The Provisional Revolutionary Committee first had its headquarters on the flagship Petropavlovsk, but within a few days it removed to the “People’s Home,” in the center of Kronstadt, in order to be, as the Izvestia states, “in closer touch with the people and make access to the Committee easier than on the ship.” Although the Communist press continued its virulent denunciation of Kronstadt as “the counter-revolutionary rebellion of General Kozlovsky,” the truth of the matter was that the Revolutionary Committee was exclusively proletarian, consisting for the most part of workers of known revolutionary record. The Committee comprised the following 15 members:
- Petrichenko, senior clerk, flagship Petropavlovsk;
- Yakovenko, telephone operator, Kronstadt District;
- Ossossov, machinist, Sevastopol;
- Arkhipov, engineer;
- Perepelkin, mechanic, Sevastopol;
- Patrushev, head mechanic, Petropavlovsk;
- Kupolov, senior medical assistant;
- Vershinin, sailor, Sevastopol;
- Tukin, electrical mechanic;
- Romanenko, caretaker of aviation docks;
- Oreshin, manager of the Third Industrial School;
- Valk, lumber mill worker;
- Pavlov, naval mining worker;
- Baikov, carter;
- Kilgast, deep sea sailor.
Not without a sense of humor did the Kronstadt Izvestia remark in this connection: “These are our generals, Messrs. Trotsky and Zinoviev, while the Brussilovs, the Kamenevs, the Tukhachevskis, and the other celebrities of the Tsarist régime are on your side.”
The Provisional Revolutionary Committee enjoyed the confidence of the whole population of Kronstadt. It won general respect by establishing and firmly adhering to the
