The October Revolution was a coup d’etat orchestrated by Lenin and the Bolshevik party; a quiet takeover of power in Petrograd at night. It is said that power was literally lying on the ground, and Lenin just picked it up. BACKGROUND It was generally hoped, by the Central Powers in World War I, that Russia would be collapsed by revolution. The collapse of Russian society and military in 1917 and political instability supported that expectation. The October Revolution ended the pro-war Russian governments and brought to power a party committed to peace negotiations. LENIN German secret police collaborated with the radical socialist leader, Vladimir Lenin, to help him cross the frontier from Zürich to Petrograd in a sealed train so he could organize a socialist revolution. In April 1917, Lenin arrived and presented his April Thesis. He said that, regardless of Marx’s theory, the Bolshevik party must not cooperate with the Provisional Government. More, they needed to start preparing to take power by force instead. The time was finally right by September 1917. Bolshevik members had gained the majority in the Soviets, they had formed armed militias called the Red Guards and the popularity of the Provisional Government was at a record low Lenin then had a pivotal role in convincing the Bolshevik party to act immediately. OCTOBER REVOLUTION On 7 November 1917, as the citizens of Petrograd were dining in restaurants and enjoying the theater, Bolshevik armed groups were busy taking over key strategic points; the telegraph, army garrisons, the railway. It all went incredibly quietly. The whole operation was coordinated by Leon Trotsky and the Military Revolutionary Committee from their headquarters at Smolny. The next morning the Winter Palace was taken over peacefully. The battleship Aurora fired a few blank shots, and members of the Provisional Government were arrested. Kerensky managed to escape. SOVIET CONGRESS Lenin rushed to complete the coup before the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets opened on 7 November 1917 . The Bolsheviks had the largest delegation, but not the majority. It was generally assumed that a multi-party government would be formed. However, the Mensheviks (moderate radical socialists), and Socialist-Revolutionaries (agrarian socialists), then said they wanted nothing to do with the Bolsheviks' unlawful seize of power. They walked out of the Congress and left Bolsheviks to form the new government alone.