# Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko — Ten Days That Shook the World character guide

> Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko in Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Antonov, a certain Avseenko, V. A. Avseenko

**First appearance:** 0011-i-background

## Snapshot

The Bolshevik field commander entrusted with the Winter Palace operation, Antonov-Ovseenko turned a chaotic siege into the revolution's defining symbolic victory.

## Who they are

Antonov-Ovseenko belongs to the small circle of Bolshevik leaders who translated political decrees into armed action in Petrograd. His task was delicate: to take the seat of the Provisional Government without either a bloodbath or a fiasco, while Kerensky's ministers stalled and yunkers manned the corridors. His success or failure would decide whether the October insurrection looked like a coup or a collapse, making him central to the book's middle arc.

## In the story

### [III: On the Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/iii-on-the-eve)

Draws careful plans for the seizure of the capital.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/characters/antonov_ovseenko
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/characters