The Russian Provisional Government failed in 1917 for a variety of reasons. Perhaps most importantly, they refused to end the country’s involvement in World War One. Due to the government’s preoccupation with winning that War, many economic and social problems were overlooked or ignored. Institutions known collectively as The Soviet were also attempting to gain more power. They didn’t want to run the government, but they did want greater autonomy for the workers. In effect, they sucked power away from the Provisional Government. These issues and several others led to the failure of the Provisional Government and the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks in October of 1917.
The Russian Provisional Government was formed in the aftermath of Tsar Nicholas II’s abdication from the throne on March 2, 1917. After Nicholas’ departure, the Duma was the only real legal authority left to run the country. Out of this body the Provisional Government was formed by a coalition of various Duma parties. It was intended to be an interim body to hold power until the Constituent Assembly could be called and a constitution could be written.[1] Headed first by Prince G. E. Lvov, the new government saw as its primary task as winning the War, only then would other issues be dealt with.
Massive economic and social problems, inefficient decision making by the Tsar, as well as Russia’s high casualty rate in World War One had led to the collapse of autocracy. The Duma, which had pressed for gradual liberalization of the country, was headed mostly by the Octobrists and the Kadets, the center-right political parties. This was by design, as the electorate had been severely restricted so that only those two parties could win a majority. They were tasked with preparing the country for national elections and the Constituent Assembly. This would require granting “full freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion, and equality to all citizens.”[2]
However, there was another body claiming power as well, the Soviet. They claimed to represent the peasants’ and workers’ interests. They provided services for workers and sailors. This “Dual Power” created a complex system of authority that did not function efficiently. The Provisional Government might have had authority, but it was unclear whether or not they had power. Whether or not the population would follow them was not known. The Soviet, on the other hand, held true sway with the workers and peasants.
The soviets were formed as “workers councils,” and were made up of both common people and the intelligentsia. They worked to secure rights for workers and after March 1917, they sought to protect the gains made by the first Revolution. The Petrograd Soviet was the head of a nationwide network of soviets that were located throughout Russia. Far more radical than the Duma, they were composed mostly of Socialist Revolutionaries and Social-Democrats.[3] The Petrograd Soviet also included many of the soldiers stationed in the city’s garrison and sailors stationed at the nearby naval base of Kronstadt.
At first the soviets and the Provisional Government coexisted rather peacefully and the Petrograd Soviet approved of the new government’s policies. However, as time went on, they began to fight for control over the military and foreign policy. Order Number 1, issued by the Petrograd Soviet’s army section, authorized army units to elect soldiers to represent them in the soviets. It also stated that army units did not have to obey orders given by the Government unless those orders were approved by the Soviet first.[4]
In 1917 the majority of the Russian Army was made up of peasants, who were confused as to what exactly they were fighting for. With no clear motivation to fight or stake in victory, they made a poor fighting force. While many of the soldiers continued to fight on the Front, they were more loyal to the soviets than the Provisional Government. This was because the soviets were calling for the nationalization of land. It seemed to most of the peasantry that the soviets were fighting for their interests while the Provisional Government was simply continuing the policies of autocracy.
The new government felt it had to fulfill its obligations to the Allies and continue the war “and fight for ‘lasting peace through victory.’” The Provisional Government was immediately recognized by the Allied forces. Secret treaties signed by the government implemented a new expansionist war policy, hoping to gain territory in the Ukraine and Austria-Hungary. The soviets protested this by calling for the European workers to overthrow their governments and “achieve a just and democratic peace ‘without annexations and indemnities.’” [5]
In April of 1917 Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks, returned to Russia from exile in Switzerland. His new tactic was no confidence or support to the new government, primarily because they were continuing the War. In time, he would sway most of the Bolshevik leadership to his line of thinking. In his April Theses, published shortly after his return, he denounced any cooperation with the new government. Lenin states, “…the war on Russia’s part remains a predatory imperialist war.”[6] Due to this fact, the soviets must not support the ongoing war and must completely break off any support for the Provisional Government.
Later in the Theses, Lenin explains, “It must be explained to the masses that the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies is the only possible form of revolutionary government…therefore, our task is, while this government is submitting to the influence of the bourgeoisie, to present a…persistent analysis of its errors and tactics…”[7] No support for the Provisional Government and “All Power to The Soviets!” were the two principles of the April Theses. While not a majority in the Soviet yet, the Bolsheviks were gaining influence.
While the Provisional Government was preoccupied with winning the War, the country’s economic and social problems began to grow worse. “In three [domestic] areas in particular the government’s response was found wanting: the nationality question, the agrarian crisis, and industrial relations.” Russia had been a large, multiethnic empire and now the various nationalities were demanding autonomy. Disagreements about how to handle the “nationality question” led to the fall of Lvov’s government on July 15. [8]
The second pressing domestic issue, the agrarian crisis, was growing worse with time. Immediately after the Tsar’s abdication, and in the power vacuum that followed, peasants began seizing the land of nobles in the countryside. Many peasant soldiers deserted their posts to go back home and participate in the land grabbing. The Provisional Government, fearful of even more peasants deserting the army, refused to implement any sort of land reform. Their inaction made the problem worse because now the peasantry had no reason to support the new government.
The third domestic issue was that of industrial relations which had been an ongoing problem for some time. As Russia began to industrialize in the early 1900’s, the population of industrial workers, especially in Petrograd and Moscow, exploded. Most of the manufacturing was centered on these two cities. Low wages, inflation, lack of work, lack of adequate housing and food was making life increasingly harsh for the factory workers. “In industry workers began to organize factory committees to defend themselves and to keep the factories open in the fact of economic disruption and lockouts.”[9]
One reason that the Provisional Government did not settle many of these domestic issues was because they wanted to wait for the Constituent Assembly. Realizing that most of the people would only accept the legitimacy of a government elected by that assembly, they put off many issues until it could be convened. It was scheduled to open in January 1918.
Alexander Kerensky emerged as the new leader of the Provisional Government after Lvov’s exit. Kerensky was a moderate socialist who believed that the goal of the new government was to finish the agenda set by autocracy.[10] He was the only person to be involved in both the leadership of the soviet and the Provisional Government and it put him in a precarious position. While the Soviet had forbid any of its members in participating in the new government, they made an exception for Kerensky.
In July 1917, a failed Bolshevik uprising led to the imprisonment of most of the party’s leadership and Lenin once again fled the country, this time to Finland. It appeared as though the Bolsheviks were now eliminated as a threat to the Provisional Government. However, a chain of events would soon see them released.
On August 26 General L.G. Kornilov of the military high command called for the surrender of the Provisional Government. In place of that government he planned to install a military dictatorship.[11] It is unclear whether or not Kornilov himself would have headed this government, but it was a threat nonetheless. He threatened to have his troops “march on Petrograd,” if the Provisional Government did not surrender.
Kerensky, frightened that the capital might be seized by Kornilov’s forces, asked the Petrograd Soviet for help. The Soviet agrees on the condition that all their comrades are freed, including the Bolsheviks. The workers of the Soviet were armed and made into units of “Red Guards.” Kornilov was moving his troops by rail, and since the Bolsheviks had influence with the railway workers, they simply had the trains stopped so that Kornilov and his men could be arrested.
The Bolsheviks were seen as heroes after this incident and it further weakened Kerensky’s government.[12] In September they finally gained a majority in the Soviet and Lenin, finally back from Finland, realized that the time to seize power was close at hand. He pushed the leadership in Petrograd to seize power immediately. By October, it was clear that Kerensky’s attempts to form a “third coalition” and maintain power were failing. There were too many political parties and they could not agree on any policies moving forward.[13]
The continuing devastation of the War and the Provisional Government’s refusal to end it was the key issue in bringing about its’ collapse. They had tried to shift tactics in war propaganda, now billing the conflict as a struggle against German autocracy. The soldiers, however, didn’t buy it. In the industrial centers of the country, Moscow and Petrograd, unrest over the War was steadily growing just as it had earlier that year in February. The situation was growing from bad to worse. Kerensky’s offensive had failed; the Germans were gaining more ground by the day. This further eroded any support the government might have had left. It was clear that they were ineffective on both foreign and domestic issues.
This ineffectiveness left the door open for a new force to gain power. The only coherent policy alternatives being offered were those of the Bolsheviks. On the night of November 6, they made their move and soldiers from the Petrograd garrison seized government buildings and stormed the headquarters of the Provisional Government at the Winter Palace.[14] This would end the freest period in Russia’s history and lead to a dictatorship of epic consequences.
In the end, it was the continuation of an unpopular, offensive and expansionist war that led to the Provisional Governments failure. Instead of trying to forge a new road ahead following the March Revolution, the new government instead went on with business as usual. They did not implement the reforms necessary to win the support of the population. They thought that overnight, after the first revolution, Russia had been transformed and an era of democracy would ensue. Without a government willing to actually change policy, it was perhaps doomed from the beginning.
[1] Sakwa, Richard. The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group: London and New York 1999. Pg 32
[2] MacKenzie, David and Curran, Michael W. A History of Russia, the Soviet Union, and Beyond (6th Edition). Wadsworth Thomas Learning 2002. Pg 418
[3] Sakwa. Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union Pg 12
[4] MacKenzie and Curran. Pg 419
[5] Ibid, Pg 419
[6] Sakwa, Pg 34
[7] Ibid, Pg 35
[8] Ibid, Pg 37
[9] Ibid, Pg 38
[10] Ibid
[11] Ibid, Pg 44
[12] Ibid
[13] MacKenzie and Curran, Pg 421
[14] Sakwa, Pg 51
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