# Grigory Zinoviev — Ten Days That Shook the World character guide

> Grigory Zinoviev in Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Zinoviev

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

## Snapshot

Grigory Zinoviev, Lenin's close associate, joins Kamenev in resisting the timing of insurrection, exposing the Bolsheviks' own doubts at the brink.

## Who they are

Zinoviev works alongside Lenin but breaks with him over whether the party should seize power in October, fearing isolation and defeat. His opposition, voiced in the party's closed debates, reveals that the revolution's outcome was never certain even to its architects. In the early-middle arc, he shows the reader that the Bolsheviks argued their way to power, not merely marched to it.

## In the story

### [Background](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/i-background)

Bolshevik leader in hiding after July Days.

### [XII: The Peasants’ Congress](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/xii-the-peasants-congress)

Vehemently opposes making Tchernov honorary President, accusing the old Executive Committee of a trick.

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

Zinoviev speaks at the Petrograd Soviet, arguing that while military victory is necessary, peaceful means should also be tried to win over the Cossacks.

### [Events of the 13th in Petrograd](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/2-events-of-the-13th-in-petrograd)

Speaks at the Petrograd Soviet, advocating for both peaceful means and military victory against Kerensky.

## Links

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