian socialist group 'Solidarity' in 1967, this contemporary account which includes documents from the actual participants has been restored and revived for the next generation of social revolutionaries.
93 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1948
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October 24, 2025I'm gonna assume this is the same work as the book in my possession titled "the kronstadt commune."
This is an account of the infamous titular episode of the Russian civil war, wherein the sailors at the Kronstadt garrison near Petersburg went on strike and made several demands including a restoration of power to the soviets and free elections to the soviets. What is clear is that these sailors were not necessarily wanting to fight the Bolsheviks or betray the revolution, the Bolsheviks did not give in to their demands citing White and international pressure, and eventually the rebellion was violently put down by the red army. In the century since, various historians of various persuasions wrote about the kronstadt episode from various perspectives. It is not so clear what actually transpired and why, and this decidedly Anarchist retelling of it is no different.
This book is also a refutation of just about every previous account of the events, from the Stalinist official histories, Trotskyists, Mensheviks, etc. (of course they emphasize how much anarchists were present for the rebellion, likely overemphasizing them). I appreciate Mett for mostly letting Lenin Trotsky etc speak for themselves, including long unabridged quotes. The Leninists and Stalinists say suppressing the revolt was necessary as it was a White and bourgeois ploy, Trotsky and Victor Serge say it was necessary as they needed to not open up the fledgling soviet union to internal problems, the Menshevix, Anarchists, Left and Right SRs all claimed the revolt was just and was filled with their respective socialists. It's all quite Rashomonic, and Ida Mett here really only muddies the waters even more.
Still, a pretty good history of the revolt and the various perspectives on it, even if it is ridiculously biased.
This is an account of the infamous titular episode of the Russian civil war, wherein the sailors at the Kronstadt garrison near Petersburg went on strike and made several demands including a restoration of power to the soviets and free elections to the soviets. What is clear is that these sailors were not necessarily wanting to fight the Bolsheviks or betray the revolution, the Bolsheviks did not give in to their demands citing White and international pressure, and eventually the rebellion was violently put down by the red army. In the century since, various historians of various persuasions wrote about the kronstadt episode from various perspectives. It is not so clear what actually transpired and why, and this decidedly Anarchist retelling of it is no different.
This book is also a refutation of just about every previous account of the events, from the Stalinist official histories, Trotskyists, Mensheviks, etc. (of course they emphasize how much anarchists were present for the rebellion, likely overemphasizing them). I appreciate Mett for mostly letting Lenin Trotsky etc speak for themselves, including long unabridged quotes. The Leninists and Stalinists say suppressing the revolt was necessary as it was a White and bourgeois ploy, Trotsky and Victor Serge say it was necessary as they needed to not open up the fledgling soviet union to internal problems, the Menshevix, Anarchists, Left and Right SRs all claimed the revolt was just and was filled with their respective socialists. It's all quite Rashomonic, and Ida Mett here really only muddies the waters even more.
Still, a pretty good history of the revolt and the various perspectives on it, even if it is ridiculously biased.
July 22, 2009
Ida Mett's "The Kronstadt Uprising" is a useful look at a piece of history from the Russian Revolution and beginning of the Soviet Union that speaks eloquently about the state that Lenin and the Bolsheviks were putting together--and not necessarily to the good. It is an incident that probably deserves greater attention than it has received. In the end, the perfidy of the Bolsheviks tells us quite a lesson as to what was to come with Stalinism.
Kronstadt was a naval base, but more than that. In 1921, the sailors and workers in Petrograd developed a set of economic and political demands, consistent with the new Constitution. As Murray Bookchin puts it in the introduction (Page 2): "We can now say, however, that the Kronstadt uprising marked the definitive end of the Russian Revolution." The sailors of Kronstadt had long been a backbone of insurgency--in 1905 and in 1917 again and in the Civil War. Bookchin's argument--and Mett's--is that the suppression of the Kronstadt forces by the Red Army marked the beginning of harsh authoritarianism and the end of any dream of a workers' republic or a government allowing the masses a role.
Mett begins by providing background on the Kronstadt events of 1921. Matters began with the workers of Petrograd protesting lack of food and threatening to strike. The Communist Party apparatus, of course, resisted this. A detachment of sailors from Kronstadt came to Petrograd to understand the workers' complaints. After listening to the workers, they developed a 15 point program--including new elections to the soviets, ridding the military of party detachments, liberating political prisoners, equalizing rations, freedom of speech and assembly, and so on. The Communist Party worked to split the workers from the sailors (divide and conquer). At last, a military detachment of crack troops took the naval base by force, ending the Kronstadt "rebellion."
The last part of this brief book considers what different actors had to say, how they interpreted Kronstadt. Among the voices that Mett presents: the Mensheviks (opponents of the Bolsheviks), Lenin's views, and those of other actors. Her concluding chapter is a more theoretical denunciation of the Society regime violating its own constitution and demonstrating that it was hardly the vehicle by which the workers and masses would exercise control after the end of authoritarianism and feudalism under the czars.
Her work was first published in 1938, but this more recent publication is a useful version of her book. For those interested in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and the Bolsheviks' rise to power, and the sad consequences thereof, this is one part of solving the larger puzzle.
Kronstadt was a naval base, but more than that. In 1921, the sailors and workers in Petrograd developed a set of economic and political demands, consistent with the new Constitution. As Murray Bookchin puts it in the introduction (Page 2): "We can now say, however, that the Kronstadt uprising marked the definitive end of the Russian Revolution." The sailors of Kronstadt had long been a backbone of insurgency--in 1905 and in 1917 again and in the Civil War. Bookchin's argument--and Mett's--is that the suppression of the Kronstadt forces by the Red Army marked the beginning of harsh authoritarianism and the end of any dream of a workers' republic or a government allowing the masses a role.
Mett begins by providing background on the Kronstadt events of 1921. Matters began with the workers of Petrograd protesting lack of food and threatening to strike. The Communist Party apparatus, of course, resisted this. A detachment of sailors from Kronstadt came to Petrograd to understand the workers' complaints. After listening to the workers, they developed a 15 point program--including new elections to the soviets, ridding the military of party detachments, liberating political prisoners, equalizing rations, freedom of speech and assembly, and so on. The Communist Party worked to split the workers from the sailors (divide and conquer). At last, a military detachment of crack troops took the naval base by force, ending the Kronstadt "rebellion."
The last part of this brief book considers what different actors had to say, how they interpreted Kronstadt. Among the voices that Mett presents: the Mensheviks (opponents of the Bolsheviks), Lenin's views, and those of other actors. Her concluding chapter is a more theoretical denunciation of the Society regime violating its own constitution and demonstrating that it was hardly the vehicle by which the workers and masses would exercise control after the end of authoritarianism and feudalism under the czars.
Her work was first published in 1938, but this more recent publication is a useful version of her book. For those interested in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and the Bolsheviks' rise to power, and the sad consequences thereof, this is one part of solving the larger puzzle.
December 19, 2017
The anarchist Ida Mett takes up the infamous events of the rising of the revolutionary sailors at Kronstadt, which was brutally suppressed by the Bolshevik government at the behest of Lenin and Trotsky in the book, 'The Kronstadt Uprising'. The books strength comes from the extensive use of block quotes from primary sources that allows the reader to make judgement of various actors without ideological distortions by the author. This is especially important given the charged character of the 1921 event for people of every persuasion.
Mett's intention is to show the various distortions that emerged from the Bolshevik regime at the time of the rising and how the revolutionary sailors responded to them in their own words. In addition, Mett address the various interpretation that flourished during and after the fact at the expensive of detailed coverage of the unfolding events. (See Paul Avrich's 'Kronstadt 1921' for a more thorough and historical account)
Despite Mett's adherence to anarchism, their interpretation does not rest on claiming Kronstadt as anarchist-that is as lead and organized by anarchists-as is often understood. The evidence she puts forth on this point is a little lackluster, but the significance of the event for anarchists and anyone left of Lenin is not in the political make up of the sailors. Rather, the significance is in the sailors demands, programs, and actions that are declared as carrying forth the legacy of revolutionary Kronstadt sailors and the Russian revolution itself. In turn, the crushing of the uprising by the Bolsheviks took place at the end of the civil war and war communism with the introduction of the New Economic Policy. The repression signals for Mett both the Bolshevik desire to maintain control rather than grasp with radical demands of even the first constitution of the Soviet Republic as well as, the 'defeat of socialism' given the emergence of Stalin(ism).
Mett's intention is to show the various distortions that emerged from the Bolshevik regime at the time of the rising and how the revolutionary sailors responded to them in their own words. In addition, Mett address the various interpretation that flourished during and after the fact at the expensive of detailed coverage of the unfolding events. (See Paul Avrich's 'Kronstadt 1921' for a more thorough and historical account)
Despite Mett's adherence to anarchism, their interpretation does not rest on claiming Kronstadt as anarchist-that is as lead and organized by anarchists-as is often understood. The evidence she puts forth on this point is a little lackluster, but the significance of the event for anarchists and anyone left of Lenin is not in the political make up of the sailors. Rather, the significance is in the sailors demands, programs, and actions that are declared as carrying forth the legacy of revolutionary Kronstadt sailors and the Russian revolution itself. In turn, the crushing of the uprising by the Bolsheviks took place at the end of the civil war and war communism with the introduction of the New Economic Policy. The repression signals for Mett both the Bolshevik desire to maintain control rather than grasp with radical demands of even the first constitution of the Soviet Republic as well as, the 'defeat of socialism' given the emergence of Stalin(ism).
December 31, 2021
If you’re looking for a short book about the 1921 rebellion of the Kronstadt sailors against the Bolshevik dictatorship, this is not a bad place to start.
Written from an activist rather than an academic viewpoint, Mett is passionate in her defence of the insurgent sailors who stood up to Lenin and Trotsky, demanding – among other things – ‘free soviets’. Much of the book is devoted to responding to Bolshevik smears, including that the sailors – who were once the most loyal supporters of the revolutionary regime – were led by White generals.
Trotsky in particular comes in for severe criticism, as he seems to have defended the brutal crushing of the rebellion to his dying day.
Kronstadt was not the last of the anti-Bolshevik rebellions involving people who were once seen as the most supportive of socialist revolution. The miners of Chiatura and the peasants of Guria, in Georgia rose up against the tsar in 1905 and again against the Communists in 1924 — but that story has yet to be told.
Written from an activist rather than an academic viewpoint, Mett is passionate in her defence of the insurgent sailors who stood up to Lenin and Trotsky, demanding – among other things – ‘free soviets’. Much of the book is devoted to responding to Bolshevik smears, including that the sailors – who were once the most loyal supporters of the revolutionary regime – were led by White generals.
Trotsky in particular comes in for severe criticism, as he seems to have defended the brutal crushing of the rebellion to his dying day.
Kronstadt was not the last of the anti-Bolshevik rebellions involving people who were once seen as the most supportive of socialist revolution. The miners of Chiatura and the peasants of Guria, in Georgia rose up against the tsar in 1905 and again against the Communists in 1924 — but that story has yet to be told.
August 5, 2018
This should not be the first book you read about the ill-fated and tragic (personally and politically for many) Kronstadt Uprising of March 1921. I would recommend Paul Avrich's book (see my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) as a stater. Ida Mett's thin -- less than 100 pages if we discount the various Forward, Prefaces and Introductions -- is light on a balanced historical review of the rebellion, but that is not why you pick it up. It is a polemic and a passionate one at that. I found the account -- the chapter entitled The Kronstadt Events -- less interesting than the following two chapters entitled What They Said at the Time and Kronstadt: Last Upsurge of the Soviets. Mett and many others probably quite correctly look at Kronstadt as the final revolution of the Soviet experiment and one that of course failed with the Bolshevik victory and Stalin's ascension to all-power.
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July 26, 2021Sovyet denizcilerinin ve askerlerinin Stepan Petriçenko önderliğinde Bolşevik iktidarına karşı ayaklanmasını anlatan Ida MEtt ,isyanı devrimci bir başkaldırı olarak nitelendiriyor.
Ne kadar isyan masumlaştırılarak meşrulaştırılmaya çalışsa da bence küçük burjuva bir kalkışmadır ve emperyalistler tarafından desteklenmiştir.
Anarşist Emma Goldman olaylar sırasında Petrograd’dadır ve isyandan iki hafta önce Paris gazetelerinde isyan beklentisi üzerine haberler çıktığını, bu haberlerin olaylarda emperyalist merkezlerin katkısı olabileceği ihtimalini arttırdığını belirtir. Lenin de emperyalist merkezlerden böyle bir saldırı beklemektedir, bunun kanıtı yıllar sonra Columbia Üniversitesi Rus Arşivlerindeki bir el yazmasından çıkmıştır. 1921 yılı tarihli ve Çok Gizli ibareli yazıda Kronstadt Ayaklanmasına dair ayrıntılı bilgiler (silah, personel durumu gibi bilgilerin yanı sıra Beyaz Ordu ve Fransız kuvvetlerinin Kronstadtlıların yardımına gelebilmeleri için alternatif güzergahlar) belirtilmektedir.Söz konusu belge muhtemelen gizli olarak Bolşeviklere karşı örgütlenmeye çalışan Pyotr Vrangel’in Beyaz Ordu kılıç artıkları tarafından örgütlenmiştir. Ayrıca belgenin Finlandiya'da yazıldığı anlaşılmaktadır. Józef Piłsudski’nin komünistlere karşı düşmanlığı ve emperyalist merkezlere olan yakınlığı bilinmektedir
Ne kadar isyan masumlaştırılarak meşrulaştırılmaya çalışsa da bence küçük burjuva bir kalkışmadır ve emperyalistler tarafından desteklenmiştir.
Anarşist Emma Goldman olaylar sırasında Petrograd’dadır ve isyandan iki hafta önce Paris gazetelerinde isyan beklentisi üzerine haberler çıktığını, bu haberlerin olaylarda emperyalist merkezlerin katkısı olabileceği ihtimalini arttırdığını belirtir. Lenin de emperyalist merkezlerden böyle bir saldırı beklemektedir, bunun kanıtı yıllar sonra Columbia Üniversitesi Rus Arşivlerindeki bir el yazmasından çıkmıştır. 1921 yılı tarihli ve Çok Gizli ibareli yazıda Kronstadt Ayaklanmasına dair ayrıntılı bilgiler (silah, personel durumu gibi bilgilerin yanı sıra Beyaz Ordu ve Fransız kuvvetlerinin Kronstadtlıların yardımına gelebilmeleri için alternatif güzergahlar) belirtilmektedir.Söz konusu belge muhtemelen gizli olarak Bolşeviklere karşı örgütlenmeye çalışan Pyotr Vrangel’in Beyaz Ordu kılıç artıkları tarafından örgütlenmiştir. Ayrıca belgenin Finlandiya'da yazıldığı anlaşılmaktadır. Józef Piłsudski’nin komünistlere karşı düşmanlığı ve emperyalist merkezlere olan yakınlığı bilinmektedir
April 14, 2018
Komünistlerin ortodoksları dışında genelde Stalin'e bakış pek olumlu değildir. George Orwell Hayvan Çiftliği'nde Napolyon adlı domuz karakteri üzerinden Stalin'i çok sert bir biçimde yerer. Buna karşın Hayvan Çiftliği'nde Lenin Koca Reis adında "ulu ve bilge bir domuz" olarak karşımıza çıkar. Şüphesiz ki Lenin komünistler açısından en önemli önderlerdendir ve Stalin'e nazaran hitap ettiği kitle daha geniştir. Fakat Lenin ulu ve bilge olarak olumlanacak kadar masum mudur?
"Nedir Kronştad Ayaklanması? Karşıdevrimci bir başkaldırı mı? Karşıdevrimci bir amacı bulunmayan ama ister istemez karşıdevrime kapıları aralayan bir isyan mı? Yoksa sadece, emekçi sınıfların, Ekim Devrimi'nin vaatlerini gerçekleştirme girişimi miydi?
Mutlaka gerçekleşmek zorunda mıydı bu ayaklanma? Kanla bastırılmak bu ayaklanmanın kaçınılmaz sonu muydu? İşte bu metnin net bir biçimde cevaplamak istediği bir dizi soru.."
"Modern kitle toplumu ile gerçek demokrasi ( temsil dolayımından kurtulmuş doğrudan demokrasi), merkezileşme ile inisiyatif, bürokrasi ile katılım, otorite ile özgürlük bir arada bulunabilir mi? Deneyler bize tersini gösteriyor. Bolşevik partisi de işçi sınıfını temsil ettiğini söylüyordu, oysa biliriz ki, bir şeyi temsil ettiğini söylemek onu yok saymak demektir."
"Nedir Kronştad Ayaklanması? Karşıdevrimci bir başkaldırı mı? Karşıdevrimci bir amacı bulunmayan ama ister istemez karşıdevrime kapıları aralayan bir isyan mı? Yoksa sadece, emekçi sınıfların, Ekim Devrimi'nin vaatlerini gerçekleştirme girişimi miydi?
Mutlaka gerçekleşmek zorunda mıydı bu ayaklanma? Kanla bastırılmak bu ayaklanmanın kaçınılmaz sonu muydu? İşte bu metnin net bir biçimde cevaplamak istediği bir dizi soru.."
"Modern kitle toplumu ile gerçek demokrasi ( temsil dolayımından kurtulmuş doğrudan demokrasi), merkezileşme ile inisiyatif, bürokrasi ile katılım, otorite ile özgürlük bir arada bulunabilir mi? Deneyler bize tersini gösteriyor. Bolşevik partisi de işçi sınıfını temsil ettiğini söylüyordu, oysa biliriz ki, bir şeyi temsil ettiğini söylemek onu yok saymak demektir."
June 2, 2023
Όλη η εξουσία στα σοβιέτ και όχι στο κόμμα.
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Πρέπει να παραδεχτούμε ότι αυτό το κόμμα δεν ήταν ούτε επαναστατικό, ούτε προλεταριακό και αυτό είναι εκείνο για το οποίο το κατηγορούν οι κροστανδιανοί
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Το 1921 η επανάσταση βρισκόταν σ’ ένα σταυροδρόμι: να πάρει το δημοκρατικό δρόμο ή να ακολουθήσει το δικτατορικό. Αυτό ήταν το ζήτημα. Βάζοντας οι μπολσεβίκοι, τον αστικό κοινοβουλευτισμό και την εργατική δημοκρατία στο ίδιο τσουβάλι, καταδίκασαν και τα δύο. Ονειρεύτηκαν να οικοδομήσουν τον σοσιαλισμό από τα πάνω, από τις επιδέξιες μανούβρες του επιτελείου. Περιμένοντας την παγκόσμια επανάσταση, η οποία δεν βιαζόταν να έλθει, οικοδομήσανε έναν ΚΡΑΤΙΚΟ ΚΑΠΙΤΑΛΙΣΜΟ όπου οι εργαζόμενες μάζες δεν έχουν πλέον το δικαίωμα να διαθέτουν τον εαυτό τους.
—
Πρέπει να παραδεχτούμε ότι αυτό το κόμμα δεν ήταν ούτε επαναστατικό, ούτε προλεταριακό και αυτό είναι εκείνο για το οποίο το κατηγορούν οι κροστανδιανοί
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Το 1921 η επανάσταση βρισκόταν σ’ ένα σταυροδρόμι: να πάρει το δημοκρατικό δρόμο ή να ακολουθήσει το δικτατορικό. Αυτό ήταν το ζήτημα. Βάζοντας οι μπολσεβίκοι, τον αστικό κοινοβουλευτισμό και την εργατική δημοκρατία στο ίδιο τσουβάλι, καταδίκασαν και τα δύο. Ονειρεύτηκαν να οικοδομήσουν τον σοσιαλισμό από τα πάνω, από τις επιδέξιες μανούβρες του επιτελείου. Περιμένοντας την παγκόσμια επανάσταση, η οποία δεν βιαζόταν να έλθει, οικοδομήσανε έναν ΚΡΑΤΙΚΟ ΚΑΠΙΤΑΛΙΣΜΟ όπου οι εργαζόμενες μάζες δεν έχουν πλέον το δικαίωμα να διαθέτουν τον εαυτό τους.
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March 6, 2023Review from the March 2018 issue of the Socialist Standard:
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April 17, 2023
Relato de Ida Mett (assistente de Nestor Makhno no exílio e prestadora de cuidados médicos às milícias anarquistas na guerra de Espanha) sobre a sangrenta e feroz repressão de Lenine e Trotsky para esmagar a insurreição do último soviete livre levada a cabo pelos marinheiros de Cronstadt. Já dizia o outro que o PC são os bombeiros da revolução!
November 11, 2024
Relato sobre a revolta de Cronstadt. Livro bem escrito, com as várias perspetivas sobre o conflito, mas podia ser aprofundado, na minha opinião. Apresenta os factos somente como aconteceram, analisa-os, mas não vai mais além.
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