It was convened under the pressure of the Bolsheviks on the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the First Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

During the autumn of 1917, the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks) launched an activity to win a majority in the Soviets, primarily in Petrograd and Moscow.

As Richard Pipes claimed, this Congress was convened with a number of violations by the unrecognized Regional Committee of the Army, Navy and Workers of Finland.

Following its results, the Bolshevik-Left Socialist Revolutionary Northern Regional Committee was elected, starting from October 16, began work on the convocation of the Second Congress.

At around 6:30pm, an ultimatum was presented to the defenders of the Winter Palace under threat of shelling from the cruiser Aurora and the Peter and Paul Fortress.

"Aurora" made one single shot at 9pm, just two hours later, as the congress was in session, an unmarked cannon shelling from the Peter and Paul Fortress was carried out at 11pm.

At night, most of the defenders of the palace dispersed, and the place was occupied by revolutionary soldiers and sailors who tried to make a mob of law over the overthrown ministers, demanding "pin them".

The opening session of the congress was accompanied by a fierce political struggle in which Trotsky represented the Bolsheviks as the most capable speaker.

Thus, the central press organ of the Socialist Revolutionary Party,[4] the newspaper Matter of the People, condemned the Bolshevik speech, saying that "our duty is to expose these traitors to the working class.

During the meeting, the delegates heard the roar of artillery; According to eyewitnesses, the Menshevik Martov started, and declared: "The civil war has begun, comrades!

Our first question should be the peaceful resolution of the crisis... the issue of power is solved by a military conspiracy organized by one of the revolutionary parties...".

We hardened the revolutionary energy of the Petrograd workers and soldiers, we openly forged the will of the masses for an uprising, not a conspiracy, "and called the departure of the Menshevik and Socialist-Revolutionaries from the congress" as a criminal attempt to thwart the authorized representative office of the workers and soldiers in the masses with arms in hand protects the Congress and the revolution from the onslaught of counter-revolution".

At 3:10 am the Second Congress reconvened to hear the address of Lev Kamenev, who announced the fall of the Winter Palace and the arrest of the ministers of the Provisional Government.

After this, the congress approved the appeal "To the Workers, Soldiers and Peasants of Russia" officially declaring the official overthrow of the Provisional Government and the transfer of all powers of state to the Congress at large, stating that from this day onward, "all power will now belong to the Soviets of workers, peasants and soldiers' deputies" within the territories of the Russian Republic.

At a meeting of the Central Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviks), Kamenev remarked that "well, if you did something stupid and took power, then you need to make up a ministry".

The Congress adopted the Land Decree (at 2 o'clock on the afternoon of November 8), which contains the following provisions: According to Trotsky's memoirs, it was he who coined the term "people's commissar"; later this authorship was attributed to Antonov-Ovseenko.

According to Trotsky, it was him who envisioned the term "people's commissar" and later on developed the name in which the new government will be formed, Lenin agreed, stating that "it smells of a revolution".

The Second Congress of Soviets, acting on Lenin's proposal, enacted Decree no.1 officially creating the Council of People's Commissars,[6] which, due to the refusal of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, included only Bolsheviks.

Due to the pressure of the executive committee of the railway union of the Vikzhel, the post of People's Commissar for Railroad Affairs was temporarily in sede vacante until it would be filled in a later time.

[9] On the morning of November 9, 1917 at 5:15 in the morning, the second meeting ended and the Second All-Russian Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies' Councils, with its duty completed, officially adjourned sine die, with the ARCEC and CPC now preparing for the start of their work as the new legislature and government of Russia, awaiting the convening of the planned Constituent Assembly, beginning with elections to be held just days later.

Thus, the Minister of Food Sergei Prokopovich was released November 6, but immediately joined the anti-Bolshevik Committee for Salvation of Motherland and Revolution and became one of the main organizers of the protest demonstration of the rebel members of the Petrograd City Council against the new government.

The congress actually solved the tasks facing the Constituent Assembly in the matter of choosing the form of power in the country.

A well-known expert on the revolution of 1917 in Russia, Alexander Rabinovich notes: Today it is obvious that the main goal pursued by Lenin, insisting on the overthrow of the Provisional Government before the opening of the Congress of Soviets, was to eliminate any possibility of forming a socialist coalition at the congress in which moderate socialists would play a significant role.

The contemporary Nikolai Sukhanov in his fundamental work "Notes on the Revolution" mentioned with regret: ...We left, it is not known where and why, breaking with the Council, mixing ourselves with elements of counter-revolution, discrediting and humiliating ourselves in the eyes of the masses, undermining the whole future of our organization and our principles.

By our own foolish will, we ensured the victory of the whole line of Lenin...Apparently, during the October Revolution and immediately after it, the establishment of a one-party system was not yet part of the plans of the Bolsheviks.

As Richard Pipes stresses, the total representation of the Bolsheviks and the Left Social Revolutionaries at the Congress of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies was artificially overestimated by about two times.