provisional government depth study Flashcards
(45 cards)
1
Q
what were the petrograd demonstrations?
A
- january = strikes commemorate anniversary of bloody sunday and further about food shortages
- february 14th = more strikes about food shortages and poor working conditions
- even state duma complained about foos shortages (government made it worse by announcing rationing bread = panic buying = shortage)
- february 23rd = women marched streets for international women’s day and putoliv strikes = 100,000 on streets
- february 24th = soviets joined marches and strikes about food chortages, reationing and demanding 8 hour work day (200,000 people)
2
Q
what was the government’s reaction to the petrograd demonstrations?
A
february 25th -government police arrested many demonstrators, newspapers were shut and much public transport
3
Q
what problems did the armed forces and duma create for the tsar?
A
- cossack troops refused to fire on demonstrators, pavlosky lifeguards refused to obey orders, the volinsky regiment mutinied and joined rebels
- state duma was told to disband so they created a 12 man committee to take over running the country
-28th february = tsar had lost control over workers, armed forces and duma - march 1st = petrograd soviet made and they announced order number one
4
Q
what was order number one?
A
- soviets gained control over the armed forces
- demanded superiority of soviet over other powers
- officers should be elected by their men
5
Q
why did the tsar abdicate?
A
- nicholas tried to return to petrograd in february 28th = train stopped by anti-government protesters
- members of state duma convinced him of need to abdicate to bring stability and peace
- nicholas nominated brother, grand duke michael to take throne but he refused
6
Q
who was in the provisional government when it was first formed?
A
- members of state duma
- prince lvov was prime minister
7
Q
what were the early reforms made by the provisional government?
A
- freedom of press, religion, speech, no censorship etc
- abolition of the okhrana
- right to trial by jury
- release of political prisoners
- preparations for the constituent assembly with free elections
8
Q
what was the problem with the provisional government’s early reforms?
A
released potential threats through release of political prisoners and relaxation of censorship
9
Q
what were the 2 main problems against the formation of the provisional government?
A
- problem of legitimacy (members had been part of the state duma, so they had connections with the old order and had not been elected)
- dominated by octobrists and kadets (minority and centrist groups = not reflective of more radical parties)
10
Q
what was the petrograd soviet?
A
- developed from numerous workers, soldiers and sailors in february
- by june = developed further into all russian soviet and also declared right to make laws (e.g. order number one)
11
Q
what was created when the petrograd soviet and the provisional governmentshared political power?
A
dual authority (march-october)
12
Q
what were the differences between the two parties of the dual authority?
A
provisional government still mainly liberal but petrograd soviet became increasingly left-wing and radical (i.e. by october, the leading social democrat group in soviet was the bolsheviks)
13
Q
what did order number one do to power within the dual authority?
A
tipped the balance of power towards the petrograd soviet (as their orders would triumph if there was a conflict with the provisional government)
14
Q
what was the problem with war under the provisional government?
A
- by march = loss of territory in poland and west russia, millions killed, low morale and mutiny by soldiers and sailors
- felt compelled to continue fighting (allies with britain and france and owed these countries money from loans = fear loans would stop)
- some improvements in morale first few months after feb revolution (fighting for democracy, not tsar) but declined as more people died
15
Q
what were the opinions of the provisional government and the petrograd soviet on the war?
A
- petrograd soviet = only agreed to continue only to stop germany gaining more land but not without more conquest and land
- provisional government = aimed to take more land for ottoman empire and pledged to continue fighting on same terms as before
16
Q
what happened in april 1917, linked to war?
A
- war demonstrations against continuation of war
- foreign minister miliyukov resigned
- so did war minister ghukov in may
17
Q
what did the june offensive do?
A
- intended to be a large push against austo-hungarian army = gain land for russia
- but, after a couple days = clear german and austro-hungarian armies were winning
- desertions and looting from russian soldiers
18
Q
what did the june offensive highlight?
A
the collapse of the russian army = demonstrations in petrograd (july days) over authority and poor performance of provisional government
19
Q
what were the problems with countryside and peasants under the provisional government?
A
- peasants began seizing land off land owners (often including violence)
20
Q
what were lenin’s ideas when he returned?
A
- believed in karl marx’s ideas of development (would evolve into socialist then finally communist society, where everyone was equal)
- realised russia was behind (still heavily agricultural with little industry)
- believed he could create a small “vanguard” party to lead workers through
21
Q
what book did lenin write and when was it published?
A
what is to be done? in 1902
22
Q
what were the consequences of lenin’s ideas and his book?
A
caused a split in the social democratic party in 1903, with bolsheviks aiming to be vanguard
23
Q
when was the april thesis?
A
april 3rd 1917
24
Q
what were the key ideas in the april thesis?
A
- argued february revolution could be immediately followed by socialist revolution
- war = imperialist and should end immediately
- no support for the provisional government and power should be with the proletariats and peasants through a socialist government
- abolition of police, army and bureaucracy
- confiscation of land from land owners and aristocracy etc
25
other then the april thesis, how did lenin try to win support?
- had many speeches, publications, membership drives etc
- promoted importance of the soviets (popular with workers = gain influence)
- promoted bolsheviks as being able to create international socialism worldwide
- 21st april = arranged for factory workers to demonstrate on streets, but not many joined and police dispersed them
- 9th june - failed to get support from petrograd soviet to demonstrate over failure of june offensive
26
what was lenin successful in doing for the bolsheviks?
increasing support and membership, with many within the petrograd soviet also became bolsheviks
27
what were the slogans lenin came up with?
- "all power to the soviets" = capitalised on people's concern that the provisional government was made up of middle classes and landowners = out of touch with workers
- "peace, bread, land" = appealed to main desires of russians (stop fighting in war, redistribute land for peasants, to end food shortages)
28
what were the key events during the july days?
- 2nd july = troops leaving for front turned into anti-government rally, demanding power should be given to the soviets
- troops set up provisional revolutionary committee (campaign against prov gov)
- 3rd july = thousands of workers and soldiers demonstrated outside mariinsky place (headquarters of prov gov) and tauride palace (petrograd soviet headquaters)
- 4th july = more factory workers under bolshevik order continued demonstrations outside of tauride palace. no order came from bolshevik leadership and prov gov arranged for troops to deal with demonstrations = bolsheviks called off demonstrations
- 6th july = troops arrested 500 bolsheviks and lenin fled to finland. kerensky = prime minister
29
why did the july days fail?
demonstrators were without leadership and direction and therefore failed to have an impact
30
how did the july days impact relations between the provisional government and petrograd soviet?
3rd july = united prov gov and petrograd soviet as they met to discuss ideas to bring order
31
what did kerensky becoming prime minister after the july days offer?
appeared to offer stronger and more popular support for prov gov at the time
32
how did the july days damage the bolsheviks?
- demonstrators had failed due to lack of clear leadership and instructions from bolshevik leaders
- united the petrograd soviets and prov gov, appearing in greater control
- lenin = accused of being a german spy (germany's assistance in his journey to russia and supplied of weapons)
- lenin in exile and leaders of bolsheviks imprisoned = looked like revolution wouldn't occur
33
what were the problems for the provisional government in august?
- peasants were continuing to seize land
- soldiers were deserting
- industry was declining further
- germany and austria-hungary had taken city of riga
34
who was kornilov and what was the kornilov affair?
- commander in chief of the army in july
- feared another attempt at a left wing takeover
- ordered troops into petrograd
- put tighter restrictions on workers
35
what was the outcome of the kornilov affair?
- kerensky feared kornilov was attempting a military takeover
- ordered his arrest
- kerensky armed workers (many of these were bolsheviks) in order to defeat kornilov and troops
36
why did the outcome of the kornilov affair help the bolsheviks?
- kerensky and prov gov looked weak (needed support to deal with situation and appointment of kornilov looked like a misjudgment
- kerensky's reliance on bolsheviks = appear more respectable and as defenders of petrograd = helped increase membership
- september = 200,000 members
- produced 41 newspapers across russia and continued with slogans
- created an elite force of 10,000 red guards from factory workers
37
what were seats like for the petrograd sovietby the end of september?
- bolsheviks had majority of seats in petrograd soviet
- provisional government was becoming more unpopular
- petrograd soviet still remained popular with workers
38
when did lenin return to petrograd and what did he do?
- 10th october
- met the central committee of the bolshevik party
- convinced them that an armed takeover of power was necessary at the end of october
- kamenev and zinoviev opposed = thought they should wait longer
39
why was the military revolutionary committee (mrc) established?
- due to fear of german attack on city
- by october = chaired by trotsky and majority of members were bolsheviks
- he used mrc to organise and carry out takeover
40
what caused the seizure of power by the bolsheviks and mrc?
- 24th october
- prov gov started to close down bolshevik newspapers in petrograd
- lenin feared prov gov were finally starting to shut down bolsheviks and realised they must act immediately to gain power
41
what occured when the mrc and soviets seized power?
- 24th = mrc units and red guards units, led by trotsky, took over key locations and communications (telephone exchanged, railway stations, banks, bridges etc)
- 24th/25th = mrc and red guards "stormed the winter palace" and arrested prov gov members (kerensky fled)
- 26th = meeting of all russian congress of soviets = lenin declared prov gov had been overthrown. those on left and bolsheviks supported lenin and voted for new socialist government (moderates didn't and walked out in protest) = full bolshevik control
- new government = sovnarkom (cabinet) created and completely made up of bolshevik members
42
what are some reasons why the provisional government was doomed to fail from the start?
- illegitimate start = unelected, members from old duma and included those from nobility)
- had to share power with petrograd soviet (more popular with workers, soldiers and sailors) and they disagreed on issues (i.e. war)
- reforms brought in by prov gov increased and allowed opposition
- felt unable to solve "land issue" (not elected government = dissatisfaction and loss of control
- continuation of war
43
what are some reasons why the provisional government was not doomed to fail from the start?
- succeeded in its main aim for preparing for elections for constituent assembly (occured in november but bolsheviks diddn't win = lenin overturned results)
- reforms were popular
- generally popular at start (liberal minded and milyukov and guchkov were well known and popular
- kornilov affair legitimised and brought popularity to bolsheviks. before there was no real threat to prov gov
44
what role did lenin play in the bolsheviks being able to overthrow the provisional government?
- return in april was a turning point = claimed and persuaded his party they needed to be overthrown and couldn't be worked with
- clear messages and propaganda increased support and membership by appealing to the fears of russians
- kornilov affairs = bolsheviks appeared as defenders and were now armed with weapons
- trotsky's planning and use of mrc (support of military units with weapons and link with petrograd soviet gave it more acceptability) = strategic takeover of transport and communications
45
what role did the failure of the provisional government play in the bolsheviks being able to overthrow the provisional government?
- misjudgment of kornilov affair = weakened their position and gave strength to opposition
- failure to tackle main concerns (war, land, food and industry shortage etc. delays in arranging a constituent assembly = no legitimate government was able to govern and make necessary reforms)
- underestimation and poor judgment to deal with opposition (july days protests, slow to realise the plotting of bolsheviks in october until too late)
