The October Revolution Flashcards
How had attendance to meetings of the Petrograd Soviet changed between March and September?
Who did this benefit and why?
March: fully attended - over 3,000 deputies
September: attendance down to a few hundred
Bolsheviks: continued to turn up, so won a disproportionate influence
Who was elected as Chair of the Petrograd Soviet (Workers’ section) on 25 September?
Trotsky
What motion did the Petrograd Soviet pass on its first day under Bolshevik control?
A motion expressing their unwillingness to support the new coalition government of Kadets, Mensheviks and SRs
Before which two events did Lenin wish to seize power, and why?
The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets (late October)
The elections to a Constituent Assembly (November)
Lenin wanted to present Bolshevik power as the undisputed authority before these events
What did Kerensky announce on 7 October? How did the Bolsheviks respond?
A ‘pre-parliament’ would be created to advise the government before the Constituent Assembly.
The Bolsheviks accused the pre-parliament of being a mechanism to strengthen the government and the counterrevolutionary bourgeoisie
What did the Provisional Government announce on 9 October? What impact did this have on the Bolsheviks?
Half the Petrograd Garrison would be sent to the front
Bolsheviks now had an immediate cause to overthrow the Provisional Government
What did the Bolshevik Central Committee vote on in the secret meeting on 10 October?
Whether to launch an armed insurrection against the Provisional Government
Who voted against the idea of an armed insurrection on 10 October and why?
Kamenev and Zinoviev
They preferred a broadly-based, exclusively socialist coalition government - they did not think that a majority of the Russian population would back the Bolsheviks
How did the Bolshevik Central Committee vote on 10 October on the idea of an armed insurrection?
10 votes in favour, 2 against, 1 abstention (Trotsky)
How did Kamenev and Zinoviev respond to the vote in favour of an armed insurrection? Why was this significant?
They wrote an article suggesting that the Russian working class was not prepared for an armed uprising
This now made public the idea that the Bolsheviks were seeking an immediate armed uprising (so the Provisional Government was aware)
What did Kerensky order to be closed down on 23 October?
The Bolshevik newspaper Pravda and the Petrograd Soviet newspaper Izvestiia
What did the Bolsheviks set up between 16 and 21 October? What was its purpose? Who led it?
The Military Revolutionary Committee
Organise the defence of Petrograd (i.e. to overthrow the Provisional Government)
Three Bolshevik leaders (including Trotsky), two Left SR leaders
Why was the Military Revolutionary Committee so essential to the success of the October Revolution?
It meant that the Bolsheviks didn’t need to rely on mass demonstrations, workers or ordinary soldiers - they just needed the Red Guards directed by the MRC (acting as a VANGUARD)
What two significant locations did the MRC seize on 23 October?
Why was this significant?
The Peter and Paul Fortress, and the Kronwerk Arsenal
All major weapons stores in Petrograd were now in the hands of the MRC
What two things did the Provisional Government try to do to stop the MRC?
How did the MRC respond?
Called for troops from the front to defend the government
Raised the bridges over the River Neva to stop the protestors
The MRC responded by launching Directive Number One: military regiments should fight against the government to defend the Petrograd Soviet
What was in the letter that Lenin sent to Bolshevik headquarters on 24 October?
“Delay is Death”: “history will not forgive revolutionaries for procrastinating when they could be victorious today”
What did the MRC control by 8am on 25 October?
Why was this significant?
All of Petrograd’s bridges, central telegraph offices and all three rail stations
The government had lost all control of communications in the capital
What remained open on 25 October, and what does this reveal about the nature of the October Revolution?
Schools, shops and theatres - life continued as normal, these were not mass demonstrations, it happened in a tiny area of Petrograd
The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets was scheduled for 12pm on 25 October: why was it delayed?
Lenin was desperate for the Provisional Government to fall before the Congress began
What position did the Mensheviks take on the October Revolution? What did they do as a result?
Refused to endorse it - withdrew from the Congress of Soviets as a result
When did the Provisional Government surrender? What happened to its ministers?
2am on 26 October
14 of the 15 ministers were arrested (Kerensky had fled on the 25th)
Why did the Provisional Government lack military forces to help put down the October Revolution?
The Petrograd Garrison had recognised the authority of the MRC on 21 October - it supported the MRC over the government
How many people died during the October Revolution?
Only 6 - more people died in the Bolshevik propaganda recreation
