Provisional Government Interpretations Flashcards
1
Q
Provisional Government and the Nature of Government - Doomed from the Start or Not
Doomed arguments:
A
- The position of the Soviet, with control over industry and army through Soviet Order No. 1
- Makeup of Government, as it was not elected and consisted of middle class/noble leaders like Prince Lvov, Guchkov, there was a great deal of inexperience and inability to work with the socialists with resignations and Prince Lvov’s replacement with Kerensky
- Land Distribution was still an issue, and Peasant Land Seizures were common
- Liberal Principles allowed enemies to flourish, along with the abolition of police units/ the Ohkrana
2
Q
Provisional Government and the Nature of Government - Doomed from the Start or Not
Not Doomed arguments:
A
- Initial cooperation with the Soviet; war continuation the key issue for splits; socialists join the Provisional Government, Kerensky a SR.
- Russian Unity in March Revolution; hopes for the future and liberal principles. Constituent Assembly is set up.
- Kornilov Affair key issue; not doomed until Kornilov returns to overthrow Soviet. Bolsheviks ‘July Days’ repressed but right wing attack dooms it as Bolsheviks defend against coup.
3
Q
The Provisional Government and Nature of Government - Bolshevik Skill or Provisional Government Mistakes
Bolshevik Skill arguments:
A
- Lenin’s return and the introduction of the ‘April Theses’ offering simple solutions such as ‘Bread, Peace and Land’ to cover all of the major concerns of workers and peasants.
- Refusal to work with moderates in the Soviet allowed them to be the only viable alternative and avoid being linked to the Provisional Government after Kerensky takes leadership.
- Timing of the revolution down to Lenin’s insistence and Trotsky’s superb strategic planning of the MRC was excellent. Took advantage of the post-Kornilov situation.
4
Q
The Provisional Government and Nature of Government - Bolshevik Skill or Provisional Government Mistakes
Provisional Government Mistakes argument:
A
- Repression of the ‘July Days’ and Peasant Land Seizures made them appear Tsarist.
- Kerensky lost popularity by behaving like the Tsar at the Winter Palace.
- Failure to prevent Lenin’s return and rigid insistence on the ‘8 Liberal Principles’ at a time of war was likely to allow opposition to flourish.
- Kerensky’s arming of the Bolsheviks during the Kornilov Affair was disastrous.
Inability to decide on key reforms and property orientated Kadets and Octobrists prevented meaningful reform that could have averted revolution.
5
Q
Provisional Government and Economy and Society - Reluctant to Carry out Reforms or Not
Reluctant arguments:
A
- Kept refusing to make decisions on land distribution until election of the Constituent Assembly.
- Ordered certain minorities to wait for decisions on autonomy until after elections, and did not want to see the breakup of the old Russian Empire.
- Constituent Assembly elections and civil rights were unimportant reforms in the context of the needs of peasants and workers.
- Noble/middle-class leaders of the Provisional Government unwilling to make reforms that might affect private property.
Punishment Brigades sent to deal with Peasant Land Seizures ineffective and caused resentment.
6
Q
Provisional Government and Economy and Society - Reluctant to Carry out Reforms or Not
Not Reluctant arguments:
A
- Elections to the Constituent Assembly happened showing ultimate success, Lenin’s closure of it was down to himself.
- The need to continue with the war and problems with the Bolsheviks made it impossible to carry out meaningful reform during this period.
- An eight hour working day was established, it was just ignored by industrialists.
- Poland and Finland achieved their independence and Ukraine was given some autonomy with the Sejm.
Civil rights reforms prove that they were able to make some changes.
7
Q
Provisional Government and War and Revolution- Government Failed Because of War or Other Factors
Because of War (optimists) argument:
This view does not take into account mistakes made by the Provisional Government in other areas of domestic policy, nor the Bolshevik determination to succeed which was independent of the war effort.
A
- The continuation of the war meant it was unable to establish its authority. Had it have pulled out in March 1917 then the Provisional Government may have succeeded, perhaps with the reinstatement of the Tsar tied to a constitutional monarchy. The war hindered progress for these key reasons:
- The war had popular support; demands for withdrawal and peace were made on the basis that it was honourable and unconditional, and as Germany was in a decent position in 1917 that would never happen!
- Splits and resignations in the Provisional Government tended to be over the war. Socialists and Liberals fought about the objective, ‘peace with no indemnity or annexations’ or an outright victory.
- The war was costly in terms of land, labour and capital. Too much had already been invested into it to pull out.
- The Provisional Government had limited support from Britain and France.
- Challenges such as land distribution and the impact of urbanisation were ignored as continuation of the war became priority.
8
Q
Provisional Government and War and Revolution- Government Failed Because of War or Other Factors Other Factors (pessimists) argument: This view does fit nicely insofar that it acknowledges the multitude of pressures that had built up. But it majorly downplays the world’s first industrial war by putting it at the same impact as other prior wars.
A
- The peoples of the Russian Empire viewed the Provisional Government as simply a variant of the Tsarist regime and it was disintegrating even before WW1, and the new government struggled to contain demands for autonomy from Finland, Poland and the Ukraine (all major agricultural areas).
- Workers had already campaigned for economic and social change before the war and by 1917 the Soviets were in such a strong position they had dual authority with the Provisional Government, with all of the proletarian growth it was only a matter of time before they took over.
- Kerensky’s leadership was suspect especially when dealing with opposition from Kornilov and he was not trusted by the workers or peasants despite being an SR.
9
Q
Provisional Government and the Empire - Were Minorities the Main Threat to the Provisional Government or Other Factors
Minorities arguments:
A
- Minorities became frustrated that the PG was slow to create an assembly in which they could express their views and thus moved towards autonomy.
- They were spurred on by the successes of the Petrograd Soviet and thus established committees to demand more rights from their employers and government.
- They took advantage of the principles laid out by the PG, particularly the abolition of police units and provincial governors, in order to set up their own systems.
- Thus their own forms of provincial government such as the Rada in Ukraine and Sejm in Finland, to push for autonomy created the possibility of imperial disintegration that undermined both them and liberals who wanted to maintain the unity of the nation.
10
Q
Provisional Government and the Empire - Were Minorities the Main Threat to the Provisional Government or Other Factors
Other Factors arguments
A
- Separatism was not ignored by the PG, demands for self-rule in the Transcaucasus were met with a special committee, and similar organisations were set up in Latvia and Estonia.
- However these moves were undermined by the formation of local Soviets that shows that moves for autonomy were linked into the general problems for workers and peasants.
- The Rada and Sejm stated that they would deal with such social and economic issues and thus became a ‘tier’ of unofficial opposition to the PG.
- The PG could have solved a lot of problems with minorities such as Georgia, Ukraine and Estonia by dealing with the land issues as the vast majority of calls for independence in these areas were linked to their poor rural economies.
