Provisional Government- depth study

Question 1

Q1. To what extent was the Provisional Government doomed to fail from the start?

Question 2

What was the Provisional Government?

Answer 2

-Came into power in March 1917, following the February Revolution which ended the Tsarist rule
-Fell from power in October 1917
-There main aim was to govern Russia until elections for a new Constituent Assembly could take place
-Dominated by the Octobrists= supporters of Nicholas II and his October Manifesto and the Kadets= Constitutional Democrats
-Prince Lvov= first prime-minister

Question 3

What are the 3 key arguments surrounding whether the Provisional Government was doomed from the start?

Answer 3

1. Doomed to fail from the start and made poor decisions
2. Achieved its aim of setting up a constituent assembly
3. Success of the Bolshevik party

Question 4

What did the Provisional Government lack?

Answer 4

Legitimacy- it was an unelected body that appeared to many to represent upper-class citizens

Question 5

What were the 5 key problems facing the Provisional Government?

Answer 5

1. Land
   -The government failed to address the land issue for several reasons e.g. they were concerned a free-for-all would result in soldiers deserting the army and they wanted to compensate land- owners for their loss of land
   -June 1917= 700+ complaints about peasant attacks on property
2. Creating a new constitution
   -Failed to act decisively about the choice of electoral system or registration of voters
3. The War
   -Determined to continue the war- didn’t want to lose foreign loans and it was seen as an embarrassment to leave
   -Failure of the Summer Offensive- 3 day offensive which aimed to take pressure of forces led to thousands of desertions and a significant loss of territory- 240km
4. Economy
   -Food shortages- poor harvest in 1917 and brigades increased hostility
   -High unemployment- loss of 100,000 jobs
   -No improvement in living/working conditions
   -Strikes increased
5. National Minority demands
   -Calls for independence from Finland, Germany and Ukraine
   -

Question 6

What was the Petrograd Soviet?

Answer 6

-Workers and soldiers representatives
-Socialist intellectuals
-Role= protect the interests of the working-class and soldiers

Question 7

What did the Petrograd Soviet issue?

Answer 7

Order Number 1- March 1917
-Said that the Soviet controlled the army- soldiers would only obey the orders of the PG if the soviet agreed
-Soviet was in charge of railways, factories, the post etc.
-Created a ‘dual authority’

Question 8

Why did the Soviet work with the Provisional Government?

Answer 8

-Feared that implementing a fully socialist government would lead to civil war
-Didn’t believe they would be able to control the masses- had little experience of government

Question 9

JUDGEMENT: Was the Provisional Government doomed to fail from the start?

Answer 9

-Yes
-Multitude of problems that the PG faced such as an economic crisis and increasing discontent worsened by the fact that they were an unelected body, pressure to work with the Soviet
-HOWEVER, mistakes such as failure to address the land issue immediately did contribute to their fall, as well as the decision to continue the war

Question 10

Q2. Why is the Provisional Government often viewed as reluctant to carry out reform?

Question 11

What was the nature of the main aim of the Provisional Government?

Answer 11

Political i.e. new Constituent assembly
-Social and economic reform ignored

Question 12

What reforms did the Provisional Government introduce?

Answer 12

-Freedom of the press and speech
- Release of political prisoners
-Death penalty abolished
=Liberal initiatives HOWEVER political opposition groups such as the Bolsheviks were able to grow

Question 13

What is the main focus to suggest the Provisional Government was reluctant to carry out reforms?

Answer 13

Peasant /worker demands not met
-Calls for an 8 hour working day ignored
-Failure to deal with the land issue didn’t help peasant grievances that already existed
-Workers committee’s were clamped down on, rather than following new more ‘liberal’ stance

Question 14

How did the ‘July days’ highlight a lack of reform?

Answer 14

-Involvement in the war continued despite heavy criticism by the Bolshevik party
-Failure of the ‘Summer Offensive’ led to the July days
-Street demonstrations and riots involving thousands of factory workers broke out in the capital in frustration
- Showed the PG. lack of willingness and ability to deal with challenges= increased opposition
HOWEVER
-Blame was placed on the Bolshevik party e.g. Lenin portrayed as a traitor
-New PG led by Kerensky- socialist revolutionary

Question 15

What is a counter-argument that suggests the Provisional Government shouldn’t be seen as reluctant to carry out reform?

Answer 15

-Early changes= principles to aid major political change NOT reforms
-Given the war situation, lack of reform was understandable
-Poor conditions inherited from Tsarist regime

Question 16

JUDGEMENT: Was the Provisional Government reluctant to carry out reform?

Answer 16

-No
-Given the circumstances, they did not mean to implement radical social or economic reform, and they did take some steps to making liberal reforms
HOWEVER
-Cleary reluctant to deal with land issue for fear of disrupting the army and upsetting land owners etc. as well as workers demands

Question 17

Q3. How far was World War 1 responsible for the downfall of the Provisional Government?

Question 18

What are the two perspectives about the impact of WW1 on the fall of the Provisional Government?

Answer 18

1. Optimists
   -The war hindered the PG
   -War=popular support as it was unlikely that Germany would agree to honourable or unconditional peace
   -War was costly e.g. land, men and capital
   -War became a priority e.g. other issues like land were ignored
2. Pessimists
   -PG was doomed to fail regardless of the war
   -People viewed the PG as a variation of the tsarist regime
   -Workers had organised and campaigned for social and economic change before the war- only a matter of time before PG fell

Question 19

How did the Kornilov affair contribute to the downfall of the Provisional Government?

Answer 19

-General Kornilov wanted the military to have more control and demanded that the control of the country pass to the army
-Kornilov sent troops into the city to seize military control
-Bolsheviks were called upon by Kerensky to defend the country- Bolshevik red guard forced Kornilov to surrender
IMPACT: Exposed weaknesses of the PG and Kerensky’s inability to deal with opposition AND Bolshevik party were seen as popular hero’s e.g. had majorities in Petrograd and Moscow soviets by September

Question 20

What were the different views about the war between the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Government?

Answer 20

Soviet= ‘peace without annexations or indemnities’
Government= continue fighting

Disagreement= conflict

Question 21

How did the successes of the Bolshevik party contribute to the Provisional Governments downfall?

Answer 21

-Bolshevik party gained more support after the Kornilov affair in August 1917- majorities in both the Moscow and Petrograd soviets
-Lenin’s use of slogans such as ‘Peace, Bread and Land’ appealed to the workers
-Lenin’s April Thesis called for ‘All Power to the Soviet’- led to the creation of the Communist party, as well as calling for the Tsars abdication

Question 22

What limited the success of the Bolshevik party?

Answer 22

-Failure of the July days- ‘Lenin’s worst blunder’ i.e. he failed to take charge and was forced to flee, whilst more than a thousand Bolsheviks were arrested

Question 23

JUDGEMENT: How significant was war in the Provisional Government’s downfall?

Answer 23

-Significant i.e. decision to continue the war bought much backlash and caused increased tension between the Soviet and PG
-War also highlighted the failures of the PG to deal with threats such as the Kornilov affair
HOWEVER
-Success of the Bolshevik party was a considerable factor in their fall

Question 24

Q4. To what extent did opposition from the National Minorities lead to the Provisional Government’s fall?

Question 25

What is the argument surrounding the role of national minorities in their fall?

Answer 25

-Role of the Provisional Government was to unite the nation and maintain cohesiveness before the elections HOWEVER the PG failed to address the land issue, alienating many minorities

Question 26

What evidence is there to suggest that opposition from minorities led to their fall?

Answer 26

-Minorities were becoming frustrated that their wants and needs were not being met e.g. PG slowness in creating an assembly for them to express their views
-Minorities were spurred on by the successes of the workers, soldiers and sailors, who had turned to riots and popular action to spark change- encouraged minorities
-Certain groups started to organise their own forms of a P.G. e.g. the Rada in Ukraine, Finlands own parliament

Question 27

What evidence is there to suggest that opposition from minorities was not a significant factor in their downfall?

Answer 27

-Demands for self-rule in the Transcaucasus were met by the creation of a Special Transcaucasion Comittee
-Other factors, such as the war, played a more significant role in their downfall
-The PG’s fall was caused by those in Petrograd at the time- minorities were not responsible for the fall of the PG so had a limited impact

Question 28

JUDGEMENT: To what extent did opposition from national minorities cause the downfall of the Provisional Government?

Answer 28

-Not to a large extent
- The failure to address the land issue did cause discontent amongst the peasants e.g. creation of new structures of government HOWEVER
-other factors such as the war had a more prominent impact on their downfall