«Not gods make pots». Formation of the Vyatka City Council in 1918 as a political institution (based on archival materials)

The purpose of the article is to analyze the process of formation of the Vyatka City Council and its development as a political institution. Objectives: to review the structure, functions, and activities of the Council, its leadership and office, as well as to identify the reasons that led to its actual fiasco in the fall of 1918. The author introduces into scientific circulation a large number of previously unpublished archival sources that allow for a new look at the formation of the Council. The work is based on archival materials from the Central State Archive of the Kirov Region, primarily from the Vyatka City Council Foundation (F.R-897). The leader of the Bolsheviks, M.M. Popov, emphasized that the absence of intelligent forces in the Soviet was a secondary fact that could be dispensed with. The development of the Soviet throughout 1918 demonstrated that this was a gross miscalculation. The analysis of the formation and development of the Council in 1918 It shows that it proceeded spontaneously, improvisation became the norm, there was no well-thought-out structure, no legal support, no proper system of control over the activities of departments and employees. As a result, there were conflicts both within the Council and with other Soviet bodies, the formation and activity of a criminal group among Council members who committed arbitrariness with impunity, a financial crisis, and constant queues for food and goods.