Russia Flashcards
Name of the USSRS official government newspaper
Pravda
July Days
A huge demonstration and riot on the streets of Petrograd on July 3-7, 1917. Kerensky had just launched a disastrous offensive in the war. Soldiers, sailors and workers poured into the streets demanding an end to the war. Because the Bolsheviks were the only anti-war party, they called on the Bolsheviks to take power. The Bolsheviks were not yet ready. Troops suppressed the protests and Lenin had to flee to Finland to avoid arrest as a German agent.
Kornilov Revolt
The Provisional Government
Red Guard
The name of the Bolsheviks’ militia - groups of workers who trained secretly throughout 1917 with the aim of seizing power. Kerensky obligingly provided them with weapons in August of 1917 during the Kornilov Affair. On the night of November 6-7, they took over key points in Petrograd, thus securing power for the Bolsheviks.
Lenin
Founded the Communist Party in Russia and set up the world’s first Communist Party dictatorship. He led the October Revolution of 1917, in which the Communists seized power in Russia. He then ruled the country until his death in 1924.
Order #1
This was issued by the Petrograd Soviet in March of 1917. It asserted that the armed forces should consider themselves to serve the Petrograd Soviet, not the Provisional Government. Orders from the Provisional Government were only to be obeyed if they did not contradict the Soviet. It ordered soldiers and sailors to form committees to discuss which orders they would obey. They were also to take control of all weapons and not let officers have them even if ordered to do so. This order made it impossible for the Provisional Government to use the army against the Soviet, but it also completely destroyed discipline in the army, making it impossible for it to be effective in the war.
Kerensky
A Social Revolutionary who was an exceptional speaker. He was a popular member of the Fourth Duma and became Minister of Justice in the Provisional government in March 1917. He was also a member of the Petrograd Soviet. In July of 1917 he became Prime Minister, but his popularity was damaged by the Kornilov affair and he was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in November 1917.
Dual power
A term referring to the two governments that Russia had following the March Revolution—the provisional government and the Petrograd Soviet.
Provisional Government
This was a committee formed from the members of the Fourth Duma in March, 1917. The members were mostly liberals at first. Some moderate socialists would join in July. They attempted to rule Russia from March-November 1917. They knew they had not been elected to their positions, so they saw themselves as temporary caretakers keeping things going while they organized elections for a “constituent assembly”. They avoided many major decisions for this reason. They were overthrown by the Bolsheviks in November 1917.
Dual power
A term referring to the t
Petrograd Soviet
It was composed of various socialist parties, as well as representatives from the soldiers and the various factories in the Petrograd area. They claimed to speak for all the workers and peasants of Russia. Although they said they were prepared to cooperate with the Provisional government, they undermined them by their presence and by measures like “Order Number 1”.
Social Revolutionaries
A political party that called for land reform and was supported by the Russian peasants.
Social Democrats
A group of Marxists who believed that a worldwide revolution would begin in Russia with the workers; they were divided into the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks.
