# Julius Martov — Ten Days That Shook the World character guide

> Julius Martov in Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Martov

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

## Snapshot

The Menshevik Internationalist who opposes the Bolshevik seizure, he is the conscience of the revolution's doubts, insisting that socialism cannot be decreed by a minority.

## Who they are

Martov belongs to the parties that support the Soviet Government but recoil from the idea of a permanent dictatorship of the industrial workers over a peasant country. His position is the book's most uncomfortable one: he agrees with the revolution's goals while warning that its methods will isolate it from the eighty percent of Russia that lives in villages. Reed uses him to keep the reader honest about the cost of October—Martov matters because he asks whether the Bolsheviks are leading the people or substituting themselves for them.

## In the story

### [Political Parties](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/political-parties)

Listed as a leader of the Mensheviki Internationalists.

### [II: The Coming Storm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/ii-the-coming-storm)

Spoke at the Council of the Russian Republic, advocating for peace and land reform.

### [The Committee for Salvation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/vi-the-committee-for-salvation)

Pleads for admitting Bolsheviks to the new government, arguing they represent an important political party.

### [Chapter 1](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/1)

Leader of the Menshevik Internationalists, advocating for democratic peace terms.

### [Appendix to Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/appendix-to-chapter-ii)

Mentioned in Miliukov's speech as advocating revolutionary pressure of the proletariat.

### [Miliukov's Speech (Resumé)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/12-miliukov-s-speech-resum)

Miliukov attacks Martov's position that only revolutionary pressure of the proletariat can break the dictatorship of imperialist cliques.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/characters/martov
- 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