As the Petrograd Soviet had so much more support than the provisional government, they had to consult it before making any decisions, (i.e. a dual government). This was a very dangerous situation as if the two bodies disagreed the provisional government would be unable to stand up alone without the support of the Petrograd Soviet.
When Lenin was allowed to return in April by the Germans (in the hope he would help with Russian withdrawal from the war) he encouraged the Bolsheviks to oppose everything the provisional government did, ensuring that as the provisional government lost support the Bolsheviks would gain popularity, and not be associated with any mistakes that the provisional government made. Therefore the return of Lenin was a very important factor in the revolution as he initiated the separation from the government.
Joanna Vickers LVN
Lenin was right, the provisional government made many mistakes that lost them a great deal of respect and support. This made it much easier for the Bolsheviks to gain supporters of angry Russians who wanted to remove the provisional government from power. Lenin’s promises of, “Peace, Bread and Land,” seemed very attractive, as at this time the Russians were suffering desperate food shortages due to the continuation of the war. The provisional government would not pull out of the war, despite horrendous losses and mass desertion. They had lost many military offensives and the army was lacking arms and food. Also, the peasants began to claim land for themselves as their demands were not being met. This led to chaos in the countryside due to land changes and chaos in the towns due to food shortages. The provisional government also postponed elections until November, which made them look as if they did not want a democratically ruled country. This led to a great growth in Bolshevik support as most people were anti- provisional government.
When an army general, Kornilov, appeared to be preparing to attack Petrograd and take over power, Kerensky (vice chair of the provisional government) released the Bolshevik leaders from prison and armed their supporters. However, Kornilov never reached Petrograd, and so the Bolsheviks were left free and armed in Petrograd, leaving them in a perfect position to begin a rebellion.
Soon after this, the Bolsheviks won control of the Petrograd Soviet, and demanded that the soldiers must obey the Soviet. This gave them power to up rise, on the 25th October the Winter Palace was stormed, and a week later the Bolsheviks won control in Moscow.
Altogether, I think it is fair to say that the February revolution was the long term cause for the second revolution, as it left Russia unstable and confused over who was in control. The short term reasons were the mistakes made by the provisional government and their increasing unpopularity, and also Lenin’s cunning plans to attract support away from the provisional government to the Bolsheviks.
