THE REVOLUTIONS OF 1917

Russia on the eve of World War One

Even before the First World War, the Tsarist regime was facing significant problems. The peasants were demanding land; the workers were demanding higher wages and better working conditions; the middle class were demanding political reforms to make Russia a true constitutional democracy.

However, the regime clung to power because it still had the support of key social classes and institutions in the country: the army, the bureaucracy and the nobility. The army played a crucial role in crushing the 1905 Revolution, particularly in the countryside, where peasant unrest had erupted into rebellion.

The March Revolution

When World War I broke out, political and social divisions were temporarily put aside; Russia was swept by a wave of patriotic fervour. Recruitment for the army even alleviated the unemployment problem.

However, difficulties soon appeared.

The Russian army was completely unprepared to fight a modern, technological war. Many of its soldiers did not even have guns, so it is little wonder that casualties were high (3.8 million in the first 10 months).

On the home front, agricultural productivity fell as a result of the shortage of labour in the countryside. With the transportation system stretched to the limit by the demands of war, much of the food that was produced could not be delivered to the cities. The result was a serious shortage of food. By 1916, fuel was also in short supply, forcing many factories to close their doors. Unemployment rose and supply of consumer goods fell.

When these problems were combined with the harsh winter of 1916-17, the result was an increase in public dissatisfaction, not only with the war but with the Tsarist regime itself. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that the Tsar was unable to provide a solution to this national crisis, nor imbue the people with any real hope.

A series of strikes broke out in March 1917, and when the troops were ordered to fire on the protesters, they went over to the side of the workers. The Tsar was forced to abdicate.

The period of dual government

What emerged following the March revolution was a system of dual power, based on the Provisional Government and the workers’ soviets (councils).

The Provisional Government was drawn from members of the Fourth Duma (elected five years earlier, under the very limited franchise permitted by the Tsar). It represented the elite – particularly the aristocratic and middle classes. Not surprisingly, its policies were very conservative; in fact, it had only one left wing member (Alexander Kerensky, who was also a member of the Petrograd Soviet).

The soviets represented the masses – the peasants, workers and soldiers – and their delegates were elected by the people. The most important of these councils – the Petrograd Soviet – had more real power than the Provisional Government, since it controlled key institutions such as the railways, postal services and telecommunications system. Even so, it was reluctant to seize power from the Provisional Government, since its leaders were divided and inexperienced, and many were still in exile.

The Provisional Government saw itself as a caretaker institution only, and was unwilling to introduce long-term policies or to break with the international commitments of the Tsarist regime. It was also divided on matters of policy and ideology, and so was unable to respond to the demands being made of it.

The Prime minister, Prince Lvov, summed up the conundrum succinctly at the time: the Petrograd Soviet had "power without authority", while the Provisional Government had "authority without power".

The rival political institutions disagreed on two key matters: the war and land distribution. It was the dispute over these two issues that eventually brought them into conflict.

The Provisional Government was unwilling to sue for peace with Germany – mainly because it did not wish to betray the nation’s wartime allies, but also because it wanted to share in the spoils of victory over the Central Powers (ie. control over the Dardanelles) and wanted allied help in the post-war reconstruction of Russia. The allies also promised the Provisional Government credits to enable it to continue the war effort.

Unfortunately, the war placed so much strain on the Russian economy that the Provisional Government had no chance of ending the shortages which had sparked the overthrow of the Tsarist regime. Nor could it contemplate improving working conditions. More ominously, it could not redistribute land for fear the soldiers would desert the front to ensure they did not miss their share (since most soldiers were simply peasants in uniform).

Alexander Kerensky (now minister for war) sought to win back popular support for the Provisional Governmentby launching a military offensive in June 1917. He was hoping to appeal to the anti-German sentiment which was still strong in Russia (since much Russian territory was occupied by the German Army). However, the campaign (in Galicia) was a disaster. Although the Russian Army defeated the Austrians, it was soon crushed by German reinforcements. Morale on the front line and at home sank even lower.

The Bolsheviks

When the March Revolution occurred, Russia’s revolutionary leaders were taken by surprise. Most were in exile, and their organisations were totally unprepared to seize and hold power. However, Lenin returned in April 1917, and provided the Bolsheviks with the ideological and political leadership they needed. In his 'April Theses', published in the Party newspaper Pravda, he changed the Party's ideology, asserting that nations in the early stages of capitalism were also ripe for socialist revolution; the industrialisation process could be completed once socialism had been achieved. This gave the Bolsheviks the ideological justification they needed to seize power as quickly as possible. The return of Trotsky to Russia in May, and his decision to join the Bolshevik Party, gave it the organisational skills it needed to make the revolution happen.

Lenin understood that the Provisional Government would not survive unless it promised to meet the popular expectations which were unleashed by the fall of the Tsarist regime. The peasants were demanding to be given title to all the land in Russia. The urban workers wanted better working conditions. The soldiers wanted an end to the war.

Lenin took advantage of the Provisional Government’s weakness, garnering support from the soldiers, peasants and workers by offering them what they wanted. The Bolshevik slogan became ‘End the war; Land to the Peasants; All Power to the Soviets’. This particularly appealed to the peasants, who made up the bulk of conscripted troops in the army.

The Kornilov coup

In July, following the military defeat in Galicia, there was a popular uprising against the Provisional Government. The uprising was crushed, and the Bolsheviks gained little respect for their refusal to participate; in addition, their leaders were arrested or forced into hiding, along with those who had led the insurrection.

However, the Party's fortunes were soon on the rise again. At the end of July, Kerensky succeeded Prince Lvov as prime minister. He felt the threat from the revolutionary left was serious enough to warrant the appointment of the conservative General Lavr Kornilov as supreme commander of the armed forces. But the plan backfired when Kornilov staged an abortive coup the following month. The Provisional Government was forced to arm its enemies on the left (the Bolsheviks and their allies in the Petrograd Soviet) to stave off Kornilov’s forces, which were advancing on the capital. However, this only succeeded in increasing the strength and credibility of the Bolsheviks, giving them the troops they needed to seize power and the political influence to gain control of the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets. In September 1917, Trotsky became leader of the all-important Petrograd Soviet.

At the same time, support for the Provisional Government collapsed following the Kornilov ‘coup’. Desertions among soldiers at the front increased dramatically, as did agitation for reform in the cities. Even monarchists seemed resigned to the collapse of the Provisional Government, hoping that if the Bolsheviks seized power the country would collapse, and that the people might call for the return of the Tsar.

The November Revolution

As the war dragged on, increasing numbers of soldiers abandoned their units and returned home, fearful they might lose out in any redistribution of the land. Many of these men became willing supporters of the Bolsheviks. Workers were won over by Lenin’s demand that all power be given to the soviets, which were controlled by workers’ representatives. By October 1917, membership of the Bolshevik Party had reached 250,000.

In October, Lenin returned to Petrograd and persuaded the Bolshevik leaders that a military takeover was the best course of action. He did so by arguing that the Bolsheviks had more troops than any other party, that the Provisional Government’s forces could be neutralised by skilful agitators, and that power could be retained by passing of laws to end the war and redistribute land. Lenin also feared that if the Bolsheviks did not act swiftly, they might lose their opportunity, since Kerensky might organise his own land redistribution and negotiate a peace treaty with Germany.

The instrument for the insurrection was the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) of the Petrograd Soviet, established to organise forces defending the revolution. This body was controlled by Trotsky and the Bolsheviks, since the Mensheviks and right-wing members of the Socialist Revolutionaries refused to participate. When the Petrograd garrison placed itself under the control of the MRC (on October 26th), the Provisional Government found itself defenceless.

Lenin was still concerned that a Bolshevik coup could look like a naked grab for power by a party representing only a portion of the opposition forces. Hence, he formed an alliance with the left wing of the Socialist Revolutionaries, who had been driven into the Bolsheviks' arms by their opposition to the policies of their own right wing. This increased the Bolsheviks' support in the countryside, where the Socialist Revolutionaries were very strong. Lenin also arranged for the attack on the Provisional Government to coincide with the All Russian Congress of Soviets, on November 7th, thereby allowing the Bolsheviks to seize power in the name of the people’s representative assembly.

On November 6th, Kerensky ordered the arrest of the MRC leaders and the transfer of loyal troops to the capital. Lenin realised that the Bolsheviks had to strike immediately or risk losing everything.

Petrograd was seized relatively bloodlessly, since the army offered virtually no resistance. Kerensky fled the capital, but was unable to muster support for a counter-attack. In Moscow, the casualties were heavy, since the soldiers’ soviets were not pro-Bolshevik. The troops refused to defend the Provisional Government, but they also gave little assistance to the Bolsheviks.

In the end, the Bolsheviks were able to take power because the credibility of the Provisional Government was destroyed by its own weakness and indecision. In addition, Lenin was able to devise strategies to win over key groups in society – all the while remaining aloof from those associated with the disasters of the First World War. By November 1917, the door to the WinterPalace was so rotten that it took only a bloodless coup to push it open.