How Far Did Kerensky's Government Make A Mistake?

In conclusion to the fall of the Romanov dynasty, it is shown that Nicholas had the biggest impact of Russia becoming a communist country as he did not have a greater understanding on the way to run his country, he also didn’t take full responsibility for his people and the soldiers in WW1,

With the October revolution in 1917, Lenin managed to execute a successful coup d’état against the provisional government of Russia and with the death of the constituent assembly early 1918; Lenin and his Bolsheviks had finally control over Russia. However this was just the beginning of various problems he would be facing. This raised the debate on whether Lenin could deal with these problems or not. Many of the quarrels originated from the Tsar’s regime and the provisional government such as Russia’s participation in WW1 as well as economic underdevelopment. Immediate problems such as the raging civil war existed as

– a point I will go onto in my next paragraph) means Kerensky has to

From the initial seizure of power in 1917 until 1924, the Bolsheviks were confronted with a series of crises that threatened their ability to control and govern in Russia. The response and resolutions to these crises included Initial Reforms, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Civil War, Red terror, War Communism and the NEP. Under the leadership of Lenin, the execution of these responses were made possible and the Bolsheviks were able to maintain and expand their power. The Civil War however was the direct consequence of the Bolshevik’s actions as they tried to maintain their grasp on power. The victory in the Civil War was extremely pivotal for the Bolshevik consolidation of power as it brought control and power but more importantly it eliminated

The Prime minister, Lvov, was a wealthy landowner, who favored an immediate constitutional monarchy and ultimately a republic. Lvov was the outstanding personality in the Provisional Government. The most famous of the moderate socialists was Aleksndr Kerensky, the minister of justice. The collapse of the tsarist regime thus left in its wake two centers of political authority: (1) the traditional politicians of the Provisional Government, who had little control over the people, and (2) the democratically elected soviets, which exercised more political power owing to support from the great majority of workers and soldiers. This system of dual power proved to be unstable.

tried to create a western style society. Nevertheless, this government led by Alexander Kerensky lasted for only seven months, by which at the end Lenin and the communist Bolsheviks seized power over Russia. When the peasants claimed land from the government the government refused which made the Bolsheviks extremely mad making them riot against the government. The Provisional Government lost to the

Throughout the period 1855 to 1954, opposition to Russian governments was a common occurrence due to dissatisfaction of many civilians’ lives and the lack of development seen throughout Russia. However, as much as there were some successful movements throughout 1905 such as the Bolsheviks gaining support and eventually gaining power, there were also several failed attempts due to intense use of violence, terror and censorship by the state. It is arguable that whether opposition was successful, merely came down to the strength of the opposition group or the weakness of the government in power.

The Bolshevik revolution came to prominence because of the Provisional Government’s inability to gain support from the Russian population. ‘The government enjoyed little confidence amongst the masses; and many of its members were largely unknown to the new Russia that had burst upon the political scene.’[3 ] Kerensky himself comments on the problematic circumstances his government experienced, ‘the old (governmental machine) had disappeared; the new was not yet established.’ The support of the peasantry was critical in establishing popular rule, as historian Richard Abraham comments, ‘the largest social class in Russia was still the peasantry.

These were called liberals or ‘Cadets.’ The two other groups were more passionately opposed to the Tsar and believed revolution was the key to Russia’s problems. The Socialist Revolutionaries were a radical movement that believed violence was the only way to revolution, and support for them was wide spread. Their aims were to divide the huge estates from the nobility and hand them over to the peasants.

Richard Pipes gives a detailed account of the events that led up to the July event and the Bolsheviks’ preparedness. The Bolsheviks were opportunists and used propaganda to influence and agitate, gives credit to their political strategy. The Bolsheviks saw an opportunity and used it. They also understood that their timing had to be flawless. They did not want to quell the frenzy they had created among the mutineers; however, a premature large-scale uprising would give the Provisional Government an excuse to crush them. Although the July event was a setback for the Bolsheviks, it did create a growing dissatisfaction among the soldiers. Many had no more will to fight, and lost their faith in the government. This would prove crucial when Kerensky would, with failed attempts, call on them to defend the Winter Palace against insurgents in the October Revolution.

At the start of the 20th century, the ruling Tsar of Russia had absolute power and his Government was corrupt, hence, the majority of the people were against him. Vladimir Ilich Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks Socialist Party wanted a revolution to overthrow the Government. Relative to these times, it was Lenin who directed the course of the oncoming Russian October Revolution.

After Tsar Nikolas II was overthrown during the March of 1917 (After what is known as the February Revolution), the Romanov dynasty that had been in place since 1613 crumbled. After Tsar Nikolas was overthrown, his heir (His brother Michael) refused the throne and the Provisional Government took over. Said Government enacted more liberal laws and created a militia. The Provisional Government was dissolved on October 7th, 1917 by the Bolshevik revolution. The Bolsheviks signed the Brest-Litovsk treaty that abdicated some of Russia's territory to Germany, including Ukraine, Georgia, and Finland. After the treaty the Bolsheviks became the Communist Party. The July after there were some anti-communist revolts, which culminated with executions and many arrests after Lenin was almost assassinated and the last anti-communist forces left Russia in 1920. The whole ordeal became known as the Red Terror.

The Russian Civil War raged from 1918 until the start of 1921. During this time the Bolsheviks faced massive opposition to their rule in the form of the White Armies, led by the former officers of the Tsarist state, and also from intervention by the forces of foreign countries. The Bolsheviks were surrounded, and often outnumbered by their opponents. At times, their situation seemed hopeless. Yet, by the start of 1921, the Bolsheviks had defeated their enemies and gained a complete victory. This victory can be attributed to the party’s aims, leadership, geography, and support.

Therefore, morale in Russia was not a reason why there was an outbreak of revolution in 1917. Nevertheless, the few military successes could not make up for the shocking casualty list revealed later on in wartime. Also, when the economic and military problems arose they could have been tolerable for the general public if they were encouraged by the people at the top such as the Tsar but no leadership was shown. Though this was a problem in Russia the morale in Russia was not too bad although people did begin to focus more on taking care of themselves because of the effects of the war on everyday life. On the other hand, the fact that central leadership was not being provided to the Russian public, criticisms began to be pointed directly at the Tsar. Nicholas failed in being commander-in-chief of the Russian armed services. He did not encourage war effort and did not prove to be the appropriate representative for the Russian people. In addition, the fact that he took on this important role meant that he was responsible for the wars consequences and the survival of Tsardom depended on military success. Due to the lack of success, Nicholas II was blamed and not his generals. This was a reason for the revolution in February 1917 to happen as it appeared to the citizens of Russia that they did not have a strong leader, also the tsarist system’s claim to the loyalty of the Russian people had been forfeited thus

Although, we must remember, that Lenin had incorrectly pushed for an unsuccessful revolution in July. Lenin is famed to have said, 'History will not forgive us if we do not assume power,' Lenin chose, successfully, when to seize power. The Weaknesses of the Provisional Government were as much, if not more to blame than the successes of the Bolsheviks for the Socialist Revolution. The Provisional Government was delicate by its very nature, it was not democratically elected, it was illegitimate, and had no mandate to rule.