The Provisional Government Flashcards
When did Lenin return to Russia?
3 April 1917
When was Lenin’s April Theses released?
17 April 1917
What were the two slogans of the April Theses?
Peace, Bread and Land
All Power to the Soviets
What did Lenin say of the Provisional Government?
“Parliamentary bourgeois”; “No support for the Provisional Government; the utter falsity of all its promises should be made clear.”
What did Lenin say should be abolished in the April Theses? What was the solution for land reform? How were the lives of officials to change?
Abolish: Police, army, and bureaucracy.
“Nationalisation of all lands in the country.”
“Salaries of all officials, all of whom are elective and displaceable at any time, not to exceed the average wage of a competent worker.”
How did fellow socialists and Bolsheviks see the April theses?
A surprise; Lenin was heavily criticised, however this program eventually united the Bolshevik Party, and gave them the support of the Petrograd Soviet.
Why did the Provisional Government not withdraw from the war?
Russia was virtually bankrupt however was running on loans and war credits from wartime allies
What did the Petrograd Soviet think of the war?
Russia must withdraw
What did the Provisional Government do on 27 March 1917? What was controversial about it?
Formally declare to their allies their desire for a “lasting peace.” Miliukov drafted a note to confirm the governments desire to “fully to carry out the obligations required.”
When was the Provisional Governments war time statement reach the press? What was the effect?
20 April 1917.
Socialists saw it is an imperialist gesture.
This resulted in street disturabances.
How did street disturbances in April 1917 affect Russia’s government?
Minister of War, Guchkov, resigns. Miliukov resigns as foreign minister.
Lvov invites members of the Soviet to join the government; Mensheviks and SRs join.
Kerensky became minister of war.
Why did the Provisional Government fail to address land issues?
The liberals believed they needed to pay compensation to the former landowners, however there was not enough money. They believed a Constituent Assembly must solve the issue.
How did peasants in the spring of 1917 rebel?
Organised themselves into armed mobs and attacked the manor of the local landlord. The lord either fled, was arrested, or was forced to sign over agreeing to peasant demands.
What did peasants demand in the countryside?
Lower rents, compulsory sale of grain, tools, or livestock to peasants at fair prices.
What caused the peasants to be emboldened to attack their local lords?
They were unsure that the old regime would not punish them; however when SR CHernov became Minister for Agriculture they rebelled.
The return of peasant soldiers increased the militancy of the attacks.
What did Lvov say of the peasant uprisings?
The revolution was the “revenge of the serfs.” “If only Russia had been blessed with a real landed aristocracy…which had the human decency to treat the peasants as people rather than dogs. Then perhaps things might have been different.”
What did the Provisional Government do in May 1917 that exacerbated the peasants anger?
Moved to protect property rights of landowners through legislation
What did Orlando Figes say as to why the government could not prevent peasant uprisings?
“The old police had been dismantled, while the army units in the countryside - even f their peasant recruits agreed to be used for such repressive purposes - were not nearly enough to protect more than a tiny proportion of the gentry’s estates.”
