The events of 24-26 October and the formation of the Bolshevik government

Question 1

Between 24th and 26th October, Lenin and Trotsky…

Answer 1

overthrew the Provisional Government.

Question 2

What was the first phase of the Bolsheviks’ seizure of power?

Answer 2

• Occurred when soldiers loyal to the MRC occupied the post and telegraph offices, as well as railway stations
• In this way, the Bolsheviks extended their control over the city’s infrastructure, which prevented the Provisional Government summoning help

Question 3

Where was the Provisional Government based?

Answer 3

The Winter Palace.

Question 4

How did the assault on the Provisional Government begin?

Answer 4

The battleship Aurora opened fire on the Winter Palace - Trotsky and the Red Guards successfully arrested the majority of the Provisional Government.

Question 5

What did the MRC announce on 25th October?

Answer 5

That the Provisional Government had been ‘deposed’.

Question 6

What did Kerensky do during the Revolution?

Answer 6

He fled Petrograd with the support of the American Embassy.

Question 7

The storming of the Winter Palace took place on the same day that…

Answer 7

the Second Congress of Soviets opened.

Question 8

How much support did the Bolsheviks have in the Second Congress of Soviets?

Answer 8

They didn’t have a majority - 300 of the 670 delegates supported the Bolsheviks.

Question 9

How did some SRs and Mensheviks react to the Bolshevik seizure of power?

Answer 9

Walked out of the Congress in protest - which reduced Menshevik and SR representation - gave the Bolshevik the majority in Congress - the seizure of power was greeted by cheers from many in the Congress, though.

Question 10

What was Lenin able to do as a result of a Bolshevik majority at the Congress?

Answer 10

He was able to get support for the creation of a new Bolshevik-dominated government.

Question 11

The Congress of Soviets voted to create a new…

Answer 11

constitution - at the top of the new government was the Sovnarkom (the Council of People’s Commissars). Lenin acted as the chairman of Sovnarkom and was the overall leader of the new government.

Question 12

What did Lenin claim about Sovnarkom following the Revolution?

Answer 12

That it was the legitimate government of Russia - in reality the Bolsheviks had little control of life outside the capital

Question 13

What obstacles did Lenin face when establishing a new government?

Answer 13

1) Dealing with the elections to the Constituent Assembly - Lenin refused to cancel the elections
- The Bolsheviks had criticised the Provisional Government for postponing them - cancelling would have been hypocritical.
2) By, mid-November, Sovnarkom did not have the power to stop the elections taking place

Question 14

What were the election results in November 1917?

Answer 14

SRs - 39%
Bolsheviks - 22.5%
Kadets - 4.5%
Mensheviks - 3.2%

Question 15

While the Bolsheviks won less than a quarter of the support from the country, the November result marked the…

Answer 15

high point of Bolshevik support - from December 1917 popular support for Lenin and his party declined.

Question 16

What were the consequences of the November election?

Answer 16

The Bolsheviks were in strong position because:

• The SRs were split and therefore weak
• The Left SRs supported the Sovnarkom; indeed, the first Sovnarkom was a coalition of Left SRs and Bolsheviks. In this sense, Lenin could claim that Sovnarkom was coalition of Russia’s 2 most popular parties
• While the elections took place in November the new Assembly was not due to meet until January. This allowed Lenin to postpone conflict between the Bolshevik-dominated Sovnarkom and the new Assembly