Developments between revolutions Flashcards
What was the Petrograd Soviet?
Group of soldiers, sailors and workers
How many members did the Petrograd Soviet have?
27th Feb - 250
3rd Mar - 1,300
10th Mar - 3,000 (2,200 military, 800 workers)
What were the practical powers of the Petrograd Soviet?
Control of the post, weapons, factories and railways
What were the ideological powers of the Petrograd Soviet?
The idea of representation allowed people to feel empowered and gave them hope for the future
Beliefs of the Petrograd Soviet
Russia should have a Constituent Assembly to represent every political party, believed in universal suffrage and very left wing, communist beliefs.
Why did the PS have limited political power?
Only Kerensky had a role in the Provisional Government
What was Order No. 1?
Instructed soldiers to obey the instructions of the Provisional Government, but ONLY when the Soviet agreed
What was the Provisional Government?
12 men who refused to leave when the Tsar dissolved the Duma
Who led the Provisional Government?
Prince Lvov until July 1917, then Kerensky took over
What laws were passed by the PG?
Abolished the death penalty and the Okhrana as well as granting political amnesty to revolutionary leaders like Lenin and Trotsky
What did the Provisional Government want to do about the war?
PG wanted to continue the war out of a sense of duty to the triple entente (Russia, UK, France) - did not want to jeopardise positive trade relations for the future. They were also motivated by nationalism and a fear of German domination of Europe
What did the Petrograd Soviet want to do about the war?
PS wanted revolutionary defencism - only wanted to fight in self defence
What was the Milyukov announcement?
Milyukov announced in April 1917 that the government would continue fighting until a ‘just peace’ had been won - this unleashed a storm of protest where Milyukov (Foreign Minister) and Guchov (War Minister) had to temporarily resign.
What was the consequence of the Milyukov announcement?
Milyukov and Guchov were replaced by socialists from the Soviet - Viktor Chernov became Minister of Agriculture, Aleksandr Kerensky became Minister of War and two further Mensheviks were added to the cabinet.
Reason why PG failed: opposition growing stronger
Lenin returned to Russia and released his April Thesis which detailed his demands for peace with Germany, land redistribution and Soviet control of banks, products and distribution
Lenin used memorable slogans like ‘peace, bread and land’ and ‘all power to the Soviets’
Was Lenin’s personality a key factor for failure of the PG?
He won over the majority of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party by force of personality (most Bolsheviks had been initially taken aback by his opposition to the PG) - however, he also used threats of resignation to get his way, so personality may not have been key
Evidence that Lenin was struggling to gain wider support in the Bolshevik Party?
On 3rd June, the Petrograd Soviet passed a vote of confidence in the PG by 543 votes to 126.
Reason for failure of PG: WW1
War = deeply unpopular
Had been around 8 million casualties in the war so far. It was causing shortages in major cities (Petrograd was still only receiving 1/3 of the food and 1/2 of the fuel it needed)
Causing economic issues (inflation) and agricultural issues (conscription left too few people to maintain crops)
Kerensky ordered one last offensive on 16th June 1917 - out of 16 days of fighting, the first 3 were good but the others failed - this failure caused the July Days
What were the July Days?
3-7 July, workers, sailors and soldiers staged armed demonstrations against the PG
20,000 Kronstadt sailors join on 4th July
Rioters march to the Tauride Palace and call for power to the Soviets - fails, crushed by loyal soldiers
How did the July Days impact Bolshevik attempts to seize power?
Did not make the Bolsheviks look like a united front - Lenin called for calm because he was away
Showed PG had enough loyal support to put down an armed revolution
Pravda closed down, Trotsky arrested, Lenin forced to go to Finland
Reasons for failure of PG: the land question
Peasants were disappointed that there was no land distribution after the FebRev - some took land by force or refused to pay rent
Kerensky set up a commission to investigate land reform, but this was unlikely to lead anywhere as PG were friends with landowners (PG = old Duma members so likely to be middle/upper class)
Bolsheviks adopted policy of land redistribution, so they gain support of the peasants
Reasons for failure of PG: Kornilov affair
Kerensky relied on Kornilov to restore law and order in cities and discipline in the army - however, Kornilov turned against him and marched on Petrograd, possibly to take control and establish military control
Kerensky called on the Soviet to save Petrograd - Bolshevik Red Guard given weapons by Kerensky
Red Guard put a halt to the coup - looked far better than the PG
Evidence that the Bolsheviks gained support after the Kornilov affair?
September - Bolsheviks gained control of the PS, took control of the Moscow Soviet shortly afterwards
25th September - Trotsky became President of the PS
When did Lenin start organising a seizure of power?
From mid-September onwards, Lenin ordered the Bolsheviks to get ready to seize power.
What opposition was there to Lenin’s call to seize power?
Kamenev and Zinoviev argued that Russia was not economically ready for a revolution and did not want to act until after the Constituent Assembly had been called.
Trotsky thought an armed uprising could be avoided if the Bolsheviks became the leading socialist party in the Congress of Soviets (planned for 26th of October)
How did Lenin prepare for revolution?
Lenin put Trotsky in charge of organising the seizure of power - he gathered Red Guard militias at Bolshevik HQ and sent Commissars to get the loyalty of Petrograd’s garrisons
Trotsky and Dzerzhinsky established Military Revolutionary Committee on 16th October
Overall Trotsky gathered 200,000 Red Guard soldiers, 60,000 Baltic soldiers and 150,000 soldiers of remaining garrison units
When did the October Revolution officially begin?
25th October
How much did Bolshevik membership increase?
23,000 in Februray –> 200,000 in October
Who helped Lenin return to Russia?
The Germans, who enabled him to travel through Germany from this exile in Switzerland
When did Lenin return to Russia?
April 1917
Consequences of the July Days
Prince Lvov resigned, leaving Kerensky to rule. The government launched a propaganda campaign against Lenin causing him to flee to Finland
