Developments between the Revolution of 1917

1. the Kornilov Coup, role of Provisional Government and Trotsky

1.1. In June 1917, major offensive happened to try and rally the nation.

1.2. Bolsheviks organised a general strike, even the Mensheviks and the Social Revolutionaries spoke out against Kornilovs measures.

1.3. Right-wingers saw Kornilov as their saviours.

1.4. Bolsheviks benefited most from the 'Coup', they took lead in organising Petrograds 'Red Guards'.

1.5. Bolsheviks were elected in increasing numbers. February 23,000 to October 200,000.

1.6. They were producing 41 newspapers and commanded 10,000 Red Guards.

2. Lenin's ideology and the April Thesis

2.1. Lenin returned with a ready made political plan that went beyond what any left-wing leaders had been saying.

2.2. He mapped his plan to 'letter of afar' written between the 7th and 26th of March.

2.3. He made it clear that he thought the parties job was to lead the people to a second revolution.

2.4. At the time, the Petrograd Soviet, all Mensheviks and Bolsheviks believed in the need for a 'bourgeois stage' of revolution.

2.5. Lenin didn't agree with this, he believed that the Russian middle class were too weak to carry through a whole 'bourgeois' revolution.

2.6. Lenin believed that the whole of Europe was on the brink of socialist revolution anyway, he didn't feel the need to hold back purely because of some 'bourgeois' democratic objectives. It can be seen as 'permanent revolution'.

3. Trotsky and the final preparation of for the revolution

3.1. he sent bolshevik speakers to factories to try and gain more support.

3.2. 'military revolution committee' was set up under Trotsky and Dzerzhinsky.

3.3. red guard made of of former soldiers and policemen was formed

3.4. 200,000 Red Guards, 60,000 Balsic sailors, 150,000 soldiers of the retaining petrograd garrison units.

4. The return of Lenin

4.1. At the time of the revolution in Feb/March 1917, the Bolshevik Party were still relatively small. (23,000 members)

4.2. Only had 40 representatives and major leaders were in exile.

4.3. The Bolsheviks began to forge their own path when Lenin returned to Russia on April 3rd 1917.

4.4. The turn of events in February caught Lenin by surprise, he asked the Germans for help in returning him to Russia.

4.5. The Germans saw and advantage in letting the Bolsheviks stir up trouble.

4.6. The Germans let Lenin return to Russia through Switzerland.

4.7. Excluding six months in the years 1905-1906, Lenin was in exile for the previous 17 years.

5. the July Days

5.1. Kronstadt sailors (20,000) marched to Petrograd for a demonstration while using Bolshevik slogans

5.2. 3rd and 5th of July

5.3. the provisional government brought in reinforcements to crush the demonstration.

5.4. the bolsheviks were blamed for the demonstration leaders of the bolsheviks were arrest.

5.5. lenin and stalin had the flea, moved to Finland.

5.6. Maintaining control over the working class who fled to the Bolsheviks was not easy.