Moscow, Nauka Publishing House. 1975. 471 pp. The print run is 3,200. Price 2 rubles.

The Great October Socialist Revolution received very wide coverage in Soviet historiography. There is a huge literature on the history of Great October as a whole and its individual problems, sides, and aspects. In recent years, the desire of historians to create generalizing works on the history of October throughout the country or in large regions, summing up certain results of the achieved level of study of this problem, has become increasingly clear. This trend is undoubtedly beneficial and indicates the increased level of research thought of our historians. The monograph of the senior researcher of the Institute of History of the USSR of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Doctor of Historical Sciences S. S. Khesin also belongs to such works. Based on the achievements of Soviet historiography of the October Revolution, relying mainly on the available extensive literature and numerous publications of documents and materials on the history of the Great October published in the center and in the field, he set himself a responsible and difficult task - to summarize the actual data and analyze the events of the first post-October months from the point of view of the formation of the proletarian dictatorship in our country to create a comprehensive picture of the course of this world-historical process, to show its general patterns and the specifics of their manifestation both in Russia as a whole and in its individual regions.

The main theoretical propositions of the doctrine of the dictatorship of the proletariat and their implementation by the Leninist party are considered in the monograph on the basis of an analysis of extensive concrete historical material, numerous facts and data, and a generalization of the practical experience of the Russian working class and its party in the struggle for the formation of a proletarian dictatorship. The combination of scientific theoretical conclusions with the study of real events and phenomena is the main difference between the monograph and many other works on the history of the Great October Socialist Revolution, a difference that determines the book's place in historiography. The structure of the work is subordinated to the consideration of fundamental and cardinal problems, the solution of which predetermined the establishment of the proletarian dictatorship in the form of Soviet power throughout the vast territory of our country. Among them are such important issues as the consolidation of the union of workers and peasants; the formation of a new state system; the basic principles of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the formation of its system on their basis; the functions of the proletarian dictatorship and the beginning of their implementation in Russia. The book comprehensively analyzes the placement of

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class forces in the period of struggle for the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

The book gives a clear picture of a specific historical process on a national scale, it shows the complexity and diversity of the implementation of this process. S. S. Hesin rightly writes that " the general laws of the development of the revolution ultimately operated throughout the country, but manifested themselves in different ways and made their way through the thickness of various and diverse circumstances that influenced both the nature of the manifestation of these laws, and the methods, methods and pace of the establishment of Soviet power" (p.135). The paper shows the Communist Party's masterful use of various forms and methods of struggle, depending on the specific historical conditions prevailing in a particular region of the country. The author seeks to summarize the many-sided experience of our party, which skilfully operated in a variety of conditions, an experience of world-historical significance.

S. S. Hesin rightly emphasizes that the main factors that predetermined the successful formation of the proletarian dictatorship in our country were: the hegemony of the working class and the leading role of the Bolshevik Party in the implementation of the socialist revolution and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. These propositions run like a red thread through the entire monograph. Emphasizing the leading role of the working class in the struggle for the victory of the proletarian dictatorship, the author also analyzes in detail the role and positions of the ally of the proletariat. The book convincingly reveals that the working class and the poorest peasantry were the main social force that ensured the establishment and consolidation of the proletarian dictatorship, formed its support and foundation. The author correctly notes that the "triumphal march of Soviet power" ensured the consolidation of the victory of October and the spread of the socialist revolution throughout the vast country, and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat everywhere. The book records the differences existing in our literature in the dating of the establishment of Soviet power in the localities, while the author makes a number of clarifications (pp. 116, 118, 124, Appendix 1).

Much space is devoted to the acute class struggle, the resistance of the deposed exploiting classes to the proletarian dictatorship, and their inciting of civil war (pp. 358-403).

A solid source base of research serves as a good example of the skillful use of documents and materials already introduced into scientific circulation. Of particular interest is the author's analysis of the materials of the professional census of 1918, the agrarian census of 1917, a number of statistical tables, questionnaires of delegates to the congresses of Soviets and party congresses. Many tables, lists, etc. are compiled by the author himself. In general, S. S. Khesin's monograph is a serious study of one of the most important problems of the history of Soviet society. But it is not without drawbacks. Its content is broader than the title, which is not quite well formulated. The author writes not only about the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, but also about its consolidation. Unfortunately, the monograph covers with varying completeness and detail the most important processes of the struggle for the establishment and consolidation of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Some questions, such as the cultural and educational function of the dictatorship of the proletariat, are only briefly and superficially touched upon. A number of sections are overloaded with minor details and minor facts. In some cases, the author is overly trusting in the information and data contained in the works of other researchers, sometimes repeating the factual inaccuracies they have made. The book is also not free from repetition, especially when analyzing the positions of various strata of the peasantry in the period under study.

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