Boris Kamkov ^People

Kamkov occupied various minor posts in the PSR but increasingly called for a break with the Defencists. He was one of the leaders of the Party of Left Social- ist - Revolutionaries, which broke away from the PSR in the late summer of 1917. Later, at its first official congressi n November, he was elected to its central committee. Kamkov was also elected to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets and served onits Central Executive Committee. He was also a member of the Pre-Parliament in September.He advocated the abolition oft h e Provisional Government and the transfer ofall power to the soviets. This was also the battle cry of Lenin's Bolsheviks, and in the lead-up to the October Revolution, the Left SRs collaborated closely with the Bolsheviks. The Left SRs were not privy to the Bolsheviks' plans for a coup and were not included in the very first Council ofPeople's Commissars, in fact, they had tried to discourage the Bolsheviks from a unilateral seizure ofpower.However, after the fact, the Left SRs accepted the October Revolution, and Kamkov participated in negotiations with the Bolsheviks to form a coalition govern- ment. Kamkovfavoured some agreement between all socialist parties, a popular po- sition at the time, feeling that the Left should not isolate itself from the moderate democratic forces. However, efforts to bring about such an all-socialist coalition quicklyfoundered on the opposition of both Lenin and the SR/Menshevik leaders.