Why Did the Bolsheviks Succeed in 1917? Essay Example
Why did the Provisional Government fail, and the Bolsheviks succeed, in 1917?
During 1917 the political system of Russia, and the political opinions of its public, began to change. The First World War was deeply taking its toll, with the casualties running into millions, and food shortages were reaching crisis levels across Russia. Presided over by the Provisional Government, who had little support and even less real power, the people of Russia became restless. In October, the animosity between Government and populace came to a head, and a revolution put Lenin’s socialist Bolshevik party in power. This essay will show that, while the Bolshevik party was dedicated and driven in the values they believed in, it was only the seizing of opportunity, and a lot of luck, that they succeeded in taking power.
After the abdication of the Tsar, it was decided that the Russian people should democratically elect a new Constituent Assembly. Until an election could be organised, the Provisional Government, made up partly of ex-Duma members, was placed in control of Russia.
Large delays, however, resulted in the Provisional Government remaining in power for far longer than was originally planned, and by October their failings as a government had resulted in leaving them little real power, and almost no public support.
The largest factor in this public unrest was the Provisional Government’s insistence that Russia should continue fighting in the First World War. Millions of Russians had been killed, a large percentage of them ‘peasants in uniform’ – farmers who were untrained and unprepared for what awaited them. With so many farmers fighting or already dead, coupled with severe inflation due to lack of government control of the economy, huge food shortages swept across Russia.
As well as the lack of public support, the Provisional Government was also almost powerless in political and military terms. The Soviets, elected by workers and peasants and therefore generally against
During 1917 the political system of Russia, and the political opinions of its public, began to change. The First World War was deeply taking its toll, with the casualties running into millions, and food shortages were reaching crisis levels across Russia. Presided over by the Provisional Government, who had little support and even less real power, the people of Russia became restless. In October, the animosity between Government and populace came to a head, and a revolution put Lenin’s socialist Bolshevik party in power. This essay will show that, while the Bolshevik party was dedicated and driven in the values they believed in, it was only the seizing of opportunity, and a lot of luck, that they succeeded in taking power.
After the abdication of the Tsar, it was decided that the Russian people should democratically elect a new Constituent Assembly. Until an election could be organised, the Provisional Government, made up partly of ex-Duma members, was placed in control of Russia.
Large delays, however, resulted in the Provisional Government remaining in power for far longer than was originally planned, and by October their failings as a government had resulted in leaving them little real power, and almost no public support.
The largest factor in this public unrest was the Provisional Government’s insistence that Russia should continue fighting in the First World War. Millions of Russians had been killed, a large percentage of them ‘peasants in uniform’ – farmers who were untrained and unprepared for what awaited them. With so many farmers fighting or already dead, coupled with severe inflation due to lack of government control of the economy, huge food shortages swept across Russia.
As well as the lack of public support, the Provisional Government was also almost powerless in political and military terms. The Soviets, elected by workers and peasants and therefore generally against