Russia Deck 3 Flashcards
Did the Provisional Government give the people ANYTHING they wanted?
By April 1917, the Provisional Government had:introduced the 8-hour working daymade it legal for people to form political parties and hold public meetingsreleased political prisonersUnfortunately - these reforms only made it easier to criticise the Provisional Government for all the other changes they had failed to make!
Did the Provisional Government have the support of the Petrograd Soviet at the time it was set up?
Yes - but the Provisional Government had to agree to 8 principles of government that included:1. Political prisoners to be freed and exiles free to return2. Freedom of speech and the press3. Preparations to be started to elect a Constituent Assembly4. Soldiers that fought in the Revolution should not be sent to the front to fight
What did Kornilov want?
Kornilov was disturbed by the growing unrest in towns (such as the protests in Petrograd in July) and the peasant uprisings in the countryside.He wanted Kerensky to impose martial law and break the power of the soviets.
What did Lenin do when he returned in April 1917?
Lenin declared that he would work against, not with, the Provisional Government. He said that the Provisional Government was evidence of a bourgeois revolution and that now he needed to make sure there was a worker’s revolution.He set out his main policies in a speech that became known as the April Theses.
What kind of reception did the new Provisional Government get in the beginning?
At first, the Provisional Government was popular. They gave new political freedoms and promised a new Constituent Assembly, to be elected in November. People were hopeful it would rule effectively and make reforms, such as:Take Russia out of the war;Improve conditions for workers in towns and cities;Solve shortages of food and fuel;Re-distribute property, especially land and farms, more equally.
What problems did the Provisional Government have in giving people what they wanted?
Firstly, they didn’t have complete control. The Provisional Government needed the help of the Petrograd Soviet to get laws passed and acted on.Secondly, local landowners still controlled most of the countryside and would not agree to give their land away. Thirdly, the Provisional Government always saw itself as a temporary organisation - so big changes like taking Russia out of the war should be left to the new, elected government once it came to be. Reforms aimed at reducing shortages took time to happen and were slowed down by the continued participation in the war.
What was the June Offensive?
This was the last gasp of the Russian Army in World War I. Enough troops were scraped together for an offensive but, almost inevitably, the result was a disastrous failure. The morale of the army declined further and there were huge increases in the level of desertions. The soldiers became more receptive to Bolshevik propaganda and the loyalty of a number of units to the Provisional Government was now uncertain.
What were the April Theses?
- Peace - the war with Germany had to end;2. Land - all land had to be given to the peasants;3. Bread - food production would be increased by creating communal farms4. ‘All power to the Soviets’ - the Bolsheviks would take over all the soviets in order to achieve their aims.
What were the effects of the July Days?
On 21 July, Prince Lvov resigned, handing power over to Kerensky. Kerensky accused the Bolsheviks of being German spies (after all, they had been financed by Germany!).The Bolshevik newspaper, Pravda, was banned.Lenin fled the country and went into hiding in Finland.Kamenev was arrested.
What were the effects of the Kornilov Revolt?
- Kerensky’s government looked weak;2. The Bolsheviks took control of the Petrograd Soviet and, with Trotsky as chairman, were now the most popular revolutionary group in Russia - there was a feeling that their time had come to be in control;3. The Bolsheviks were now armed and had their leaders back out of prison (they had been imprisoned after the July Days);4. The military was now too weak to attempt to set up a military dictatorship.
What were the July Days?
Following the failure of the offensive in June, there were more spontaneous protests in Petrograd but now people were chanting Bolshevik slogans like: ‘Peace, Land and Bread’.The Bolsheviks made an attempt to seize power in Petrograd in July. Here, Lenin made a serious misjudgement which could have led to disaster for the Bolsheviks. Only small numbers of soldiers and sailors actively supported the Bolsheviks and the uprising was suppressed by loyal troops. A number of Bolshevik leaders were arrested and Lenin fled to Finland.
What were the key features of the return of Lenin?
When war broke out in 1914, Lenin was in Austria. He was arrested but allowed to travel to neutral Switzerland. He soon discovered that many socialists and Bolsheviks supported the war, even though he was bitterly opposed to it.After the February Revolution, Lenin was desperate to return to Russia. He wanted to push for peace and an end to the chaos in Russia. The Germans helped him return in a sealed train - hoping that he would overthrow the government, declare peace and free up the German army in the East.Lenin arrived in his sealed train in Petrograd on 3rd April 1917. He was branded a German spy, in the pay of the enemy - but he didn’t care - the money he was given by the Germans would help finance his revolution.
Who was General Kornilov?
Kornilov was appointed as the head of the Russian army by Kerensky, who had taken over the Third Provisional Government. Kornilov was a supporter of the Tsar and he hated the soviets.
Who were the leaders of the Provisional Government?
Prince Lvov - Prime MinisterGuchkov - War Minister (and leader of the Oktobrists)Kerensky - Minister of Justice (and a Social Revolutionary)Remaining ministers were chosen from the Oktobrist and Kadet parties - so the Provisional Government was very middle-class.
Why and how was the Provisional Government established?
Following the (spontaneous) February Revolution, people were calling for leadership. The Duma met in one part of the Winter Palace while the Petrograd Soviet met in another part of the palace.Eventually, on the 2nd March 1917, 12 Duma deputies agreed with the Petrograd Soviet that they would set up a Provisional Government, to run things ‘unofficially’ while a new government system was worked out and elections held.
