October/November 1917 Revolution

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  • Created by: Natalie
  • Created on: 20-04-19 20:37

October/November 1917 Revolution

Causes

  • World War One: It was continuing to be fought in an offensive method but this wasn't what people wanted when the Provisional Government (PG) took over. Morale throughout the army and soldiers was decreasing as Russia continued to lose.
  • June Offensive: The Provisional Governments decision failed and left Russia even more isolated and defeated in the war. This led to revolt and can be directly linked to the July Days.
  • Kornilov Coup: The main consequence of this was that the Bolsheviks were now armed having been released from prison to help defeat Kornilov and his forces. Also Bolshevik support increased as they had 'saved the city'. Bolshevik membership up to 200,000
  • Provisional Government mistakes:They allowed political exiles, including Bolshevik leaders, to return to the country. They were very unsuccessful when dealing with crisis and they were unable to stop the large economic deterioration, meaning people were still starving and had low living conditions. They lacked clear policies and ultimately failed to suppress opposition to their rule, allowing the opposition to gain more support and a higher ability to overthrow the PG.
  • Lenin and his return: He was a very powerful leader and on his return produced the April Theses. This showed that the Petrograd Soviet would not support the PG on policies that they didn't agree with. Most importantly Lenin's return provided an alternative to the Provisional Government, and one that was willing to support the Petrograd Soviets,

Effects

  • The PG was overthrown and the Bolsheviks took power. This paved the way for their oppressive regime and started the communist rule in Russia.
  • Decrees created, which helped give women and men equal rights, set a maximum working day and promised an end to the war.
  • It removed ranks from the army, but these were re-established by Trotsky during the civil war
  • Sovnarkom set up which was exclusively comprised of Bolshevik members
  • Long term consequence is the end of involvement in the First World War and the poor terms of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk.
  • Long term consequence is the civil war. This happened as a consequence of the Bolsheviks oppressive regime and poor policies. This event put the Bolsheviks in power in the first place and started the process of opposition to be created.

Overall summary

There were many reasons why it happened but it is mainly due to the PG's poor consolidation of power and their poor mistakes throughout their short time in power. There are also many effects, but it led to more discontent in Russia, and can be shown to link directly to the Russian Civil War

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