Soviets, or democratic workers councils, have been a feature of workers’ revolutions since 1905 in Russia. Lenin recognised them as more than just institutions to organise strikes, take over running factories and to distribute necessities for workers. This session will look at Lenin’s theoretical and political assessment of them as forums for debate and the basis for a workers state. We will also address the role of a revolutionary party in them by looking at how Lenin differed from others in the revolutionary movement.