1917-18 - Opposition

• The initial issue of opposition was from organisations that the Bolsheviks claimed they had control over.
• Bankers refused finance and access to reserves.

  • It took 10 days to secure the State Bank and only then through the threat of armed force.
  • Bolsheviks including Stalin had been noted bank robbers not long before this.
• Kerensky set up a base at Gatchina about 30 miles south of Petrograd.

  • He had fled Petrograd during the October Revolution.
  • He had an army which included 18 Cossack regiments, some SRs and a group of cadets and army officers.
  • In contrast, Lenin had no direct control of the army and many of the Petrograd garrison had left to return to the countryside.
• There was resistance across Russia.

  • Moscow saw fighting between those loyal to the PG and Bolsheviks including heavy fighting near the Kremlin.
  • Other places such as Kiev, Kazan and Smolensk saw strong resistance to Bolshevik control.
  • Railway and communication workers went on strike in protest against the creation of a 1-party state.
  • The position of the Bolsheviks looked bleak as they had seized power with ease but holding onto it looked increasingly difficult.