The First Red Scare: How the Bolsheviks Took Moscow

In November 1917, as the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd, the fate of Russia hinged on Moscow. This episode follows the bloody week-long battle for the city, where Red Guards and Bolshevik soldiers fought junkers—officer cadets loyal to the Provisional Government—street by street. We explore how the Moscow Soviet's committee, led by Bolsheviks like Vladimir Smirnov, coordinated the uprising, while the Kremlin itself became a fortress under siege. Key figures include the Left SR commissar Grigory Zalkind and the anarchist commander Anatoly Zheleznyakov, whose armored train tipped the balance. The fighting climaxed on November 15, when the Kremlin fell after a brutal artillery bombardment that damaged its ancient cathedrals. We also examine the role of the Moscow City Duma, which tried to mediate but was swept aside. This episode reveals how the Bolshevik victory in Moscow was far from inevitable—it was a gritty, uncertain struggle that shaped the new Soviet state. Names, dates, and casualties are drawn from primary sources, including memoirs of participants like the journalist John Reed.

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