Siberian revolutionary committee in the Soviet political system of the civil war period

This paper has been caused by controversies, which took place in current scientific publications on the question of the Civil War influence on the Soviet political system. The majority of researchers state that the Civil War turned out to be the decisive factor, which led to fundamental and irreversible deformations of the Soviet political system. Their opponents believe that the lack of democracy has been inherent in the Soviet political system, linking it to Marxism doctrinal essence, mentality and political culture of the Bolshevik elite as well. The paper analyzes the creation and functioning of the Siberian revolutionary committee, appointed by VTsIK (All-Russian Central Executive Committee) as a government authority to which all Siberian state institutions were subordinated, during August 1919 - October 1920. A conclusion is drawn that it took more than a year for construction and institutionalization of Sibrevcom. Its slow embedding into the Soviet political system could be explained by combination of different factors; among them, the Bolshevik elite's focus not on the rule of law, but on the deeply rooted party orders and traditions should be highlighted. The creation of Sibrevcom was not linked to the Civil War demands; it is to be qualified as an attempt for deconcentration of power - partial redistribution of authorities inside the Soviet political system. The Bolsheviks experiment with Sibrevcom can be estimated as a successful one. The center shifted to Sibrevcom primary responsibility for constructing power vertical and the course of events in Siberia, making the regional management more concrete, competent and prompt, thus attaining maximum use of Siberian resources for the benefit of Soviet power.