Lenin's Government: Sovnarkom 1917-1922

When Lenin and his fellow Bolsheviks seized power in 1917 they sought to scrap the existing structures of government and substitute new ones based on Marxist principles. This book attempts a detailed account of their efforts to create a socialist 'cabinet' (Sovnarkom), to elaborate effective machinery and methods of operation, and to use it to govern the country. It examines what kind of people were appointed to Sovnarkom and who chose them. It shows how elements of the pre-revolutionary sy...