Tsarist Russia 1855-1917

Revision Guide

Serfdom
Serfs were a peasant labour force owned and controlled by the landowners. Serfs were
basically agricultural slaves. Serfdom was extremely unpopular in Russia. A prominent
opponent was Catherine the Great who held an essay writing competition about serfdom
around 1767. In 1856, Alexander II said to the Moscow gentry; “It is better to begin to
abolish serfdom from above than to wait for it to abolish itself from below.”

The ‘Tsar Reformer’

On 2nd March 1855 Tsar Nicholas I died leaving Alexander II to sign the Treaty of Paris in
March 1956, signifying Russia’s defeat in the Crimean war.

Alexander II was keen to implement various reforms which he predicted would transform
and modernise Russian society (however he became increasingly reactionary after an
assassination attempt in 1866). His reasons for wanting reform were:
Personal Wanted to modernise Russia
Thought that granting limited freedoms would stimulate the economy
Wanted to enhance the power and prestige of Russia
However he was fully committed to maintaining the Tsarist autocracy
Political Autocracy was creating disloyalty
Peasants were beginning to rise up and protest
Military conscription was extremely unpopular
Nobility incomes were failing and they had no talents for business etc.
Economic To catch up with the modernised west
Serfdom was stopping economic progress
Population increased yet productivity stayed the same causing a supply crisis
Serfdom caused lack of income for landowners during supply crisis
Intellectual Nihilists moved for education to stop Russia’s ‘backward’ nature
Owning people was immoral and detrimental to serfs’ moral fibre
Since 1855 the intelligentsia moved for reform

Alexander issued the emancipation ukase on 3rd March 1861 and effectively freed the serfs.
However, the negative aspects of emancipation outweighed the positives for the Tsarist
government, the nobility and even the serfs themselves. Emancipation pleased nobody.
Orlando Figes - “The Emancipation came as a rude shock not only to the economy but also to
the whole of the gentry”

Alexander II’s other reforms included:

Education - Autonomy for universities, responsibility for education transferred from the
hands of the church to that of the Zemstva, schools were declared ‘Open for all’ regardless
of religion/class/sex. Primary school was still centralised around religion, freedoms in
education produced many radical thinkers, in 1866 government reasserted control over
education.
Judicial - Clarification of Russia’s many confusing laws was implemented, a principle of
‘Equality before the law’ was created and the accused were allowed to employ a defence
council. Judges were still appointed by the Tsar, a jury system was never established in
Poland, the western provinces or the Caucasus and ecclesiastical and military courts were
immune to these reforms.
Local Government - Elected local councils called Zemstva (pl. Zemstvo) were put in place;
Zemstva could make improvements to public services and were to administer poor relief in
times of hardship. Votes were arranged so that the nobility could dominate (42% of votes of
district and 74% of provincial voting power), no national assembly was implemented and
corruption was rife among the Zemstva with members looking out for themselves.
Military - Military service was stopped as a punishment available to the courts, Better
provisioning/accommodation/medical care was introduced and the minimum length of
service was reduced from 25 years to 15. Conscription was made compulsory for all men
above the age of 20 (incl. nobles), the officer class remained highly aristocratic and nobles
found ways of getting out of conscription.
Ecclesiastical - Peter Valuev set up an ecclesiastical commission to look into church
organisation in 1862, the 1868 reforms allowed talented and charismatic priests to gain
promotion and there was widespread relaxation of controls against Polish Catholics and
Jews who were allowed to live outside of ‘the pale of settlement’. After 1863 the policies on
the Poles and Jews were reversed, the 1868 reforms did little to ensure rural priests were
capable and little to solve clerical poverty.
Carl Watts - “Significant though the reforms of Alexander II were, they failed to
create popular support for the Tsarist regime.”
Carl Watts - “The programme of reforms introduced by him was radical in comparison to
previous Russian experience, but it did not go far enough.”
W.E. Moss - “Alexander II proved himself not only a disappointing ‘liberal’, but an indifferent
autocrat.”

Opposition to Alexander II
The radical intelligentsia:
Alexander Herzen - published ‘The Bell’ in 1857, a journal of literature and social comment
Sergei Nechayev - co-wrote ‘Catechism of a revolutionary’ in 1869 alongside Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin - wrote ‘God and the State’ in 1882 and translated ‘the Communist
Manifesto’ into Russian in 1868
Nikolai Chernyshevksy - wrote ‘What is to be done?’ in 1863, his hero Rachmetev renounces
all pleasures of life in order to focus on the revolution
The Nihilists: Ivan Turgenev - wrote ‘Fathers and Sons’ in 1862
The Populists/Narodnikists:
Pyotr Zaichnevsky - wrote ‘Young Russia’ in 1862 “…who is not with us is against us, and who
is against us is our enemy, and enemies one must destroy by all possible means…”
Pyotr Lavrov - wrote the journal ‘Forward’ in 1873, believed that the creation of a socialist
society needed to involve the Russian masses (by educating the peasants)
Going to the People - Populists who sought to incite revolution amongst the peasants. Most
of them were arrested by the police who were often tipped off by the peasants themselves
Land and Liberty (Zemlya i volya) - A more organised group formed from the ‘Going to the
people’ movement
The People’s Will (Narodnaya Volya) - A left-wing terrorist group formed out of Land and
Liberty. Attempts were made to kill the Tsar in April 1879, November 1879, February 1880
and finally 1st March 1881. Alexander Ulyanov (Lenin’s brother) was executed for his role in
Narodnaya Volya.
The Black Partition (Chernyy peredel)- Formed by Georgi Plekhanov, Pavel Avelrod and Vera
Zasulich in 1880, they rejected the use of terror and argued for a people’s social revolution.
Richard Pipes – “The terrorists could not have been more effective in scuttling political
reform had they been on the police payroll”
Orlando Figes – “[The Opposition] soon degenerated – as all terror does – into violence for
violence’s sake”
Alexander III
Tsar Alexander III was extremely committed to maintaining the Tsarist autocracy using
Slavophil solutions rather than western ideas. He appointed a strong tutor for his children in
Konstantin Pobedonostsev, who also served as Grand-Procurator of the Holy Synod of the
Russian Orthodox Church. Alexander II also strengthened reformed the secret police (which
he renamed from the ‘Third Section’ to the ‘Okhrana’) as well as encouraging anti-Semitic
pogroms.
However, he was reasonably unautocratic when it came to the economy as he set up the
Peasants and Nobles land bank to stimulate the economy and did not reinstate serfdom.
Orlando Figes – “[Alexander III] commanded his ministers like a general at war”

The Economy
Nikolai Bunge was appointed Minister of Finance in 1881 and used tariff protection and
railway building to encourage the economy. Bunge believed in direct taxation yet did not
stop indirect taxation. In 1881 he abolished the salt tax and set up the Nobles and Peasants
Land banks in 1882 and 1885 respectively. In 1886 factory boards were set up to arbitrate
industrial disputes yet strikes were not allowed. Bunge becomes Minister of the Interior in
1867 and is seen as ‘the friend of the peasants’.
In 1887 Ivan Vyshnegradsky was appointed Minister of Finance. He raised tariffs and import
duties and in 1891 achieved a budget surplus. He did this by:
1) Collecting grain tax in the autumn when prices were at their lowest, meaning
peasants had to sell more of their corn to pay taxes (meaning surplus could be sold
abroad)
2) Raised taxes on popular products such as cigarettes and vodka
Vyshnegradsky was very obviously corrupt, yet as Alexander III once said: “Let him make 10
million for himself so long as he makes 100 million for the government.” Vyshnegradsky was
more concerned with exporting goods than the welfare of the peasants and stated that “we
must go hungry, but export”. The 1891-92 famine proved him right as 1.5-2 million Russians
starved to death.
Following Vyshnegradsky’s failures Count Sergei Witte was appointed as Minister of Finance
in 1892. Witte believed in the salvation of Russia, protectionism, state capitalism (via foreign
loans, heavy taxes and high interest rates) and the development of the railway network. His
solution for Russia was the Trans-Siberian railway. His main achievement was to put Russia
on the gold standard in 1896, which he later commented on as “one of the greatest
successes in the peaceful cultural development of mankind”.
Witte Corner:
T.A. Morris - “The ultimate aim of his policies was the salvation of Russia”
G Darby - “He abandoned liberal economics for direct state intervention”
Orlando Figes - “Witte [was] the great reforming finance minister of the 1890s”

Witte’s achievements:
 By 1900 Russia led the world in industrial growth
 Secured 4% of the world’s production by 1900, 7% by 1914
 Exports of Russian grain tripled from 1850-1900
 By 1900 Western investment amounted to 900 million roubles
 Railways employed 400,000 people by 1900
 By 1900 Russia had Gold reserves of over 500 million roubles
 Coal production in the Donets basin tripled between 1892-1903
 Put Russia on the Gold Standard in 1896(1 Rouble = $0.5)
Marxism
Karl Marx was influenced by G.W.F. Hegel and his dialectic. Marx thought that the working
class (The Proletariat) would eventually free society. Alongside Friedrich Engels, Marx wrote
‘The Communist Manifesto’ in 1848. In 1867 Marx wrote ‘Das Kapital’. Russian Marxism was
popular amongst the intelligentsia and the Russian Marxist group was founded in 1883 by
Georgi Plekhanov. The All-Russian Social and Democratic Labour Party was formed in 1898
(later the Bolshevik and Menshevik parties).
The Hegelian dialectic
Comprised of three dialectical stages of development:
Thesis (idea)

Antithesis (problem)

Synthesis (solution)

Marx’s theory of dialectical materialism

Marx thought that communism was the key to breaking the Hegelian dialectic through
dialectical materialism:
Primitive Communism

Feudalism
(Via a Bourgeois revolution)
Capitalism
(Via a Proletarian revolution)
Socialism

Communism
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need”

The Bolshevik-Menshevik Split (1903)

Bolsheviks - A tight-knit exclusive party of professional revolutionaries (Such as
Chernyskevksy’s Rachmetev) under Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin. The Bolsheviks had a
strategy of non-cooperation with other parties. The Bolsheviks believed that the Bourgeois
and Proletarian stages of Marx’s revolution could be amalgamated. The term ‘Bolshevik’
means ‘majority’ in Russian, as Lenin wins a vote on party direction (yet the Bolsheviks are
the smaller of the two parties). Key Bolsheviks included Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev and
Grigory Zinoviev.
Mensheviks - Headed by Julius Martov, A mass party open to all revolutionaries. Alliances
with other revolutionaries and bourgeois liberal parties were part of their strategy. They
believed in supporting the trade unions as part of the revolution. They thought that Russia
was not ready for the proletarian revolution and the bourgeois stage had to come first.
‘Menshevik’ means ‘minority’ but in terms of membership, the Mensheviks were the larger
party.

Opposition to Tsar Nicholas II

The Social Revolutionary Movement (SR)
The SR movement was founded by Victor Chernov, Catherine ‘Babushka’ Breshkovsky and
Grigory Gershuni. The SRs were ex-populists who believed in the Russian Revolution and
that the interests of the workers and the peasants were the same. Their views on peasants
set them apart from other Marxists as they talked about ‘land socialisation’ rather than
‘land nationalisation’. They attempted to stir up discontent through strikes and political
assassinations. They promoted a wave of political terrorism in the early 20th century which
led to 2,000 political assassinations between 1901 and 1905. In comparison, more people
were killed in 4 years in Russia than were killed in the entire 30 year span of the troubles in
Northern Ireland.
The Social Democrats (SD)
The SD movement was made up of two factions after the Bolshevik/Menshevik split of 1903.
Key players included Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Julius Martov, Georgi Plekhanov, Joseph Stalin
and Leon Trotsky. They believed primarily in Marxism, however they all believed in the
Revolution and the inevitable spread of Communism. They met and discussed Marxism and
in 1903 split between Lenin’s revisionary Bolsheviks and Martov’s Pure Marxist Mensheviks.
The Okhrana took special interest in the SDs and arrested/exiled many members of both
sects.
The Intelligentsia
Key members of the Intelligentsia included Leo Tolstoy (Author of ‘War and Peace’ and
‘Anna Karenina’) and Pyotr Struve (A Marxist who became a liberal political and then later
an opponent to Lenin’s Bolsheviks). They were normally members of Russian society, well
educated and of the upper classes. They believed in liberal views such as change and reform
however they rarely adopted a revolutionary attitude. The Intelligentsia organised various
meetings and banquets to discuss the situation in Russia and how it could be changed. They
were rarely paid attention to by the Okhrana as they were not seen as much of a threat to
the Tsarist autocracy.

The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

“What this country needs is a short, victorious war to stem the tide of revolution.” –
Vyacheslav von Plehve (Minister of the Interior 1902-1904)

The Trans-Siberian railway meant Russia could get troops quickly to the east. Tsar Nicholas II
had spent some time in Japan when he was younger and believed himself an expert in the
region. When he was in Japan he was attacked and from this developed a racist hate of the
Japanese, often referring to them as ‘Makaki’ (monkeys). Kaiser Wilhelm sent a telegram to
Tsar Nicholas stating “The Admiral of the Atlantic greets the Admiral of the Pacific”, this
encouraged Nicholas to live up to his name in the Pacific against the Japanese.
Events of the Russo-Japanese War
 The flagship Petropavlovsk sunk by a mine –April 1904
 Russian ships begin to be accidentally sunk by Russian mines
 The fleet at Port Arthur is destroyed and General Stoessel surrendered in January
1905
 The Dogger Bank incident – The Russian ship Aurora mistakes British trawlers for
Japanese torpedo boats and fires on them, killing 3 British sailors.
 The Battle of Mukden ends in Russian defeat – Feb 1905
 The Naval Battle of Tsushima ends in a humiliating defeat as the Russians loose 8
battle ships, numerous smaller vessels and 5,000 men whilst the Japanese lost only 3
torpedo boats and 113 men – May 1905
 27th June 1905 - The Mutiny aboard the Battleship Potemkin is eventually crushed
ruthlessly but serves as a beacon for revolutionaries. (It was also made into a Soviet
propaganda film in 1925 by Sergei Eisenstein)
 The Peace of Portsmouth (USA) was signed in 1905, but Nicholas II was faced with
much domestic trouble back in Russia
Orlando Figes – “The humiliation of defeat by the Japanese left the Army and Navy
demoralised”
The 1905 ‘Revolution’
The ‘Revolution’ of 1905 was caused by Russia’s backwardness and recent modernisations,
the incompetence of Tsar Nicholas II, growing political unrest and defeat in the Russo-
Japanese War.
Events of 1905:
 The Putilov workers went on strike
 Protestors outside of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg (lead by Father Grigory
Gapon) went fired upon by Cossacks on ‘Bloody Sunday’. Estimates suggest that
around 1,000 protestors were killed or wounded.
 Grand Duke Sergei (Nicholas’s uncle) is assassinated by an SR terrorist
 The Bulygin report was created; promising a consultative assembly, freedom of
speech, religious tolerance and a reduction in redemption payments
 Bulygin report does not go far enough and students demonstrate in St Petersburg
 More strikes break out across Russia despite copious arrests
 The St Petersburg Soviet is formed and it spreads the revolutionary message
 Witte (Supported by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich) persuades Nicholas II to issue
the October Manifesto.
Orlando Figes – “1905 had changed society for good”

The October Manifesto and the Fundamental Laws

The October Manifesto was issued by Tsar Nicholas II in October 1905. The Manifesto
Promised:
1. “Fundamental civil freedoms; Personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, freedom
of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of association.”
2. “Participation in the State Duma to all those deprived of voting powers…this will
lead to the development of a universal franchise.”
3. “It is established as an unshakeable rule that no law can come into force without its
approval by the State Duma and representatives of the people.”
The Russian Fundamental Laws were published in 1906, the day before the first Duma met:
Article 7 – The Sovereign Emperor exercises power in conjunction with the State Council
and the State Duma
Article 37 – Within the limits determined by law everyone can express his thoughts orally or
in writing
Article 39 – Russian subjects enjoy freedom of religion
Article 44 – No new law can be enacted without the approval of the State Council and the
State Duma
Article 9 – The Sovereign Emperor approves laws; and without his approval no legislative
measure can become law
Article 57 – The Sovereign Emperor determines by a decree the length of the annual session
of the State Council and of the State Duma, as well as the interval between the sessions
Article 87 – If extraordinary circumstances require legislative action whilst the State Duma is
in recess, the Council of Ministers may make recommendations direct to the Sovereign
Emperor.
Bernard Pares – “Russia had half a constitution”

Political Parties in Russia from 1900

Left Wing
Socialist Revolutionaries, founded by Chernov in 1902, favoured political assassination
The Bolshevik Party, founded by Lenin in 1903, ‘appropriated’ funds from banks
The Menshevik Party, founded by Martov in 1903, spread socialism through education
The Kadets, founded by Milyukov in 1905, wanted widespread reform (mostly bourgeoisie)
The Trudoviks, founded by Kerensky in 1905, they criticised the Tsarist regime
Right Wing
The Octobrists, founded 1905 by Guchkov and Rodzianko, accepted the October Manifesto
Union of the Russian People, formed 1905, supported the autocracy, instigated pogroms

The Four Dumas

The First Duma - May-July 1906 (10 weeks), Biggest party=Kadets. A very pro-active Duma,
1/3 of the deputies were from the peasantry, the first Duma dealt with the Vyborg
Manifesto (a Kadet and Trudovik call for further reform). The First Duma was nicknames
‘The Duma of National Hopes’. Both left wing and right wing groups refused to participate
(Bolsheviks, SRs and the Union of Russian People). The Duma did not vote for the budget,
Nicholas thought it was too radical and stated that its demands were “totally inadmissible”.
The Tsar dissolved the Duma after 10 weeks.
The Second Duma - Feb-June 1907 (4 months) Biggest Party=Trudoviks. The left wing parties
agreed to participate. Both the left and right wanted the Duma to fail. The tsarist
government influenced the vote towards the Octobrists. Stolypin passed laws using article
87 and dissolved the Duma after it refused to let the police arrest the SRs. The
representation of workers was decreased and that of the Gentry increased. The Second
Duma was dubbed ‘The Duma of National Anger’.
The Third Duma - Nov 1907-June 1912 (5 years) Biggest Party=Octobrists. The Duma stood
up to the tsar on issues of reform and made decisions on 2,200 out of the 2,500 agricultural
reforms. The Duma was suspended twice for being too confrontational, it turned the
Octobrists into government opponents and by 1912 it was clear that the Duma had no
power. The Third Duma was seen as submissive and nicknamed “The Duma of Lords and
Lackeys”.
The Fourth Duma - Nov 1912-Feb 1917 (over 4 years) Biggest Party=Far Rightists. The final
Duma survived until 1917. The Duma was ignored by the new PM Kokovstov. The Duma was
too divided to be effective and was often split between left and right wing viewpoints.
Orlando Figes – “Bulygin’s Duma was yet another example of too little too late”
Orlando Figes – “The convocation of the Duma...ensured that politics would not longer be
the State’s exclusive preserve”

Pyotr Stolypin
Pyotr Stolypin serves as the Prime Minister of Imperial Russia from 21st July 1906-18th
September 1911. His aims were:
 To modernise and industrialise
 To make rich the peasantry (creation of ‘Kulaks’)
 To end the power of the inefficient Mir and to redistribute land from the Mir to the
nobles
 To encourage greater exports (by starving the population)
 To create a free market economy and not one closely controlled by the state
 To protect noble and state lands
 To increase agricultural yields and to modernise farming methods
 To increase the amount of land under cultivation
 To encourage enterprise and entrepreneurship
 To increase migration to less populated areas
However his ultimate was to preserve the government and the power of the ruling class. He
believed that prosperity for peasants equalled contentment which created political
reliability. Stolypin calculated that his reforms needed 20 years and co-operation and
support from all sections of society to be effective.
Stolypin’s results:
  Resentment and social tension increased because noble lands remained intact
 Richer peasants (Kulaks) were resented by poorer peasants
 His reforms did not have time to work
 He was assassinated in 1911 and war broke out in 1914, destroying any chance of
success
 Stolypin needed support but he was hated across the political spectrum and even
disliked by the Tsar.
On 14th September 1911 whilst attending an Opera performance in the presence of Tsar
Nicholas II, Stolypin was shit twice by Dmitri Bogrov (a Jewish left wing radical and probable
Okhrana agent). Stolypin rose from his chair calmly, removed his gloves and unbuttoned his
jacket to reveal his blood-soaked waistcoat before sinking into his chair and shouting “I am
happy to die for the Tsar”. He then motioned for the Tsar to withdraw to safety before
blessing the Tsar with the sign of the cross. The next morning Tsar Nicholas knelt at
Stolypin’s hospital bed and repeated the words “Forgive me”. Stolypin died four days later
on 18th September and Bogrov was hanged 10 days after this.
Orlando Figes – “There was a Stolypin but no Stolypinites”
Richard Pipes – “The more successful his policies were the less his services were required”
A. Hannah – “Stolypin was undoubtedly the most able statesman of Imperial Russia”

The First World War

Russia became involved in the First World War for various reasons:
 Russia’s great military programme
 Land – Sought to expand the Empire (Hungary? Poland? Germany? Turkey?)
 Embarrassment at previous military ‘defeats’ (Russo-Japanese war, Balkan Crisis)
 Large Army (Biggest by far)
 Russia saw itself as the ‘Slav Protector’
 Turkey were ‘weak’ and could be easily invaded
 Russia needed to maintain the respect of the Triple Entente
Russian events during the First World War:
1909 – Senior officers were appointed based on loyalty to the Tsar (incompetence)
1914 – Defeat at Tannenburg; 70,000 killed, 10,000 imprisoned and as a result
General Samsonov shoots himself
1914 – St Petersburg is renamed ‘Petrograd’.
1914 – Defeat at the Masurian Lakes (loss of face)
1914 – Turkey enters the war, access to Mediterranean cut
1914 – Military Authority divided between Stavka and Front Commanders
1914 – Russians sent unencoded messages so the Germans knew their plans
1914 – Prohibition was introduced (decline in tax revenue= borrowing + inflation)
1915 – Grand Duke Nikolai orders the ‘Great Retreat’ (Russia looses much land)
1915 – Nicholas II appoints himself Commander in Chief
Throughout this period the population of Russia’s cities was growing which led to a decline
in living standards and much food shortages.

The Beginning of the end for Nicholas II

Who was to blame for the loss of respect for the Tsarist regime?
Nicholas II – “Weak as water”, many died at the Khondynka fields massacre at his
coronation, he believed too much in ‘God’s will’ to solve problems. Bloody Sunday caused
resentment, as did his reliance upon the approval of Tsarina Alexandra and Grigory
Rasputin. After he made himself Commander in Chief, the public held him directly
responsible for Russian military failures.
Tsarina Alexandra – Unable to hide her feelings, manipulative of Nicholas II (undermining
respect for him) and popularly disliked because of her ‘Germanic’ origins.
Grigory Rasputin – Rumoured love affair with the Tsarina (not in fact true), manipulative of
the Tsar and Tsarina, a promiscuous character whose illicit acts undermined the Tsarist
regime and made people loose respect for the Tsar who was so supportive of Rasputin.

The February Revolution

Milyukov’s speech “Is this treason or folly?” – 1st November 1916
Rasputin’s murder (by Nicholas’s family) – 16th December 1916
February 1917
14th – Duma reassembles
18th – Putilov workers strike
22nd – Nicholas Returns to the front
23rd – Activists begin to make red flags
24th – International women’s day, 200,000 workers protest
25th – Nicholas orders the suspension of the Duma and troops to stop protests
26th – Protestors are shot on the streets of Petrograd (but troops soon mutiny)
2nd March – Nicholas sends General Ivanov to crush mutiny in Petrograd but Ivanov’s
troops mutiny against him. Nicholas’s train is stopped at Pskov on the way to
Petrograd.
Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on 2nd March 1917.
Orlando Figes – “Nicholas II remained totally oblivious to the extremity of the situation”
Graham Darby - “The [February] revolution was a spontaneous affair”
David Marples - “Once the masses had taken to the streets, there were groups within then
that actively pursued the downfall of the old regime”
Why did February 1917 happen?
Autocracy – Nicholas was not very good at it and the whole system was shambolic
Economy – 1917 inflation at 400% p.a. (war costs/profiteering/national debt...)
Industrialisation – Caused poverty and poor conditions (backward agriculture remained)
Opposition – SRs, SDs, Progressive Bloc (Duma), Camilara (Nicholas’s family)
Unrest – 1917 prices rose six fold, Putilov strikes, international women’s day
War – Tsar as CiC, 15 mill farmers at the front, Trains used for troops not food, mutinies
Alexandra – Rodzainko; “Remove the empress from politics”, her Teutonic origins
Rasputin – Controlling of the Tsarina and Tsar
The Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet
The Provisional Government (PG) met in the Tauride Palace (Where the Duma used to
meet). It was lead by Prince L’vov as Prime Minister; “all we did was exchange a Tsar with a
Prince”. The PG consisted of:
Prince L’vov (No party) - PM
Milyukov (Kadets) – Foreign Affairs
Guchkov (Octobrist) – War and Navy
Kerensky (Trudovik) – Justice
The Petrograd Soviet (PS) was formed from Industrial workers, Soldiers and Sailors. They
issued ‘Order Number 1’ on March 1st 1917 to protect the rights and freedoms of the
workers and armed forces. Soldiers and Sailors only had to obey orders if the PS agreed with
the decisions of the PG/State Duma. Alexander Kerensky was a member of both the PG and
PS and served as a link between the two, leading to him being popular and well-liked by
both executive bodies. The PS controlled the railways, the Army and Navy, the power
supplies, factories and the Petrograd telegraph station.

During the initial ‘honeymoon period’ in which the PG and PS worked together after the
revolution of February 1917, many Tsarist ministers were arrested and imprisoned, the
Police were told to ‘disband themselves’ as well as the Okhrana, the PG introduced total
political and religious amnesty as well as abolishing capital punishment and establishing
freedom of speech and the free press. The PG also promised elections for a constituent
assembly as well as much needed land reform and redistribution. Regarding the war, the PG
adopted a policy of Revolutionary Defencism which meant continuing the war on the
defence in order not to loose any more land.

1917
March 2nd - Nicholas abdicates in favour of his brother Michael
2nd - PG formed under Prince L’vov
3rd - Michael steps down when offered the crown
14th - PS issues it’s ‘Address to the people of the whole world’
April 3rd – Lenin returns to Petrograd
4th – Lenin issues his April Theses
April Theses
The April Theses suggested that February had not been a genuine class revolution but a
palace coup, which had given power to the bourgeoisie. The April Theses demanded that:
 All power should be transferred to the Soviet (non-compliance with the PG)
 The War should be brought to an immediate end
 All land should be taken over by the state and given to peasants by local soviets
May 5th – PG coalition of Kadets and Socialists formed
16th – Sailors from the Kronstadt naval base rejected the authority of the PG
24th – Lenin is furious with Bolsheviks in Kronstadt and forces them to accept the
authority of the PG
June 16th – Major Russian offensive launched in the South-Western front
The PG restores the death penalty and court martials
July 2nd – Street demonstrations and an anti-government rally in Petrograd, Trotsky joins
the Bolshevik party
3rd-4th The July Days – Discontent about Russian failures in the war lead to protesting
which turned into violent.The Bolsheviks decided to provide leadership for the
demonstration. In total, 700 people were killed during the violent protests which
called for all power to go to the Soviet.
5th-7th Bolsheviks are arrested (including Trostky), Lenin flees to Finland
16th – General Kornilov made Commander in Chief
18th – Kerensky becomes Prime Minister if the Provisional Government
August 26th/30th- The Kornilov revolt
Kerensky asks Kornilov to bring trustworthy troops to Petrograd as the German
threatens the capital. Kornilov sees this as an opportunity to restore order. Kerensky
asks the Soviet to defend Petrograd from counter-revolution (in the same way the
right wing military figure of Napoleon took control after the French revolution). A
resistance of workers forces Kornilov to abandon his march on Petrograd. As a
precaution, the Soviet had armed the Bolshevik ‘Red Guard’ in order to counter
Kornilov’s troops. This meant that the Red Guard and the Bolsheviks were now
armed and could claim themselves as the ‘Defenders of Petrograd’.
Orlando Figes – “As for the Provisional Government – well, it was looking increasingly
provisional”
September
9th – Bolsheviks gain a majority in the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets and Trotsky
becomes Chairman (Petrograd)
12th – Lenin urges action; “History will not forgive us if we do not assume power
now”
15th – Bolshevik central committee rejects Lenin’s call for an armed insurrection
25th – Trotsky is elected President of the Petrograd Soviet
October
7th – Lenin returns to Petrograd
10th – Bolshevik Central Committee commits itself to an armed insurrection
20th – The First Meeting of the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) of the
Petrograd Soviet headed by Trotsky
23rd – Kerensky moves against the Bolsheviks and Lenin orders the Bolsheviks to rise
up against him.
24th – Pravda shut down at 5am, The Bolsheviks begin their coup
25th/26th – Kerensky flees Petrograd dressed as a nurse whilst the Bolsheviks
(alongside the Battleship Aurora) storm the Winter Palace
26th – The Bolsheviks establish Sovnarkom (new government)
27th – The Bolsheviks have taken power ‘in the name of the Soviet’
November
8th – Bolsheviks issue decrees on Land reform, Peace and Workers’ control
11th – Constituent elections held, Bolsheviks win 175 seats out of 717, SRs 370. It will
meet for one day in 1918 before the Bolsheviks overturn it
December
2nd – Armistice signed at Brest-Litovsk
7th – The ‘Cheka’, a new Bolshevik secret police even more ruthless and efficient than
the Okhrana, is formed under the leadership of ‘Iron’ Felix Dzerzhinsky

October 1917
The revolution of October 1917 happened as a result of:
 The weak Provisional Government (with its delaying of constituent elections and
land reform)
 The continuation of the War, food shortages and general public unrest (as
demonstrated in the July days)
 The incompetence of the PG during the Kornilov revolt and the subsequent arming
and morale boosting of the Bolsheviks
 The lack of real opposition to the Bolsheviks (SRs, Kadets, Mensheviks all did not
oppose them)
 The strength of the Bolshevik party under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky, as
well as using the July days and Kornilov affair to their advantage
 The Bolsheviks were supported by many people as a result of their slogan of ‘Peace,
bread and land’ and had many influential supporters such as the Red Guard, the
Peter and Paul Fortress and the Battleship Aurora
The Bolshevik revolution of October 1917 happened as a result of Provisional Government
weaknesses, Bolshevik strengths, the failures of Kerensky and popular dissatisfaction with
the split between the PG and PS.
Adam Ulam – “The Bolsheviks did not seize power, they picked it up”
Robert Service – “Lenin alone was respected by all sections of the Bolshevik party and his
patriarchal style strengthened his dominance”