How far was the transformation of the position of the Bolsheviks from February to December 1917 a result of Lenin's leadership?

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How far was the transformation of the position of the Bolsheviks from February to December 1917 a result of Lenin's leadership?

In February, the position of Lenin and the Bolsheviks was precarious. With Lenin out of the country and the Bolsheviks not even a part of the Soviet, they were very much on the fringe of politics. Membership was low and with the declaration of the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet, dual authority over Petrograd had been established. The Bolshevik party accepted this, (they thought it was part of a genuine revolution) but it was Lenin who would reject it and begin a process to destroy it, his ultimate aim being to replace it with his Bolshevik party, which happened in October.

Historians such as Liberals and Soviets agree that the role of Lenin himself was of huge importance in transforming the position of the Bolsheviks, saying he was a skilful manipulator of situations. They place significance on Lenin's return in April. Lenin refused to co-operate with any other political parties, including the Provisional Government, saying their ultimate aim was to transfer power to the workers, demanding power to the soviets. Lenin realised that to take power in he name of the proletariat there would have to be a Bolshevik takeover of the soviets. The strength of Lenin's personality and his doctrines when he returned on April could be seen to play a key part in the ruination of the Provisional Government. By highlighting their failure to cope with the War and the food shortages, Lenin was able to decrease their popularity by bringing to prominence their bad policies. In the months that followed, Lenin would continue to play on the weaknesses of the Provisional Government in order to gain public support.
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On the other hand, the transformation of the position of the Bolsheviks could be seen to be more to do with social reasons. The party gained support from the workers, peasants and soldiers of which the Provisional Government was unable to satisfy. The lack of much needed reforms made these people turn to the soviets, and ultimately to the Bolsheviks. However, these new members didn't actually ensure a transfer of power to the workers, as in the chaos of all the new members, politicians managed to seize power in the soviet; therefore the workers were not being sufficiently ...

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