Packed with lots of facts and reliable sources, this study guide is a easy-to-read summary of the Ben Walsh GCSE history book chapter 8B.
This document contains how the Bolsheviks gain and hold on to powe including the fall of the provisional government, Lenin and the rise of the Bolsheviks, the...
Dual power: Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet
Provisional Government:
After the abdication of the Tsar, the Duma committee set up the Provisional
government. It was made up of many different political parties to show that the
different groups of Russia were being fairly represented.
Petrograd Soviet
However many Russians, especially industrial workers and many in the army and navy,
didn’t accept the Provisional Government as their new government. Instead, they
regarded the Petrograd Soviet as the body which represented them.
Dual Power
So they agreed to ‘dual power’, where there were two possible bodies who could claim
to run the government.
The Provisional Government
Provisional government was dominated by middle-class liberals, mainly Kadets. They
told the allies that they would continue to fight in the war. It also urged peasants to
be restrained and wait for elections before taking land. The plan was to hold free
elections to elect a new Constituent Assembly that would carry out such major
change. A very cautious message for people who had just gone through a revolution.
The Petrograd Soviet
Hold the real power. Had support of key workers like railwaymen and crucially;
soldiers. Could control the city and undermine anything the provisional government
tried to do.
Members were more radical than the Provisional Government. However it was
dominated by socialust revolutionaries who supported the idea of a Constituent
Assembly.
The Soviet had a small number of Bolshevik members but they were outnumbered by
Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries who took a more cautious approach. Soviet
decided to work with the provisional government in spring/ summer 1917 but this was
likely to change.
, Lenin and the rise of the Bolsheviks
Despite this cooperation one man was determined to push the revolution further. He
was Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks (see page 213). When he heard of the March
revolution he immediately returned to Russia from exile in Europe. The Germans even
provided him with a special train, hoping that he might cause more chaos in Russia!
When Lenin arrived at Petrograd station, he set out the Bolshevik programme in his
April Theses. In ten key points, he set out the main points of the Bolshevik position.
He condemned Russia's involvement in the war. He urged the people to support the
Bolsheviks in a second revolution. He condemned the Provisional Government. He
called for land to be given to the peasants and for the banks to be taken into
state control. Lenin's slogans 'Peace, Land and Bread' and 'All power to the soviets'
contrasted sharply with the cautious message of the Provisional Government. Support
for the Bolsheviks increased quickly (see Source 3 and Figure 4), particularly in the
soviets and in the army. By October party membership was around 500,000 and
the Bolsheviks had a majority in the Petrograd Soviet and the Moscow Soviet and
in the All-Russia Congress of Soviets (a sort of parliament where representatives of
the different Soviets met).
The provisional government collapses
In the second half of 1917, the Provisional Government's authority steadily collapsed.
➢ The war effort was failing. Soldiers had been deserting in thousands from
the army. Kerensky became minister for war and rallied the army for a great
offensive in June. It was a disaster. The army began to fall apart in the
face of a German counter-attack (see Source 6). The deserters decided to
come home.
➢ Desertions were made worse because another element of the Provisional
Government's policy had failed. The peasants ignored the orders of the
Government to wait. They were simply taking control of the countryside. The
soldiers, who were mostly peasants, did not want to miss their turn when
the land was shared out.
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