Why Was The Provisional Government Unable To Stay In Power?

    When Lenin returned to Russia he made it clear that he had not changed any of his ideas and he laid down the main policies of the Bolsheviks, which included: an end to the war and peace must be secured- which is what most people wanted, The bourgeois would need to be removed from power and a second revolution would be needed to bring the proletariat to power, the people must be given bread, no support for the Provisional Government, the abolishment of the police and army and for the State to own all the land.   The Bolsheviks were a highly organised party with units of people within the Petrograd factories, the army garrison and army units at the front.  Within Petrograd and under the leadership of Trotsky (who later became the leader of the Petrograd Soviet they formed their own groups of armed men called the Red Guard.  They had their own newspaper called the Pravda, which Stalin played a key role in running.  The Bolsheviks had a major role in Petrograd Soviet and then in September they took control of it.

   The Bolsheviks had a very appealing slogan, which was Bread, Peace, Land and all power to the Soviets.  This slogan became very popular in the summer of 1917.  The “Bread” stood for the need to feed the growing population of Petrograd, the word “Peace” became very powerful after the failure of Kerensky’s June offensive and the threat of the German naval force to Petrograd.  The “Land” was for: in the countryside where there was a widespread breakdown of law and order as peasants took control of their land from the aristocratic landlords who they worked for.  The ”All Power to the Soviets” would give control of the government to the leaders of the soldiers, factory workers and peasants.

   Lenin was planning to take control of the government, however a mutiny by some soldiers over food shortages in Petrograd encouraged him to make the attempt earlier than he wanted to.  Then in July, the Bolsheviks under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky tried to seize power in Petrograd but Kerensky’s, (now Prime Minster), loyal troops defeated them.  Many Bolshevik’s including Trotsky were imprisoned but Lenin escaped to Finland.  

    The causes of the November Revolution from inside Russia are:  Peasants were angry at the lack of reform and seized the land, which showed that the government was powerless, the Bolsheviks had been planning a second revolution and they were ready for this by November.  The Petrograd Soviet came under Bolshevik control, the People wanted peace, the Provisional Government showed its weakness by calling on its enemies to Petrograd against Kornilov, the Provisional Government had made a disastrous mistake in deciding to stay in the war and the Provisional Government had no popular support because they had not been elected.  The causes from outside Russia were:  the war was going badly and casualties were rising, the ideas of Karl Marx – the dictatorship of the proletariat had not yet been achieved and the soldiers were deserting and retuning home.

    In November 1917 Lenin decided that it was the right time to seize power and a second revolution took place in Russia.  This removed the Provisional Government and installed the Bolsheviks under Lenin in power and Russia became the first Communist country.  The extraordinary thing about the Bolshevik’s seizure of power (coup) was the general lack of resistance.  The seizure took place on 7th and 8th November.  Trotsky had to persuade the soldiers in the Petrograd garrison and the sailors at the Kronstadt Naval base to stay out of the fighting.  Early on the morning of the 7th November the Red Guards seized the main bridges into Petrograd and the telegraph station.  Later on 7th November the four main stations to the south of the Winter Palace, the State Bank and two of the bridges to the west of the Winter Palace were seized.  Then the cruiser “Aurora” sailed up the River Neva and shelled the Provisional Government who were in the Winter Palace.  By the 8th November the Winter Palace and the railway stations to the north were captured.   Fortunately the Bolsheviks met no significant opposition in Petrograd and the coup was almost bloodless, only six soldiers were killed at the Winter Palace, but Kerensky escaped.

   The reasons for the Bolshevik’s success included: in many respects they were fortunate due to the mistakes of the Provisional Government and Lenin made sure that they took advantage of these mistakes.  The appeal of Bolshevism and Lenin’s slogan “Peace, Bread, Land” brought support while Lenin ensured the timing of the revolution was just right.  The main reasons were the careful Bolshevik preparations, under Trotsky and the strategy used to seize the key points in Petrograd.

    In conclusion the Provisional Government had been unable to deal effectively with the problems facing Russia.  They had failed to end the war, to solve the food and fuel shortages, to solve the problem of land and to call a Constituent Assembly.  They had not convinced the Russian people that they had gained anything from the February/March revolution.  In addition and perhaps more importantly, they failed to recognise and appreciate the real nature of the threat presented by the Bolsheviks under Lenin (a superb organiser and dynamic leader) and Trotsky (a brilliant planner and thrilling speaker.