The Provisional Committee and the Petrograd Soviet Flashcards
On 27 February 1917, which two new organisations were founded?
- The Provisional Committee - 12 members of the Duma formed an emergency committee to keep the government going during the crisis
- The Petrograd Soviet - a committee of workers was formed to co-ordinate the strikes and to formulate the demands of the workers
What was Order Number 1?
- On 1st March the Petrograd Soviet demonstrated its authority by issuing Order Number 1
- It was directed at the army
- It instructed soldiers to elect their own officers and to question orders
- Although the order had no legal authority, the majority of the Russian army obeyed it
Why was Order Number 1 significant?
Because it demonstrated the de facto authority of the Duma and ended the authority of the Tsar and his generals over the army.
Key members of the Duma convinced important generals that military intervention could…
Therefore…
ignite a Civil War.
- Therefore, the army didn’t attempt to put down the revolution in the capital
What did Order Number One do to the Tsar’s position?
It further weakened it - Rodzianko, one of the leading figures within the Duma, saw an opportunity to remove the Tsar - he encouraged General Nikolai Ruzky, commander of the Northern Front, to meet the Tsar at Pskov and encourage him to resign.
The Russian middle class were unwilling to support... Why?
the Tsar. They believed that the monarchy was corrupt and incompetent - they blamed the Tsar for the military and economic failures of 1915.
During 1915 factory owners in Petrograd had…
prospered due to profitable government contracts to produce munitions.
Who did most of the middle class in Petrograd support, and why?
the new Provisional Committee hoping that it would lead to a more effective and democratic government
When did Nicholas II abdicate? How? Why did also abdicate for his son?
2nd March 1917 - representatives from the Duma met with the Tsar on board his train and requested his abdication - he abdicated for his son because he believed he was too ill to assume the government of Russia.
Nicholas II recognised he had lost the support of…
the Russian elite.
In 1905 Nicholas II was able to reassert control of Russia because…
he had the support of the army.
In 1917 senior generals indicated that they were not willing…
to support the Tsar.
In 1905 Nicholas II was able to reach a compromise with…
the middle class.
In 1917 the middle class had…
lost faith in the Tsar, due to rumours of his corruption and the incompetence of his wartime government.
In 1917, Russian military leaders and the Russian middle class were united in a desire to…
win the First World War - they believed that they could build on the limited success achieved in the Brusilov Offensive, and work through Zemgor to solve the munitions crisis.
