Dear Delegates and Comrades,

My name is Boyan Gerasimov and I have the privilege of welcoming you to the Bolshevik Revolution Crisis Committee at ILMUNC XXVI in my role as committee chair.

The committee will be simulating the deliberations and activities of the first Sovnarcom in late 1917 and early 1918, dynamic times in which Bolsheviks were still far from consolidating power over the remnants of the Russian Empire. This consolidation will be your main goal as delegates ? struggling with the Mensheviks, fighting the monarchists (Whites), co-opting various social groups and even establishing contacts on the international arena.

To introduce myself, I am a senior in the School of Arts and Sciences, studying International Relations, Political Science and Economics. I spent my entire junior year traversing the streets and libraries of medieval Oxford and a number of other European cities in my free time. Originally, I am Bulgarian and I attended high school in my native country. I have an avid interest in Central and Eastern European politics and history, which will hopefully come in handy while running the committee. In the past, I have organized committees on the Balkan Wars, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Russian-China energy disputes.

Your crisis director will be Anant Ahuja and your vice chair is Greg Tainter from Portland, Oregon, who will surely use his engineering acumen to engineer some intrigues in our committee room.

I would like to cap this off by expressing my confidence that this will be an enjoyable, productive and truly social committee – after all, we all are comrades!

Best,

Boyan Gerasimov

Chair, Bolshevik Revolution

Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXVI

Dear Delegates,

With great pleasure I welcome you to ILMUNC XXVI?s Bolshevik Revolution crisis committee. My name is Anant Ahuja and I will serve as your crisis director.

I am sophomore in Penn?s College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Political Science and minoring in Spanish and to-be-decided second minor. I first began Model UN my senior year of high school when I was in India, and interestingly enough, my first conference was in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ever since, I have served as Assistant Secretary General for UPMUNC (UPenn Model UN Conference) as a freshman at Penn, and Director of PR for the conference this year. My experience lies more in the organizational aspects of MUN, however this year I hope to learn more about the actual MUN process.

Russian history has interested me ever since my first visit to Mother Russia, and even more so since taking a Russian Politics course here at Penn.

The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 was a key moment in the twentieth century. It was the foundation for decades of international policy and its effects are still felt today. The Bolshevik seize of power in November of 1917 formed the basis for the establishment of the USSR and the creation of a superpower state of Soviet ideals.

?This committee will confront issues still lingering from before the revolution, as well as those that arise from a shift in power and the formation of a new government. I look forward to seeing this committee work to solve the crises created in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Looking forward to meeting you all, good luck!

Anant Ahuja

Crisis Director, Bolshevik Revolution

Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXVI