AS FP1 : Causes and Course of the October Revolution Flashcards
(11 cards)
Weaknesses of the Provisional Government
What were the main shortcomings of the Provisional Government?
Its scope for action was limited as the real power was held by the soviet. It saw itself as a temporary body that could not make binding decisions for the long-term future of Russia.
Divisions between sovialists and liberals made for a lack of clear policies.
Weaknesses of the Provisional Government
What policies of the Provisional Government were disliked?
- Continuation of the war effort and failure of the June Offensive.
- Failure to legitimise peasant siezure of land.
- Refusal to give national minorities autonomy.
- Failed to address the economic deterioration in Russia and lack of social reform lead to the radicalisation of workers and soldiers.
Weaknesses of the Provisional Government
What were some of the mistakes made by Kerensky?
- He had been discredited by the Kornilov affair
- He was the war minister who had approved the June Offensive.
- He moved against the Bolsheviks by censoring Pravda and Izvestia, he also raised the bridges to the Vyborg district ( A Bolshevik Stronghold but also a predominately working class area) giving the Bolsheviks an excuse to act against him.
Bolshevik Strength
What were some of the strengths of the Bolshevik party?
- They had opposed the provisional government from the start, resulting in opposition to the PG forming around the Bolsheviks.
- Promise of land redistribution brought the peasants on side.
- Radical policies were in tune with the demands of soldiers and workers.
- Used the economic situation to their advantage.
- Were the only party who had opposed the war from the start and so the events of July had increased their popularity.
Course of the Revolution
What happened on the 24th October?
5000 soldiers and sailors moved into Petrograd and took over key government buildings such as the telephone exchange, railway stations, news agency and the state bank.
Course of the Revolution
What happened on the 25th October?
Kerensky left Petrograd in an attempt to rally military support, the winter palace was threatened by artillery and guns from the battleship auroroa while the Second Congress of Soviets convened at 10:40 pm.
Course of the Revolution
What happened on the 26th October?
Congress greeted the announcement of the Winter Palace + remaining PG members were arrested. Lenin’s decree on peace was issued.
Course of the Revolution
What happened on the 27th October?
Lenins’ decree on land was issued ; the “All-Russian Central Executive committee” was elected with 101 members, of which 62 were Bolsheviks and 29 were SRs.
Sovnarkom was created of Strictly Bolsheviks and Lenin was elected chairman.
Course of the Revolution
What policies were put forward on the 27th October?
- Transfer of power to the soviets
- Freeing of Political Prisoners
- Abolition of the death penalty at the front.
Extent of the Revolution
What evidence is there for the October Revolution being a Coup D’État?
It was “relatively a small-scale affair” (R+W), Trotsky claimed that 25,000 to 30,000 at most were involved. This would mean 5% of all the workers and soldiers in the city. There may have been 10,000 to 15,000 in the square in front of the palace, but many would have been just bystanders.
- No more than five deaths.
- Trotsky called it a “series of small operations, calculated and prepared in advance.”
Extent of the Revolution
What is the evidence for the October Revolution being a popular revolution?
The Soviet Historian view is that the working class created the soviets which acted as the power bases through which revolution was accomplished. Shiela Fitzpatrick claims that it was the people who created the circumstances in which the Bolsheviks could operate.
There was independant action in the local levels of the party and in the soviets, increased radicalism of the people cannot be ignored.
