Provisional government and reasons why it had fallen from power so soon?
The provisional government
Most people expected the autocracy of the tsarist system to be replaced by a democratic Most pe with an elected parliament. The Dueorge voy as Printe control, set up a mainly Heel provisional government with Prince George Lovas Prime Minister. In July he was replaced by Alexander Kerensky, a moderate socialist. But the new government was just as perplexed by the enormous problems facing it as the tsar had been. On the night of 25 October a second revolution took place, which overthrew the provisional government and brought the Bolsheviks to power.
Why did the provisional government fall from power so soon?
It took the unpopular decision to continue the war, but the June offensive, Kerensky's idea, was another disastrous failure. It caused the collapse of army morale and discipline and sent hundreds of thousands of deserting troops streaming home.
The government had to share power with the Petrograd soviet, an elected commit tee of soldiers' and workers' representatives, which tried to govern the city. It had been elected at the end of February, before the Tsar's abdication. Other soviets appeared in Moscow and all the provincial cities. When the Petrograd soviet ordered all soldiers to obey only the soviet, it meant that in the last resort, the provisional government could not rely on the support of the army.
The government lost support because it delayed elections, which it had promised, for a Constituent Assembly (parliament), arguing that these were not possible in the middle of a war when several million troops were away fighting. Another promise not kept was for land reform the redistribution of land from large estates among peasants. Tired of waiting, some peasants started to seize land from landlords. The Bolsheviks were able to use peasant discontent to win support.
Meanwhile, thanks to a new political amnesty, Lenin was able to return from exile in Switzerland (April). The Germans allowed him to travel through to Petrograd in a special 'sealed train, in the hope that he would cause further chaos in Russia. After a rapturous welcome, he urged (in his April Theses) that the Bolsheviks should cease to support the provisional government, that all power should be taken by the soviets, and that Russia should withdraw from the war.
There was increasing economic chaos, with inflation, rising bread prices, lagging wages, and shortages of raw materials and fuel. In the midst of all this, Lenin and the Bolsheviks put forward what seemed to be a realistic and attractive policy: a separate peace with Germany to get Russia out of the war, all land to be given to the peasants, and more food at cheaper prices.
The government lost popularity because of the 'July Days'. On 3 July there was a huge demonstration of workers, soldiers and sailors, who marched on the Tauride Palace where both the provisional government and the Petrograd Soviet were meeting. They demanded that the Soviets should take power, but the members refused to take responsibility. The government brought loyal troops from the front to restore order and accused the Bolsheviks of trying to launch an uprising, it was reported, falsely, that Lenin was a German spy. At this, the popularity of the Bolsheviks declined rapidly; Lenin fled to Finland and other leaders were arrested. But about 400 people had been killed during the violence (Illus. 16.1), and Prince Lvov, who was deeply shocked by the July Days, resigned. He was replaced by Alexander Kerensky. It is still not absolutely clear who was responsible for the events of the July Days. American historian Richard Pipes is convinced that Lenin planned the whole affair from the beginning; Robert Service, on the other hand, argues that Lenin was improvising, 'testing the waters' to discover how determined the provisional government was. The demonstration was probably spontaneous in origin, and Lenin soon decided that it was too early to launch a full-scale uprising.
The Kornilov affair embarrassed the government and increased the popularity of the Bolsheviks. General Kornilov, the army commander-in-chief, viewed the Bolsheviks as traitors; he decided it was time to move against the Soviets, and he brought troops towards Petrograd (August). However, many of his soldiers mutinied and Kerensky ordered Kornilov's arrest. Army discipline seemed on the verge of collapse; public opinion swung against the war and in favour of the Bolsheviks, who were still the only party to talk openly about making a separate peace. By October they had won a majority over the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries (SRs) in both the Petrograd and Moscow soviets, though they were in a minority in the country as a whole. Leon Trotsky (who had just become a Bolshevik) was elected Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet.
In mid-October, urged on by Lenin, the Petrograd Soviet took the crucial decision to attempt to seize power. Trotsky made most of the plans, which went off without a hitch. During the night of 25-6 October, Bolshevik Red Guards occupied all key points and later arrested the provisional government ministers, except Kerensky, who managed to escape. It was almost a bloodless coup, enabling Lenin to set up a new Soviet government with himself in charge.
The Bolsheviks knew exactly what they were aiming for, and were well disciplined and organized, whereas the other revolutionary groups were in disarray. The Mensheviks, for example, thought that the next revolution should not take place until the industrial workers were in a majority in the country.