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The Crisis of Dual Authority…The Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet
Abdication of the Tsar and its consequences…• The abdication of the Tsar created a power vacuum. To fill that vacuum,
two new political bodies were formed on 28 February
• Provisional Government: A temporary committee formed during the February revolution, an official authority with formal power inherited after the abdication of the Tsar.
• Petrograd Soviet: A powerful political body formed by Trotsky during the 1905 Revolution, which re-formed on 28 February 1917. It was seen as having genuine power in the eyes of many people.
• Prince Georgy Lvov: During the February Revolution and the abdication of the Tsar, Lvov was made head of the provisional government Unable to rally sufficient support, he resigned in July 1917 in favour of his Minister for Justice Alexander Kerensky
• Alexander Kerensky: part of Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet to unify Russia. Was Prime Minister and leader of the Socialist Revolutionaries.
Phases of dual authority – a revolutionary year• The period from February to October has been described
as a period of dual authority or government
Two phases:
• February to April 1917: The Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet worked together and were supported by the main revolutionary parties, including the Bolsheviks
• April to October 1917: Lenin’s return after 3 April, where
he launched a rivalry campaign separating the Soviet and the Bolshevik Party from the Provisional Government and their supporters
Provisional Government Policies•Full amnesty of political and religious prisoners
•Freedom of speech
•Freedom of the press
•Freedom to strike and assemble in unions
•Abolition of all class, religious and national restrictions
Provisional Government Policies• Preparations to elect a Constituent Assembly to
represent the whole nation so Provisional Government would cease to exist
• Replace the Tsarist police with an elected people’s militia
• Election of local councils
• Military troops who fought on the side of the revolution given roles as permanent defenders of Petrograd
Petrograd Soviet
•28 February: 600 soldiers and workers turned up to Tauride Palace and formed the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies
•Soviet had considerable influence: control of army, railways, communications, employers, employees
•Over 3000 deputies regularly met and debated about progress of revolution
Soviet Order No. 1• Published a day after formation of Petrograd Soviet, read to all companies,
battalions, regiments and sailors
• Called for the following:
-Every military unit must elect representatives to attend Soviet
-All political activity of military units should be ‘subordinated to the Soviet’
-Any military orders given by the Provisional Government ‘shall be executed only in such cases as they do not conflict with the orders of the Soviet’
-All arms must be in control of the company and battalion commanders and in ‘no case be turned over to officers’
-When performing their duties, soldiers must observe strict military discipline
-Replacement of titles of officers from ‘Your Excellency’ and ‘Your Honour’ to ‘Mister General’ and ‘Mister Colonel’
Question time!• Compare the Provisional Government’s policies with Soviet Order No. 1
• Underline and annotate key points made in related to the military, political power, people’s rights
• Place ‘+’ signs next to any points that are similar between the two, that indicate points of agreement or working together of the Soviet and Government
• Place ‘—’ signs next to anything that contradicts something in the other document, that could be used to undermine the power of the government
• Question: Which demands of the Soviet would the Provisional Government have found most threatening? Why?
Problems…•Provisional Government was viewed as not
being representative of the masses as they were not chosen representatives elected by popular vote or mandate. Instead, were privileged members of the Fourth Duma given political control in confusion of Feb Revolution
•They continued fighting the First World War which was unpopular with the Russian population
Problems…• Did not focus on internal problems like food and fuel
shortages, inflation, peasant seizures of land and ministerial instability
• June Offensive: After Russian success on Austrian Line on war front, German reinforcements bombed Russian soldiers with propaganda leaflets and inflicted casualties. Damaged morale.
• Alienation of working-class and upper-class
supporters: Tried to take the middle road and please all segments of the population, but alienated both
Consequences…April Theses:
• When Lenin returned from exile in April he wrote a collection of arguments which became the Bolshevik blueprint for a revolution. It was released on 4 April and called for ‘all power to the Soviets’ because:
• Russian involvement in WW1 was part of an ‘imperialist war’
• The political situation in Russia under the Provisional Government represented the first stage of revolution where power was in the hands of the bourgeoisie and must give way to the second stage where power should be placed in the hands of the proletariat and poor peasantry
• The Provisional Government ‘falsity of promises’ made Lenin declare he was not going to support it
• He urged for a republic of Soviets of Workers, Agricultural Labourers and Peasants’ Deputies to run the country, not a parliamentary republic
• He called for the confiscation of all landed estates and for land to be put in charge of the local Soviets
To work, proletariat! To work!
• Complete the ‘April Theses’ summary table on page 114-115. Summarise in dot points.
• Before you summarise anything, underline and annotate the key claims Lenin makes about the situation in Russia in 1917, circle the key words describing this, asterisk any points he makes about power and question mark anything you don’t understand. Make sure you clarify your questions before writing.
*Hint: you can use this Powerpoint to help you
ConsequencesJuly Days:
• Late June: country collapsed economically and politically
• Between March and July, 568 factories closed down, resulting in dismissal of 140 000 workers
• Street demonstrations became a daily occurrence, but by 3 to 6 July the protests directly challenged the new government
• Demonstrations were disorganised and undisciplined
• Bolsheviks blamed for disturbances
• To avoid accepting blame for a failed uprising, Trotsky argued protests were initiated by SRs and Mensheviks
• Seemed to be a significant victory for the Government, but Bolsheviks survived and learnt from this
Workers of my class, unite!•Refer to p.p116-117 and come up with a
list of lessons that the Bolsheviks learned from the July Days.
•Put this into your ‘revolutionary scrapbooks’ with facts and evidence
ConsequencesKornilov Affair/Revolt :
• In August, General Kornilov was appointed Commander in Chief of the Russian army
• Threatened by the advancing German army, Kornilov warned Kerensky of the urgent need to defend Petrograd
• To restore order, he marched his troops towards the capital
• Fearing a military coup, Kerensky declared Kornilov a traitor and ordered the release of the Bolsheviks from prison
• The Bolsheviks were given weapons
• Trotsky immediately formed, armed and trained the Red Guard from 40 000 radical workers, who were credited with saving Petrograd from a Tsarist general
• Following this, support for the Bolsheviks rapidly grew
Rise of the Bolsheviks • Possible reasons to explain the rise in Bolshevik support:
-Army was demoralised after the June Offensive which multiplied Bolshevik groups in army (from 44 groups in July to 108 by September)
-After Kornilov revolt, reputation of Bolsheviks as defenders of Petrograd grew
-Bolsheviks promoted themselves as true revolutionaries because they didn’t cooperate with the Provisional Government
-Bolsheviks gained a majority in the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets by September
-Trotsky was elected Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet
No striking, yet! This isn’t the July Days!
• Create an annotated timeline summarising the crisis of dual authority, including the following events:
-Formation of the Provisional Government -Re-formation of the Petrograd Soviet-Provisional Government continued fighting the First World War-April Theses-July Days-Kornilov Affair -Growth in political support for the Bolsheviks
Ensure you add detailed information under each event, including specific dates, turning points and some quotes
