# Vitebsk electoral district (Russian Constituent Assembly election, 1917)

The Vitebsk electoral district (Russian: Витебский избирательный округ) was a constituency created for the 1917 Russian Constituent Assembly election. The electoral district covered the Vitebsk Governorate. White Russian separatism was a negligible force in the electoral district.
On May 9–10, 1917 the 1st Latgallian Latvian Congress was held, which demanded the separation of Latgale from the Vitebsk governorate and integration with Latvia. In the Latgale region, which had an ethnic Latvian population and would later get annexed to independent Latvia, the Bolsheviks received over 50% of the votes cast. Nevertheless, Latgale had a notably weaker Bolshevik vote than neighbouring Livonia (with 72% Bolshevik vote) and the Latvian Rifles regiment (96% Bolshevik vote), possibly linked to opposition to Bolshevik policies from the Catholic Church and Jewish business sectors. The socio-economic conditions were different in Latgale than other Latvian regions, having a less educated and more religiously oriented population.

## Candidates
### List 1 – Socialist-Revolutionary Party

Candidates of List 1 :
| 1. | Alexander Gizetti [ru] | Petrograd, writer. Gizetti was nominated by the Central Committee of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party; |
| 2. | Maxim Boldysh | Bolshoye Pokotino village, Nikolaev Volost, Polotsky Uyezd, Peasant |
| 3. | Andrius Bulota | Petrograd, former member of the 2nd and 3rd State Dumas, member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies |
| 4. | Yuda Novakovsky | Petrograd, member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies |
| 5. | Iosif Ruskul | Skinchi village, Mikhailovsky Volost, Lutsinsky Uyezd, Peasant |
| 6. | Mikhail Tsetlin | Chairman of the Vitebsk Committee of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party |
| 7. | Daniil Vasilevsky | Representing the peasantry of Polotsky Uyezd. Popular educator. Chairman of Polotsky Uyezd Zemstvo Council. |
| 8. | Alexander Prokofiev | Vitebsk. Popular educator. Representing the peasants of the Gorodoksky Uyezd, member of the Vitebsk Provincial Executive committee of the Soviet of Peasants Deputies |
| 9. | Nerses Aslanov | Vitebsk. Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Provincial Soviet of Peasants Deputies |
| 10. | Grigory Katzenelenbogen | Rezhitsa. Chairman of the Rezhitsa Soviet of Workers, Soldiers and Peasants Deputies |
| 11. | Mark Lyakhovsky | Zaprudye village, Staroselskaya Volost, Vitebsky Uyezd. Peasant |
| 12. | Vasily Moiseev | Vitebsk. Chairman of the Provincial Soviet of Peasants Deputies |

### List 2 – Trudovik Popular-Socialist Party

Candidates of List 2 :
| 1. | Alexander Zarudny |
| 2. | Leon Bramson |
| 3. | Vladimir Karpov |
| 4. | Mikhail Bogdanov |
| 5. | Nikolai Kislyakov |
| 6. | Alexander Likhnitsky |
| 7. | Alexander Kyusse-Tyuz |
| 8. | Alexander Shestov |
| 9. | Evgeny Alonov |
| 10. | Vasily Tretyakov |
| 11. | Mikhail Demidov |
| 12. | Vasily Stolpovsky |
| 13. | Pavel Solovyov |

### List 3 – Kadets

Candidates of List 3 :
| 1. | Maxim Vinaver |
| 2. | Vasily Stepanov [ru] |
| 3. | Emmanuil Dubossarsky |
| 4. | Olga Nechaeva |
| 5. | Parfeniy Vasiliev |
| 6. | Evgeny Senkovsky |
| 7. | Semyon Burkov |
| 8. | Alexey Luzgin |
| 9. | Ivan Abmorshev |

### List 4 – Latgale Socialist Party of Working People

Candidates of List 4 :
| 1. | Francis Kemps [lv] |
| 2. | Aloizijs Skruls |
| 3. | Zenons Laizāns |
| 4. | Francs Vilcāns |

### List 5 – Bolsheviks

Candidates of List 5 :
| 1. | Lev Kamenev | Petrograd |
| 2. | Felix Dzerzhinsky | Petrograd |
| 3. | Sarkis Sarkisyants | Vitebsk |
| 4. | Stefan Chesheyko-Sokhatsky [ru] | Dvinsk |
| 5. | Boris Pinson | Vitebsk |
| 6. | Zalman Ryvkin [ru] | Velizh |
| 7. | Vilis Chunchin | Vitebsk |
| 8. | Zinovy Filippovsky | Kolyshki, Vitebsky Uyezd |
| 9. | Naum Lagovier | Velizh |
| 10. | Ivan Litvin | Dvinsk |
| 11. | Ephraim Sklyansky | 5th Army, 149th Black Sea Regiment [ru] |
| 12. | Nikolai Peskovsky | Rezhitsa |
| 13. | Aleksei Badaev | Petrograd |

### List 6 – Bloc of the Vitebsk Belorussian People's Union and the Orthodox Parishes of the Faith of the Polotsk Diocese

Candidates of List 6 :
| 1. | Georgy Polonsky |
| 2. | Boris Byalynitsky-Birulya [ru] |
| 3. | Foma Litvinov |
| 4. | Mikhail Sokolov |
| 5. | Alexey Sukharev |
| 6. | Trofim Bavshuto |
| 7. | Fedor Grigorovich |
| 8. | Trofim Zaitsev |
| 9. | Andrei Starovoitov |
| 10. | Foma Podkhilko |

### List 7 – Jewish National Electoral Committee

Candidates of List 7 :
| 1. | Naphtali Friedman |
| 2. | Grigorii Bruk [ru] |
| 3. | Julius Brutzkus |
| 4. | Isaac Berger |
| 5. | Chaim Grinberg |

### List 8 – Vitebsk Provincial Union of Land Owners and Society of Old Believers of Vitebsk Governorate

Candidates of List 8 :
| 1. | Sergey Kotlyarevsky [ru] |
| 2. | Gury Gusakov |
| 3. | Leonid Kopatsinsky |
| 4. | Andrey Kovalev |
| 5. | Andrey Janson |
| 6. | Varfolomey Saveliev |
| 7. | Khristian Bigge |
| 8. | Vatslav Kossov |
| 9. | Bronislav Mirsky |

### List 9 – Mensheviks and Bund

Candidates of List 9 :
| 1. | Akaki Chkhenkeli |
| 2. | Raphael Abramovitch |
| 3. | Kuzma Gvozdev [ru] |
| 4. | Malka Frumkina-Wichman |
| 5. | Alexander Matskanov |
| 6. | Grigory Aronson [ru] |
| 7. | Vladimir Sivitsky |
| 8. | Alexander Matskov |
| 9. | Shmul Chizhevsky |
| 10. | Pomorov |
| 11. | Grigory Levin |
| 12. | Mikhail Podashevsky |

### List 10 – United Polish Organizations

Candidates of List 10 :
| 1. | Eduard von der Ropp |
| 2. | Henry Dymsha |
| 3. | Stanisław Łopaciński [pl] |
| 4. | Konrad Nedzvetsky |
| 5. | Józef Czesnowicki |
| 6. | Vikenty Baliul |
| 7. | Adam Buynitsky |
| 8. | Stanisław Zdanowicz [pl] |

### List 11 – Socialists-Federalists and Peasants of Latgale

Candidates of List 11 :
| 1. | Antons Skrinda [lv] |
| 2. | Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics |
| 3. | Antons Laizāns [lv] |
| 4. | Valeriya Seyl' |
| 5. | Aloīzijs Bojārs |
| 6. | Nikolay Manuilov |
| 7. | Pēteris Zalāns |
| 8. | Doroško Donāts |
| 9. | Eduards Kozlovskis |
| 10. | Antons Zvidrins |
| 11. | Viktors Gabranovs |
| 12. | Daniels Gabruševs |
Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics withdrew his candidature before the election, leaving 11 candidates on the list.

### List 12 – Lettish Democrats-Nationalists

Candidates of List 12 :
| 1. | Jurijs Pabergs |
| 2. | Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics |
| 3. | Ivans Grišāns |
| 4. | Iosifs Kindzuls |
| 5. | Petrs Lazdans |
| 6. | Staņislavs Kambala [lv] |
| 7. | Donats Lačkajs-Lače |

### List 13 – Peasants of Vitebsk Governorate

Candidates of List 13 :
| 1. | Alexander Lobus |
| 2. | Nikolay Novikov |
| 3. | Boris Tyasto (withdrew his candidature - replaced by Ivan Zagulov) |
| 4. | Yakov Alekseev |
| 5. | Vladimir Puzynya |
| 6. | Semyon Gushchenko |
| 7. | Tit Kovalenok |

### List 14 – Citizens of the Bolets Volost, Gorodoksky Uyezd

Candidates of List 14 :
| 1. | Ivan Kuzminsky |
Kuzminsky was member of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, peasant from Potashenskaya Volost, Gorodoksky Uyezd.

## Results

Vitebsk :
| Party | Vote | % | Seats |
| List 5 - Bolsheviks | 287,101 | 51.22 | 6 |
| List 1 - Socialist-Revolutionaries | 150,279 | 26.81 | 3 |
| List 11 - Socialist-Federalists and Peasants of Latgale | 26,990 | 4.82 | |
| List 7 - Jewish National Electoral Committee | 24,790 | 4.42 | |
| List 9 - Mensheviks-Bund | 12,471 | 2.22 | |
| List 10 - United Polish Organizations | 10,556 | 1.88 | |
| List 13 - Peasants of Vitebsk Governorate | 9,752 | 1.74 | |
| List 6 - Vitebsk Belarusian People’s Union and Orthodox Parishes of the Faith of the Polotsk Diocese | 9,019 | 1.61 | |
| List 3 - Kadets | 8,132 | 1.45 | |
| List 8 - Landowners and Old Believers | 6,098 | 1.09 | |
| List 12 - Lettish Democrats-Nationalists | 5,881 | 1.05 | |
| List 4 - Latgallian Popular Committee and Latgallian Socialist Party of Working People | 5,118 | 0.91 | |
| List 2 - Popular Socialists | 3,599 | 0.64 | |
| List 14 - Citizens of Boletskii Volost of Gorodsky Uezd | 752 | 0.13 | |
| Total: | 560,538 | | 9 |
Deputies Elected :
| Boldysh | SR |
| Bulota | SR |
| Gizetti | SR |
| Ceshejko-Sochacki | Bolshevik |
| Dzerzhinsky | Bolshevik |
| Kamenev | Bolshevik |
| Pinson | Bolshevik |
| Rivkin | Bolshevik |
| Sarkisyants | Bolshevik |

### Vitebsk town

In Vitebsk town, the Bolsheviks got 11,875 votes (34.8%), the Jewish National Electoral Committee 5,772 votes (16.9%), the Menshevik-Bund list 3,822 votes (11.3%), the White Russian/Orthodox list 3,058 votes (8.9%), the SRs 3,053 votes (8.9%), the Kadets 2,365 votes (6.9%), the Polish list 2,169 votes (6.4%), the Popular Socialists 958 votes (2.9%), the Lettish Democrats-Nationalists 395 votes (1.1%), the Landowners/Old Believers list 375 votes (1.1%), the peasants' list 197 votes (0.5%), Latgallian Socialist-Federalists 68 votes (0.2%), Latgallian nationalists 20 votes (0.1%) and 12 votes for the Boletsky volost citizens' list.