Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet

Question 1

April Theses

Answer 1

• April 1917
• Work published by Lenin on his return to Petrograd that urged for the “real” proletariat revolution to begin. Outlined ‘peace, bread and land’ and ‘all power to the soviets’

Question 2

Dual Authority

Answer 2

• Term used to describe the balance of power between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet
• As time wore on the PG moved increasingly to the Right and the Petrograd Soviet to the left
• Only the Soviet could call an end to worker’s strikes, such as on March 5th after the revolution

Question 3

Soviet Order Number One

Answer 3

• Said that the soldiers and workers should obey the PG but only when the Soviet agreed with it - a rare occurrence
• The Soviet encouraged peasants and workers to defy authority and pursue their ‘rights’, thus meaning that the bodies were often in complete opposition to one another
• The Soviet held complete control over the Petrograd Garrison and the PG would require their permission to use it

Question 4

Situation Inherited By the Provisional Government

Answer 4

• “Paradoxical Situation”
• The government had little choice but to fight on as they would no longer receive war-credits from the western allies and Tsardom had left Russia virtually bankrupt
• This preoccupation with the war prevented the government from dealing with Russia’s social and economic problems

Question 5

Failures of Kerensky

Answer 5

• Failed to end the war and instead tried to turn it into a revolutionary crusade. He went ahead with the June Offensive in 1917, which failed badly and whole regiments mutinied or deserted
• By autumn 1917 2 million men have deserted
• The defeat of the July Days uprisings showed he was capable of dealing with a threat, though the Kornilov Affair quickly undermined these successes

Question 6

Failures of the Provisional Government (Land)

Answer 6

• Land issues had been a chronic problem since the 1861 emancipation, leading to huge disturbances in the countryside throughout 1917.
• The PG set up a Land Commission with the aim of redistributing land but little progress was made. This made Lenin’s message resonate even more

Question 7

First Days of the Provisional Government

Answer 7

• The government appointed Commissars in place of the Tsar’s old governors
• Prince Lvov believed that the government only removed old governors and did nothing to replace them with new ones
• Guchkov, the Minister for War, dismissed the Soviet as having no real power at its disposal despite the passing of Soviet Order Number One

Question 8

Lead-Up to the Kornilov Affair

Answer 8

• Aug 16 - Kornilov visits Kerensky with a four-point plan for restoring army discipline. Kerensky rebukes him, claiming the points sound more like ultimatums
• Aug 23 - Kornilov meets Kerensky again due to rumours circulating about his possible dismissal, though Kerensky denies the allegations
• Sep 8 - Kornilov and Kerensky finally come to an agreement:
• Kornilov agrees that Petrograd troops are exempt from his control (showing that Kerensky no longer trusts him)
• Kerensky agrees to let Kornilov’s Third Corps enforce martial law in Petrograd

Question 9

Issues with Peasants

Answer 9

• Manor houses are burnt down and some wealthy landowners are murdered - the PG are powerless to stop the redistribution of land in the countryside
• Many peasants also start to take noble land by force, creating anarchy - troops are sent in to take it back, resulting in further anger

Question 10

Failures of the Provisional Government (Internally)

Answer 10

• None of the parties had yet been voted in by the people, meaning the government as a whole held little to no legitimate authority
• Too many opposing parties meant very little legislation was passed and most reforms were ineffective
• Radical newspapers are closed, “agitators” of opposition parties are arrested and the death penalty is applied in some cases
• Creating a countrywide ballot (as per the demands of the Soviet) would take time

Question 11

Kadet Party

Answer 11

• Also known as the Constitutional Democratic Party
• Left-wing, but not as radically as the Bolsheviks or Mensheviks
• Led by Pavel Milyukov, who was also in charge of foreign policy and tried to prevent Russia’s exit from the war

Question 12

Soviet power over the Provisional Government

Answer 12

• Soviet Order Number One
• Milyukov (Foreign Minister of the PG) was forced to resign when he said Russia would stay in the war until ‘just peace’ had been won. Petrograd Soviet led the pressure for his resignation