To what extent was the continuation of the First World War the main reason for the overthrow of the Provisional government in the October revolution?

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History essay: To what extent was the continuation of the first world war the main reason for the overthrow of the provisional government in the October revolution.

The overthrow of the provisional government was undoubtedly a direct effect of its own political weakness. While the importance of other factors leading to the revolution , such as the continuation of the first world war, should not be discarded as having no impact; ultimately the provisional Governments downfall was primarily the effect of its own incompetence.

The Bolsheviks strength and popularity among the soviets, created a power strong enough to exploit the weakness within the provisional government and preempted the October revolution. The Bolshevik party enjoyed a huge growth throughout 1917, membership rose from 24,000 in February to 340,000 in October, providing the power needed to launch a successful campaign and create a domino effect of increasing support. The result of these high numbers resulted in the Bolsheviks being able to exploit the power vacuum created in October 1917. Miliukov; the Kadet leader at the time, stated, “They knew where they were going, and they went in the direction which they had chosen.” The Bolsheviks had clear aims and direction, which the other parties lacked. However the Bolsheviks ruthlessness did not by any means guarantee their success but it did mean that other parties would have to overcome them if they wanted to seize power. One key strength that made the Bolsheviks stand out from the other parties was their relationship with the Petrograd Soviet. They attended the Soviet meetings regularly and showed political dedication, unlike their other rival parties who often failed to attend . The Bolsheviks presented themselves as a party of action; the only party in the soviet who were completely dedicated to their aims. In addition, the growth of workers committees in the factories who were anti-government aided the Bolsheviks at a key time. The Bolsheviks gained this groups support by using the key slogan, “Peace, bread and land.” This played on all the Provisional government's failures and included the peasants into their propaganda. This was especially unusual as previous political powers had palmed off the peasants as having no real importance in political matters. The Bolshevik party's growth in support leading up to October was an important factor in the October revolution but was undeniably controlled and initiated by the powerful leadership of Lenin; As it was him who came up with the slogan, “Peace, bread and land,” with the aim to gain the support of the peasants.

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Lenin's immense determination and sheer strength of will, was a definite factor in the seizer of power from the provisional government in the October revolution. Lenin is a dominant figure throughout the October revolution, claiming himself to be responsible for the success of the Bolshevik takeover. This was, however, with good reason, as under his control the Bolshevik party flourished. They developed determination, ambition and set their main aim to gain power, in contrast to the other parties who had long, arguably unattainable aims such as waiting for a peasant proletariat to mobilize and seize power. Lenin was arguably selfish, ...

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