Ten Days That Shook the World · Character

Nikolai Avksentiev

Socialist Revolutionary leader and chairman of the Pre-Parliament, a man whose moderate socialism is being overtaken by events he cannot control.

supporting

Also known as Avksentiev

First appearance: i background

As a supporting figure in Ten Days That Shook the World, Nikolai Avksentiev is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Recognized among the crowd of opposition figures attempting to march to the Winter Palace.

In the storyIV: The Fall of the Provisional GovernmentOpen this moment free

Avksentiev presides over the Pre-Parliament, the last institutional attempt to bridge the gap between the Soviet and the Provisional Government. As a Socialist Revolutionary, he represents the peasant majority that both the Bolsheviks and their opponents court, yet his party's influence is crumbling. His position illustrates the tragedy of the moderate socialists, who believed in gradual change only to find themselves squeezed between the Bolsheviks' audacity and the reactionaries' bayonets.

See Nikolai Avksentiev in IV: The Fall of the Provisional Government Book page

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Character Web

25 connections

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Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Socialist Revolutionary and Menshevik Leaders
Provisional Government and Soviet Leaders
Diverse Revolutionary Participants

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

The emotional peak occurs when the narrator, after witnessing the destruction of sacred and historic Kremlin s…

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In the story

Nikolai Avksentiev appears across 9 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

IV: The Fall of the Provisional Government
Recognized among the crowd of opposition figures attempting to march to the Winter Palace.
XI: The Conquest of Power
Avksentiev is referenced as the appointer of delegates from the Peasants' Soviets, which the Bolsheviks reject.
XII: The Peasants’ Congress
Criticized by Lenin for pulling the people with his little finger, representing the conciliatory wing.
Appendix to Chapter I
Listed as a Socialist Revolutionary who joined the coalition ministry in June.
The Socialist Ministers
Avksentiev is listed as a Socialist Revolutionary participant in the coalition ministry.
Appendix to Chapter IX
Avksentiev is also threatened with trial before the Revolutionary Tribunals by the Bolsheviks.
Events of the 13th in Petrograd
Mentioned as a target of Bolshevik Revolutionary Tribunals.
On the Question of an Agreement
His Peasants' Soviets are mentioned as being invited to the garrison meeting.
Appeals to the Front Against Dukhonin
Listed among the former ministers gathering at the Stavka to form a new power against the Soviets.

Chapter companion notes

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See Nikolai Avksentiev in i background

See Nikolai Avksentiev in IV: The Fall of the Provisional Government