Relating to the period between the two revolutions 1917, including Lenin's April Theses
EXAMPLE ONE:
1. a) What can be inferred from Document D about the following?
i) Why the soldiers wanted to go home. Document D states that the soldiers wanted “land and freedom”; they wanted to go home in order to obtain their share of land, which the peasant had taken form the landowners. The soldiers wanted freedom, it is however not explicitly stated whether this freedom was desired from the state and the army or from the landowners, or perhaps both.
ii) Why the soldiers now supported the Bolsheviks. Document D infers that the soldiers now supported the Bolsheviks because the Bolsheviks, in contrast to the Social Revolutionaries, were in favor of land redistribution and an end to the war.
1. b) What propaganda/political message is intended by Document E?
Document E conveys the message that the people should continue fighting the war.
2. In what ways do Documents A, B and C support the assertion made in Document C that “Lenin wanted power, Lenin’s rivals did not want it”? The statement “Lenin wanted power, Lenin’s rivals did not want it” can be split into two statements, “Lenin wanted power” and “Lenin’s rivals did not want it”. Lenin’s striving for power is illustrated in Document A, which shows his opposition towards the Provisional Government, their policies and lack of revolutionary spirit; his calling for “no support” for the new Provisional Government, and his wish to organize propaganda to convince the masses of his ideologies, additionally shows his wanting of power. Lenin’s ambitions are highlighted in Document C, where his conduct at the All Russian Conference of Soviets is described – his shouting that there was one party in Russia willing to “assume responsibility for governing” indicates that not only the Bolsheviks, but also Lenin as the party’s leader, wanted power. The statement “Lenin’s rivals did not want it” can be seen through Document B, which indicates the caution and ambiguity with which the Provisional Government was supported without “assuming responsibility for all the work of the government”; this showing how Lenin’s rivals lacked a strive for power. Additionally, Document A refers to “Revolutionary Defensism”, which shows how Lenin’s rivals were not keen on taking control of the government, and were thus not wanting power.
3. With reference to their origin and purpose, assess the value and limitations of Documents A and B for historians studying the period between the two 1917 Russian Revolutions. Document A is an extract from Lenin’s April Theses, which was published the day after Lenin’s return from exile in Switzerland, and thus allows insights into the Bolsheviks ideas and goals. The purpose of the April Theses was to set out the aims and policies of the Bolshevik party and of Lenin; Lenin wanted to undermine the Provisional Government and replace it with a more revolutionary system, and he therefore aims to appeal to soldiers, proletarians and peasants by informing them, that they would benefit from a more radical revolution. Document A is very valuable, as it presents Lenin’s views, or at least the views that he wanted people to see. However, Document A also has limitations, Lenin had, for example, been in exile and was thus not entirely aware of the circumstances in Russia in addition to him not having been in touch with the local Bolsheviks, which had not been consulted at the time of the April Theses, and thus there was no general Socialist agreement. Document B is a resolution passed at the All Russian Conference of Soviets, and thus expresses the views of the delegates – the document’s purpose was to record these views. The fact that Document B is an official internal document, which served as an official recording, is of value to historians as it expresses the views of the conference at a time when the Soviets were emerging as a powerful group. A limitation of this document is, that it is unclear how many delegates were present and how they were selected and as a result the tone of the resolution is ambiguous.
4. Using these documents and your own knowledge, analyze the contributions of both continued participation in the First World War and widespread unrest and disorder within Russia, in causing the downfall of the Provisional Government. As stated in Document A the First World War was regarded as an imperialist war and as the Provisional Government supported it due to its “capitalist” nature, Lenin opposed it strongly, which made the government highly unpopular thus contributing to its downfall. Source D highlights the unpopularity of the war, which Document A already stated, as it discusses the army, especially the general’s fear of meeting a large number of troops and the soldiers wish to return home, thus indicating the lack of support the Provisional Government had. Document D contributes to this, by reporting on the high number of desertions, roughly 1 million soldiers between March and October 1917, and the desperate formation of a women’s battalion thus conveying the unpopularity of the war which resulted in the fatal lack of support for the Provisional Government, eventually causing its downfall. Document D additionally discusses social unrest and disorders through which land was taken from squires and given to the peasants – this loss of authority in addition to the soldiers’ new support for the Bolsheviks in contrast to their prior support for the Provisional Government, shows the downfall of the latter. Additionally, low morale caused by defeats such as those at Tannenberg and the failing of the July Offensive contributed to the fatal lack of support, which caused the collapse of the Provisional Government. Food shortages at home and on the front cause massive civil unrests, in addition to the Provisional Government’s new liberalization policies towards the army, which stripping officers of their mandate by giving wide sweeping powers to soldier committees, which caused dissatisfaction and mutinies in the army, contributed to the downfall of the Provisional Government. Furthermore, events like the Kornilov Affair, which attempted to overthrown the Provisional Government, showed the army’s dissatisfaction and their lack of support which would eventually cause the government’s collapse. Also, the formation of groups such as the Red Guard, armed groups of workers which were in favor of the Bolsheviks, not only proved the rising Bolshevik power which contributed to the collapse of the Provisional Government, but also showed people that things were changing, while allowing Lenin to imprison and show fierce and forceful opposition to his opponents.
EXAMPLE TWO:
1. a. i) According to Document D, what the soldiers wanted was simply to not fight any more. Instead they wanted land and freedom, meaning they wanted to go home to share the land that had been taken from the landowners in their home villages.
ii) From Document D one can understand that the Bolsheviks were in support of ending the war and redistributing land among the villagers, thus, they had the soldiers’ support.
b. The message this Document intends to convey is that it is shameful and a crime to desert the war. The photograph intends to stop these deserters.
2. Both Document A and C support the claim “Lenin wanted power”. In Document A, one can see that, through his April Theses, Lenin clearly stated that the Provisional Government should not be supported and that the falsity of its promises as well as the error of its ways should be exposed. Furthermore, the Document states the importance of uncovering the true nature of the war, which was imperialist, to the army and soldiers. This all suggests that Lenin was not only against the Provisional Government, but also sought out support from the people and soldiers by exposing them to these truths. Furthermore, Document C says that at the All Russian Conference of Soviets held in April, Lenin shouts out loud that in fact there is a party willing to assume responsibility for governing, his party, which evidently shows that Lenin wanted power. On the other hand Document C also supports the claim that “Lenin’s rivals did not want it”. It clearly states that Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries were happy with the Provisional Government in power, their responsibility only being to prevent it from swaying out of democratic pathways. Furthermore, Document C quotes a Menshevik stating that at the moment, there appeared to be no party willing to assume responsibility for governing, which supports the claim. Document B underlines Document C by stating similar factors: as long as the Provisional Government kept to democratic guidelines and agreements made, the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries would not assume responsibility for all the work of the government.
3. Document A is an extract from Lenin’s April Theses in April 1917, which he published as soon as returning to Russia from Switzerland. Its purpose was to publish the aims of his Bolshevik party and to gain the support from soldiers, workers and peasants as to oppose to the provisional government, which Lenin disliked. This makes the source valuable, as it expresses what Bolshevik aims, ideas and standpoints were and it especially shows how Lenin wanted Bolshevik aims to be expressed to the public. However, the limitations of this source could include that Lenin had been out of the country for many years, thus, his understanding of the current situation might not have been accurate. Document B is a resolution passed during the All Russian Conference of Soviets in April 1917 with the purpose of political parties coming together to reach conclusions about the current situation and the Provisional Government. The limitation of this Document is that one does not know who took part in this conference, how many and whether the agreements were unanimous or not. However, it is valuable in terms of being an official document showing that political parties came together to come to conclusions.
4. The continued participation in the Great War caused many problems for the Provisional Government. Primarily, it formed a strong opposition. Document D portrays this well, by describing soldier’s desires to go home and to stop fighting. They “pleaded to go home”. Furthermore, the source shows how unpopular the Heads of the army were, seeing as the General considered it “dangerous to appear before the whole crowd” of soldiers, and chose to only see a delegation instead. This suggests that the soldiers did not agree with the Provisional Government. Document A states the war was an imperialist war and that Lenin was going to organise propaganda among the army to make this recognised, such that the soldiers supported him instead of the Provisional Government. Lastly, Document E states that about a million soldiers left their units between March and October 1917 and how the government was trying to oppose this by getting women involved. It shows how desperate the means of the government have become and how unpopular the war was among the soldiers. The Provisional Government did not help itself by attacking Austria in June 1917, where, after initial success, the army was once more defeated after the Germans moved in. More soldiers deserted and the government set up “death squads” to execute these, which was counter productive for the number of deserters increased. It appears as though the government lost complete control over their troops. The unrest and disorder within Russia is portrayed in Document D, which talks about peasants taking over land from squires. This also introduces the idea that there was less and less authority or that the authority lost their power over the people of Russia. Document C shows how there was political unrest between the Bolsheviks and their opposing parties. “Lenin wanted power” and was not afraid to make this clear while his “rivals did not want it” but preferred to keep a low profile with the Provisional Government in power. As the government refused to stop fighting the war, inflation and hunger got worse and the government failed to end this. Furthermore, there was anarchy happening in the countryside, where peasants starting taking the land of nobles. The Provisional Government sent troops to take care of this, the result being infuriated peasants. The unrest increased when the Bolsheviks attempted to take over the government during the July Days, between the 3rd and 7th of July, where soldiers and industrial workers engaged in spontaneous demonstrations. In short, the country was in chaos, each member of society rioting for their own benefit and the Provisional Government was overwhelmed.
EXAMPLE THREE:
1What can be inferred from Document D about the following?
a) I. Why the soldiers wanted to go home Document D states that the soldiers wanted land and freedom. They desired to go home to claim their portion of the land that the peasants had taken back from the landlords, and they desired freedom (it is not stated freedom from the state and army or freedom from the land owners – perhaps it is both).
2.In what ways do Documents A, B and C support the assertion made in Document C that “Lenin wanted power, Lenin's rivals did not want it”? “Lenin wanted power” In Source A, Lenin is shown as violently opposed to the Provisional Government, calling for propaganda to be issued against it. He criticizes their lack of revolutionary spirit, and their policies, saying that the “utter falsity of its promises must be exposed”. He also calls soldiers, workers and peasants to turn against the government, which implies that he wants them to turn towards him. Furthermore, his aims are clearly stated in Document C, where after a comment “there is at present no party in Russia willing to assume responsibility for governing,” Lenin shouts out “there is”, implying that the Bolsheviks were ready and that as their leader he would assume the power (showing that he wanted it). The source even explicitly states “this hunger for power”. “Lenin's rivals did not want it” Document C makes this completely clear, where a leading Menshevik, Irkali Tsereteli, says “there is at present no party in Russia willing to assume responsibility for governing.” Document A backs this up though the phrase “Revolutionary Defensism”, and Document B is very cautious and hesitant about supporting the Provisional Government, saying it “appeals to democracy to support [them]”, but adds confitions such as “as long as the government steadfastly confirms and expands the gains of the revolution and so long as... [etc.]”
3.With reference to their origin and purpose, assess the value and limitations of Documents A and B for historians studying the period between the two Russian Revolutions. Document A is an excerpt from Lenin's April Thesis, which was issued by himself (as the leader of the Bolsheviks) the day after his return from exile. It aimed to set out Bolshevik and Lenin's goals and policies; namely, Lenin wanted to usurp the Provisional Government and in its place have a more revolutionary-minded
a) II. Why the soldiers now supported the Bolsheviks It appears that the Social Revolutionaries no longer supported the soldiers in their demands, so they turned to a new party. The document therefore implies that the Bolsheviks supported the soldiers in both ending the war, and/or in them claiming their land.
b) What propaganda/political message is intended by Document E? The message is that the war will continue to be fought – even if it involved using women. It could also be encouraging women to join the fighting force – or to shame the men into returning or staying to fight as even their wives/sisters/mothers etc. were fighting.
4.Using the documents and your own knowledge analyse the contributions of both continued participation in the First World War and widespread unrest and disorder within Russia, in causing the downfall of the Provisional Government. Document A, D and E are very helpful in examining how the ongoing participation in World War One led to the downfall of the Provisional Government. Document A clearly shows that the war was regarded as imperialistic, and that Lenin was determined to oppose it. As he wanted power, and other parties did not necessarily have this drive, this was bound to make the war even more unpopular. Document D gives us the perspective of someone in the war – a general, and his conversation with the troops who wished to go home. It shows how basic their needs were, simply “land and freedom” - if a government was forcing them to be in a war, and not providing them with their basic needs, it would not remain popular or in power for long. The view of the soldiers that “it was not their job to think about the state” shows how disenchanted with the concept of a “Mother Russia” they were – they no longer had a sense of national unity and so forth, they simply wanted change. Document E simply adds to this message – it shows how completely desperate the government was that they were having to form a Women's Battalion to shame soldiers back into service – the point they had reached where they no longer had control of their own army shows their dying power and unpopularity. In terms of widespread unrest and disorder, Document D points to how soldiers wanted to go home to claim their share of the land that the peasants had taken away from the landowners. This complete change of authority and disregard for the previous order of things, coupled with soldiers disobeying command and deserting, shows how easily people were turning over positions in power, and the anarchy that existed. Although these sources provide good evidence for how these factors led to the downfall of the Provisional Government, they do not present the whole picture. The Provisional Government was very susceptible to anarchy in the first place as it had severe limitations which existed on its ability to rule. It was able to exercise its foreign policy, but often these aggressive policies led to increased opposition, such as the Kerensky Offensive – the last Russian Offensive in World War One. Riots and mutiny at the front had become common, as had soldier harassment and murder towards the officers. The government was working to fulfil obligations to the allies,
government. To achieve this, he appealed to the soldiers, workers and peasants by outlining what they would gain from a more active revolution. Its very valuable as it presents Lenin's views – if not this, then it at least presents what he wanted his readers to understand. However, its limitations are that Lenin had been in Switzerland and generally out of Russia for an extended period, and therefore was not in touch with both the situation in Russia, and the Bolshevik party.
Document B is a resolution that was passed at the All Russian Conference of Soviets – therefore it records the views of the members of the conference, and would have stayed internal with the people there. Therefore its value is that it is an expression of the conference during a time where the Soviets were emerging as a group with power; its limitations are that it does not state how many different parties/people were present, who these people were, where their affiliations lay, how they were selected, etc. The tone of the document is ambiguous as well – it is unsure which parties contributed what to it- as opposed to fighting for their own aims, and so the soldiers had less to fight for. Therefore, this continuation of fighting in the war as well as growing unrest and disorder led to the failure of the offensive having a particularly detrimental affect to the government, who had hoped a Russian victory would restore the soldiers morale and faith in the Provisional Government. The offensive itself involved an attack on the Austro-Hungarian and German troops in Galicia, but despite its initial success their losses soon mounted, demoralization grew immensely, and soldiers completely gave up, refusing to obey orders. This led to complete lack of faith of the people in the Provisional Government, as well as the military leaders no longer being able to count on soldiers to do as they were asked.
Overall, I would argue that it was the Kornilov affair that sent the Provisional Government into complete doom. This unrest and disorder, where the commander-chief of the Russian army, Lavr Kornilov, was going to be brought in as a military dictator on the side of Kerensky, and instead was betrayed, led to the complete disillusion of the army with the Provisional Government, meaning that they lost their power completely. When Kornilov and his troops approached Petrograd, Kerensky branded them as counter-revolutionaries, demanding their arrest. Although this was probably a move to improve people's view of him in terms of the revolution – it looked as if he was defending it – the army saw it as a huge betrayal. The armed Red Guard moved in to arrest him, and a combination of both factors lost the government its power.
EXAMPLE FOUR:
1. (a) What can be inferred from Document D about the following?
(i) Why the soldiers wanted to go home. To get some of the land that had been taken from the land-owners and given to the peasants. They also wanted to live freely. (ii) Why the soldiers now supported the Bolsheviks. Because they thought the Bolsheviks would support sending the troops home to let them enjoy land and freedom, while the Social Revolutionaries would not.
(b) What propaganda/political message is intended by Document E?
To promote the continuation of the war, even, if needs be, by sending women out as replacements for the deserters.
2. In what ways do Documents A, B, and C support the assertion made in Document C that “Lenin wanted power, Lenin’s rivals did not want it”? In Document A the assertion that Lenin wanted power is supported by Lenin’s call for widespread opposition to the “capitalist” Provisional Government and Lenin’s declaration “the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies is the only possible form of revolutionary government” as if the Soviets gained power, naturally Lenin, as leader of the Soviets, would primarily rule. Document B similarly says the Soviets’ strategy is one of “gradually gaining political control and influence over the Provisional Government.” However the document contradicts itself, as later in Document B the Soviets claim they will support the provisional government “as long as [it] steadfastly confirms and expands the gains of the revolution.” This makes it seem as if Lenin did not want power, but would only take it if necessary. The most definite support of the statements that “Lenin wanted power” and “Lenin’s rivals did not want it” is the anecdote told in source C in which the Mensheviks said “’there is no party in Russia willing to assume responsibility for governing,” clearly asserting that Lenin’s rivals did not want power enough to take on the duty of ruling Russia. Then it is said that Lenin sat up and yelled “there is.” This passionate action indeed suggests a “hunger for power” in Lenin while, on the other hand, “Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries were quite content to let the ‘bourgeois’ Provisional Government govern.”
3. With reference to their origin and purpose, assess the value and limitations of Documents A and B for historians studying the period between the two 1917 Russian Revolutions. Document A comes from Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks, after returning from exile. Its purpose is to publicly make known his goals and policies in continuing the revolution, now against the “capitalist” Provisional Government, and to garner widespread support in the Bolshevik opposition efforts by appealing primarily to the proletariat, peasants, and soldiers. A main limitation of this source is that Lenin had been in exile for a long time and thus may not have a complete grasp of the local circumstances. Also, we do not know if these Theses support the views of the Bolsheviks on the whole and Lenin may be telling his target audience what he thinks they want to hear to gain support. However the source is valuable in revealing Lenin’s opinions as they were seen publicly. Document B is from an official resolution passed by the All Russian Conference of Soviets the day after Document A’s extract from Lenin’s April Theses was written. Its purpose is to record the viewpoint and policy of the Soviets at the time. It is valuable because it had to be on the most part agreed upon by those present to be passed, and thus it demonstrates the Soviets’ viewpoint and policies at this integral time in their rise to power. However it is also limited in that we do not know how large the conference was, if there was any disagreement, and which people in which positions were there. Knowing these aspects would help us determine to what degree the Soviets on the whole agreed with this resolution.
4. Using the documents and your own knowledge analyze the contributions of both continued participation in the First World War and widespread unrest and disorder within Russia, in causing the downfall of the Provisional Government.
One of the major reasons the Provisional Government failed was their insistence in continuing Russia’s participation in a very unpopular war. Lenin, in his April Theses (Document A), thus was able to rally the masses behind him by calling for the ending of this “imperialist war.” This resentment was worsened when in June 1917 the Provisional Government organized an offensive that failed. And with a million soldiers leaving their posts between March and October (Document E) to get their piece of the land at home that had been taken from the nobles (Document D) the Provisional Government set up death squads to find and kill deserters. This did not help their popularity among the troops, especially while the Bolsheviks seemed to be promising them exactly what they wanted (Document D). The people at home, however, also had reason to hate the Provisional Government for the continuation of the war, as they were suffering from severe food and fuel shortages because of the war effort.
Another reason for frustration with the Provisional Government for peasants was that in the countryside peasants were taking the land from nobles (many of whom had run away after the Tsar’s abdication), and the Provisional Government was sending soldiers to take the land back from them. So they did not have peace with the continuation of the war. They did not have bread with the continuation of the war. And they did not have land. Thus a Bolshevik takeover looked appealing to many and Lenin’s revolutionary passion was at least certainly hard to ignore (Document C).
The Soviets sent mixed messages concerning their attitude toward the Provisional Government that made their supporters have no true loyalty to the government (Document B). On one hand they would say they “appeal to support the Provisional Government” and on the other there was Order Number One and assertions that the Soviets needed to “gradually gain political control” over the Provisional government.
When the conflict came to a head in the July Days the Provisional Government put down riots by force. This combined with the other factors, like Karensky’s residence in the Winter Palace, made the Provisional Government seem just like the Tsarist regime it had replaced as Lenin had said. Finally, Kornilov and his pro-tsar rebellion meant that The Provisional Government had to get the Bolsheviks’ help in opposing the coup. This meant Bolshevik political prisoners were freed and the Bolsheviks were armed. Ultimately the Provisional Government was made to look weak and made Bolsheviks became popular, free, and armed. Their takeover was almost inevitable by that point.
