February Revolution - Aftermath

Aftermath

Vladimir Lenin, exiled in neutral Switzerland, arrived in Petrograd from Zürich on 3 April 1917 O.S. He immediately began to undermine the provisional government, issuing his April Theses the next month. These theses were in favour of "revolutionary defeatism", as opposed to the "imperialist war" (whose "link to Capital" must be demonstrated to the masses) and the Social-Chauvinists (such as Georgi Plekhanov the grandfather of Russian socialism), who supported the war. Lenin also took control of the Bolshevik movement and stirred up the proletariat against the government with simple but meaningful slogans such as "Peace, bread and land", "End the war", "All power to the Soviets" and "All land to the peasants". Finally, he announced the necessary creation of a new International to replace the defunct Second International, dissolved in 1916 after the 1915 Zimmerwald Conference.

Initially, neither Lenin nor his ideas had widespread support, even among Bolsheviks. In what became known as the July Days, approximately half a million came out onto the streets of Petrograd in protest, including soldiers and sailors; Lenin proved incapable of directing them into an organised coup. The demonstrators, lacking leadership, disbanded and the government survived. The Provisional Government saw it as a Bolshevik coup nonetheless and issued arrest warrants for prominent Bolsheviks. Lenin fled to Finland and other members of the Bolshevik party were arrested. Lvov was replaced by the Socialist Revolutionary minister Alexander Kerensky as head of the government.

Kerensky declared freedom of speech, released thousands of political prisoners and did his best to maintain Russian involvement in World War I, but he faced numerous challenges, most of them related to the war: there were some very heavy military losses still being experienced out on the front; dissatisfied soldiers were deserting in larger numbers than before (although, when they got back home, they were generally either imprisoned or sent to the front once more); other political groups were doing their utmost to undermine him; there was a strong movement in favour of stopping Russia's involvement in the war, which was seen to be draining the country, and many who had initially supported it now wanted out; there was a great shortage of food and supplies, which was very difficult to remedy in wartime conditions. All of these were highlighted by the soldiers, urban workers and peasants, who claimed that little had been gained by the February Revolution. Kerensky was expected to deliver on his promises of jobs, land, and food almost instantaneously, and he had failed to do so.

Another issue for Kerensky, the Kornilov Affair, arose when Commander-in-Chief of the army, General Lavr Kornilov, directed an army under Aleksandr Krymov to march toward Petrograd with Kerenky's agreement. Although the details remain sketchy, Kerensky appeared to become frightened by the possibility of a coup and the order was countermanded (historian Richard Pipes is quite adamant that the whole episode was engineered by Kerensky himself). On 27 August, feeling betrayed by the Kerensky government who had previously agreed with his views on how to restore order to Russia, Kornilov pushed on towards Petrograd. With few troops to spare on the front, Kerensky was forced to turn to the Petrograd Soviet for help. Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries confronted the army and convinced them to stand down. The damage was already done, however. Right-wingers felt betrayed, and the left wing was resurgent. Pressure from the Allies to continue the war against Germany put the government under increasing strain. The conflict between the "diarchy" became obvious, and, ultimately, the regime and the dual power formed between the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Government instigated by the February Revolution was replaced in the October Revolution.