A reason why the Provisional Government did not want to stop the war was because they thought that the Russian people would see them as being cowards, and that they would be blamed for losing the war. The ironic truth is that if they had stopped the war, then they may’ve been associated with failure, but it would’ve helped solve other problems that were facing Russia at the time, such as starvation in cities. As they didn’t stop the war, the Provisional Government just prolonged the intensity of the problems that were facing Russia at that time, such as starvation in the cities, and also hyper – inflation. Due to the lack of food that was reaching the cities at the time, the price of goods such as bread and other commodities spiralled out of control, until they were over seven hundred percent more expensive than three years previous to 1917.
The decision to launch the Galician offensive was a catastrophe. A direct result of this was the July Days protests that took place in Petrograd, and to a lesser extent in other Russian cities. The Russian people called for the power to be transferred from the Provisional Government to their local Soviets. These riots were instigated by Lenin, a previous political exile that was allowed back into the country, another bad decision made by the Provisional Government. The Provisional Government was very unpopular now, and was worried that they were going to lose power. After these riots, they began to round up all of the leading Bolsheviks, as Lenin, their leader was the one who had masterminded the rioting.
The Provisional Government also failed to hold on to power, because they did not win over the support of the biggest social group in Russia: the peasants, who accounted for almost 90 percent of the country’s population. The one concession that the peasants wanted was to be given their own land, but this did not happen. When the Tsar was still in power, he wanted a new race of peasants to be formed, which owned their own land. They were known as Kulaks. The Provisional Government chose not to distribute land to them, even after they had seen that this was a factor that affected the downfall of the Tsar. As a result of the peasants not being given land from the Provisional Government, they took the matter into their own hands, and across the country they started to break up the big estates that belonged to the aristocrats. This violent seizure of land in the rural areas of Russia led to the deaths of several members of the Russian higher classes, as the attacks often involved the burning of great Russian houses, and land.
Another major bad decision that the Provisional Government made was allowing the political exiles back into the country. The Provisional Government also now had legalised political parties, and abolished the censorship law in Russia. When political exiles were allowed back into the country, one particularly influential exile returned, Lenin. Lenin had been the leader of the Bolsheviks, the smaller of the two parties that once formed the Social Democrats. Also, other very influential exiles were allowed back in the country, including Trotsky, and Stalin. When the censorship law was abolished, it led to the spread of foreign ideas. The xenophobic Provisional Government were scared of this spread of foreign ideas, but they made the decision that meant that censorship was now banned. With censorship abolished, anti Provisional Government leaflets could be distributed freely, and legally. This spread of ideas resulted in Soviets (which were like local councils) popping up around the country. The Russian people now started to take advice from their local Soviet, instead of the Provisional Government.
When Lenin had come back from exile in Switzerland, he came back through Germany on board the ‘sealed train’. The sealed train was sealed by the Germans, so that the Russians wouldn’t think that he hadn’t had any German influences. They were keen to allow Lenin to travel through Germany, as they knew that he would cause trouble when he reached Russia. Lenin caused disruptions in Russia when he reached there. The first words that he said when he finally reached Petrograd was ‘All power to the Soviets’. He delivered a speech called the April Thesis, in which he called for a ‘fresh revolution’ to take place. This was one where conditions would actually improve, and more Russian people would be happy, not just the aristocracy. He wanted a revolution that would transfer power from the capitalist middle and upper classes to the lower classes that included the peasants and urban workers. Lenin criticised the Provisional Government saying that ‘The Kerensky Government was revolutionary in name only. They promise bread, but the speculators still hold it’. This meant that the revolution that had taken place not long ago was one that didn’t change anything, Russia was still being ruled badly. Starvation was still a prominent problem in the cities, land was not available to the peasants who need it, and the country was still at war with Germany, and not even succeeding at the war effort either. When Lenin stepped off the sealed train, he delivered a speech known as the April Thesis, in which he said that he would provide the country with three things that they desperately craved ‘Peace, land and bread’.
He promised peace, as it was a point that would gain him tremendous support from virtually the whole population of Russia. The war effort had been going badly for some time now, and the Russian public was sick of the constant stream of failures, and the ever-increasing size of the cemeteries. Peace was now but a glint on the horizon, but was the foremost thought in the minds of the public.
Lenin also promised land, something, which the peasants of Russia craved. Lenin promised that there would be land for everyone. The peasants already started to break up the great estates, but now with Lenin’s approval, they would be able to have land that had been officially been distributed to them.
The last thing Lenin promised the people was bread, something that some people hadn’t seen in a long time. Bread had gone from being an everyday commodity, to being a luxury, more prized than anything one could offer: gems, gold and money had all become virtually worthless. These items in the past were among the most desirable items in the world, let alone Russia, but now people had lost family and friends due to the starvation. Men, women and children were all hungry in the big cities, especially Petrograd. The urban workers in the major cities of Russia especially liked this policy that Lenin promised to make effective if he was elected.
I think that the Provisional Government also failed to hold on to power, because of the dual power system that was ruling Russia at the time. The Provisional Government had power, but they failed to exercise authority of the Russian public, while in a contrasting fashion the Soviets, especially the Petrograd Soviet did not have power, but managed to exercise authority of their own local population. The Provisional Government was the official ruling body of Russia at that time, but they were not able to make people obey their decisions, as they were constantly being undermined by the decisions made by the Soviets that had appeared across Russia. The members of the local population, regardless of social standing or class had voted for the local Soviets that had appeared in Russia. The best known decision of the Provisional Government that was undermined by the most powerful of all the Soviets: the Petrograd Soviet was that of Order number 1, which told troops fighting on the front to ignore the commands of their leading officers, and simply go home. This order was carried out in due course, even after the efforts the Provisional Government had made to try and make people not listen to it. As this fight for power made decisions from either side less effective, but more so for the Provisional Government than the Soviets, the Russian people were in a state of confusion, as they didn’t know clearly who to listen to.
The competition for power was an important factor that aided the downfall of the Provisional Government, because it gave something to the people, which the majority of them were screaming out for: the vote. Although it is not a clearly known system of how the Soviets arose, it was largely down to the local population voting for representatives to voice there opinions in the Soviet. Now, the people had a say in the running of the area, and could voice their opinions about matters which were previously unheard of. The Soviets disrupted the running of the Provisional Government, and had the backing of the people to make decisions that would be recognised and obeyed.
From the evidence that I have given, I conclude that the Provisional Government didn’t fail for just one reason, but a combination of reasons all played together against the Provisional Government. I feel that the Provisional Government failed, but it is suprising how long they lasted, as they had faced a number of crises in their short reign over the country. To name a few includes starvation in the cities, fuel shortages, a number of military defeats, the lack of reform, civil disorders, competition for power, unpopularity, the uprising of social exiles, the spread of foreign ideas and hyper-inflation.
I think that when the Provisional Government made these three decisions, it sealed their fate: the first was the abolition of the censorship law, the second was the legalising of political parties, and the last, and probably the most damaging was allowing previous political exiles back into the country. When the censorship law was abolished, it allowed the spread of foreign ideas that the Provisional Government opposed. Once these foreign ideas were in circulation, the legalising of political parties allowed them to spread even further. Now, the people knew that the current political system was just as corrupt and unfair to the people as the Tsarist system. And then the return of such political exiles as Lenin, who motivated the masses, meant that the Provisional Government was asking for trouble.
From the evidence that I have given, I conclude that the Provisional Government failed due to a combination of factors, but it was not so much doomed from the start, even though the government was only supposed to be temporary, as illustrated in its name. The Provisional Government could have succeeded if it had listened to what the people had wanted, but they did not listen. The Provisional Government were supposed to be a fresh change after the end of Tsarism, but they ruled in much the same fashion as the Tsar did, except they were more lenient with the ideas of everyone has a right of speech, and that people who were previously excluded deserve another chance under a new system. The Provisional Government made a great number of mistakes during their very short rule of Russia. They did not exercise enough authority over the people who opposed them, such as the various newly legalised political parties. The Provisional Government failed to remedy the starvation that was plaguing the city streets of Russia, and failed to take hold of the hyper-inflation that was gripping the country. The Provisional Government failed to win over the biggest social group of the country, the peasants, who demanded that they should be given land, but they were refused. They also failed to improve the urban working conditions. But the biggest flaw that led to their downfall was that they did not stop the war. If they had stopped the war, then there would not have been such starvation in the cities; people would have to work shorter hours as they were not trying to supply the war effort; there would not have been a shortage of goods, so hyper-inflation would not have taken place. This one, crucial factor was the main reason why the Provisional Government did not succeed, but interlocked with several others, so that circumstances were not favourable for them. The Provisional Government was only supposed to be a temporary ruling body until something more formal was elected to rule the country. The Provisional Government was only supposed to have a short life-span, and that’s exactly what it had due to problems that could’ve easily been remedied, and were not. The potential for success was there, but it was not harnessed effectively.
