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.”
What did Orlando Figes say undermined the governments authority in the countryside?
Peasant assemblies give “pseudo legal endorsement.” As well as the First All-Russian Peasant Assembly on 4-25 May. “Nothing did more to undermine the governments authority in the countryside. The SR party activists…appealed for the peasants to show patience over the resolution of the land question. But they were soon obliged by the radical mood of the delegates on the floor to sanction the actions of the local communes, and even the seizures of the gentry’s land, as an interim solution.”
Who led the June Offensive?
Kerensky and Brusilov
How many soldiers deserted during the June Offensive?
170 000
When did artillery barrage begin in the June offensive?
16 June
How did regiments respond to Kerensky’s attempts at improving morale through giving speeches?
Mutinied
What were the losses of the June offensive?
Several hundred thousands of men were lost and several million square miles of territory were lost.
What were contributing factors to the governments crisis in June besides the war?
Ukrainian autonomy, and the fraction of the coalition between the Kadets and the Socialists. Prince Lvov resigned as prime minister.
What happened on 8 July 1917?
Kerensky becomes prime minister.
What did Orlando Figes say of the June Offensive?
“More than anything else, the summer offensive swung the soldiers to he Bolsheviks, the only major party which stood uncompromisingly for an immediate end to the war. Had the Provisional Government adopted a similar policy and adopted negotiations with Germans, no doubt the Bolsheviks would never have come to power.”
How was Trotsky influential in the July Days?
On 2 July Trotsky addresses the 1st Machine Gun regiment, criticises Kerensky for the June Offensive and demanded power be handed to the Soviet.
What happened on 3 July 1917?
Thousands march in the street demanding the Provisional Government abdicate.
Who joined protests on 4 July?
20 000 sailors from the Kronstadt naval base and 20 000 workers from the Putilov steel works.
What reason does Sheila Fitzpatrick attribute to the lack of successful Bolshevik revolution in July?
“The Bolsheviks were caught of balance. They had talked insurrection, in a general way, but not planned it.”
What did the Provisional Government on 6 July in response to protestors?
Arrested 800 Bolsheviks, Bolshevik paper Pravda was banned, Bolshevik headquarters raided.
How did various political groups emerge from the July days?
Bolsheviks were attacked and portrayed as traitors by Kerensky, however not completely crushed.
Which General did Kerensky have disagreements with in July 1917? Why?
Kornilov; he wanted to restore the death penalty for breaches of army discipline, ban strikes, and reduce the power of the soviet to regain order.
What did Kerensky do on 18 July?
Appoint Kornilov the supreme commander of the Russian army?
How did Kerensky and Kornilov differ in their attempts to consolidate power in mid August?
Kornilov wanted to purge socialists from the government. Kerensky disagreed as he came from the soviet and felt if the government was too right wing it would lead to monarchism or civil war.
What made disagreements between Kornilov and Kerensky worse?
An ineffective mediator
What occurred on 26 August 1917?
Kornilov requested Kerensky appear at military headquarters; Kerensky suspected a plot and so was able to give himself temporary dictatorial powers.
What did Kerensky do on 27 August 1917? What was the affect?
Dismiss Kornilov, and request he come to Petrograd. Kornilov believed Kerensky had succumbed to a Bolshevik coup and marched on the capital.
How did Kerensky raise defences against Kornilov?
Turns to soviet for assistance and ordered the release of all Bolshevik prisoners to be freed and armed. Bolsheviks effectively organise militias and expand the Red Guard.
How were Kornilov’s forces stopped?
Railway workers persuade them no coup had happened
How did political groups emerge from the Kornilov affair?
Kerensky emerged as ineffective. Bolsheviks were revised, seen as defenders of the revolution.
When did Bolsheviks achieve a majority in the Moscow and Petrograd Soviets respectively?
19 September.
25 September.
What did Trotsky do in September 1917?
Becomes chairman of the Petrograd Soviet
How did Rex Wade describe the Bolsheviks on late 1917?
Bolsheviks “became the political alternative for the disappointed and disenchanted.”
How did Alan Wood describe Lenin in late 1917?
“Lenin’s program manifestly reflected and articulated the increasingly radical temper of the party rank-and-file and the militant workers and troops.”
