To what extent did the failures of the Provisional Government cause the November 1917 Revolution?

Another aspect which encouraged the growth of a Bolshevik Russia was the June Offensive, a war strategy planned by Kerensky, increased people’s unrest, distrust of the Provisional government, and support of Bolshevism. He commanded the Russian Army to attack the Austro-German force, but the Germans and Austrians easily counterattacked, showing the defective Russian offensive. This left the weakening of the Russian Army in evidence, showing as well the military and political negligence of the Provisional Government. As a result of the army’s failure, Kerensky appointed General Kornilov as Army Commander in Chief.

    The July Days was another issue which showed the failures of the Provisional Government. Russia kept losing battles in the war, food remained scarce and is there was any, it was very expensive. As a way to protest and demanding the surrender of power to the soviets, soldiers and sailors, joined by factory workers, marched through the streets of Petrograd in July 1917, causing riots. The government used its loyal troops to put an end to these, and accused Vladimir Lenin, a Communist politician, for starting the incident. In addition, due to the big human cost and shock of the July Days, Prince Lvov resigned, leaving Kerensky in power. The speculation of Communist participation and Lvov’s resignation considerably increased the popularity of Bolshevism. A month after this event, Kornilov, now Commander in Chief of the army, was responsible for the Kornilov Affair. Seeing the Bolsheviks as traitors, he wanted the government to  more harshly with the communists, but thought the Provisional Government would not do so. For that reason, he decided to move against the soviet to take power, bringing troops towards the city of Petrograd. However, many of his soldiers mutinied, and those who had not faced 20,000 Red Guards as enemies, part of a force created by the workers of Petrograd to defend the city. The attempted takeover was a failure, and Kornilov was arrested. This event evinced the collapse of Army discipline, and made public opinion support the Bolsheviks, the only party who promised to achieve peace.

    Apart from these factors, the Provisional Government’s success to meet the hopes and expectations of Russia’s different social groups is another factor which increased support of Bolshevism and the later arrival of the November 1917 Revolution. As for the peasantry, as a way of satisfy their demand of land transfer, the government set up Land Committees to gather information about the local land. However, the peasants’ desire for a Democratic Republic was far from being fulfilled; the government still used armed force  to suppress rural disturbances, it created a state monopoly on grain and increased food prices, lowering producers’ motivation, put local landowners in charge of peasant administrative bodies, so that peasantry’s demands would be ignored, and finally, the government violently put off peasant attempts to seize land from landlords on their own, since the promised land distribution reforms had never been made. Therefore, the peasantry’s huge discontent assured their support of Bolshevism. Concerning the working classes, their expectations of better living and working conditions were not met either. Though the Provisional Government created factory committees and conciliation chambers, these were only made to keep an eye on the maintenance of the workers’ status quo in factories. In addition, discipline in factories continued being harsh, working hours were not reduced, and living standards and unemployment kept worsening. This shows the working classes did not see improvements of any kind during the Provisional Government rule. Last but not least, immigrants, who longed for greater self-rule and participation as workers and peasants, did not get any of this. The government only recognized the independence of Poland from German control. Therefore, peasants and immigrants experienced the same fate as Russian workers, which is why the three groups became attracted to Bolshevik ideas.

    The evidence presented above suggests that, all in all, the Provisional Government’s failures contributed to the outbreak of the November 1917 Revolution because they aggravated the Russian’s feelings of unrest and despair. The decision to continue fighting WW1 worsened economic and social aspects of Russian life; the June Offensive, the July Days and the Kornilov Affair showed how weak and disorganized the Russian army and government were, and also led public opinion to support the Bolsheviks; finally, the Provisional Government’s failure to satisfy the demands of peasants, workers, immigrants and the army made these consider Bolshevism as a good alternative to a weak, violent and corrupt government. That way, the failures of the Provisional Government significantly contributed to the onset of the November 1917 Revolution.

Number of words: 1076.