Key Topic 2: Bolshevik Takeover And Consolidation 1917 - 1924 Flashcards
Why and how was the Provisional Government established?
Following the (spontaneous) February Revolution, people were calling for leadership. The Duma met in one part of the Winter Palace while the Petrograd Soviet met in another part of the palace.
Eventually, on the 2nd March 1917, 12 Duma deputies agreed with the Petrograd Soviet that they would set up a Provisional Government, to run things ‘unofficially’ while a new government system was worked out and elections held.
Did the Provisional Government have the support of the Petrograd Soviet at the time it was set up?
Yes - but the Provisional Government had to agree to 8 principles of government that included:
- Political prisoners to be freed and exiles free to return
- Freedom of speech and the press
- Preparations to be started to elect a Constituent Assembly
- Soldiers that fought in the Revolution should not be sent to the front to fight
What kind of reception did the new Provisional Government get in the beginning?
At first, the Provisional Government was popular. They gave new political freedoms and promised a new Constituent Assembly, to be elected in November.
People were hopeful it would rule effectively and make reforms, such as:
Take Russia out of the war;
Improve conditions for workers in towns and cities;
Solve shortages of food and fuel;
Re-distribute property, especially land and farms, more equally.
What problems did the Provisional Government have in giving people what they wanted?
Firstly, they didn’t have complete control. The Provisional Government needed the help of the Petrograd Soviet to get laws passed and acted on.
Secondly, local landowners still controlled most of the countryside and would not agree to give their land away.
Thirdly, the Provisional Government always saw itself as a temporary organisation - so big changes like taking Russia out of the war should be left to the new, elected government once it came to be.
Reforms aimed at reducing shortages took time to happen and were slowed down by the continued participation in the war.
Did the Provisional Government give the people ANYTHING they wanted?
By April 1917, the Provisional Government had:
introduced the 8-hour working day
made it legal for people to form political parties and hold public meetings
released political prisoners
Unfortunately - these reforms only made it easier to criticise the Provisional Government for all the other changes they had failed to make!
Who were the leaders of the Provisional Government?
Prince Lvov - Prime Minister
Guchkov - War Minister (and leader of the Oktobrists)
Kerensky - Minister of Justice (and a Social Revolutionary)
Remaining ministers were chosen from the Oktobrist and Kadet parties - so the Provisional Government was very middle-class.
What were the key features of the return of Lenin?
When war broke out in 1914, Lenin was in Austria. He was arrested but allowed to travel to neutral Switzerland. He soon discovered that many socialists and Bolsheviks supported the war, even though he was bitterly opposed to it.
After the February Revolution, Lenin was desperate to return to Russia. He wanted to push for peace and an end to the chaos in Russia. The Germans helped him return in a sealed train - hoping that he would overthrow the government, declare peace and free up the German army in the East.
Lenin arrived in his sealed train in Petrograd on 3rd April 1917. He was branded a German spy, in the pay of the enemy - but he didn’t care - the money he was given by the Germans would help finance his revolution.
What did Lenin do when he returned in April 1917?
Lenin declared that he would work against, not with, the Provisional Government. He said that the Provisional Government was evidence of a bourgeois revolution and that now he needed to make sure there was a worker’s revolution.
He set out his main policies in a speech that became known as the April Theses.
What were the April Theses?
- Peace - the war with Germany had to end;
- Land - all land had to be given to the peasants;
- Bread - food production would be increased by creating communal farms
- ‘All power to the Soviets’ - the Bolsheviks would take over all the soviets in order to achieve their aims.
Why did support for the Bolsheviks grow from April 1917?
Initially, the April Theses were not popular, even with many Bolsheviks. However, as the Provisional Government started to fall apart, support for the Bolsheviks grew.
Eventually, only the Bolsheviks were excluded from taking part in the Provisional Government. Combined with ongoing terrible losses in the war, they became known as the only revolutionary group that stood for real change and an end to the war and their membership shot up.
What was the June Offensive?
This was the last gasp of the Russian Army in World War I. Enough troops were scraped together for an offensive but, almost inevitably, the result was a disastrous failure. The morale of the army declined further and there were huge increases in the level of desertions. The soldiers became more receptive to Bolshevik propaganda and the loyalty of a number of units to the Provisional Government was now uncertain.
What were the July Days?
Following the failure of the offensive in June, there were more spontaneous protests in Petrograd but now people were chanting Bolshevik slogans like: ‘Peace, Land and Bread’.
The Bolsheviks made an attempt to seize power in Petrograd in July. Here, Lenin made a serious misjudgement which could have led to disaster for the Bolsheviks. Only small numbers of soldiers and sailors actively supported the Bolsheviks and the uprising was suppressed by loyal troops. A number of Bolshevik leaders were arrested and Lenin fled to Finland.
What were the effects of the July Days?
On 21 July, Prince Lvov resigned, handing power over to Kerensky. Kerensky accused the Bolsheviks of being German spies (after all, they had been financed by Germany!).
The Bolshevik newspaper, Pravda, was banned.
Lenin fled the country and went into hiding in Finland.
Kamenev was arrested.
Why didn’t the failure of the July Days and Lenin going into hiding finish off the Bolsheviks for good?
Lenin successfully directed the Bolsheviks from Finland and they continued to function and maintain their high profile.
Lenin encouraged peasants to seize even more land - so he won more support in the countryside from peasants. From July onward, there were thousands of small-scale land seizures by peasants across Russia.
Bolsheviks slogans like ‘Peace, Land and Bread’ were becoming even more popular and soldiers (who were basically peasants in uniform) continued to find the idea of Bolshevik soviets running the country and ending the war attractive.
Who was General Kornilov?
Kornilov was appointed as the head of the Russian army by Kerensky, who had taken over the Third Provisional Government. Kornilov was a supporter of the Tsar and he hated the soviets.
What did Kornilov want?
Kornilov was disturbed by the growing unrest in towns (such as the protests in Petrograd in July) and the peasant uprisings in the countryside.
He wanted Kerensky to impose martial law and break the power of the soviets.
Why did Kornilov start to advance his troops towards Petrograd?
Kerensky couldn’t decide whether to get support from Kornilov or the soviets (he could not have support from both!). Finally, Kerensky asked Kornilov to send troops to Petrograd - thinking he was protecting himself from the soviets.
However, Kerensky then panicked! He suddenly decided that Kornilov was going to take power for himself in a coup. Therefore, he released leading Bolsheviks from prison and gave the Red Guards weapons.
Why did Kornilov fail?
Whatever Kornilov was attempting to do (we still are unsure if he was really trying to help Kerensky or take all power for himself or even put the Tsar back as leader), it didn’t matter - the Bolsheviks infiltrated his troops and persuaded many to stop their advance.
The Bolsheviks also used their ‘de facto’ power over the railways and telegram offices to cause delays.
Kornilov never reached Petrograd and was arrested along with 7,000 of his followers.
What were the effects of the Kornilov Revolt?
- Kerensky’s government looked weak;
- The Bolsheviks took control of the Petrograd Soviet and, with Trotsky as chairman, were now the most popular revolutionary group in Russia - there was a feeling that their time had come to be in control;
- The Bolsheviks were now armed and had their leaders back out of prison (they had been imprisoned after the July Days);
- The military was now too weak to attempt to set up a military dictatorship.
Why did the October Revolution happen when it did?
The Bolsheviks were now in control of the Petrograd Soviet and in a much stronger position to realise their goal of bringing about the revolution they desired.
In November 1917, a Russian Congress of Soviets was due to meet in Petrograd. By seizing power before then, the Bolsheviks could claim to be acting in the name of the Soviets. Delay would be dangerous.
In December, the Constituent Assembly would be elected - the first real and official Russian Parliament. Once it met, it could challenge the authority of the Soviets - and the power of the Bolsheviks. Also, Lenin was genuinely worried about another attempt at a military takeover, this time by a general who was more intelligent and better organised than Kornilov had been.
When was the Kornilov Affair/Revolt?
August 22nd - 27th 1917
21st October 1917
Most army units in Petrograd promise loyalty to Trotsky and the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC).
23rd October 1917
Soldiers in Petrograd fort join the MRC.
24th October (night) 1917
Kerensky shuts Bolshevik news offices and orders the arrest of the MRC. The MRC take over the offices, the main river and canal bridges, the army headquarters and the telegraph station.
A large warship that was sympathetic to the Bolsheviks, the “Aurora”, steamed up the river Neva and trained its guns on the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government was located.
