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This is Kerensky. He is the first Prime Minister of Russia after the revolution. He might also be the first Russian historical figure WITHOUT major facial hair, or in this case, if any at all... media type="custom" key="7264939"

This is a Venn Diagram showing the similarities and differences between the Bolsheviks and the Provisional Government

Part 2: War and Revolution

Russia at War, 1914-17

· The beginning o Russia went to war in August 1914. o Patriotic demonstrated across the country supported the Tsar. o Hatred of Germany spread. o He renamed St. Petersburg Petrograd because he though the former sounded too much like a German name. · Early Defeat o 2 huge Russian armies attacked Germany at the end of August 1914. o They should have won a great victory against the single German army facing them. § But the Russian armies were badly led and badly equipped: nearly a million men were without rifles, and many didn’t even have boots. o In two battles, at Tanneberg and the Masurian Lakes, both Russian armies were wiped out. § Over 250,000 Russian soldiers were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. § And this was only six weeks after the start of the war. o By the end of 1914 the Russians had lost over one million men through casualties, deaths and soldiers taken prisoner. · The Collapse of the Economy o As the war continued on through the next year, the Russian economy began to collapse. § The first problem was a lack of workers. § In all, 15.5 million young men were taken into the armies to fight, halving the number needed to work in the factories and the fields. § In 1915 nearly 600 factories had to close because they didn’t have enough workers. o The next problem was transport. § Russia, the biggest country in the world, depended on railways for food and raw materials. § But there were not enough trains to keep the armies as well as the towns people supplied with food and materials. § Thousands of tones of butter, meat and grain rotted in railway sidings in the countryside, while soldiers and people in the town went hungry, simply because there weren’t enough trains to transport them. § More factories, coals supplies and power stations halted while trains stood at mines waiting for engines to pull them. o The third problem was inflation. § Russian money, the rouble, began to lose its value in 1914. § At the same time, food prices went up. § People therefore found that their wages were buying less and less food. o Meanwhile, on the fighting fronts, defeat followed defeat. o By the end of 1915, 300,000 Russians had been killed and three million were either wounded or locked up in enemy prison camps. · “Dark Forces Destroying the Throne” o In August 1915 Tsar Nicholas decided to take personal command of his armies. o He left Petrograd and went to live at army headquarters, 500 km away. o This was a fatal mistake, for he left Alexandra in charge of the government, and he was completely under the influence of Rasputin. o For the next 16 months, Alexander was able to do more or less what she liked. § She fired people she hated and promoted people eshe and Rasputin favored. § During these 16 months, Russia had 4 different prime ministers. o With ministers coming and going at such a speed, the work of the government ground to a halt. § Food, fuel and ammunition were already in short supply, but now they became almost unobtainable. § And although they won some important battles the next year, they still lost over one million solders. o Back in the capital, rumors regarding Alexander and Rasputin flew around. § People were well aware the Alexander was German by birth, and they put two and two together to explain why Russia lost. · Alexander and Rasputin were German agents, working to destroy Russian from within. · Even the closest supporters of the Tsar were in despair. § One of them speak out in the Duma, saying that there were “fork forces destroying the throne”. o In December 1916 three nobles loyal to the Tsar decided to destroy those “dark forces”. o They murdered Rasputin. o When the news of Rasputin’s death was announced there was public rejoicing. § People kissed each other in the streets when they hear that the “dark forces” were no more. o But Rasputin’s death did not help Russia. o The New Year, 1917, began with blizzards and temperatures as low as 35 degree Celsius below zero. § More than a thousand railway engines froze and burst their boilers. § Supplies of grain, coal, wood and oil dwindled to nothing. § As people huddled freezing in their homes, conditions became right for revolution.

Chapter 8 – The Revolution of March 1917

· March 1917- o During the month of March 1917 conditions in Russia grew rapidly worse, o In the capital, discontent turned into a full-scale revolution, which overthrew the tsar. · Wednesday 7th of March o The managers of the giant Putilov steel works locked out their 20,000 workers after pay talks broke down. o This meant that 20,000 tough, angry steel workers were now out on the streets in a mood for trouble. o Workers in other factories went on strike in support of the steel workers. · Thursday 8th of March o Fifty factories closed down and 90,000 workers went out on strike. o As this was International Women’s Day there were also thousands of socialist women on the streets, demonstrating. o Many people wanted break. · Friday 9th March o 200,000 workers were on strike. o The workers held meetings instead of going to work. o Crowds of people poured from one party of the city to the other. · Saturday 10th March o 250,000 workers were on strike. o There were no public transport and no newspapers. o The movement has taken on a political character. o The troops opened fire in the Newsky Prospekt. o Most of the rounds were bland, but some were still killed and wounded. o Later in the day, Cossacks refused to attack a procession of strikers when they were ordered to do so. · Sunday 11th March o The situation is getting serious, the government is now paralyzed. o Transport system is broken down, food and fuel supplies are completely disorganized. o Wild shooting on the streets, troops firing at each other. o The Tsar’s response was to stop the Duma. · Monday 12th March o In the morning at six, a mutiny began in the Volisky regiment of the army: a sergeant shot is commanding officer dead. o The soldiers then left their barracks and marched into the center of Petrograd. o All the units sent to fight the mutiny ware changing sides one after another. o Later in the day the Duma held a meeting, despite the Tsar’s order not to do so. o It set up a twelve-man committee called the Provisional Committee to take over the government. o That evening, revolutionaries set up a Soviet, or council, of workers and soldier in Petrograd. o The Petrograd Soviet also intended to take over the government and immediately began to organize food supplies for the city. · Tuesday 13th March o Tsar Nicholas said that he would share power with the Duma. o But the Duma replied saying the measures he is proposing are too late. o The time for them has gone there is no return. · Wednesday 14th March o Leading army generals sent telegrams to Nicholas, informing him that none of the army supported him. o Nicholas, 500 km away in army headquarters, now tried to return to Petrograd to control the situation. o It seems like it is starting out as a better day. o It is said that the revolutionaries have stopped Nick’s train while he was on his way to Tsarskoe Selo. · Thursday 15th March o Nick agreed to abdicate and give the throne to Alexis. o Later he realized that Alexis was too ill to be Tsar and gave the crown to his brother, Grand Duke Michael, instead. o Michael, however, feared that he would be just as unpopular as Nicholas, and within 24 hours he had abdicated too. o Russia was now a republic – a country governed not by a monarch but by an elected leader. o However, who should rule? The Soviet or the Duma?

Chapter 9 - The Provisional Government

· Two new governments o Russia’s new government was the 23-man committee that the Duma has set up on 12 March. § The twelve men called themselves the Provisional Government, meaning that they would govern Russia for a short time until elections would be held. o The Provisional Government was the official government. o However, there was also an unofficial government, the Petrograd Soviet of Worker’s and Soldiers’ Deputies. § This council, which had been elected by working people, aimed to protect the interest of working people and soldiers. § Other Soviets with the same aim were formed in towns all over Russia during March, and they all took their lead from the Petrograd Soviet. § Whatever the Petrograd Soviet decided was imitated by the other soviets. o The first action of the PS was to issue an order to the armed forces. § Order No.1 said that soldiers and sailors must set up committees to take control of all arms, ammunition and equipment. § Off duty soldiers were not to salute their officers had to address them as “Mister Colonel”, Mister General and so on, instead of “Your Excellency”. § This was to be obeyed in all parts of the army and navy, showing that the PS and not the government were in control of the armed forces. o Many of the 2500 deputies in the PS were revolutionaries, especially STs and Mensheviks. § There were also some Bolsheviks. § As you know, the Revolutionary parties wanted all land to be given to the peasants, and factories to be given to the workers. § But most of the revolutionaries in the Soviet did not want to push their demands too far. o For the time being, they were willing to cooperate the PG and to wait for the changes they wanted. · Lenin and the April These o During this time, Lenin was in Switzerland. § He disagreed with the revolutionaries who worked with the PG. § He wanted to get back to Russia to organize a second revolution. o Petrograd, was 2000 km away and the lands between the two were held by Germany and Austria, Russia’s enemies in the Great War. § But Germans were happy to help because they know it will bring trouble to PG. § So Lenin reached Petrograd on 16 April 1917. · Soon he made a speech to Bolsheviks. o He said war with Germany needs to end o And all land must be given to the peasants. o And banks should be nationalized. o He also suggests changing their names to the Communists. o And he said no support to PG. o Instead the soviets should unite and create a new government. o These ideas later became known as the April theses. o The April Theses were a great surprise to the Bolsheviks. § Lenin was telling them to start a second Revolution, but many of them though that the time was not yet right. § In June 1917, the Russian armies made a major attack on Austria. · The attack failed and turned into a retreat. · Soldiers deserted from the armies in large numbers. · Many went to Petrograd where they joined with Bolsheviks to demand an end to the PG. · More than 100,000 soldiers and Bolsheviks roamed the streets should “All Power to the Soviets!” and demanded that Bolsheviks take power. o After 3 days of rioting – The July Days – Alexander Kerensky, the Minister of War, sent loyal troops into Petrograd. o The next two days, these troops broke up the mobs. o Kerensky then claimed that the Bolsheviks said that the Germans paid the Bolsheviks to cause trouble. § He also said that Lenin was a German agent. o Meanwhile, Lenin was in exile once again as he fled to Finland. o Other leading Bolsheviks were arrested and put into Prison. · The Kornilov Revolt o Alexander Kerensky now became the Prime Minister of the PG  o Immediately he was faced with a challenge from the Army Commander in chief, General Kornilov. § Kornilov believed that Russia needed a “strong man and that he himself should be in charge. § He therefore planned to get rid of the PS, to arrest revolutionaries, and to take control of the PG so that he could get on with fighting Germany without interference. o Kornilov’s rebel troops were some of the best in Russia. § Kornilov sent them to Petrograd with order to get rid of the Provisional Government. § Kerensky had few loyal troops to defend him, and it seemed as if Kornilvo’s revolt would succeed. o To help him defend Petrograd, Kerensky allowed the Bolsheviks to set up a defense force called the Red Guards. § Within a few days 25,000 Bolsheviks armed with rifles and machine guns were out on the streets. § Kornilov’s troops refused to fight against fellow workers and Kornilov was soon arrest. o The Bolsheviks came out of the Kornilov revolt as heroes. § They had saved the PG. § This showed that they were not German agents after all. o They also came out of it as an armed and disciplined fighting force. § They strengthened their position even further when they got a majority in elections for the PS in September. § The same happened in elections for the Soviets of Moscow and other big cities. o By October 1917 the Bolsheviks were more powerful than they had ever been before. o Again they began to consider carrying out a second revolution, and this time the chances of success looked good.

Chapter 10: The Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917

· November 1917 o In September and October 1917 Kerensky and the PG gradually lost their authority. o Peasants in the countryside rebelled, soldiers in the army refused to fight the Germans, and Bolshevik workers in the cities got ready for a second revolution. · The State of Russia in September 1917 o During the summer of 1917 peasants began to take control of the land on which they grew their food. § They had been waiting since March for the PG to give them land, but it had failed to do so. § On more than 2000 famers peasants killed their landlords and divided the land up among themselves. § In other lands, they seized the lands of the Church and the Tsar. o Kerensky tried to stop the peasants from grabbing land by sending soldiers on “punishment expeditions” into the countryside. § Several expeditions went out, whipping peasants and burning their homes. § But Kerensky could not find enough loyal troops to do this dirty work for him, so in most areas the violence between the landlords and peasants continued. o The violence in the countryside delayed the harvest on many farms, and this led to food shortages. o As Russia was already short on food, the people faced the winter with the threat of famine. o In the armies discipline was breaking down. § The PS ‘s Order No.1 in March had already led many soldiers to disobey orders given by their officers. § Now thousands of soldiers were deserting from the army every week, mostly to go back to their villages to make sure they got their fair share of land. § In the front lines Bolsheviks encouraged soldiers to lay down their weapons and to give up fighting. § Everywhere in the army there was drunkenness, chaos and violent. § In many parts of the front line soldiers amused themselves by rolling live hand grenades into their officer’s quarters. § It was reported that the army is simply a huge, weary, shabby and ill-fed mob of angry men united by their common thirst for peace and by common disappointment. · The November Revolution o In October 1917 Lenin returned to Petrograd from his hiding place in Finland. § At a Bolshevik meeting he said that they should began a revolution immediately. § The Bolshevik leaders agreed to stage an armed uprising against the PG. o Leon Trotsky, the Bolshevik Chairman of the PS, drew up the plans and set up headquarters in the Smolny Institute, a disused school. § Trotsky did not have to make his plants in secret because there was nothing Kerensky and the PG could do to stop him. § The army said it would support the Bolsheviks, and the Guards of Peter and Paul Fortress gave all the rifles in the fortress to the Bolsheviks. o By the night of 6th November the Red Guards were well armed with the Rifles from the fortress, and they were ready. § During the night they began to take control of all the most important locations in Petrograd. o The PG had its headquarters in the Winter Palace and was guarded only by army cadets and Women’s Battalion of the army. § In the evening of 7th November a cruise, the Aurora, which Bolshevik sailors had captured, sailed up the river Neva and fired blank shells at the Winter Palace. § Later the guns in the fortress also opened fire on the Palace. § Then the Red Guards stormed the Winter Palace. § The Cadets and the Women’s Battalion gave in without a fight. o The ministers of the PG surrendered and were taken away under arrest. o The Bolsheviks now controlled Petrograd, the capital of Russia. o The next day Lenin announced that he was setting up a new government. o The Bolsheviks had come to power after a single of rebellion in which eighteen people had been arrested and two people had been killed.

Summary: in the second part, it shows Russia being at war with Germany. The economy was very bad, and while Nicholas was away at war, many Russians believed that Rasputin and Alexandra were German spies, trying to destroy Russia. The revolution in March was a very important one; it was successful in making Nicholas give up the throne. The PG was set up as a temporary government, but many people weren’t happy about it. Lenin wanted a new government and Kornilov started a revolt, but he was unsuccessful. The Bolshevik in turn started a revolution and they set up a new government for Russia.

Questions: 1. What were some of the signs that show that Russia under the Tsar’s ruling was dissatisfying the people? 2. What could Tsar Nicholas have done better to avoid losing his throne? 3. Who was Kornilov? 4. Where was PG’s headquarters? 5. Why did the Russian troops lost to Germany in the first few battles despite them outnumbering their enemy?