Historical Organization
Council of People’s Commissars
Council of People’s Commissars
Also known as: Sovnarkom
Details
Organization Timeline
The Congress adopts the Decree on Peace
📅 8 November 1917The Soviet government called on all belligerent peoples and governments to negotiate an immediate peace without annexations or indemnities. The source date is 26 October 1917 Old Style.
The Congress adopts the Decree on Land
📅 8 November 1917Landed estates were abolished without compensation and land was transferred for use under local peasant institutions. The source date is 26 October 1917 Old Style.
A workers’ and peasants’ government is formed
📅 8 November 1917The Congress established the Council of People’s Commissars with Lenin as chair and Trotsky responsible for foreign affairs. The source date is 26 October 1917 Old Style.
The eight-hour working day is decreed
📅 11 November 1917The Soviet government limited ordinary industrial labour to eight hours daily and forty-eight hours weekly. The source date is 29 October 1917 Old Style.
The Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia is issued
📅 15 November 1917The Soviet government proclaimed equality, sovereignty and the right of national self-determination, including secession. The source date is 2 November 1917 Old Style.
Dukhonin is removed as commander-in-chief
📅 22 November 1917After refusing to begin armistice negotiations, General Nikolai Dukhonin was dismissed and replaced by Nikolai Krylenko. The source date is 9 November 1917 Old Style.
Class estates and civil ranks are abolished
📅 23 November 1917The Soviet government eliminated legal designations such as noble, merchant and peasant, declaring a common civic status. The source date is 10 November 1917 Old Style.
The Decree on Workers’ Control is adopted
📅 27 November 1917Elected factory and shop organizations received authority to supervise production, finances and business records.
Citizens receive the right to recall elected representatives
📅 4 December 1917A Soviet decree established procedures for voters to remove representatives who no longer retained their confidence. The source date is 21 November 1917 Old Style.
Senior government salaries are limited
📅 6 December 1917The Soviet government restricted the pay of people’s commissars and high officials as part of its egalitarian programme. The source date is 23 November 1917 Old Style.
The Soviet government orders the arrest of Cadet leaders
📅 11 December 1917The Constitutional Democratic Party leadership was targeted as organizers of resistance to Soviet power. The source date is 28 November 1917 Old Style.
Russia and the Central Powers sign an armistice
📅 15 December 1917The armistice halted fighting on the Eastern Front while negotiations for a separate peace continued.
The Cheka is established
📅 20 December 1917The Soviet government created an extraordinary commission to combat counter-revolution and sabotage under Felix Dzerzhinsky.
Peace negotiations open at Brest-Litovsk
📅 22 December 1917Soviet representatives and the Central Powers began formal negotiations to end Russia’s participation in the First World War.
The banks are nationalized
📅 27 December 1917The Soviet government placed the banking system under state control as part of its transformation of property relations. The source date is 14 December 1917 Old Style.
Soviet Russia recognizes Finnish independence
📅 31 December 1917Sovnarkom formally accepted Finland’s state independence under the principle of national self-determination.