The Kornilov Affair

• General Kornilov, head of the Armed Forces in the South West, ordered a large number of troops to march on Petrograd and restore order.
• Kornilov's ultimate aim is unclear but he did want to remove the Soviet from its role.

  • He certainly saw Lenin as a German spy and the Bolsheviks undermining the army's efforts.
• Kornilov may have also intended to replaced the PG and restore autocracy in a possible military dictatorship.
• The PG needed to defend itself but did not have any control over the army due to Order No 1.
• To defend Petrograd, the PG needed to call on the support of all loyal workers and arm them.

  • This meant the Bolsheviks could mobilise and organise large numbers of workers and soldiers into a defence force led by their "Red Guards".
• The PG provided the Bolsheviks with arms and released several of their leaders from jail.

  • Many of these leaders were arrested in the July Days.
• In the end, the railway workers prevented Kornilov from reaching the city and most of his soldiers refused to obey his orders.
• The Bolsheviks enjoyed a huge surge in support as the defenders of the capital against the forces of counter-revolution without actually doing very much.

  • They were also now well armed.