The Provisional Government Why did it fail?

Divided Leadership Liberals thought the revolution had gone far enough Marxists who wanted to continue to fight until the Dictatorship of the Proletariat was set up

Failure to Recognize The catastrophic condition of Russia (famine, need for land) The mood of the Russian people regarding World War I They actually thought the Russian people would renew the fight with new enthusiasm

Non-Confidence The leaders, who were mostly democratic, saw themselves as illegitimate because they had not been elected They were aware of some problems but felt unable to address them

Lenin’s Propaganda Campaign Slogan “Peace, Land, and Bread” captures support from the people April Thesis outlines his plans: The proletariat and peasants to bring about the communist revolution Immediate peace Seizure of the gentry land All power to the soviets Seizure of factories

Power of the Soviets July 1917 the Bolsheviks, radical soldiers and mob of people try to overthrow the government This attempt fails due to the lack of support from the Soviet Lenin has to flee and the power of the Soviet is shown

Kornilov Affair Kerensky (PM) sent General Kornilov and troops to Petrograd to put down a disturbance Kornilov betrayed the government and tried to take over Kerensky appealed to the masses and Red Guards and put down Kornilov

Importance of Kornilov Affair Showed the people they could not trust the Army Showed the increasing influence of the Bolsheviks and the Soviet Illustrated the power of the Red Guard Gave the Bolsheviks the armed force they needed to take control

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution was different from the one in March: It was well planned A conspiracy among established leaders Not a spontaneous event