A more important causal factor was the decision to continue fighting the war. This decision was a terrible mistake that the Provisional Government made as the army had long since given up the will and determination to continue with the war and moral was very low especially since the June offensive failed and desertions was ever increasing. Due to the Soviet Order Number One, officers in the Army no longer had the ability to command their men. Kerensky made the mistake of believing that people, especially the peasants, would wait until the end of the war before attempting reforms event thought it was already apparent that the peasants were taking land for themselves. Because of the Provisional Government’s decision to continue fighting the war and not ending it as the people wanted, Lenin was able to gain support as he was opposed to the war and used this as a means of gaining support. However, in reality the Provisional Government had little choice but to continue the war for many reasons. If the government were to disband 9 000 00 soldiers, political stability would be threatened further. Russia wanted to fulfil its treaty obligations to its allies as well as Russia needed money from its allies to survive. If Russia were to pull out of the war, Germany would impose a humiliating peace treaty on Russia, something the Provisional Government was not willing to have. The decision to continue fighting the war was certainly a mistake for the Provisional Government but it certainly was not the most important factor contributing to its downfall.
A more important causal factor still was that the Provisional Government faced threats from the politically left and right. The threat from the left was from the Bolsheviks in an attempt to seize power in July; this became known as the July Days. The attempt failed and was a serious blow for the Bolsheviks as Kerensky was able to reassert his control as he denounced Lenin as a German spy and put leading Bolsheviks in prison. This attempt to seize power shows that the Bolsheviks were still weak and that the Provisional Government still had enough authority to remove a real threat to its power, so in July, it was not inevitable that the Communists would ever have power in Russia. The attack from the right that the Provisional Government faced was the Kornilov Revolt. Kornilov, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, believed that Russia needed a stronger government. He demanded that strikes be banned and tougher discipline on the workers. He started to deploy troops in the direction of Petrograd to restore order, this united left wing groups. Political prisoners were released from prison and a Red Guard was formed to deal with the threat. Kornilov was arrested and the revolt failed. The Bolsheviks were now armed and as they got credit for stopping the revolt, their support increased. The scene was now set for a Bolshevik seizure of power. The Provisional Government failed to deal with the threats especially the Kornilov Revolt in an appropriate way and as a result, the Bolsheviks gained arms to assist with their Coup against the Provisional Government in October 1917.
Perhaps the most important underlying causal factor contributing towards the collapse of the Provisional Government was that dual power gave it a weak foundation from the very start. Dual power only added to the chaos of the situation. Both the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet were uneasy allies. The soviet had a better claim to legitimacy than the Provisional Government as the workers, soldiers and peasants had elected its representatives whereas the Provisional Government consisted of self appointed Duma members whose authority was accepted by army commanders. The Petrograd Soviet introduced Soviet Order Number One. This set up soldiers committee’s in every military unit, therefore it was the soviet which controlled the army, not the Provisional Government. This was a long term underlying weakness of the Provisional Government as in a country like Russia, whoever controlled the army, controlled the country. Lenin and the Bolsheviks used this as a foundation for their communist seizure of power in October 1917.
In conclusion, the Provisional Government had many weaknesses and failed to act in certain situations. It has fundamental flaws in its design from day one but, it was not inevitable that it would fail as in July 1917, it successfully kept power when the Bolsheviks attempted to seize power.
