1.  starter activity
Who is in the picture?
Where is he?

2. Why was Lenin’s return so significant and why was the summer of 1917 so crucial for the Bolsheviks?
Lesson outcomes:
To identify Lenin’s ideas and key actions
To determine why the return of Lenin was so significant
To evaluate the impact of Lenin’s return on Russia overall
Extra activity: Create an Acronym of Lenin’s April Thesis to help remember the key points see Murphy p61
mins

3. Find out why someone blew a hole in Lenin’s bottom in April 2009
Extension task
Find out why someone blew a hole in Lenin’s bottom in April 2009

4.  Hear Lenin speak
Murphy p60
How accurate do you think this painting is of Lenin’s return to Petrograd in April 1917?

5. Lenin’s return, in April 1917, was to transform the political situation in Russia.
Without Lenin there would have been no October Revolution and no Communist Russia.
‘His impact not just on Russia but on world history in the 20th century is incalculable’ (Beryl Williams)
Read Murphy p59 and identify obstacles Lenin faced which made it hard for a revolution along Marxist lines to succeed in Russia.
What solution did he come up with? (p59-60)
What other obstacles did Lenin face? (p60)

6. Problems facing Lenin
Timing – according to Marx’s theories Russia needed to go through a socialist phase before pure communism was achieved
Splits in the party – Social Democrats divided over methods; Bolsheviks & Mensheviks split
Leadership – many leaders, including Lenin lived in exile
Legitimacy – Bolsheviks were illegal in Russia
Lack of preparation – Lenin surprised by fall of Tsar in Feb 1917

7.  Your task
Read Murphy, p.61. Write the heading ‘April Theses’ in your notes and record what Lenin said about the following:
Marxist ideas on the February Revolution
The War
The Provisional Government
Main messages (slogans) to the people of Russia

8. April Theses
Marxist ideas on revolution – bourgeois revolution should immediately be followed by socialist one
The War – immediate end
The government of Russia – power to Soviets ( Bolsheviks had more power there)
Slogans – ‘Bread, peace & land’; ‘All power to the Soviets’

9. Lenin’s return Other revolutionaries returned, e.g. Stalin
Lenin returned to stir up opposition to PG -“They transported Lenin in a sealed truck like a plague bacillus into Russia” (Churchill)
Increased support for Soviet – sole right to govern, ‘All Power to the Soviets’
Criticisms echoed popular concerns ‘Peace, Land & Bread’
Excellent orator – Finland Station Speech & April Theses, need for worldwide revolution

10.  Homework
Imagine you are a British reporter at Finland Station. Write an article about Lenin’s speech. Refer to the ideas put forward by Lenin, how his speech was received by different groups, the likely impact of the speech on the people of Russia and the provisional government, minimum ¾ side of A4

11. Homework - Pravda article
Using your newly acquired knowledge, create a Pravda article that details Lenin’s return and the key events of summer 1917
It must address the impact that Lenin will be having as well as the narrative of what happened
Remember to deliberately make it subjective

12.
3min overview of Summer 1917

13. What happened in the summer of 1917? (July Days & Kornilov affair)
Read through Chapter 10 (p60-62) & Chapter 11 (p63- 66) of Murphy and create a line graph of highs and lows for Lenin and the Bolsheviks. Make sure you explain what happened in each month specifically. Create notes on post its to add more detail. Use Lynch as well if you want more detail
Things going great for Bolsheviks/ Lenin
CHALLENGE –
Can you draw links between any events?
Can you pick out turning points for Lenin?
Extension: Create a new graph on the highs and lows of the PG
See file for paper copy of July – Oct timeline1917 – Put on to A3
Things going badly for Bolsheviks/ Lenin
Put the dates along the bottom, starting April 3rd 1917

14.  Your task
Study the 2 events, the July Days & the Kornilov Revolt on p Note down the positive & negative effects of these events on the Bolshevik Party.
 Who came out worse – the PG or the Bolsheviks?
General Kornilov

15. July Days
Military failures – failure of June Offensive, desertions, declining morale
Political opposition – formation of Provisional Revolutionary Committee
Demonstrations – outside Mariinksy Palace & Tauride Palace – 50,000 people
Military support – several regiments joined protestors

16. Failure of the July Days
Arrests – 500 Bolsheviks arrested
Lack of leadership – Lenin fled to Finland; humiliation – Lenin forced to disguise himself
Opposition to Bolsheviks – failed uprising united PG & Soviets against Bolsheviks
Acceptance of defeat – Lenin writes ‘The State & Revolution’ accepting difficulty of revolution in Russia

17. Kornilov Revolt
Rearmament – Bolshevik leaders given guns to defend Petrograd
Bolsheviks prisoners released
Support for Bolsheviks increased – seen as defenders of Petrograd
Support for PG decreased – seen as weak

18. How far was the Kornilov affair the main reason for the failure of the PG in 1917? Re-write the following paragraph adding specific additional details:
General Kornilov’s coup weakened the Provisional Government to a large extent. His decision helped Lenin and the Bolsheviks. The Provisional Government’s Prime Minister did not make wise choices when he discovered that Kornilov was marching on Petrograd. Furthermore, the coup affected the popularity of the government and the Bolsheviks. In this way, Kornilov’s coup was an extremely important factor in explaining the failure of the Provisional Government because it both weakened the government and helped the opposition
From my revision notes p37 Study history word document table available?

19.  Homework Extension. Create a profile on Lenin (Use Culpin p84 - 85.
Include sections on the following:
Family Background and Early life
Life in exile 1895 – 1917
Beliefs
Mistakes
Lenin’s character
Find a quote about him from a historian
A quote from Lenin
Culpin p84

20. Orlando Figes (above) thought the July Days was nothing more than a ‘mood’ and lacked leadership and direction. Imagine you are going to interview this historian, draw up a list of questions you would like to ask about his work on the July Days.

21. July Days Posters Complete the task – Murphy p66
Produce 2 propaganda posters, one in support of the July Days and the Bolsheviks, the other against the July Days. You might consider using some of these ideas:
Support the new PG
End the War
Incompetence of the PG
All power to the Soviets
Lenin, a German spy
Defend Mother Russia against enemies.