The fall of Provisional Govdue to its own failings Essay PDF

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Essay discussing what lead the provisional government to collapse ...

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Jessica ‘The fall of the provisional government in October 1917 was entirely due to its own failings’ The fall of the Provisional Government in October 1917 was mostly due to its own failings. The Provisional Government, during its time trying to govern Russia, managed to enrage and neglect many groups of individuals ranging from the peasants, to the soldiers and the workers which meant the support system for the government had disintegrated severely. However, the rise in popularity for the Bolsheviks, the devastating mistakes of the Tsar, and the unsuccessful Dual Power, should also be considered to be partial contributors of the downfall of the Provisional Government, as these factors further diminished any support and power that the Government had. The Provisional Government’s own failing lead to their own downfall because by staying in the war and initiating the military operation of the Summer Offensive, they had exceedingly enraged the soldiers who wanted to leave the trenches and leave the imperialist war due to poor organisation and the lack of their basic needs. When the president of the Duma looked deeper into the war effort, he received complaints from the soldiers who were extremely dissatisfied about the poor administration and the lack of basic supplies to survive in the unimaginable living conditions in the trenches. The provisions for dealing with wounded soldiers in the battlefield were abysmal so it was not a huge surprise that the soldiers were aggravated with the continuation of the war, even more so when the Summer Offensive was initiated. This unsuccessful military operation against the Germans was planned by Kerensky, the Minister of War and supported by the Provisional Government. The Provisional Government were under the impression that the victory of the Offensive would rally the Russian people together, but a victory was far from what occurred from the 1 st to 4th of July. When Brusilov commanded the Russian army to attack the Austro-Russian forces, the soldiers refused to leave the trenches and fight causing a massive collapse of the Offensive. Deeply aggravated with the continuation of the war, the Russian army lost their purpose for fighting in the imperialist war, which resulted in the soldiers participating in mass desertion, looting and isolated cases of mutiny, highlighting the lack of faith the soldiers had in the Provisional Government and the success of the Offensive. It is incredibly apparent that the soldiers had lost their flickering sense of patriotism, mainly as a result of the Provisional Government failing to provide the enough arms, food and the basic necessities for the soldiers as they suffered from malnutrition, starvation and battle wounds, fighting a war for the Bourgeoisies who could afford to be patriotic. The magnitude of the Provisional Government’s failure surrounding the War and the Summer Offensive triggered a series of uncontrolled riots across Petrograd on the 3 rd and the 4 th July which was a miniature Revolution, as the soldiers and workers took to the streets voicing their extreme frustrations. The Petrograd Garrisons were beyond outraged as they did not like being in danger of being sent to the Front whilst the soldiers were more and more irate regarding the economic plight of Russia by continuing to be a part of the War. However, if we consider why the Provisional Government and Kerensky were so adamant about remaining in the war, it is interesting to notice that its own failing was not the only reason for the Provisional Governments collapse. It is known that by 1917, Russia was in a massive debt due to its expenses in the war on top of the Tsarist debts, so when Britain and France heavily requested for Russia to attack on the Eastern Front to take the pressure of the West, the Provisional Government had to oblige especially due to the fact that Russia was required to do so according to the Treaty obligations to the Allies. Therefore, it is not accurate to say that the Provisional Government’s downfall was ‘entirely’ due to its own failing because Kerensky was trying to abide by the obligations of the War treaty to the Allies; a war, which the Tsar wanted Russia to be a part of, not the Provisional Government. However, it cannot also be denied that the Provisional

Jessica Government’s own failings caused a great deal of outrage, distrust and resentment from the soldiers and workers as a result of the Summer Offensive and by staying in the war, losing the support from two of the major groups of the Russian population. Moreover, the factor of power over the administrative authority of the country between the Petrograd Soviets and the Provisional Government contributes to its demise because even though both the groups agreed to dual power and a coalition, it became increasingly clear that disaster was inevitable. The Petrograd Soviet consisted of elected soviet deputies from factories and regiments as well as moderate socialists from the Socialist revolutionary part and the Menshevik faction from the Russian Social Democratic Labour party, all representing the queries of the proletariat. In contrast, the Provisional Government chiefly represented the propertied classes who promised that Russia will soon see a new era of bourgeois democracy after the Constituent Assembly had been elected. Thus, the differences between the two opposing groups who were forced to work together in the name of Dual Power, are abundantly apparent as one symbolised liberalism whilst the other was in clear anticipation of the Revolution. The tear in Dual Power began to show when the Petrograd Soviet's "Order No. 1" of March 14 th instructed the soldiers and sailors to only obey their officers and the government if their orders did not contradict the decrees of the Petrograd Soviet. This allowed the Petrograd Soviets to have a large amount of power over the Petrograd Soviets, effectively limiting the Provisional Government's control over the armed forces. This lack of access to the armed forces, due to the Order No. 1, was one of the prime reasons which why the Kornilov Affair caused a huge amount of resentment towards the Petrograd Soviet. Kerensky, the prime minister of the Petrograd Soviet wanted to restore order in the city and required a loyal troop to do so because of the Order No. 1. So, he appointed Kornilov to bring his troops in the city. However, Kerensky soon realised in a state of panic that he had sent troops marching into the city to establish military control and soon denounced Kornilov. Without any means of counterattacking Kornilov and his troops, Kerensky had no choice but to call upon the Soviet and the Bolsheviks to defend Petrograd. Due to the lack of military support of the Provisional Government, a power vacuum was created which allowed the Bolsheviks to regain the trust of the proletariat after their failure during the July days. To the workers of Petrograd, it seemed as if the Provisional Government wanted to enforce counter-revolution by allowing Kornilov to arrive in the city with his troops which caused outrage and fear amongst the workers towards the Provisional Government. This also provided more evidence for the rumours of Kerensky, who intended to abandon Petrograd to the German, inspiring a surge of resentment from the workers who made up most of the population in the city as their work was in danger as well as their livelihood. However, it must also be acknowledged that it was Kerensky who called upon Kornilov and agreed for his troops to march to Petrograd without considering that Kornilov was quickly becoming a part of the middle class. Even if Kerensky had the military power to prevent Kornilov from entering Petrograd it would be widely known that it was the Petrograd Soviet that permitted this invasion to begin with. Nonetheless Trotsky, a leader of the Bolsheviks, would have the excuse to set up the Military Revolutionary Committee in case of any more right winged coups, a military group that proved to be incredibly vital in the October Revolution. Therefore, the unsuccessful results of Dual Power like the Order No. 1 must not be disregarded when evaluating the reasons for the fall of the Provisional Government because it was impossible from the start for two opposing groups with very different members and goals to work harmoniously to please both the proletariat and the propertied class. However, the failure of the Provisional Government was the primary reason for its downfall because Kerensky was not a competent leader of the Government

Jessica and made disastrous decisions thus lost support and paved a way for the opposition of the Bolsheviks to emerge as the heroes of their failures. Furthermore, the role of the leader of the Bolsheviks, Lenin, must be considered when considering the collapse of the Provisional Government because he was a prominent figure symbolising the problems not yet resolved by the Provisional Government who provided solutions that appealed to the proletariat. Lenin sought to change the political landscape completely and so he began to use his dynamic presence to introduce slogans which significantly gained popularity for the Bolsheviks because it highlighted the problems the Provisional Government could not solve for the Proletariat. It may be argued that Lenin manipulated the Marxist Theory to the benefit of the Bolsheviks , becoming a much-loved figure for the proletariat especially after promising “Bread, peace and land” emphasising that the purpose of the Bolsheviks was to prioritise the needs of the workers, soldiers and especially the peasants. Marxist theory states that a revolution should occur with the proletariat rising, but Lenin appealed to agricultural workers, as well as the proletariat to bolster Bolshevik support. By 1917 when inflation, nationwide famine and unemployment was rife, Peasants were hungry for land and the collapse of central authority meant that nothing was preventing them from taking land and estates, but the problem remained that they desired the approval of the government. The Liberals in the Provisional Government were exceedingly against the distribution of land without the Constituents Assembly, which is an elected body, and the framework of law set out by the Constituent’s Assembly because the Liberals wanted the landowners who were their supporters to be compensated. There were also concerns that the land distribution would cause disintegration of the army as the soldiers would dessert the war to claim their stake of land. Even the Socialist Revolutionary Party could not comprehend the urgency of the Peasants who wanted land reform as soon as possible so they took no action in favour of complying with the needs of the Peasants. So, when Lenin addressed this issued in the efficacious April Theses which mirrored the urgency of the “nationalisation of all lands in the country”, the peasants were immediately chanting the support for the Bolsheviks. This great emphasis on land reforms allowed the peasants to compare how much the Provisional Government has helped them so far with the exciting promises made by Lenin who seems to have the solution for every problem of the poor without going into too much depth as to how he intended on fixing such difficult issues, which the politically illiterate peasants surely had not noticed. Thus, the peasants blindly supported the words and promises of Lenin, turning against the Provisional Government. However, the role of Trotsky, who was a supporter of the Mensheviks until weeks before the October Revolution, should also be considered while considering the downfall of the Provisional Government as he was a major part of the October Revolution which was the final event that removed all power from the Provisional Government. It was Trotsky who commanded the MRC and the Red Army to seize all significant areas in Petrograd like the power station and the railway station as well as using intimidation tactics to remove any troops loyal to the Provisional Government. This is indicative of how Trotsky was big part of strategising to seize the Palace arguably even more so than Lenin without whom the October Revolution might not have taken place and succeeded. Therefore, it is impossible to discount the role of both Lenin and Trotsky who were the leaders of the Bolsheviks who bribed the peasants with easy promises of distributing land to gain their support as well as strategically ensuring the downfall of the Provisional Government with the use of armed forces by seizing the Palace. Overall when evaluating the statement of ‘The fall of the provisional government in October 1917 was entirely due to its own failings’, it is evident that the role of the Provisional Government’s own

Jessica failing is overwhelmingly dominant. It is apparent to see that the riots lead by the workers demanding price control, the desertion of soldiers and the sailors marching to the Palace to demand Soviet control are all major signs of the shared discontent of the people of Russia towards the Provisional Government and their decisions which affected the living conditions of the proletariat. In fact, it was the repeated failures of the Provisional Government that caused the masses to look upon the Bolshevik leaders and the Soviets to take charge; if the troubles of the masses had been addressed by the Provisional Government, then the uncontrolled riots and the marches would not have occurred. However, the popularity of the Bolsheviks and their leaders, the turbulence of Dual Power and, the mistakes of the Tsar, cannot be overlooked as they played a vital role in the downfall of the Provisional Government. Without the Bolsheviks, the masses would not be able to clearly identify all the ways the Government had caused failed them. The Bolsheviks also came to the rescue during the Kornilov affair providing defence using the Red Army after the Provisional Government allowed the troops to march into Petrograd to establish military control. Without Dual Power, Order No. 1 would not have removed significant amount of power from the Provisional Government and in turn Kerensky would not have made the mistake of asking Kornilov for help. Therefore, the fall of the Provisional Governments downfall was not solely due to the role of its own failures, but also due to the popularity of the Bolshevik, Dual Power and the mistakes of the Tsar which made it increasingly difficult to manage the numerous problems in Russia....