Developments between the revolutions Flashcards
including: the return of Lenin; Lenin's ideology and the April Theses; the July Days; the Kornilov coup and the roles of both the Provisional Government and Trotsky; Lenin and the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party
when did Lenin return to Petrograd
4th April
Terms of the April thesis
no concessions to revolutionary defencism
no support for the PG
necessity of transferring entire state power to soviet of workers deputies
nationalisation of land
how Lenin helped the Bolsheviks with the April thesis
part accepted the thesis as the party programme at the end of april
appealed to lower classes who did not understand marxist stage theory and why a bourgeoise revolution needed to happen
what were the july days
failure of the kerensky offensive created crisis for the PG coalition fell apart creating a power vacuum
soldiers began deserting and mutinying
PG ordered first machine gun regiment to the fron - contravention to order no 1 which guaranteed the patrograd garrison would remain in the city
machine gunners resolved to overthrow the PG
3rd July
madd of workers and soldiers marched through Petrograd calling for all power to the soviet
4th July
20,000 krostadt sailors marched to Bolshevik head quarters awaiting instruction
lenin gave ambiguous speech
why was the july days bad for the bolsheviks
seen as their fault
arrest of leaders
discredited by the soviet
what was the kornilov affair
25th August kornilov ordered his soldiers to march on petrograd
20,000-40,00 factory workers rearmed by the PG
trotsky released to help
bolshevik railway workers stopped the train with kornilovs troops
role of trotsky
organised the oct rev
set up military revolutionary committee in case of german attack or another kornilov like assault - bolsheviks had control of this
directed the red guards to seize key locations
role of Lenin
expanded party membership
urgency of the revolution with meeting of all Russian congress of soviets in Oct and elections for constituent assembly in Nov
got central committee to pass armed insurection 10th Oct
How much did Bolshevik membership increase after Lenin’s return
10,000 to 80,000
when did the PG issue declaration of war aims and what were they
27th March
Russia to only fight defensively
what was the April crisis
Miliukov (foreign minister) promised allies that Russia would continue to fight an aggressive war - resulted in protests and resignation of Miliukov and other liberals from the PG as it went against the PS and declaration war aims
How did the April crisis help the Bolsheviks
Miliukov and other that resigned replaced by 6 Mensheviks and SRs
Bolsheviks were not part of the joining
PS increasingly dominated by Bolsheviks - seemed like true socialists sticking to values
What was the July-Kerensky offensive
Kerensky decided to launch massive attack on Germans
initially successful but German counter-attack meant it quickly fell apart
How did the Kerensky offensive benefit the Bolsheviks
failure of the PG meant they were more disliked
Bolsheviks were not involved in the PG but other socialist parties were
how did the PG deal with the land issue
refused to allow peasant seizures as many liberals in the PG were land owning nobles
set-up land committees to collect information - no action taken
How did the PG deal with the grain issue
fixed grain prices at 60% of tsarist levels
why was the PG not able to solve the grain issue
grain prices still didnt match prices of consumer goods so peasants didnt sell their grain
peasants hoarded grain - workers protested
how many Petrograd factories closed down and how many lost their jobs from this
568 between February and July
100,000 lost jobs
why did the PG not have authority
not an elected body
no constitutional claim or loyalty from Russian people - judged on how it dealt with issues
limited by partnership with PS
What were the initial victories of the dual authority
trade unions legalised
8 hour working day
full civil ad religious freedoms
why did the July days happen
failure of the Kerensky offensive created a crisis for the PG - the coalition fell apart creating a power vacuum
When did the July days begin and why
20th June
First Machine gun regiment ordered to send 2/3 of its soldiers to support the offensive
opposed order no1 which said Petrograd garrison would remain in Petrograd
machine gunners resolved to overthrow the PG encourage by Bolshevik agitators
Lenin’s thoughts on July days
urged restraint and to delay action until the Bolsheviks had a majority in the PS
left June 29th for Finland
returned July 4th
what happened on July 3rd
mas of workers and soldiers marched through the city towards the Tauride Palace calling for all power to the soviets
What did Lenin do on July 4th
delivered an ambiguous speech to the crowd of 400,00 at the Bolshevik headquarters
crowd marched to the Tauride palace
How was the July days bad for the Bolsheviks
anti-Bolshevik hysteria dominated the city
Soviet denounced the Bolsheviks
100s of Bolsheviks arrested including Trotsky
Who was Kornilov
commander in chief of the Russian army
after Kerensky replaced Brusilov with him
What was the Kornilov affair
Kornilov thought the PG was being held captive by the soviet
Kerensky relieved him of his position as they thought he was trying to overthrow the PG
25th August he ordered soldiers to march on Petrograd
what did Kerensky do when he heard of Kornilovs troops
turned to the Bolsheviks
released Trotsky and Kamenev
20,000-40,00 Bolshevik red guard re-armed
How did the Bolsheviks stop the Kornilov coup
Bolshevik railway workers stopped Kornilov’s troops trains
Bolshevik agents infiltrated the approaching armies and turned men against Kornilov
How did the Kornilov affair help the Bolsheviks
gave the Bolsheviks access to arms and ammunition
Bolshevik military organisation able to expand activities to protect revolution
Bolsheviks seen as saviours of the city
How many members did the Bolshevik party have after the Kornilov coup
200,000
When did the Bolshevik party win the majority in the PS
31st August
When was Trotsky elected the president of the PS
25th September
When was the military revolutionary committee established and why
16th October
Trotsky set it up to organise the defence of Petrograd against possible attacks
how did the MRC help the Bolsheviks
the Bolsheviks controlled it so could control Petrograd
Mensheviks and SRs refused to cooperate so became Bolshevik forces
why was Lenin so urgent on calling for a revolution
meeting of ARCS (all Russian congress of soviets) in October
Elections for a constituent assembly in November
When did the Bolshevik central committee agree to an armed insurrection
10th October
vote of 10/2
how did Lenin get the CC to agree to a revolution
used his powers of persuasion
appealed to the party in September (History will not forgive us if we do not seize power)
Who organised the October revolution and what did they do
Trotsky
directed the red guard to seize key locations e.g. bridges and telegraph offices
massed troops at the Bolshevik headquarters
How did Trotsky help to gain support for the revolution
sent Bolshevik speakers around the Factories to rally support
commissars were sent to all Petrograd garrison units - 15/18 pledged allegiance to the Soviet not PG
How many soldiers, sailors and red guard did the MRC control
200,000 red guard
60,000 Baltic sailors
150,000 soldiers
