Provisional Government Flashcards
What does Louise Bryant say about Kerensky?
‘he tried so passionately to hold Russia together, and what man at this hour could have accomplished that?’
What were the revised war aims of the Soviet?
‘without annexations, indemnities or contributions
What is a V NEGLECTED point???
PETROGRAD DID NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE WHOLE OF RUSSIA!!!1
Smith (revisionist) on the February revolutionist
‘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’
what does Rosenberg say about duel power on the sphere of worker relations?
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
The Provisional Government was initially ‘popularly accepted’, it was its own fault that it fell.
Argued by J.N Westwood and Ian Thatcher.
What does Peelings say about the War’s impact?
‘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.’
what is the ‘kaleidoscope of revolutions’?
- workers, peasant , soldiers
- divisions within elites
- national revolutions; Finns, Poles and Ukrainians
- Social revolutions
Where were provincial governments formed amongst minorities?
Kiev in the Ukraine and Finland
What did the historian Martin McCauley argue?
it could have carried out economic and social reforms that would have helped it maintain power
When was the Kornilov affair?
August 1917
In what ways was the PG clearly unwilling to deal with challenges?
- ‘weak’ attempt to unite PG an PS in May 1917 (coalition gov)
- Land distribution issues were not addressed
- Workers’ committees were clamped down on, contradicting the liberal stance taken by the new gov.
- Involvement in the war continued
How many strikes through Russia in 1917 where there, according to who?
250, Rosenberg
what did Prince Lvov do to unite the PG and PS?
In May 1917, he invited 6 members of the Petrograd Soviet to join a coalition government, but elections to a Constituent Assembly were postponed
What does Mike Wells argue?
the liberal reforms exacerbated discontent and ‘added to the problem’ as ‘the enemies of democracy got free rein’
What is the pessimist view?
a teleological deterministic view of Russian history
How many Redguards did the Bolsheviks control?
250,000
what were the social revolutions during this period?
Gender Revolutions, Cultural and Religious Revolutions
What does historian Ian Thatcher think was the main turning point in PG fortunes?
the Kornilov affair
What challenges did the PG face?
- Shared authority with the Petrograd Soviet
- War
- Protest groups allowed
- Peasant land issue
- Kornilov affair
quote from McCauley
‘the greatest feature of the government was inactivity’
when was Order No.1 issued?
March 14, 1917
Give an example of PG addressing minorities problems?
demands for self-rule in the Transcaucasus were met with the formation of a Special Transcaucasian Committee
What does Chernov argue about how minorities challenged the PG?
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’
What were the July Days a response to?
- Lack of bread
- Loss of 100,000 jobs
- Prices up by 775%
What did the April Theses call for
to withdraw support from the PG
What was the Rada and Sejm when they tried to deal with socio-economic problems, according to the Petrograd Soviet?
‘a tier of unofficial opposition to policies announced in Petrograd’
Chirstopher Read quote about after collapse of Romanov dynasty
‘a nationwide honeymoon. For the only time in its history, the Russian Empire was united’
Lynch on the PG
“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”.
what were the eight principles issued by the first version of the Provisional Government like?
basically liberal, included decrees on political amnesty and full freedom off speech
Fitzpatrick (revisionist) on the PG’s failure
“within eight months the hopes and expectations of February lay in ruins. ‘Dual power’ proved an illusion, masking something like a power vacuum.”
What was Kerensky’s signature policy?
absolute commitment to coalition government
What did Steklov offer the PG?
the conditional support of the Petrograd Soviet