quarters we were receiving communications that the government, or more
correctly, the government parties, were actively organizing and arming
their forces. From various arms-depots-governmental and private-rifles,
revolvers, machine guns and cartridges were being brought forth for
arming cadets, students and bourgeois youths in general. It was
necessary to take immediate preventive measures. Commissioners were
appointed to all arms-depots and stores. Almost without opposition they
became masters of the situation. To be sure, the commandants and
proprietors of the depots tried not to recognize them, but a mere
application to the soldiers' committee or the employees of each
institution sufficed to cause the immediate breakdown of the opposition.
After that, arms were issued only on order of our Commissioners.

Even prior to that, regiments of the Petrograd garrison had their
commissioners, but these had been appointed by the Central Executive
Committee. Above, we said that after the June Congress of Soviets, and
particularly after the June 18th demonstration which revealed the ever
growing power of the Bolsheviks, the fusionist parties had almost
entirely deprived the Petrograd Soviet of any practical influence on the
course of events in the revolutionary capital. The leadership of the
Petrograd garrison was concentrated in the hands of the Central
Executive Committee. Now the task everywhere was to put in the Petrograd
Soviet's Commissioners. This was achieved with the most energetic
cooperation of the soldier masses. Meetings, addressed by speakers of
various parties, had the result, invariably, that regiment after
regiment declared it would recognize only the Petrograd Soviet's
Commissioners and would not budge a step without its decision.

An important role in appointing these Commissioners was played by the
Bolsheviks' military organization. Before the July days it had developed