section_path: In Lenin's government/1917–18: Rise to power
section_name: 1917–18: Rise to power
paragraph_text: 1917–18: Rise to power
  
  On 26 October 1917, Lenin declared himself chairman of the new government, the Council of People's Commissars ("Sovnarkom"). Stalin supported Lenin's decision not to form a coalition with the Socialist Revolutionary Party, although a coalition was formed with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries. Stalin became part of an informal leadership group alongside Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Yakov Sverdlov. Stalin's office was near Lenin's in the Smolny Institute, and he, along with Trotsky, had direct access to Lenin without an appointment.
  
  Although less publicly prominent than Lenin or Trotsky, Stalin's importance within the Bolshevik ranks grew. He co-signed Lenin's decrees shutting down hostile newspapers, and co-chaired the committee drafting a constitution for the new Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. He supported Lenin's formation of the Cheka security service and the subsequent Red Terror, arguing state violence was an effective tool for capitalist powers. Unlike some Bolsheviks, Stalin never expressed concern about the Cheka's rapid expansion and the Red Terror.
  
  Having left his role as Pravda editor, Stalin was appointed People's Commissar for Nationalities. He took Nadezhda Alliluyeva as his secretary, later marrying her. In November 1917, he signed the Decree on Nationality, granting ethnic minorities the right to secession and self-determination, although the Bolsheviks hoped they would not desire independence. He later traveled to Helsingfors to meet with the Finnish Social Democrats, granting Finland's request for independence in December. His department funded schools in minority languages. Socialist revolutionaries accused Stalin's talk of federalism and national self-determination as a front for Sovnarkom's centralising policies.
  
  Due to the ongoing First World War, the government relocated to the Kremlin in March 1918. Stalin supported Lenin's push to sign an armistice with the Central Powers, despite the cost in territory. He believed this was necessary as he doubted Europe was on the verge of proletarian revolution. Lenin eventually persuaded the Bolsheviks, leading to the March 1918 signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ceded vast territories. The Left Socialist-Revolutionaries withdrew from the coalition government over the issue. The ruling RSDLP was renamed the Russian Communist Party.