The Kornilov Affair

Question 1

When did Russia launch the Kerensky Offensive on Austria and Germany?

Answer 1

18 June

Question 2

What evidence shows that Russia was successful on the first day of the Kerensky Offensive?

What evidence shows that that success was limited?

Answer 2

Russia took 10,000 Austrian and German prisoners on Day 1

But Russia had 12,500 casualties in return

Question 3

What was Kerensky’s reaction to the first day of the Kerensky Offensive?

Answer 3

It was a “great triumph of the Revolution” and the regiments that took part should be renamed the “June 18 Regiments”

Question 4

Although the Austrians reversed the initial gains of the Russian army during the Kerensky Offensive, which Russian division made a net gain overall - and who commanded them?

Answer 4

The 8th Army, led by Kornilov

Question 5

Who did Kerensky appoint as Commander-in-Chief on 18 July?

Answer 5

Kornilov

Question 6

What were Kornilov’s initial demands when he became Commander-in-Chief on 18 July?

Answer 6

Total independence from Kerensky and capital punishment introduced across Russia

Question 7

Where did the State Conference take place between 12 and 14 August 1917, and what was Kerensky’s aim in convening it?

Answer 7

Moscow

Aimed to create unity and support for the new Kerensky regime

Question 8

What was the main thrust of Kornilov’s speech at the Moscow State Conference? Did it go down well?

Answer 8

Called for the death penalty to be extended to the whole country

Yes, it was met with ‘applause bordering on adulation’

Question 9

What influence did the Bolsheviks have on the first day of the Moscow State Conference?

Answer 9

In Moscow, coffeehouses and restaurants were closed, cab drivers were absent, and the employees of the Bolshoi Theatre (where the conference met) were on strike, so delegates had to serve their own refreshments!

Question 10

Which “impassable fortress” did Russia lose control of in early September 1917?

Answer 10

Riga

Question 11

How did the Russian Orthodox Church support Kornilov?

Answer 11

Distributed 500,000 copies of appeals to the military, threatening vengeance from God for deserters!

Question 12

What did the Octobrist V.N. Lvov tell Kerensky on 22 August?

What did he then tell Kornilov on 24 August?

Answer 12

22 August: Lvov told Kerensky that Russia’s survival was dependent on a ‘national cabinet’ to preserve law and order

24 August: Lvov told Kornilov that Kerensky was happy for them to form a new government

Question 13

What did Kornilov tell General Krymov on 24 August?

Answer 13

He should push his detached army towards Petrograd to quell a reported “Bolshevik uprising”

Question 14

What happened to the Petrograd Garrison on 25 August?

Answer 14

It was placed under martial law

Question 15

What did Kornilov order Kerensky to do on 27 August?

What did Kornilov tell Savinkov (Deputy Minister of War) to do by 29 August?

Answer 15

Kerensky should travel to his military headquarters

Savinkov should place the whole of Petrograd under martial law

Question 16

Why was Kerensky seriously worried about Kornilov’s plans and actions?

Answer 16

Kerensky thought that Kornilov would remove him from power - he had been double-crossed

Question 17

What was Kerensky’s reply to Kornilov’s demand for him to travel to the military headquarters?

Answer 17

Kerensky refused - he asked Kornilov to resign and come to Petrograd

Question 18

What four things did Kornilov say in his appeal to the Russian people, published after he had been told to resign?

Answer 18

He:

• accused the Provisional Government of working with Germany
• called himself the “son of a Cossack peasant” to try to win over ordinary Russians
• declared that all he wanted was “the preservation of a Great Russia”
• claimed that the Russian people should decide their future through elections to a Constituent Assembly

Question 19

What role did the Petrograd Soviet play during the Kornilov Affair?

Answer 19

Worked with rail worker unions to stop the progress of Krymov’s army

Question 20

What two things did the Petrograd Soviet demand from the Provisional Government in return for their support in putting down the Kornilov Affair?

Answer 20

Demanded the release of prisoners from the July Days (including Trotsky)

Demanded weapons to put down the coup (many of these ended up in the hands of the Bolshevik militia)

Question 21

Did Kerensky need to arm the Soviet? Why/why not?

Answer 21

No - Kornilov’s troops never made it to Petrograd

Question 22

Why did soldiers desert Kornilov and Krymov during the Kornilov affair?

Answer 22

Kornilov had nothing to offer them - they had been influenced by working-class agitators from the Soviet

The soldiers were also worried that they might lose the power they gained from Order No. 1

Question 23

What did soldiers do in the aftermath of the Kornilov affair and why?

Answer 23

Arrested and lynched their own officers - accused them of supporting Kornilov

Question 24

What happened to support for the following parties after the Kornilov Affair:

• Kadets
• Mensheviks
• Bolsheviks

Answer 24

Kadets: lost lots of support, including from the Mensheviks who accused them of working with Kornilov and therefore refused to enter a coalition with them

Mensheviks: lost their majorities in the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets

Bolsheviks: support grew rapidly, now seen as the saviours of Petrograd. Won a majority in the Petrograd Soviet as soon as 31 August