Provisional Government Flashcards

1
Q

What does Louise Bryant say about Kerensky?

A

‘he tried so passionately to hold Russia together, and what man at this hour could have accomplished that?’

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2
Q

What were the revised war aims of the Soviet?

A

‘without annexations, indemnities or contributions

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3
Q

What is a V NEGLECTED point???

A

PETROGRAD DID NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE WHOLE OF RUSSIA!!!1

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4
Q

Smith (revisionist) on the February revolutionist

A

‘For the reluctant revolutionaries of the Provisional Government the overthrow of the tsar was an act of national self-preservation driven by the need to bring victory in war’

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5
Q

what does Rosenberg say about duel power on the sphere of worker relations?

A

dual power was a misnomer as both bodies had the same aims - to improve the conditions of the workers and prevent the economy from collapsing

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6
Q

The Provisional Government was initially ‘popularly accepted’, it was its own fault that it fell.

A

Argued by J.N Westwood and Ian Thatcher.

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7
Q

What does Peelings say about the War’s impact?

A

‘The war effort not only alienated the government from war-weary elements of the population and army: it also continued to strain state resources, disrupt food supplies, and limit the scope of domestic and economic reform.’

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8
Q

what is the ‘kaleidoscope of revolutions’?

A
  1. workers, peasant , soldiers
  2. divisions within elites
  3. national revolutions; Finns, Poles and Ukrainians
  4. Social revolutions
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9
Q

Where were provincial governments formed amongst minorities?

A

Kiev in the Ukraine and Finland

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10
Q

What did the historian Martin McCauley argue?

A

it could have carried out economic and social reforms that would have helped it maintain power

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11
Q

When was the Kornilov affair?

A

August 1917

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12
Q

In what ways was the PG clearly unwilling to deal with challenges?

A
  1. ‘weak’ attempt to unite PG an PS in May 1917 (coalition gov)
  2. Land distribution issues were not addressed
  3. Workers’ committees were clamped down on, contradicting the liberal stance taken by the new gov.
  4. Involvement in the war continued
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13
Q

How many strikes through Russia in 1917 where there, according to who?

A

250, Rosenberg

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14
Q

what did Prince Lvov do to unite the PG and PS?

A

In May 1917, he invited 6 members of the Petrograd Soviet to join a coalition government, but elections to a Constituent Assembly were postponed

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15
Q

What does Mike Wells argue?

A

the liberal reforms exacerbated discontent and ‘added to the problem’ as ‘the enemies of democracy got free rein’

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16
Q

What is the pessimist view?

A

a teleological deterministic view of Russian history

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17
Q

How many Redguards did the Bolsheviks control?

A

250,000

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18
Q

what were the social revolutions during this period?

A

Gender Revolutions, Cultural and Religious Revolutions

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19
Q

What does historian Ian Thatcher think was the main turning point in PG fortunes?

A

the Kornilov affair

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20
Q

What challenges did the PG face?

A
  1. Shared authority with the Petrograd Soviet
  2. War
  3. Protest groups allowed
  4. Peasant land issue
  5. Kornilov affair
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21
Q

quote from McCauley

A

‘the greatest feature of the government was inactivity’

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22
Q

when was Order No.1 issued?

A

March 14, 1917

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23
Q

Give an example of PG addressing minorities problems?

A

demands for self-rule in the Transcaucasus were met with the formation of a Special Transcaucasian Committee

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24
Q

What does Chernov argue about how minorities challenged the PG?

A

as the imperial centre disappeared ‘national groups began to assert themselves and make bids for independence, as the weak PG in Petrograd looked on helplessly’

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25
Q

What were the July Days a response to?

A
  1. Lack of bread
  2. Loss of 100,000 jobs
  3. Prices up by 775%
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26
Q

What did the April Theses call for

A

to withdraw support from the PG

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27
Q

What was the Rada and Sejm when they tried to deal with socio-economic problems, according to the Petrograd Soviet?

A

‘a tier of unofficial opposition to policies announced in Petrograd’

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28
Q

Chirstopher Read quote about after collapse of Romanov dynasty

A

‘a nationwide honeymoon. For the only time in its history, the Russian Empire was united’

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29
Q

Lynch on the PG

A

“The Provisional Government was thus from the beginning in an impossible and paradoxical situation: in order to survive it had to keep Russia in the war, but in keeping Russia in the war, it destroyed its chances of survival”.

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30
Q

what were the eight principles issued by the first version of the Provisional Government like?

A

basically liberal, included decrees on political amnesty and full freedom off speech

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31
Q

Fitzpatrick (revisionist) on the PG’s failure

A

“within eight months the hopes and expectations of February lay in ruins. ‘Dual power’ proved an illusion, masking something like a power vacuum.”

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32
Q

What was Kerensky’s signature policy?

A

absolute commitment to coalition government

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33
Q

What did Steklov offer the PG?

A

the conditional support of the Petrograd Soviet

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34
Q

good shit to call the PG

A

a vestige of a defunct system

35
Q

What did Browder say about Kerensky?

A

he was ‘the personification of the inadequacies and shortsightedness of the men of March 1917’

36
Q

what does Oxley say the PG had to do

A

‘meet the expectations of 160 million people’

37
Q

what does the historian need to avoid when looking at Russia?

A

the tendency to view Russia in a negative light, in comparison with an idealised western model

38
Q

In what ways did the PG ignore the people’s demands?

A
  1. they ignored worker demands for an eight-hour day
  2. peasant demands for more land
  3. They continued the war even though it led to food shortages, inflation and demonstrations.
39
Q

Why do pessimists believe the PG was doomed to fail?

A
  1. viewed as a variation on tsarist regime
  2. workers were in a strong position already e.g. Dual Authority, only a matter of time
  3. Kerensky’ leadership was suspect
40
Q

What does Haimson argue about dual power?

A

it was just a reflection of the rift in society that had emerged between propertied classes and the workers

41
Q

What do optimists say?

A

the formation of the PG wasn’t a disaster or doomed to fail initially, it was the continuation of the war which meant that the new regime struggled to establish its authority

42
Q

What were the PS and the PG’s disagreements over war?

A

PG wanted to push on for ‘a decisive victory’ whereas PS wanted ‘peace without annexations and indemnities’ and ‘revolutionary defencism’

43
Q

What was formed in Kiev and what did it ask for?

A

A Central Rada (Council) whose main aim was to press for Ukraine to have autonomy

44
Q

Well known PG political figures

A

Milyukov and Guchkov

45
Q

How many Soldiers did the Bolsheviks control?

A

150,000

46
Q

what was the PS’s demand for the war?

A

‘revolutionary defences’ and a negotiated peace with no annexations or indemnities

47
Q

How many marched in the July Days?

A

500,000

48
Q

Whats a Sejm?

A

Finnish Parliament

49
Q

Why was the Kornilov affair important?

A
  • Strenghthened Bolsheviks, viewed as heroes for protecting Petrograd against Kornilov; also ‘armed’ by PG
  • PG clearly susceptible to being challenged by the military
  • showed Kerensky to be a weak leader compared with Lenin
50
Q

What did the minorities do?

A

they organised their own forms of provincial government, creating the possibility of the disintegration of the Empire

51
Q

What was the consequence of the PG’s lack of reforms?

A

they incurred rejection by ‘the vast majority of the army and population’, so by the time the CA was put in place there was grassroots scepticism about whether it would succeed

52
Q

What does Kolonitskii say was important to destroying the PG image?

A

the use of ‘bourgeoisie’ as a term of abuse led to failure of dual power

53
Q

What were the main problems faced by the Soviet?

A
  • War
  • Agrarian crisis
  • Nationalities question
54
Q

What change happened in July for worker strikes?

A

Before July strikes mainly tackled economic issues like wages, respect for workers. vy and ty.

After July, the strikes centred on control and management issues.

55
Q

what was a big TP in the fortunes of the army in the war?

A

the June offensive where they were defeated and criticised by the bourgeois [press

56
Q

what did the Octobrist N.V. Savich say?

A

real authority lay with the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies from the outset

57
Q

What does Lenin call PG Russia

A

the ‘freest country in the world’

58
Q

What could Kerensky’s coalition gov. in May be seen to lead to?

A

a blurring of the lines of dual power; became hard to distinguish between ‘democratic’ Soviet and ‘bourgeois’ PG

59
Q

what liberal moves did the PG make?

A
  1. Political prisoners were released
  2. Secret courts were ended
  3. Freedom of the press was instigated
60
Q

How many members did the Bolshevik party rise to after the Kornilov affair?

A

200,000

61
Q

Mike Wells Quote

A

‘the enemies of democracy got free rein’

62
Q

What desires did the PG and the PS share at a basic level?

A
  • restoration of some sort of order
  • establishment of civil liberties
  • the convocation of a CA
  • a successful conclusion of the war
63
Q

what did articles in Pravda blame the war on?

A

the machinations of the BOGACHI or the wealthy

64
Q

What did Kerensky say about the bloodlessness of the February revolution

A

‘the crowd is an orchestra in the hands of its leader’

65
Q

What did Trotsky call Order No.1 ?

A

‘the only worthy document of February Revolution’

66
Q

A.J.P Taylor on the PG

A

‘It simply carried on the old system, just as a hen continues to run around the yard when its head has been cut off.’

67
Q

Give an example of how the PG naïvely underestimated nationalist sentiment?

A

they didn’t prioritise dealing with the land transference issue even though the majority of the population in Georgia, Estonia and the Ukraine were peasants.

68
Q

What Bolshevik slogans showed the war as a method of bourgeoisie suppressing the proletariat?

A

‘Proletarians of All Countries Unite!’ (slogan the Soviets used in its, ‘Appeal to the Peoples of the World’ in March)

69
Q

what was important about order number 1

A

It was printed in large numbers and sent through the whole army which legitimated revolutionary changes in the whole army (despite order no 2)

70
Q

what main issues did the PG face?

A
  1. lack of legitimacy
  2. the land question
  3. Urban unrest
  4. WW1
  5. Opposition from national minorities
71
Q

Miliukov’s note

A

Miliukov assured the allies that Russia would hold firm to the secret treaties agreed with the allies despite PG and PS declarations on revised war aims. It led to a flurry of demonstrations in Petrograd.

72
Q

Whats a Rada?

A

Ukrainian Council

73
Q

What did Buchanan say about Kerensky’s oratorical skills?

A

‘he possessed the magnetic touch which holds an audience spellbound’

74
Q

How did the minorities react to the PG?

A
  1. They were frustrated that they weren’t being addressed; resentful at slowness
  2. were spurred on by success of workers, sailors and soldiers in establishing committees
  3. Took advantage of the ‘principles’ adopted by the PG
75
Q

What do sources on the PG often omit?

A
  • the fact that the CA was instituted in a relatively short period of time
  • the lack of power of the PG down its own making
  • PG initially welcomed as a new departure and promised hope for the future
76
Q

Who was Miliukov?

A

Foreign Minister

77
Q

What was pressed for in Finland and why?

A

Their own ‘Sejm’ (parliament’) free from Russian government influence

78
Q

How does Suny support Haimson?

A

he says dual power was an active model of the polarisation within society

79
Q

what do pessimists believe?

A

the PG was doomed to fail from the start, the Revolution resulted from a multitude of pressures.

80
Q

Why did the war hinder PG progress according to optimists?

A
  1. the war had popular support
  2. it was impossible to withdraw without losing Land in negotiations as G had a strong military position by March 1917
  3. the war was costly, and the PG felt committed to continue the war given how much had already been invested
  4. the PG had limited support from its allies, Britain and France
  5. the war became such a priority that other challenges like land distributionwere ignored
81
Q

what defences are there for the PG’s actions?

A
  1. the early changes made by the PG were not intended as reforms, but as principles which would aid major political change
  2. The lack of an economic and social programme for reform was understandable given the inherited war situation
  3. McCauley’s claim that the PG lacked urgency unfair given scope of internal and external challenges
82
Q

what impact did the coalition have on the Soviet?

A

alienated the Soviet Executive Committee from its main body. in the Soviet; symptomatic of increasing rift between intelligentsia leading Soviet, and supporters in Petrograd

83
Q

How does Christopher Read characterise the period from February to the October Revolution?

A

‘one in which a complex, widening set of interacting revolutions emerged and developed’