Was the Provisional Government doomed from the beginning?

The Key Players in 1917

Provisional Government Kadets and Octobrists Gave greater civil liberties to the people Wanted to create democracy but was generally fairly right wing in nature Had to work with the Soviet – desperate to avoid a further revolution Agreed to keep the War going in return to get financial support from the West Milyukov wanted to make territorial gains Believed more land should go to the peasants but that landowners should be compensated

Petrograd Soviet Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks Wanted to give greater autonomy to non- Russians and support the proletariat and peasants Believed in the Bourgeoise stage of revolution, so cooperated with the Provisional Government Wanted to fight a ‘defensive war’ to avoid the humiliation of Russia Wanted to leave the issue of land reform to the Constituent Assembly – but SR keen to move

The Bolsheviks A fringe group of the socialists. Bread, peace and land – no cooperation with the Provisional Government April Theses Do not agree with Marx’s theory of Bourgeoise revolution Want to end the hostilities immediately Land to be given to the peasants immediately with no compensation to landowners Looked weaker after the July Days as several leading Bolsheviks were arrested and Lenin was forced into hiding in Finland

The Role of Lenin His arrival in Petrograd was important – the movement had a leader present His decision not to cooperate with the Provisional Government provided a genuine alternative to Russians His theses possibly got through to the peasant soldiers at the front – mutinies He argued against the War and wanted to give land to the peasants ASAP Lenin justified his April Theses by saying the Bougeoise in Russia was too weak to carry out a democratic revolution Believed in a world wide socialist revolution and thought Germany would be next

Problems Facing the Provisional Government

The War Milyukov wanted to carry on – believed Russia could gain Istanbul. Milyukov eventually forced to resign and was replaced by Kerensky Summer of 1917 a huge offensive was launched after the allies pleaded Lasted for 3 days from 16 June and resulted in the loss of thousands more lives Partly sparked the July Days riots; the capital was lawless and soldiers/sailors showed they would rebel against the Provisional Government Many soldiers deserted and Kerensky loss credibility for getting involved so enthusiastically

Land Wanted to wait to redistribute land to the peasants until after the War (avoid further desertion by peasant soldiers) Wanted landowners to receive compensation Chernov (SR Minister for Agriculture) wanted to allow peasants to use land from private estates but this was blocked 237 cases of land seizure reported in July – the peasants were not obeying the government

National Minority Demands Wanted Russia to stay intact in order to remain a great power Concessions were granted to Poland and the Ukraine – Poland was given independence and Ukraine gained more powers Finland would not be dealt with until after the Bolshevik Revolution

The Economy Increased the price paid for grain by 100% Punishment brigades were sent to the countryside to requisition grain Strain of the War led to price rises and scarcity of food Shortages of fuel and food Strikes were commonplace Under pressure from industrialists not to fix prices

Coalition Socialist groups from the Petrograd Soviet formed a coalition government on 5 May after the resignation of Milyukov Now the socialists could not disassociate themselves from failings in the War When the Summer offensive failed the Socialists and Kerensky were held equally responsible Only the Bolsheviks could say they had no connection with the disaster

The Changing Provisional Government In March 1917 it was dominated by Liberals – the only socialist was Kerensky In May, five socialists joined but the Liberals still dominated In July Kerensky became the PM, but there was still a strong Liberal presence By August some of the Liberals were becoming more right wing and were against the principles of the Revolution (e.g. land reform)

Kornilov Affair Kerensky wanted to restore law and order to the cities following the July Days General Kornilov was appointed as the Supreme Commander of the Russian forces – promised to restore law and order Kornilov saw this as an opportunity to crush the radical socialists and sent troops marching towards Petrograd to seize control of the government Kerensky panicked and gave weapons to the Bolshevik Red Guard in order to fight Kornilov’s troops Railway workers had in fact blocked the path of the soldiers and they never appeared The Red Guard kept the weapons given to them…

Bolshevik Takeover Kerensky tried to close down Bolshevik newspapers Zinoviev and Kamanev did not feel there was enough support for a new revolution in October 1917 Trotsky wanted to wait until the meeting of the Second Congress of All-Russian Soviets on 26 October Bolsheviks put the Red Guard in control of the key points around Petrograd (e.g. railway stations) Night of 25 October they stormed the Winter Palace and arrested what was left of the Provisional Government The SR was the only group to support their actions which gave them a majority in the Soviets Kerensky sent some troops to Petrograd but they were repelled on the outskirts by workers, sailors and soldiers Not much bloodshed in Petrograd, but the process was much more violent in other places such as Moscow

Doomed? The return of Lenin provided the Bolsheviks with leadership (but he left again in July) The April Theses provided an alternative to the Bourgeoise Revolution The failed summer offensive led to widespread discontent with the government and the War The July Days were sparked by a continued lack to food, fuel and anger at the War – what had really changed since the Tsar? Coalition meant the mainstream socialists were associated with the failure of the War The Kornilov Affair wounded Kerensky and provided the Red Guard with the weapons they would use to overthrow his government Kerensksy was becoming more unpredictable and ever increasingly dependent on morphine and cocaine