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Was the weakness of the Provisional Government the most Important reason for Bolshevik victory In October 1 917? The weakness of the Provisional was arguably among one of the most Important factors contributing to the Bolshevik victory In October 1917. The Provisional Government shared power with the All Russian Soviet which meant that their political power was limited. The EARS had control of the Russian military.
This was because of order number 1; order number 1 made the CAR allowed to give commands and the Provisional Government could do nothing about it, r if the Provisional Government wanted to bring out laws or commands they would only be passed if the CAR approved of them. This left the Provisional Government quite vulnerable for anything. The Provisional Government also failed to address the mass food shortages throughout the country. This left angry and starving people all over and blaming the Provisional Government. During World War I the Provisional Government wanted to win support of Russia. So they planned the June Offensives.
But this proved to fall. On June 1 8th Russian troops had started to flee on due to the German and Status-Hungary counter attacks. This led the Russian people to think the Provisional Government was weak because they could not fight their own battles and also that the Russian military was not loyal either as most of them fled. Another reason why people thought the Provisional Government was weak was they had lost control of the country side. Peasants were seizing land from land owners and re- distributing it between themselves, the Provisional Government had little to no authority over the country side due to lack of ability of authority.
This led to many people believing the Provisional Government could not manage running a country let alone peasants in the country side. As we know, ‘Provisional’ only means temporary. The Provisional Government was only there until an elected body of law would come In. It could also be considered that the weakness of non-Bolshevik parties were a significant factor In enabling Bolshevik victory. Compared to the Bolshevik’s, non- Bolshevik attendance was very low. This was because other nor-I-Bolshevik parties were not as dedicated as the Bolshevik giving them an advantage.
Non-Bolshevik arties had believed that revolution had already happened (February 1917) but another one was about to happen. This made non-Bolshevik parties in a way, more laid back. To them it was like the revolution is over and now they are ready to vote and get an elected body of law. Non-Bolshevik parties supported the Provisional Government. As we know the Provisional Government is not very popular due to the lack of attention to the food shortages and economic crisis due to the war, but with other parties supporting it would lead to them not being very popular and they would then not have very much support either.
This gave the Bolshevik the upper hand. Non-Bolshevik parties were waiting for the constituent assembly which was were a national vote would happen and they would decide on a new constitution. But the Bolshevik did the complete opposite. They arrested most of the Provisional any blood loss. This was because of having control over the MR. and the Red Guard. They knew that they had great military force and surrendered easily. The Bolshevik had seized power under the Soviet. They had done this because they know that the SIR’S would have more votes than them and also because they thought that the
Provisional Government were starting to crack down on the Bolshevik for a takeover plot. The final reason why the Bolshevik were able to over throw the Provisional Government in October was because of the parties’ unique strengths. The Bolshevik leader, Lenin was a very determined man. He tried to win Bolshevik support in the Lily days but failed but that didn’t stop him from trying. He was successful in October 1917 because of his determination and hard work to over throw the Provisional Government but also with the help of Trotsky and his military support of the Red
Guard and MR.. Without the Red Guard and MR., the Bolshevik would have struggled to over throw the Provisional Government. The MR. were supposed to be loyal to the Provisional Government but instead turned to the Bolshevik leaving them Neck and unprotected. Linen’s slogans were a big factor as well. ‘Peace, Bread, Land’ ‘All Power to the Soviets’ these slogans made people want to support the Bolshevik because they wanted to do the complete opposite to what the Tsarist regime wanted and the Provisional Government. This supported the Bolshevik major and helped
In over the Russian population. Finally the Corrosion Affair, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the army thought that a left-wing party was going to try to over throw the Provisional Government after the July days. But the Provisional Government feared that he was going to try and over throw them with the army, this led to his arrest. This made the Provisional Government seem weak to its people once again. The Bolsheviks were able to seize power from the Provisional Government in October 1917. This was due to a wide variety of contributing factors.
But even from he beginning the Provisional Government faced problems, problems they could not handle due to the poor leadership of Serenely and the bad decisions they made. Like staying in the war which led to food shortages and economic problems which were Norse by the war. Also the fact the army were not loyal to the Provisional Government which weakened them terribly. To conclude the weakness of the Provisional Government was the reason for Bolshevik victory. Because they had no military force to back them up as the EARS controlled them but also because of the terrible decisions they had made for the problems they had faced.