Land Issues

Question 1

Ku1

Answer 1

Peasants, dissatisfied since the emancipation of serfdom and the unfair land allocation, had
been a source of unrest, contributing to both the 1905 and February 1917 revolutions, hoping
the Provisional Government would address their land grievances.

Question 2

Ku2

Answer 2

Despite high hopes for land reform under Viktor Chernov, the Agriculture Minister from the
SRs, the Provisional Government failed to deliver any meaningful land reforms, with the
Kadets and Octobrists blocking them, arguing that only a legitimately elected government
could make such decisions.

Question 3

Analysis

Answer 3

The peasantry’s loss of support for the
Provisional Government, fueled by their
anger over failed land reform and
subsequent uprisings, meant that the PG
could no longer rely on them to resist the
Bolshevik coup, contributing to the success
of the October Revolution.

Question 4

Analysis plus

Answer 4

Viktor Chernov’s leadership of the SRs in the
November 1917 Constituent Assembly
elections, where the party won nearly 38%
of the vote and became the largest party,
suggests that many peasants continued to
trust the SRs despite their disappointment
with the failure to implement land reforms.