Revolutionary tribunals (commonly abbreviated as revtribunals, ) in
Soviet Russia
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
were established soon after the
October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
by the Soviet "Decree of the
Soviet of Peoples' Commissars Concerning the Courts No. 1" ("Декрет о суде № 1") of November 22 (
N.S.: December 5), 1917.
History
The 1917 decree proclaimed that the workers' and peasants' revolutionary
tribunal
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...
s were established "for the purpose of the struggle against
counter-revolutionary
A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution has occurred, in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "c ...
forces and defend the revolution, as well as to struggle against
marauders, and
profiteers,
sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
and other abuses by merchants, industrialists,
clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...
s and others". The term was borrowed from the
Revolutionary Tribunal
The Revolutionary Tribunal (; unofficially Popular Tribunal) was a court instituted by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders. In October 1793, it became one of the most powerful engines of ...
of the
French Revolution. The first trial was that of
Provisional Government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
functionary
Sofia Panina.
When the
Cheka
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...
(Extraordinary Commission) was established in the next month, its functions included handing accused persons over to revtribunals.
On September 2, 1918, on the basis of a resolution of the
All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the
Revolutionary Military Council
The Revolutionary Military Council (), sometimes called the Revolutionary War Council Brian PearceIntroductionto Fyodor Raskolnikov s "Tales of Sub-lieutenant Ilyin." or ''Revvoyensoviet'' (), was the supreme military authority of Soviet Rus ...
of the Republic was established, which on October 14, 1918, issued order No. 94, clause 11 of which read: “To form a Military-Revolutionary Tribunal under the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic". The Chairman of the Tribunal was
Julius Daniševskis and members
Konstantin Mekhonoshin and
Semyon Aralov.
Later the "Statute of Revolutionary Tribunals" of April 12, 1919, established the precedence of revtribunals over
people's courts and gave them unrestricted rights to set the measure of prosecution. On October 21, 1919, the Special Revolutionary Tribunal was established within the
Cheka
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...
to consider "grave cases of profiteering, bribery and abuse of office (должностные преступления)". As the decree said, "in its considerations, the Special Revolutionary Tribunal follows the interests of the revolution and is not bound by and forms of legal proceedings."
[Yu.P.Titov, "Establishment of the System of Soviet Revolutionary Tribunals" («Создание системы советских революционных трибуналов»). Moscow, 1983]
See also
*
Revolutionary Tribunal
The Revolutionary Tribunal (; unofficially Popular Tribunal) was a court instituted by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders. In October 1793, it became one of the most powerful engines of ...
References
{{reflist
Organizations of the Russian Revolution
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Law enforcement in the Soviet Union
1917 establishments in Russia
1922 disestablishments in Russia
Courts and tribunals disestablished in the 1920s
Courts and tribunals established in 1917
Legal history of Russia