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Russia Chapter 4
From February to October 1917. OCR A Level History, Russia 1894-1941
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Weaknesses of the Provisional Government | Led by Prince Lvov, however it was really just the old Duma. Criticised for not being appointed or elected, so had no constitutional claim of loyalty from the Russia people. Its authority was limited by the Petrograd Soviet. |
| Role of the Petrograd Soviet | Initially intended to be supervisory and support workers' interests in the government. The PG was often weak, allowing soviets to seize more power, although the Bolsheviks did not control the soviets, so they did not outright oppose the PG. |
| Example of leadership similarities in the PG and Soviet | Kerensky was vice chairman of the Petrograd Soviet and a minister in the PG for a while. |
| Soviet Order Number 1 | Declared that military orders from the PG would only be obeyed when they did not contradict the orders of the soviet. Made it clear that the PG did not have power over the military, so had to compromise with the soviet. |
| Early political cooperation under the Dual Authority | People were willing to work with the new government to prevent anarchy, so moderates were common in the PG and Soviet. All parties apart from the Bolsheviks and monarchists were present in the PG in its early weeks. |
| Gradual split in the Dual Authority | The PG began to move to the Right and the Soviet to the Left. Early on, the Bolsheviks were too weak to make demands, and the SRs and Mensheviks did not push for too much - they worked with landowners and aristocrats to have effective administration. |
| Early achievements of the Dual Authority | Amnesty for political prisoners, recognition of trade unions, an 8-hour work day, replacement of the police, full civil and religious freedoms and preparations for an election of a constituent assembly. |
| Stalin and Kamenev's return | Following the tsar's abdication, the pair returned from Siberia to lead the Petrograd Soviet. They initially ignored Lenin's letters by arguing for cooperation with the PG and to push for peace talks, while working with other parties to ensure stability. |
| Lenin's return | Lenin returned in April with funding from the German Foreign Office, leading to spying accusations. Lenin broke apart the Dual Authority by declaring that a parliamentary-bourgeois republic had formed, and called for an overthrow of the PG. |
| April Theses | Lenin insisted that the Bolsheviks abandon co-operation, overthrow the PG and demand that authority transfer to the soviets. Lenin wanted power to the proletariat. His phrases were 'peace, bread and land' and 'all power to the soviets'. |
| Issue of the war | Russia was reliant on war credits from allies, so had to keep fighting the war. This placed an unsustainable strain on the PG. |
| The March ministerial crisis | On March 14, the Soviet issued an address calling for 'peace without annexations or indemnities'. The PG said it accepted this, but then appointed Milyukov, who pledged war support to the allies |
| Reaction to Milyukov's appointment | Protests erupted and Milyukov and the war minister resigned. Kerensky became war minister and roles were given to Mensheviks and SRs in the PG. Socialists joined the PG and sided with the Kadets, to Lenin's anger. |
| The Kerensky Offensive | Kerensky campaigned for Russia to embrace war to save the revolution, making visits to the front and encouraging soldiers, although Russia was already beyond winning. An offensive was launched with heavy losses, and the Bolsheviks encouraged desertion. |
| Kerensky's takeover | After the failed offensive, General Kornilov called for the PG to direct its forces in suppressing SDs and SRs at home. On July 8, Lvov stood down as head of the PG, and Kerensky became Prime Minister, with Kornilov as Chief of the Staff. |
| Kronstadt | Sailors and workers on the island (15 miles from Petrograd) set up a separate government, giving the idea to revolutionaries that they could overthrow the PG. |
| Reason for the July Days | A breakaway government began to form in Ukraine with a PG minister's support. This led to huge protests, as Ukraine was an essential food source. Lenin had intended for the Soviet to take power, and had the support of non-Bolshevik revolutionaries. |
| The July Days | 3 days of protests occurred, but protestors were disunited and the Soviet never made a real bid for power. Government troops were taken from the frontline to restore order. |
| Outcome of the July Days | Trotsky blamed the failure on the Mensheviks and SRs. After the uprising, Kerensky became Prime Minister and arrested many Bolsheviks, so Lenin fled to Finland. The Bolsheviks had effectively been broken as a political force. |
| The PG and the land question | Peasant unrest was based around land, as they were worried it would be taken away. The PG cared little, as many of its ministers were landowners, which supported Lenin's April Theses that said a bourgeois regime had taken power. |
| The Bolsheviks and the land question | The Bolsheviks were a party of workers, so saw the peasants as useless and unrevolutionary, however Lenin utilised them by saying they could join the proletarian cause. 'Land to the peasants' became a policy, with the Bolsheviks recognising land seizures. |
| The Kornilov affair - Kornilov's action | Kornilov was Chief of the Staff and did not accept the February revolution. He saw Germany as an serious threat and wanted to defeat the Bolsheviks as they were 'German spies'. He told Kerensky he would bring his loyal troops to Petrograd to save the PG. |
| The Kornilov affair - Kerensky's realisation | It is unclear if Kerensky initially plotted with Kornilov, but he certainly didn't when he realised Kornilov intended to overthrow the PG. |
| The Kornilov affair - Kerensky's response | Martial law was declared and he gave weapons to citizens, including Bolsheviks who he released from prison. Kornilov's advance ended in September after railway workers refused to support him, and he was arrested. |
| The Kornilov affair - benefits for the Bolsheviks | The Bolsheviks were now freed and armed, and could portray themselves as defenders of Petrograd. This took attention away from the July days, while the people of Petrograd saw the weakness of the PG. |
| The political shift in Petrograd | By mid-September, the Bolsheviks had a majority in the Petrograd and Moscow soviets due to disinterest from other parties. The Petrograd Soviet began to want a greater say in the government, and Lenin declared 'either a soviet government or Kornilovism'. |
| Lenin's strategy | Lenin began to prepare the party for revolution, which had to come before he meetings of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets and the Constituent Assembly. Taking power in the name of the soviets before the congress would force them to accept. |
| The pre-parliament | To counter Lenin, Kerensky ordered the creation of an advisory 'pre-parliament', which would fill time until the Constituent Assembly formed. Lenin condemned it and Bolshevik members mocked it loudly as they walked out. |
| Lenin building support for the rising | Lenin urged for an overthrow, but many Bolsheviks and the Central Committee objected. To galvanise support, Lenin entered Petrograd on 7 October to convince the CC to back an uprising. The CC pledged to armed insurrection on 10 October. |
| The October Revolution - Kerensky's first move | Many believed that the Bolsheviks had set a date for the uprising. Kerensky responded pre-emptively on October 23 by shutting down the Bolshevik newspapers and rounding up leading members. |
| The October Revolution - Trotsky's role | Trotsky organised the formation of the Military Revolutionary Committee after becoming head of the Petrograd Soviet, and used it to control Petrograd. Trotsky then drafted plans to overthrow the PG and use the Red guards to seize key vantage points. |
| The October Revolution - Collapse of the Provisional Government | Because of desertions, the PG had little more than a few cadets and Cossacks to defend itself. The Red Guards entered through the back and the defenders left without resistance. Kerensky and the PG fled, and the Red guard controlled the Winter Palace. |
| The October Revolution - Just after the Bolsheviks took power | In the early hours of October 27, Lenin slept. That evening, the All Russian Congress of Soviets began session, and Kamenev announced that the Soviets were now the supreme authority in Russia. Lenin became head, and Mensheviks and SRs left in protest. |
| The October Revolution - why was the PG weak? | The PG was unable to fight the war and did not solve any of Russia's problems. It was dependent on foreign loans and was deserted by the military. The PG also had no public mandate, and was meant to just hold on until the Constituent Assembly formed. |
| The October Revolution - why were other parties weak? | Most parties worked with the PG, allowing Lenin to present them as 'selling out' to the bourgeoisie. Parties supported the war, with only the Bolsheviks as the main opposition to it. The Mensheviks believed Russia did not have a large enough proletariat. |
| The October Revolution - the PG's ignorance of the Bolsheviks | The PG saw more of a threat from a tsarist counter-revolution (e.g. Kornilov), so neglected to suppress the Bolsheviks. It has been said that it would only have taken 500 good men to defeat the Bolsheviks. |
| The October Revolution - Lenin's role | Trotsky attributed the revolution's success to Lenin, as he had consistently prepared for it since creating the Bolsheviks. However, the party had been disorganised, and increasing Bolshevik members were not necessarily pro-party, but anti-PG. |
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