Russia : 1917

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Russia 1917
By Miss HoulsonDownloaded from
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Russia 1917

• June The Provisional Government uses troops
  to attack Germany.
• Russia is badly defeated.
• Demands for peace are made.
• July 16 18 Demonstrations in Petrograd turn
  into a premature Bolshevik uprising against
  the Provisional Government.
• Referred to as The July Days.

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• July It fails to overthrow the government and
  Lenin flees to Finland.
• Leon Trotsky creates the Red Guards, the
  Bolshevik military force.
• Trotsky becomes the Chairman of the
  increasingly influential Bolshevik
  administration and political centre
• The Petrograd Soviet.
• Remember Whoever controlled the soviet could
  also control Russia.

4

• August 1 Kerensky, the leader of the
  Provisional Government appoints General
  Kornilov as the Commander-in-Chief of the
  Russian army.
• September 10 Right wing coup led by General
  Kornilov collapses in defeat.
• Bolsheviks and Red Guards have some of
  their old leaders released and armed by
  Kerensky in order to protect Petrograd.
• Kornilovs men are hungry and scared and
  they mutiny to join the Petrograd soviet.

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• Meanwhile Lenin is busy writing letters to other
  Bolshevik leaders urging them to make
  preparations for a revolution.
• The Bolsheviks popularity grows steadily
  and they are now a real power in Russia.
• Lenin encourages Trotsky to prepare his
  men for a violent seizure of power.

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• October 23 The Bolshevik Central Committee
  under Lenin vote for revolutionary
  measures.
• At this time in Russia, prices of goods
  are ten times higher than they were before
  the Great War.
• People are starving, food and supplies
  are not getting through (no thanks to the
  Provisional Government).
• All the while, Lenin is busy formulating
  his strategy making the plans for the
  revolution.

7

• November 3 Trotskys Military Revolutionary
  Committee take control of the Petrograd
  garrison after the mutiny in the July Days.
• November 6 Red Guards begin to occupy
  strategic government buildings across
  Petrograd.
• Kerensky flees.
• Provisional Government barricade
  themselves into the Winter Palace.
• Bolsheviks storm the palace during the
  night and around 2am they arrest the
  government ministers.
• The bloodless coup is over.

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After the seizure of power

• On the 8th November 1917, the All Russian
  Congress of Soviets give power to the 15
  Bolshevik Commissars under the leadership of
  Lenin.
• But, why were they able to seize power?

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Why were the Bolsheviks able to seize power?

• They had a strong political and economic centre
  in the Petrograd Soviet.
• They had their own armed forces, the Red
  Guards.
• They were organised and disciplined and had clear
  planned strategies.

• They were realistic, practical and clever in
  setting their short term goals.
• The Provisional Government was weak and
  ineffective.
• Lenin was an inspiring leader with vision,
  clarity and ability.