AREA 5 : THE NATURE OF THE BOLSHEVIK TAKE-OVER AND THE ROLES OF LENIN AND TROTSKY

Key areas :

n       How were the Bolsheviks able to seize power in 1917?

n       What role did Lenin and Trotsky play?

KEY INFORMATION:

·    In 1903 Lenin broke away from the All-Russian Social Democratic Party and founded the Bolsheviks. He had been borm in 1870 and had seen his brother executed in 1887 for plotting against the Tsar -- he had sworn revenge. He trained a s a lawyer and became a revolutionary. He had played no part in the 1905 Revolution and was in Switzerland when the February Revolution broke out. The Bolsheviks had not been seen as a serious threat by the Okhrana : before 1914 it was estimated to have less than 10,000 members.

·      In February 1917 Lenin was living in Switzerland. He was desperate to return to Russia to bring an end to the war and the chaos and to seize power for his party. He was sent back to Russia by the Germans, who hoped that he would create as much trouble as possible, which would undermine the Russian war effort. The Germans also helped finance his activities. Lenin knew that this would lead to accusations that he was a German agent, but he did not care as he thought that he could overcome this problem.

·     Lenin returned to Petrograd in April 1917 and immediately published the ‘April Theses’, ‘Peace, Bread and Land’. Lenin believed that he could take advantage of the chaos caused by the February Revolution to seize power in Russia. He was determined to stir up as much trouble as possible and to attract as much support by making extravagant promises, which he had no intention of keeping, e.g. allowing peasants to take land. He made it clear that he had no intention of supporting the Provisional Government and instead wanted a workers' revolution.

·     The Bolsheviks did gain some support. By June 1917 there were over 40 newspapers spreading Lenin's ideas across Russia and the Bolsheviks had established their own army, the Red Guard. By July there were 100,000 armed workers in Petrograd itself.

The Bolshevik take-over

·      The Bolsheviks first tried to seize power in Petrograd in May, but failed. In July they tried again, the ‘July Days', but failed. The Provisional Government was saved by the army. The Bolshevik leaders were all either arrested and put in jail, or they fled to Finland.

·      After the July Days, Prince Lvov resigned and Alexander Kerensky became prime minister. He had been a Socialist-Revolutionary before becoming Minister for War in the Provisional Government.

·       In September the army commander-in-chief, General Kornilov believed that Kerensky was about to make himself dictator. He ordered his arrest. As the army marched on Petrograd, Kerensky asked the Bolsheviks to save him. Lenin agreed if they were let out of jail and given weapons.

·       Lenin now realised that the Provisional Government had very few supporters and that the Bolsheviks had a real chance of seizing power.

·      In September Leon Trotsky became leader of the Military Committee of the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolsheviks became the largest party in the Petrograd Soviet. Leon Trotsky had been a Menshevik until July, but when he joined the Bolsheviks he soon became Lenin's right hand man.

·      In September and October, when Lenin was in still in hiding in Finland, Trotsky became the leading important Bolshevik in Petrograd. Lenin eventually returned on 16 October, without his beard, wearing a wig and in disguise. He remained in disguise until after the seizure of power. Nevertheless it was Lenin who forced the Bolsheviks to accept the idea of a seizure of power. Some Bolsheviks like Kamenev and Zinoviev opposed the idea of a revolution now. They then published their objections in a newspaper, thereby alerting Kerensky to the plan. Lenin was furious with them.

·     Kerensky moved against the Bolsheviks : on 23 October he closed down the Bolshevik newspapers, Pravda and Izvestiya and tried to arrest the Bolshevik leaders. Lenin was forced to act but other factors also led him to decide to act now.

·     The revolutionary All-Russian Congress of Soviets was due to meet in late October and it was unlikely that the Bolsheviks would command a majority in it. Lenin wanted to seize power in Petrograd and then force the Congress to recognise him as the new leader. Also elections for the Constituent Assembly were being planned and the Bolsheviks might lose. If Lenin seized power he could ignore these elections if he lost. Lenin needed to act fast.

·      On the other hand it was Trotsky who organised the seizure of power and carried it out.  He planned the events of 24-25 October, cutting telephone wires, seizing control of the post office, railway stations and other key buildings and isolating the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government met. Trotsky used his position in the Military Committee to move army units loyal to the Provisional Government out of Petrograd and ordered them to defend the city from an advance by the Germans. There was little resistance and the citizens of Petrograd went about their normal business.

·      On 24/25 October Kerensky sent repeated messages to the army appealing for help, but only a few hundred assorted troops turned up, including some students, 140 women and forty soldiers who had been crippled by wounds.

·     On 25 October Kerensky fled to try to raise troops but failed. The rest of the Government remained in the Winter Palace and the troops protecting them surrendered. The cruiser Aurora opened fire on the Winter Palace and the government surrendered.

·      There were only a few thousand Bolsheviks and it took them two days to win control of the Winter Palace. The Petrograd Garrison could easily have stopped them, but it did not intervene.

·      The Bolsheviks now controlled the city of Petrograd, but virtually nowhere else. Lenin was determined to make use of the power he had gained.

·     Some members of the Congress of Soviets condemned the Bolshevik action as they had seized power in their name not on behalf of the soviet. The SR and the Mensheviks left the building in protest.

·     Lenin now formed a new government called the Council of Peoples' Commissars. with all members being Bolsheviks. Lenin was the head of the government; Trotsky was Commissar for Foreign Affairs; Stalin was Commissar for Nationalities.

Key Question : How were the Bolsheviks able to seize power in 1917?

1—For this question you do the same as for the one about why the Provisional Government fell : explain that the Bolsheviks were well-prepared and seemed strong and had popular policies, whilst the Provisional Government lost support through its mistakes and actions.

2 -- Look at tactics used by Bolsheviks

3 -- Look at role of Lenin and Trotsky -- decisive leader and excellent organiser.

Key Question : What role did Lenin and Trotsky play in the Revolution of 1917?

1—Lenin : he was the leader of the party; he returned home and won support through his slogans; he inspired the party to try to seize power – he had to overcome the opposition of men like Kamenev and Zinoviev who felt the time was not right; he appointed Trotsky in charge of the plans; he secured money from Germany to help finance the revolution by promising to pull Russia out of the war; he established Pravda to spread the Bolshevik message.

2 – Trotsky : he was the brains behind the actual revolution. He planned the events of the revolution; he established the Red Guard – armed Bolsheviks willing to obey him; he seized the key positions in the city such as the Post Office, railways and the Peter and Paul Fortress (where weapons were kept); he launched the attack on the Winter Palace.

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION MAIN PAGE