1917 revoloution and PG Flashcards
What average temperature was the winter of 1917?
-15 degrees
What is the main reason for the 1917 revolution?
Failure of war
What are a few other reasons for the 1917 revolution?
Soldiers being conscripted
Inflation
Weakness of Russian army
Lack of food
More educated
Lack of Russian identity
Why was inflation so high?
20-30 million rubles were printed a day
Why were women so angry during war time?
They spent hours queuing for bread and also had to work
What percentage of workers were women in Petrograd’s textile industry?
70%
What percentage of workers were women in Petrograd’s engineering industry?
20%
When was further rationing introduced in Russia?
15th February 1917
When was International Women’s Day in 1917?
23 February 1917
What was the initial protest for on Women’s Day?
Equal rights
Why did the Women’s Day protest grow?
They began demanding bread and a change to rationing and began recruiting male workers to join in
By 24th February 1917 how many protestors were there ?
200,000
How was the 1917 revolution dealt with on 25th February?
The military and police dealt with it harshly although soldiers were reluctant to do so
How did the punishment for the 1917 revolution grow by 26th February?
Agitators were arrested and demonstrators were killed
What did the Volonsky regiment take from the army on 27th February 1917?
100,000 men, 40,000 rifles, 30,000 revolvers, 8000 prisoners
How did the Volonsky regiment start a mutiny?
Their influence spread to other barracks so the soldiers joined the protest
When and how many soldiers marched on the Tauride palace to set up the Petrograd Soviet?
27th February 1917 - 25,000 marched
How was the Petrograd Soviet organised?
3000 delegates out of which 2/3 were servicemen as they were better organised
Who is the first chairman of the PS and for how long?
Chkheidze and he lasted from March 1917 to September 1917
Who are a few Menshevik members of the PS to begin with?
Martov and Tsarateli
When was the Committee/Council of Ministers dissolved?
27th February 1917
When was the Temporary Committee set up by the Fourth Duma?
28th February 1917
When did the PS and Fourth Duma negotiate the 8 points?
1st March 1917
What did the 8 points achieve that were discussed by the PS and Fourth Duma?
Amnesty for political prisoners, freedom of speech, abolition of restrictions based on nationality and class, more rights to soldiers
Why did the PS work with the PG?
Lack of experience
Helped them maintain power
Cautious that army leaders may rebel
When was the Provisional Government announced?
2nd March 1917
Who was the first Minister President of the PG?
Prince Georgy Lvov
What was the personality of Georgy Lvov?
Mild-mannered, not radical but indecisive due to not being a member of a party
What class dominated the PG?
Intellegensia
What party dominated the PG?
None
What was the role of the PG?
To oversee Russia until a fair democratic election for the people to draw up a constitution
Were people happy with the ministers chosen for the PG?
No, they didn’t not know who the majority of them were
Who convinced the Tsar to abdicate?
The army generals under Rodzianko’s orders
Who was the most notable and well known member of the PG?
Kerensky who was Minister of Justice and Vice-Chairman
When did the Tsar abdicate?
2nd March 1917
Why did the Tsar abdicate?
To look after his ill son Alexei
Why did the Tsars younger brother Mikhail seize the throne from him?
The PS and PG forced him to refuse the crown thus ending the Tsardom
Why were some roles appointed in April 1917?
There was a downfall of the SRs
Did the PG become more or less radical in April 1917?
More radical with two Mensheviks joining and other members from revolutionary parties
What changed with Kerensky’s role in April 1917?
He went from Minister of Justice to Minister of War and Navy due to it needing to be in the hands of a trusted person
What was Order Number 1?
The PS had primary control over the army and could only follow PG orders if they did not contradict the PS
Was Russia a system of Dual Power in March 1917?
No, the PS had all of the major power whereas the PG was just in a position of authority
How many soviets sprang up throughout 1917?
1500
What were the attitudes towards the PG?
Viewed as weak
Dominated by left-wing
What were the Peasants reaction to the PG?
Revolted against their land owners and the Volost committees became dominated by revolutionaries
How many workers went on strike from May 1917 to July 1917?
500,000
Why did workers go on strike from May 1917 to July 1917?
For better working conditions
What were Red Guards?
Armer workers encouraged by The Bolsheviks
How many Red Guards were there by July 1917?
200,000
What were the liberalist views on the war?
Continue the war until decisive victory
What were the PS views on the war?
End the war at all costs
What was “An Appeal to all the People in the World”?
The PS statement to end the war to try and get the PG to endorse it
How did the PG choose to resolve the war?
Russia would not seek to make any territorial gains and would focus on defence until a peace settlement was made
What was the response to the PG’s stance on the war?
There were mass demonstrations of workers and soldiers in the April Crisis
How was the April Crisis righted?
Minister of Foreign Affairs Milyukov and Minister of War and Navy Guchkov stepped down
What were the consequences of the April Crisis?
Distrust of the PG
Demonstrated lack of enthusiasm for war
When did Lenin arrive back in Petrograd?
3rd April 1917
When did Lenin give his April Theses?
4th April 1917
What did the April Theses include?
A 10 point programme summarised as “Peace, Bread and Land”
Peace - end to war
Bread - fix food shortages
Land - help the peasants
How does Lenin believe they will cause a revolution?
Standing alone from other parties and bodies and then overthrow the PG and demand power to soviets
What is wrong with the way Lenin wants to cause revolution?
The overthrowing of the PG goes against Marxist theory
What is wrong with the April Theses?
No real mention of peasants and the plan to fix the problems was extremely vague
How did the PG react to the April Theses?
They didn’t because the group was so small
How did the Right Bolsheviks react to Lenin’s return?
Many of them were outraged by Lenin’s suggestions and he wasn’t following Marx and he was going too fast
How did the Centre Bolsheviks react to Lenin’s return?
Unconvinced of Lenin’s plans and many such as Kamanev, Stalin, Zinoviev expressed their concerns
How did the Left Bolsheviks react to Lenin’s return?
Taking a strong stand was very popular and appealed to the workers and soldiers
How did the Bolshevik membership change from February 1917 to May 1917?
25,000 to 75,000 - which the majority of were extremely radical
What did the war allow the PG to gain?
Gain in patriotism
Morale if they win
Control over revolutionary army
What are some examples of unruly army regiments?
Kronstadt Naval Base and the Viborg District
Why did Brusliov report that soldiers were keen on fighting?
They were willing to fight for Brusilov but only him nobody else
When did the Bolsheviks plan a demonstration against the war?
10th June however it was cancelled after the PS rejected it
How many deserters were there in WW1?
170,000 reported but in reality it was 200,000+
When was the June Offensive?
18th June 1917
Who carried out the June Offensive?
7th, 8th and 11th Armies
What did the 11th Army achieve on the First Day of the June Offensive?
Advanced to an area defended by Czechs and captured 18,000 members, 21 guns and 16 machine guns
What did the 8th Army achieve on the First Day of the June Offensive?
Defeated German reserves and Austro-Hungarian soldiers and captured 10,000 men and 90 artillery pieces
What did the 7th Army achieve on the First Day on the June Offensive?
They waited three days as soldiers were unwilling to fight and had a lack of discipline
What happened after a week of the June Offensive?
Germany sent six divisions and pushed Russian soldiers back 145km, killed 40,000 Russian soldiers and wounded 20,000
Why did the June Offensive go so poorly?
Lack of organisation
Soldiers unwilling to fight
Poor decision-making from generals
What were the consequences of the June Offensive?
Last offensive of WW1
Brusilov replaced Kornilov
Russia disregarded by allies
Showed ineffectiveness of GV and a lack of change
What was wrong with the way the PG was going about land distribution?
They wanted the land owners to be compensated and kept blocking Chernov’s ideas leading to the peasants taking it without permission
When did Finland and Poland call for independence on Russia?
When the Tsar abdicated although they did not get it until much later
What country did Russia give self-governance to?
Ukraine
How many factories and jobs were lost in Petrograd between February and July 1917?
568 factories and 100,000 jobs
Why were factories shutting down in Petrograd?
Shortages of fuel and raw materials
How did the PG try and convince peasants to bring in grain to the cities?
They paid double for it in August 1917 however it didn’t work as the harvest was poor
What happened to grain prices within Petrograd between February and June 1917?
They doubled
How did the PG further try and convince peasants to bring in grain to the cities?
They sent punishment brigades to seize grain however this only turned peasants hostile
How much did the price of shoes increase between August 1914 and August 1917?
10 times
Were the increased wages matching the rate of inflation between August 1914 to August 1917?
No, on average incomes only increased 4 times whereas most goods were increasing 7 times
What mistakes had the PG made by June 1917?
Blocked Chernov’s land deal
Supported the war
Refused to intervene in the economy
Sided with employers over workers
What happened on 3rd July 1917?
Soldiers and workers began rioting throughout Petrograd
How did the July Days develop by 4th July 1917?
20,000 Kronstadt sailors joined in and they kidnapped Chernov
How did Lenin react to the July Days?
He adopted a “wait and see” policy and did not get involved
Why did the July Days end?
There was no clear leadership and the uprising thus lost momentum and crowds were dispersed
What were the consequences of the July Days?
Over 1000 leading Bolsheviks were arrested including Trotsky but Lenin fled to Finland
Who was Kerensky?
He specialised in workers rights and was a member of the SRs and was arrested in 1905 for publishing a socialist newspaper
When did Kerensky become Minister President?
8th July 1917
Who was Kornilov?
Commander-in-Chief of Russian armies and was popular among upper and middle classes for being tough
What did Kornilov demand from Kerensky?
Make treason and desertion punishable by death
Give himself immunity from the PG
No interference in military deals
Strikes banned during wartime
What did Kerensky do to Kornilov in August 1917?
He dismissed him as commander-in-chief
How did Kornilov retaliate to Kerensky’s actions?
Him and Krynov ordered troops to attack Petrograd
How was the Kornilov Affair put to a stop?
Kerensky asked for helped from the PS and Kornilov was arrested with Krynov killing himself
What were the consequences of the Kornilov Affair on Kerensky?
He was heavily distrusted and was shown to be a lot more conservative than previously thought of
What were the consequences of the Kornilov Affair on the Bolsheviks?
They were seen as saviours as they helped defend Kerensky so membership grew sharply as well as getting access to guns
What were the consequences of the Kornilov Affair on the PS?
Trotsky became the leader of the PS and became a loose coalition of Mensheviks, Bolsheviks and SRs
What were the consequences of the Kornilov Affair on the army?
The army was shown to be loyal to the Bolsheviks and Kerensky was shown to have limited power over them
In what condition was the PG in August 1917?
Kerensky lost all support
Dominated by Kadets and Trudovniks
Needed help from PS
In what condition was the PS in August 1917?
Increasingly divided
Mensheviks and SRs were losing popularity after joining the PG
What did Kamanev try to achieve in September 1917?
14 September - Tried to convince them to join a Soviet coalition
18 September - Nothing happened and no coalition was formed
In what condition were the Bolsheviks in August 1917?
300,000 population on eve of insurrection and growing
Gained of the falling of Mensheviks and SRs
When did Trotsky replace Chkheidze as chairman of the PS?
25th September 1917
In September 1917 what number of executive seats belong to the Bolsheviks in the PS?
4 out of 7
Why did the Bolsheviks get more votes proportionally?
Less were voting but all the revolutionaries still were so it made the results more revolutionary
