The
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n ProvisionalA provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a previous administration or regime. The early provisional governments were created to prepared for the return of royal rule...
GovernmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the
abdicationAbdication is the act of renouncing and resigning from a formal office, especially from the supreme office of state. In Roman law the term was also applied to the disowning of a family member, as the disinheriting of a son...
of
Tsar Nicholas IINicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, and claimed the title of King of Poland...
in February 1917. In September 14, the
State Duma of the Russian EmpireState Duma of the Russian Empire was a legislative assembly in the late Russian Empire. It was convened four times.Under the pressure of the Russian Revolution of 1905, on August 6, 1905, Sergei Witte, appointed by Nicholas II to manage peace negotiations with Japan, issued a manifesto about the...
officially dissolved the newly created
DirectorateDirectorate - board of five ministers of the Interim Government - Interim Emergency body of supreme power in Russia in September - October 1917 .Ingredients:# Minister-President of Alexander Kerensky...
, and the country was officially renamed the
Russian Republic . It is also sometimes known as the "Kerensky Government" after its most prominent leader. It lasted approximately eight months, and ceased to exist after power in Russia was seized by the Bolsheviks in October 1917.
The Provisional Government was formed in Petrograd, and was led first by
Prince Georgy L'vovPrince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov was a Russian statesman and the first post-imperial prime minister of Russia, from March 15 to July 21, 1917.-Pre-Revolution:...
and then by socialist
Alexander KerenskyAlexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a Russian politician. He served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known commonly as Lenin, was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution.- Early life and...
, a prominent member of the
DumaA Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed after the last Czar,...
and a leader of the movement to unseat the Tsar. Instead of ending Russia's involvement in
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, the new government launched a fresh offensive against the German and Austro-Hungarian army in July 1917, thereby weakening its popularity among Russia's war-weary people. This
Kerensky OffensiveThe Kerensky Offensive was the last Russian offensive in World War I. It took place in July 1917.- Background :...
, as it was called, was a failure which further eroded support for the government. The Provisional Government was unable to make decisive policy decisions due to political factionalism and a breakdown of state structures. This weakness left the government
open to strong challenges from both the right and the left. The Provisional Government's chief adversary on the left was the
Petrograd SovietThe Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies , usually called the Petrograd Soviet , was the soviet in Petrograd , Russia, established in March 1917 after the February Revolution as the representative body of the city's workers.The Petrograd Soviet became important during the Russian...
, which tentatively cooperated with the government at first, but then gradually gained control of the army, factories, and railways. The period of competition for authority ended in late October 1917, when Bolsheviks routed the ministers of the Provisional Government in the events known as the
October RevolutionTheOctober Revolution , also known as the Soviet Revolution or Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution. It began with an armed insurrection in Petrograd traditionally dated to 25 October 1917 Julian calendar...
, and placed power in the hands of the
sovietsA soviet originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. According to the official historiography of the Soviet Union, the first Soviet was organized during the 1905 Russian Revolution in Ivanovo in May 1905...
, or "workers' councils," which they largely controlled.
The weakness of the Provisional Government is perhaps best reflected in the derisive nickname given to
Prime Minister Alexander KerenskyAlexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a Russian politician. He served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known commonly as Lenin, was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution.- Early life and...
: "persuader-in-chief."
Formation and initial composition
When the authority of the Tsar's government began disintegrating after the February Revolution of 1917, two rival institutions, the
DumaState Duma of the Russian Empire was a legislative assembly in the late Russian Empire. It was convened four times.Under the pressure of the Russian Revolution of 1905, on August 6, 1905, Sergei Witte, appointed by Nicholas II to manage peace negotiations with Japan, issued a manifesto about the...
and the
Petrograd SovietThe Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies , usually called the Petrograd Soviet , was the soviet in Petrograd , Russia, established in March 1917 after the February Revolution as the representative body of the city's workers.The Petrograd Soviet became important during the Russian...
, competed for power. Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on March 2 (
Julian calendarThe Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, and came into force in 45 BC . It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year, known at least since Hipparchus...
) and nominated his brother,
Grand Duke MichaelGrand Duke Michael Aleksandrovich of Russia was the younger brother of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Nicholas abdicated in favour of Michael on , but the next day Michael deferred acceptance of the throne.-Family:Michael was a son of Alexander III of Russia and Dagmar of Denmark...
as the next tsar. Grand Duke Michael did not want to take the poisoned chalice and deferred acceptance of imperial power the next day. Legal authorization for the transfer of power was given by a proclamation signed by Grand Duke Michael. The Provisional Government was expected to rule until the
Constituent AssemblyThe All Russian Constituent Assembly was a democratically elected constitutional body convened in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917. It met for 13 hours, from 4 PM to 5 AM 5 January–6 January 1918 . It was elected by popular vote and dissolved by the Bolshevik government...
later determined the form of government in Russia. The Provisional Government was designed to set up elections to the Assembly while maintaining essential government services, but its power was effectively limited by the
Petrograd SovietThe Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies , usually called the Petrograd Soviet , was the soviet in Petrograd , Russia, established in March 1917 after the February Revolution as the representative body of the city's workers.The Petrograd Soviet became important during the Russian...
's growing authority.
Public announcement of the formation of the Provisional Government was made. It was published in
IzvestiaIzvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat...
the day after its formation.
Initial composition of the Provisional Government:
| Post |
Name |
Party |
| Minister-President and Minister of the Interior |
Georgy Lvov |
|
| Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Pavel Milyukov Pavel Nikolayevich Milyukov , a Russian politician, was the founder, leader, and the most prominent member of the Constitutional Democratic party...
|
Kadet |
| Minister of War and Navy |
Alexander GuchkovAlexander Ivanovich Guchkov was a Russian politician, Chairman of the Duma and Minister of War in the Russian Provisional Government.-Early years:...
|
Octobrist The Octobrist Party was a non-revolutionary centrist Russian political party formally called Union of October 17 . The party's program of moderate constitutionalism called for the fulfilment of Tsar Nicholas II's October Manifesto granted at the peak of the Russian Revolution of 1905...
|
| Minister of Transport |
Nikolai Nekrasov Nikolai Vissarionovich Nekrasov was a Russian liberal politician and the last Governor-General of Finland.-Parliamentary career:...
|
Kadet |
| Minister of Trade and Industry |
Alexander Konovalov Alexander Ivanovich Konovalov was a Russian Kadet politician and entrepreneur. One of Russia's biggest textile manufacturers, he became a leader of the liberal, business-oriented Progressist Party and was a member of the Progressive Bloc in the Fourth Duma...
|
Progressist The Progressist Party was a group of moderate Russian liberals organized in 1908; it had 28 deputies in the Third Duma and 48 in the Fourth. Its most prominent members were Ivan Nikolaevich Efremov, Alexander Konovalov, and Pavel Ryabushinsky...
|
| Minister of Justice |
Alexander KerenskyAlexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a Russian politician. He served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known commonly as Lenin, was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution.- Early life and...
|
Socialist-Revolutionary Party thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries....
|
| Minister of Finance |
Mikhail Tereshchenko Mikhail Ivanovich Tereshchenko was a foreign minister of Russia from May 5, 1917 to October 25, 1917, old style...
|
Non-Party |
| Minister of Education |
Andrei Manuilov Alexander Appolonovich Manuilov was a Russian economist and politician. He was one of the founding members of the Constitutional Democratic party and was the Rector of Moscow State University between 1908 and 1911....
|
Kadet |
| Minister of Agriculture |
Andrei Shingarev Andrei Ivanovich Shingarev was a Russian doctor, publicist and politician. He was a Duma deputy and one of the leaders of the Constitutional Democratic party ....
|
Kadet |
| Ober-Procurator of the Holy Synod |
Vladimir Lvov |
Progressist The Progressist Party was a group of moderate Russian liberals organized in 1908; it had 28 deputies in the Third Duma and 48 in the Fourth. Its most prominent members were Ivan Nikolaevich Efremov, Alexander Konovalov, and Pavel Ryabushinsky...
|
April crisis and first coalition government
On April 18 (May 1) minister of Foreign Affairs
Pavel MilyukovPavel Nikolayevich Milyukov , a Russian politician, was the founder, leader, and the most prominent member of the Constitutional Democratic party...
sent a note to the Allied governments, promising to continue the war to a victorious conclusion. On April 20 and 21 massive demonstrations of workers and soldiers erupted against the continuation of war. Demonstrations demanded resignation of Milyukov. They were soon met by the counter-demonstrations organised in his support. General
Lavr KornilovLavr Georgiyevich Kornilov was a senior Russian army general during World War I and the ensuing Russian Civil War...
, commander of the Petrograd military district, wished to suppress the disorders, but premier Georgy Lvov refused to resort to violence.
The Provisional Government accepted the resignation of Foreign Minister Milyukov and War Minister Guchkov, and made a proposal to the Petrograd Soviet to form a coalition government. As a result of negotiations, on May 5 (18) agreement was reached and 6 socialist ministers joined the cabinet.
Composition of the first coalition government:
| Post |
Name |
Party |
| Minister-President and Minister of the Interior |
Georgy Lvov |
|
| Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Mikhail Tereshchenko Mikhail Ivanovich Tereshchenko was a foreign minister of Russia from May 5, 1917 to October 25, 1917, old style...
|
Non-party |
| Minister of War and Navy |
Alexander KerenskyAlexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a Russian politician. He served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known commonly as Lenin, was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution.- Early life and...
|
Socialist-Revolutionary Party thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries....
|
| Minister of Transport |
Nikolai Nekrasov Nikolai Vissarionovich Nekrasov was a Russian liberal politician and the last Governor-General of Finland.-Parliamentary career:...
|
Kadet |
| Minister of Trade and Industry |
Alexander Konovalov Alexander Ivanovich Konovalov was a Russian Kadet politician and entrepreneur. One of Russia's biggest textile manufacturers, he became a leader of the liberal, business-oriented Progressist Party and was a member of the Progressive Bloc in the Fourth Duma...
|
Progressist The Progressist Party was a group of moderate Russian liberals organized in 1908; it had 28 deputies in the Third Duma and 48 in the Fourth. Its most prominent members were Ivan Nikolaevich Efremov, Alexander Konovalov, and Pavel Ryabushinsky...
|
| Minister of Justice |
Pavel Pereverzev |
Socialist-Revolutionary Party thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries....
|
| Minister of Finance |
Andrei Shingarev Andrei Ivanovich Shingarev was a Russian doctor, publicist and politician. He was a Duma deputy and one of the leaders of the Constitutional Democratic party ....
|
Kadet |
| Minister of Education |
Andrei Manuilov Alexander Appolonovich Manuilov was a Russian economist and politician. He was one of the founding members of the Constitutional Democratic party and was the Rector of Moscow State University between 1908 and 1911....
|
Kadet |
| Minister of Agriculture |
Victor Chernov |
Socialist-Revolutionary Party thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries....
|
| Minister of Labour |
Matvey Skobelev Matvey Ivanovich Skobelev was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and politician.-Trotsky's Disciple in Vienna :Skobelev was born in the family of a wealthy Baku oilman . He joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1903. After the Russian Revolution of 1905 he went abroad to study at a...
|
MenshevikThe Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
|
| Minister of Food |
Alexey Peshekhonov Alexey Vasilyevich Peshekhonov was a Russian economist, publicist, and statistician. He was a member of the Russian provisional government as a minister of food supplies for some months in the summer of 1917.- Life :Peshekhonov was a self-educated social activist...
|
National socialists |
| Minister of Post and Telegraph |
Irakli Tsereteli Irakli Tsereteli was a Georgian politician, one of the leaders of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party and the Georgian Mensheviks....
|
MenshevikThe Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
|
| Ober-Procurator of the Holy Synod |
Vladimir Lvov |
Progressist The Progressist Party was a group of moderate Russian liberals organized in 1908; it had 28 deputies in the Third Duma and 48 in the Fourth. Its most prominent members were Ivan Nikolaevich Efremov, Alexander Konovalov, and Pavel Ryabushinsky...
|
During this period Provisional Government merely reflected the will of the Soviet, where left tendencies (Bolshevism) were gaining ground. The Government, however, influenced by the "bourgeois" ministers, tried to base itself on the right wing of the Soviet. Socialist ministers, coming under fire from their left wing Soviet associates, where compelled to pursue a double-faced policy. The Provisional Government was unable to make decisive policy decisions due to political factionalism and a breakdown of state structures.
July crisis and second coalition government
July crisisThe July Days refers to events in 1917 that took place in Petrograd, Russia, between 3 July and 7 July , when soldiers and industrial workers engaged in spontaneous demonstrations against the government. The Bolsheviks tried to provide leadership to the demonstrations...
took place in Petrograd between July 3 and July 7 (Julian calendar) (July 16–July 20, Gregorian calendar), when soldiers and industrial workers in the city rioted against the Provisional Government. Bolsheviks led the attack, but it failed and their leader
Vladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin , born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov , was the Bolshevik Leader of the 1917 October Revolution, and the first Head of State of the Soviet Union; in the course of his political career, he used the pseudonyms Lenin, V. I. Lenin, Nikolai Lenin, and N. Lenin...
went into hiding, while other leaders were arrested.
The result of the events was new protracted crisis in the Provisional Government. "Bourgeois" ministers, belonging to the
Constitutional Democratic PartyThe Constitutional Democratic Party was a liberal political party in the Russian Empire. Party members were called Kadets, from the abbreviation K-D of the party name...
resigned, and no cabinet could be formed to the end of the month. Finally, on August 6 (July 24) 1917, new coalition cabinet was formed with the Kerensky at its head and composed mostly of socialists.
Second coalition:
| Post |
Name |
Party |
| Minister-President and Minister of War and Navy |
Alexander KerenskyAlexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a Russian politician. He served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known commonly as Lenin, was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution.- Early life and...
|
Socialist-Revolutionary Party thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries....
|
| Vice-President, Minister of Finance |
Nikolai Nekrasov Nikolai Vissarionovich Nekrasov was a Russian liberal politician and the last Governor-General of Finland.-Parliamentary career:...
|
|
| Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Mikhail Tereshchenko Mikhail Ivanovich Tereshchenko was a foreign minister of Russia from May 5, 1917 to October 25, 1917, old style...
|
Non-party |
| Minister of Internal Affairs |
Nikolai Avksentyev |
Socialist-Revolutionary Party thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries....
|
| Minister of Transport |
Piotr Yurenev |
Kadet |
| Minister of Trade and Industry |
Sergei Prokopovich |
Non-party |
| Minister of Justice |
Alexander Zarudny |
National socialists |
| Minister of Education |
Sergey Oldenburg Sergey Fyodorovich Oldenburg was a Russian orientalist who specialized in Buddhist studies. He is remembered as the founder of Russian Indology and the teacher of Fyodor Shcherbatskoy...
|
Kadet |
| Minister of Agriculture |
Victor Chernov |
Socialist-Revolutionary Party thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries....
|
| Minister of Labour |
Matvey Skobelev Matvey Ivanovich Skobelev was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and politician.-Trotsky's Disciple in Vienna :Skobelev was born in the family of a wealthy Baku oilman . He joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1903. After the Russian Revolution of 1905 he went abroad to study at a...
|
MenshevikThe Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
|
| Minister of Food |
Alexey Peshekhonov Alexey Vasilyevich Peshekhonov was a Russian economist, publicist, and statistician. He was a member of the Russian provisional government as a minister of food supplies for some months in the summer of 1917.- Life :Peshekhonov was a self-educated social activist...
|
National socialists |
| Minister of Health Care |
Ivan Efremov |
|
| Minister of Post and Telegraph |
Alexei Nikitin |
MenshevikThe Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
|
| Ober-Procurator of the Holy Synod |
Vladimir Lvov |
Progressist The Progressist Party was a group of moderate Russian liberals organized in 1908; it had 28 deputies in the Third Duma and 48 in the Fourth. Its most prominent members were Ivan Nikolaevich Efremov, Alexander Konovalov, and Pavel Ryabushinsky...
|
Third coalition
From October 8 (September 25), 1917.
| Post |
Name |
Party |
| Minister-President |
Alexander KerenskyAlexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a Russian politician. He served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known commonly as Lenin, was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution.- Early life and...
|
Socialist-Revolutionary Party thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries....
|
| Vice-President, Minister of Trade and Industry |
Alexander Konovalov Alexander Ivanovich Konovalov was a Russian Kadet politician and entrepreneur. One of Russia's biggest textile manufacturers, he became a leader of the liberal, business-oriented Progressist Party and was a member of the Progressive Bloc in the Fourth Duma...
|
|
| Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Mikhail Tereshchenko Mikhail Ivanovich Tereshchenko was a foreign minister of Russia from May 5, 1917 to October 25, 1917, old style...
|
Non-party |
| Minister of Internal Affairs, Post and Telegraph |
Alexei Nikitin |
MenshevikThe Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
|
| Minister of War |
Alexander Verkhovsky |
|
| Minister of Navy |
Dmitry Verderevsky Dmitry Nikolayevich Verderevsky was a Russian military leader and rear admiral....
|
|
| Minister of Finance |
Mikhail Bernatsky |
|
| Minister of Justice |
Pavel Malyantovitch |
MenshevikThe Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
|
| Minister of Transport |
Alexander Liverovsky |
Non-party |
| Minister of Education |
Sergei Salazkin |
Non-party |
| Minister of Agriculture |
Semen Maslov |
Socialist-Revolutionary Party thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries....
|
| Minister of Labour |
Kuzma Gvozdev |
MenshevikThe Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
|
| Minister of Food |
Sergei Prokopovich |
Non-party |
| Minister of Health Care |
Nikolai Kishkin |
Kadet |
| Minister of Post and Telegraph |
Alexei Nikitin |
MenshevikThe Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
|
| Minister of Religion |
Anton Kartashev |
Kadet |
The October Revolution
On October 24-25 (by the Julian Calendar, whose use has since been discontinued in Russia), Red Guard forces under the leadership of Bolshevik commanders launched their final attack on the ineffectual Provisional Government. Most government offices were occupied and controlled by Bolshevik soldiers on the 24th; the last holdout of the Provisional Ministers, the Tsar's
Winter PalaceThe Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian Tsars. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
on the Neva River bank, was captured on the night of the 25th. Kerensky escaped the Winter Palace raid and fled to
PskovPskov is an ancient city located in the north-west of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. The city of Pskov serves as the administrative center of Pskov Oblast...
, where he rallied some loyal troops for an attempt to retake the capital. His troops managed to capture Tsarskoe Selo but were beaten the next day at
PulkovoPulkovo may refer to:*Pulkovo Heights marking the southern limit of Saint Petersburg, Russia*Pulkovo Airport serving that city*Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise, a former state airline based in Saint Petersburg, Russia...
. Kerensky spent the next few weeks in hiding before fleeing the country. He went into exile in France and eventually emigrated to the U.S.
The Bolsheviks then replaced the government with their own.
Some historians, such as Pavel Osinsky, argue that the October Revolution was as much a function of the failures of the Provisional Government as it was of the strength of the Bolsheviks. Osinsky described this as “socialism by default” as opposed to “socialism by design.”
RiasanovskyNicholas V. Riasanovsky is a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of numerous books on Russian History. The son of Valentin A. Riasanovskii, a Russian professor who taught at Moscow University, Harbin University, and the University of Oregon, Nicholas...
argued that the Provisional Government made perhaps its "worst mistake" by not holding elections to the Constituent Assembly soon enough. They wasted time fine-tuning details of the election law, while Russia slipped further into anarchy and economic chaos. By the time the Assembly finally met, argued Riasanovsky, "the Bolsheviks had already gained control of Russia."
Further reading
- Kerensky, Alexander
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a Russian politician. He served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, known commonly as Lenin, was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution.- Early life and...
. The Catastrophe: Kerensky’s Own Story of the Russian Revolution. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1927.
- Medvedev, Roi. The October Revolution. New York: Columbia University Press, 1979.
- Nabokov, Vladimir Dmitrievich
Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov was a Russian criminologist, journalist, and progressive statesman during the last years of the Russian Empire. He was the father of Russian-American author Vladimir Nabokov.- Life :Nabokov was born in Tsarskoe Selo, into a wealthy and aristocratic family...
. V.D. Nabokov and the Russian Provisional Government, 1917. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976, ISBN 0300018207
- Reed, John. Ten Days that Shook the World. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1919.
- Riasanovsky, Nicholas
Nicholas V. Riasanovsky is a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of numerous books on Russian History. The son of Valentin A. Riasanovskii, a Russian professor who taught at Moscow University, Harbin University, and the University of Oregon, Nicholas...
. A History of Russia (sixth edition). New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
- Trotsky, Leon
Leon Trotsky , born Leyba Davidov Bronstein , was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist. He was one of the leaders of the Russian October Revolution, second only to Lenin...
. Lessons of October. New York: Pioneer Publishers, 1937 (1924).