1. The Many Revolutions of 1917

2. Provisional Government

3. Dual Power Provisional Government Middle classes, urban dwellers
Liberal democratic parties
Prince L’vov
Aleksandr Kerensky
Mistakes:
Continued the war effort
Refused to give land to peasants
Failed to solve food supply problem
Delayed calling Constituent Assembly

4. Revolutionary Petrograd

5. Dual Power Petrograd Soviet: Workers Soldiers Executive Committee:
Mensheviks
Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs)
Bolsheviks
Refused to take power
Failed to see the threat from the Left

6. Petrograd Soviet of workers’ and soldiers’ deputies

7. Lenin returns, April 1917
Finland Station
April Theses:
No Support for PG
Bourgeois Revolution
Elimination of Army, police and bureaucracy
Pay govt. employees no more than workers
“All Power to the Soviets!”
not Bolshevik power

8. The Bolsheviks of 1917 Marxists Almost dead early 1917
Tightly organized, but then mass party
Led and followed masses
Very good organizers, especially of soviets.
Split over goals:
World Revolution: Lenin and Trotsky
Caretaker govt.: L. Kamenev
Slogans:
“Bread, Peace, Land!”
“All Power to the Soviets!”

9. Peasant Revolutions Slow to hear Village skhod -> soviet
Passed decree
Seized:
Land
Forest
Fought over the spoils
Localism

10. National Revolutions e.g. Ukrainian Central Rada Autonomy
Kerensky and PG split
Ukrainianized regiments
But limited peasants’ support

11. The July Days Kerensky’s June offensive failed.
Workers, soldiers, sailors demonstrated: “All Power to the Soviets!”
Some Bolsheviks encouraged them.
Called for end to the war.
Demanded Soviet seize power.
PG cracked down; over 700 wounded and killed.
Bolsheviks blamed; many arrested.
Lenin fled abroad.