The revolutions of 1917 : 4.1 Lenin's return and activities before the Revolution Flashcards
How did Lenin get back to Russia?
In 1914, Lenin was in Poland as he and his fellow Bolsheviks were condemned as traitors by Russia and forced into exile. Germany helped Lenin return to Russia in the hope of them causing havoc (helping Germany’s chances of winning in the war and focus on the Western Front instead of wasting time with Russia). He arrived in Petrograd on 3rd April 1917 and the money Germany gave him would help finance his revolution.
Explain some features of the April Theses?
1) Made it clear they were against the useless PG - wanted a workers revolution and his plan became known as the “April Theses”
2) Popularity of Bolsheviks grew (24,000 to 100,000 from February to April)
3) ALL POWER TO THE SOVIETS - overthrowing the PG and no elections for Duma.
4) PEACE, LAND AND BREAD - desire for peace, war caused inflation and several other problems.
5) ALL LAND TO THE PEASANTRY - unsatisfactory way in which peasants were being treated - after all, they made up about 85% of the population.
Impact of the July Days
By July, the Bolsheviks thought it was the right time to overthrow the PG, however Kerensky accused the Bolsheviks of being German spies as he knew about the German funding. Lenin fled the country, the Bolshevik newspaper“Pravda” was taken down and all other leading Bolsheviks were arrested/denounced/deemed as traitors. HOWEVER, Lenin continued to direct the party from Finland and altered his thoughts on land seizure, increasing their popularity in the countryside and maintaining their high profile. “Peace, land and bread” attracted more followers, especially the army as soldiers were just “peasants in uniform”.
