Provisional Government and the October Revolution

Factors Causing the October Revolution:
Social and Political Issues:

• Growing Middle Class: increasing number of the middle class with skilled jobs also required higher intelligence. They sought better representation and participation in politics.
• Land and Agriculture: Peasants wanted change due to the lack of land and overcrowding. Inefficient methods used in agriculture. 
• Industry: More than half of the workers were literate which also meant more complaining and protesting to the government. They could receive and pass or even create revolutionary ideas. 
• Inflation: War put more stress on the already poor economy. Inflation rose 400% from 1914-1917
• Overcrowding: situation in the cities was not pleasant due to overcrowding, poor housing, poor living and work condition. 

Effect of WWI: War was continued which had large effects on the cities, especially Moscow and Petrograd. Conditions at home were made worse with the supplies and food heading towards the war front. Factories were actually closed down because the raw materials were sent to aid in the war. Inflation hurt the economy. Lack of the basic necessities made the workers and peasants angry. Conscription also brought sentimental issues as well as Russia experienced many deaths. 

Weakness of Provisional Government (also Lenin's rise to power):

• Provisional government refused to make any long term decisions for Russia as it saw itself as a temporary. 
• Divisions among the provisional: The different parties had their various perspectives and sought to vote against the opposition. This caused the government to come to a standstill. 
• Provisional government had power within government affairs, but was limited by the soviets. Soviets controlled powers such as railways and factories in Petrograd 
• The decision to pass laws to allow freedom of speech, press and the dismantling of the secret police gave political parties ample opportunity to recruit new members. This meant more opposition to the provisional government and no one to stop it (due to lack of secret police)

Key Failures of the provisional Government: 

• June Offensive: a miscalculated offensive made by the PG led to a disaster. The PG lost support while the Bolsheviks got increased support as they promised an end to the war. 
• July Days: An uprisin, consisting of up to 500,000 workers and sailors, occurred in Kronstadt. They marched to Petrograd and demanded an end to the provisional government. The PG responded by sending in some loyal Russian troops to dismantle the rebellion. They also blamed the Bolsheviks for this affair. The reputation of the PG was equally damaged. 
• Kornilov Affair: A revolt was led by gerneral Kornilov and his soldiers in hopes of overthrowign the provisional government in Petrograd. Alexander Kerensky, the leader of the PG, panicked and got the Bolsheviks to defend. At the end, Kornilov and his men weren't able to reach Petrograd as they experienced mutinies and the railway workers sabotaged the railways. The reputation of the PG showed it's military weakness and its lack of loyal supporters. The Bolsheviks were perceived as saviors of Petrograd and were now armed. 

Lenin and the Bolsheviks:

• April Theses: Lenin made a speech on April 16, 1917 which highlighted various points. He called for a world wide socialst revolution, land reform to the peasants, an end to the war, end of the soviet cooperation with the PG and for Soviets to take power
• Propaganda: simple and effective slogans were used to highlight the ideas from the April Theses. Slogans such as 'All power to the soviets' and 'Bread, Peace and Land' were very memorable. Many people turned to the Bolsheviks in response, especially the workers
• End to the War: No other political party promised an end to the war. This made the Bolsheviks unique as this was a point that appealed to all social classes
• Marxist ideals: Lenin revised Karl Marx's ideas that claimed Russia should not have a revolution. Lenin said that because the PG was so weak that Russia could have a revolution. By the end of April the Bolshevik party had planned a revolution thanks to persuasion of Lenin.
• Great man Theory: Lenin was equipped with exceptional leadership skills. He had great rhetorical skills that inspired many. As a leader, he sought to adapt his aims to those of the workers which brought even more support.
• Trotsky: Trotsky was the Chairman of the Petrograd Soviets in 1917. He had a large influence in Petrograd as he controlled things such as the bridges and railways which would become very valuable to the Bolsheviks.
  Trotsky was also a military man. He controlled and organized the Red army and the actual take over of power. He persuaded Lenin to wait until October before initiating the revolution to ensure that the Bolsheviks had firm control over the soviets.
  He was also a great orator that inspired many.