Dual power

• Petrograd soviet

  • wing of tauride palace
  • 1300 grow to 3000 members in a month
  • Menshevik led
  • Ensures working class interest and soldiers
• ProvisionAl government

  Progressive bloc - run Russia till elections for a constituent assembly - transitional - ran Russia in war

  Prince Lvov is pm

  Liberals and Kadets majority

  12 ministers initially
• Power lay with soviet but ran by pg
• Soviet Order 1 - 1 march - soldier committees had control of weapons and needed soviet support for pg orders
• Why soviets dont take power

  • afraid of ouster revolution
  • lack experience
  • Mensheviks believed in proletariat revolution - time isn’t right and current is bourgeoise
• Honeymoon phase legislation :

  • Arrest and imprison all tsarist ministers - blame for war and treason
  • Okrana disbanded - opposition in power
  • Death penalty repealed - amnesty to political and religious prisoners
  • Censorship removed and everyone given freedom of association - liberal freedom to max
  • Elections for constituent assembly were done by universal suffrage and secret ballot
  • Eight hour day and right to strike and unionise
  • Petrograd soldiers didn’t need to join war
  • Freest and most liberal county in world - too high optimism and ultimate disappointment
• Outside capital

  • Dismantled tsarist symbols
  • Zemstva includes peasants workers Mensheviks dn Bolsheviks - local council
  • Towns and cities set up own soviet - led by social revolutionaries and commies
• Problets facing provisional gov

  • War - Kadets dominsated and didnt want to pull out
  • Eager to maintain British and french relationship - rely on Foriegn investment and support
  • Socialists split on war - all agree to continue for defensve purpose
  • Lvov PM - Milyukov war minister - April 1917 wants to fight aggressive - anti war demonstrations are rife
  • Milyukov resigns - new pg - 5 socialists join - leader of sr + Mensheviks
  • Bodies aren’t seperate so performance tied to them - Bolsheviks use to advantage
  • Desertion is high
• July offensive - summer 1917 - major attack against Germans - kerenski propoganda campaign

  Gave public speeches - middle Class volunteer services - boost moral

  16 June - 3 days - thousands die and territory is lost - everyone blames pg and korenski

  Huge demonstrations
• Peasnats and land

  • hopeful their chance to share nobility estate land
  • raised expectations - wanted pg to grant land - they wanted constituent gov - fearful of soldiers deserting
  • Peasants take land anyway - 237 cases - attacks became violent
  • relationship sours and they turn to Bolsheviks
  • withhold grain and gov tries to fix price - gov takes grain - annoys them
• national minorities

  • hoped they’d regain independence - wanted autonomy
  • Kadets dominated and wanted empire
  • waiting for ca
  • ukraine given moderate processions - outrage three Kadets resigned - reshuffle
• Social reform

  • Everuthing was too slow
  • wages increase and so does inflation - frustrated
  • strikes increase - demand respective - assertive and militant and political
  • Lockouts start - unemployment rises - pg friendly with owners
  • workers incentivised with rises - closing as couldn’t afford - blame gov - listen to Bolsheviks
• Economy

  • inflation - high unemployment
  • Factories shut, shortages
  • Feb - July - 600 shut - 100k jobs lost
  • Cost of living rises
  • blame pg