4- The Dual Authority and Continued Dissent Flashcards
(34 cards)
What were the 2 characterists that weakened the Provisional Government from the beginning?
1- They were not an elected body having come into being as a rebellious committee of the old duma. Therefore, they lacked legitimate authority had no claim on the loyalty of the Russian people. Lacking this it would be judged entirely on how well it dealt with the nations problems
2. Their authority was limited by the unofficial partnership with the Petrograd Soviet
Who was Prince Lvov?
Prince Lvov was the president of the Duma from March 2nd to July 7th 1917
Give evidence that the Petrograd Soviets actions restricted the power of the Prov Gov
‘Order Number 1’ - in military matters, orders of the Provisional Government were to be obeyed ‘only when they do not contradict the orders and decrees of the soviet (orders of the Petrograd soviet were of higher importance than Prov Gov essentially)
What different views did Stalin/Kamenev and Lenin have upon returning to Petrograd?
- Stalin/Kamenev - would co-operate with the Prov Gov and the other revolutionary and reformist parties
- Lenin (returning after Stalin and Kamenev on April 3rd) - Believed that Prov Gov were just a ‘parliamentary-bourgeois republic’ replacing the Tsar. He condemned the Prov Gov and called for its overthrow in a genuine revolution
How did Lenin get back to Russia?
Germany sent Lenin to Petrograd in a sealed train, in the hope that his revolutionary aims would withdraw Russian armies from the war
What did Lenin state in his April theses?
1- Abandon co-operaion wih all oher parties
2- Work for a true revolution entirely by their own efforts
3- Overthrow the reactionary Prov Gov
4- Struggly, not to extend freedom to all classes but to transfer power to the workers
5- Demand that authority pass to the Soviets
What 2 phrases sums up Lenin’s argument in the April Theses?
1- ‘Peace, Bread and Land’
2- ‘All Power to the Soviets’
Why were the soviets important to Lenin?
Even though Lenin rejected much of what Soviets had done before his arrival in April, he still saw them as a power base.
- The Petrograd Soviet offered Lenin’s small Bolshevik Party (of 200,000 in July 1917 out of a population of 160-20 million) the means by which it could obtain power in the name of the proletariat. By infiltrating and dominating soviets, the Bolshevik Party would be in a position to take over the state
Why did Lenin not want to work with the Provisional Government?
He asserted that the Provisional Government governed only in the interests of their own class as they had no wish to end the war (which brought them profits), or supply food to the Russian people (whom they despised) or reform the land-holding system (which guaranteed their property rights and privileges)
The Provisional Government’s failure to deal with the 3 principal issues led to its …………….
eventual downfall
Why did the Provisional Government keep Russia in the war?
Unless it did so, it would no longer receive the supplies and war-credits (money) from the Western-allies. These were important as Tsardom had left Russia virtually bankrupt
Why was keeping Russia in the war a problem?
It occasioned resentment from the Russian People as the war meant ‘requisitioning’, ‘food shortages’, ‘low morale’ etc
What was the June Offensive and was it successful?
The June offensive was a major offensive launches on the south-western front by the minister for war, Kerensky. It failed badly
How did the June Offensive affect later events?
The June Offensive led to Kornilov suggesting that the offensive should be halted and that the Prov Gov should focus on ‘crushing the Bolsheviks’. Hence, Kerensky made Kornilov commander-in-chief (leads to Kornilov affair)
Give evidence that the Prov Gov were no longer in full control of events by the summer of 1917.
- The establishment of soviets throughout Russia
- Worker control of factories
- Widespread seizure of land by the peasants
- The creation of breakaway national minority governments - most notably in Ukraine
What were the July Days?
They were large-scale demonstrations against the Provisional Government, during the first week of July
What made the July Days so threatening?
The atmosphere created by the news of the June Offensive failure and the governments already mounting problems (e.g. inflation, food and suppy shortages e.t.c)
How did the Provisional Government easily put down the uprisings, during the July Days?
In the course of 3 days, the demonstrators fell out among themselves, whilst leading soviets did not make a strong enough bid for power.
- This disunity made it easy for the Prov Gov to crush the rising by sending loyal troops to restore order
Why did people think the Bolsheviks would take over government during the July Days?
because at the First All Russian Congress of Soviets, Lenin declared that the Bolshevik party were ready to take power
How did Trotsky try to absolve them from the blame of having started a rising that failed?
He referred to the July Days as a ‘semi-insurrection’ that was not started by the Bolsheviks
What were the consequences of the July Days uprisings?
1- Revealed that the Bolsheviks were still far from being the dominant revolutionary party and that the Prov Gov still had sufficient strength to put down an armed insurrection
2- Brought credit to Kerensky as war minister, so that he was appointed Prime Minister 2 days after
3- Prime Minister, Kerensky, shuts down Pravda and arrests many Bolshevik leaders e.g. Trotsky and Kamenev. Also published propoganda against Bolsheviks
4- Lenin fled to Finland to escape persecution
5- Bolshevik party were broken as a political force
What critical misjudgements made by the Prov Gov enabled the Bolshevik Party to survive?
Critical misjudgements over the land question and the Kornilov affair
What did the peasants believe would happen after the February Revolution, regarding the land question?
The peasants believed they would soon benefit from a major land redistribution, which the government would introduce after taking over the landowners’ estates
How did the Provisional Government respond ot the land question?
The government had no real answer to the land problem but they did set up a land commission with the supposed ‘aim’ of redistributing land (this was merely a gesture)
