Was the Provisional Government doomed from the start?

Question 1

7 points

What are the main points of evidence that the Provisional Government was doomed from the start?

Answer 1

• Lacked legitimcay
• Divided
• Seen as continuation of old order
• Shared power with the Soviet
• War
• Insurmountable problems
• Social revolution occuring outside the PG’s control

Question 2

7 points

What are the main points of evidence that it was mistakes the Provisional Government (and its members) made which led to its downfall?

Answer 2

• Principals were too liberal
• Failed to deal with war or land issues
• Slowness to move towards constituent assembly
• Kadets refused to intervene in running of economy
• Summer offensive a mistake
• Kornilov affair
• Its acceptance early on shows that perhaps it wasn’t doomed

Question 3

3 points

How did the Provisional Government lack legitimacy and how did this mean it was doomed from the start?

Answer 3

• The PG wasn’t elected, an elected Consituent Assemble could have provided Russia with strong leadership.
• The fact that the PG kept delaying elections weakned their position since the people knew they would be replaced once elections occured.
• The delaying of elections made the people think that the members of the PG were just trying to hang on to power.

Question 4

3 points

How was the Provisional Government divided and why did this mean it was doomed from the start?

Answer 4

• Even Kadets within the PG were divided, Milukov on the right, others wanting more reform on the left.
• Socialists were also divided, fought about issues such as the war.
• This internal divide weakned their position, as it led to them delaying decisions.

Question 5

2 points

How come the Provisional Government was seen as a continuation of the old order, and why did this mean it was doomed from the start?

Answer 5

• It’s initial composition was very bourgeois, and there was only one Soveit (Kerensky).
• Led people to believe that it wouldn’t implement a sufficient change to the system, and that Russia needed a new start.

Question 6

Why was sharing power with the Soveit an issue, and why did it mean the Provisional Gover