Bolshevik rise to power

• In the summer of 1917, the Bolshevik Party's popularity grew as workers became disillusioned with the Provisional Government's policies and moderate socialist leaders.
• The July Days, an explosive rising in Petrograd, reflected worker, soldier, and sailor frustration and drew in the Bolsheviks.
• The Bolsheviks' rising collapsed, leading to arrests of leading Bolsheviks.
• Kerensky attempted to assert authority by taking military control of the capital with General Kornilov, but the plan backfired and discredited him, and the Bolsheviks seized power in October 1917.

Bolshevik Popularity

• The Bolsheviks gained popularity due to their program of ending the war, controlling employers, social reform, and prioritizing food supplies.
• Workers and soldiers in Petrograd and Moscow differentiated between the Bolsheviks and other socialist groups between May and June.
• Left-wing members of the Socialist Revolutionary and Menshevik parties shifted toward the Bolshevik camp.
• Party support and membership grew enormously, with Leon Trotsky becoming a famous recruit in the summer of 1917.

Workers and Political Parties

• Workers did not typically think in party terms in the initial months after the February Revolution in 1917; they identified more with their craft or industry and trusted workplace committees and local soviets.
• By June, many workers began recognizing the Bolsheviks as a separate party with a different program aligned with their demands and aspirations.

The July Days

• Mounting frustration of workers and soldiers led to the July Days, several days of uncontrolled rioting sparked by the failed summer offensive against Germany, workers' economic plight, and the Petrograd garrison's fear of being sent to the Front.
• Petrograd was defenseless for two days, with armed civilians, soldiers, and 20,000 sailors from the Kronstadt naval base marching in the streets.
• The sailors demanded the Soviet take power at Tauride Palace.
• Chernov, the Socialist Revolutionary leader, was briefly seized but rescued by Trotsky.

Kronstadt

• Kronstadt was a naval base near Petrograd with extremely radical sailors who supported revolutionary change; while many were Bolsheviks, anarchists and Socialist Revolutionaries were also influential.
• The sailors had their own fiercely independent multi-party soviet.

Bolshevik Differentiation

• The Bolsheviks distinguished themselves by being the most revolutionary party and promising things that the people wanted such as peace, land and bread.

July day uprising

• The July Days were a spontaneous uprising by the people, the Bolsheviks became involved because they wanted to maintain control over the people but it showed that they did not have complete control.

Kornilov Affair Consequences

• After the July Days, moderate socialists and liberals in the Provisional Government were boosted as leading Bolsheviks were arrested and newspapers were closed, but problems like war, land reform, and economic issues worsened by August.
• Problems that Kerensky faced included the ongoing war, the deteriorating economic situation, and managing the Bolsheviks.
• Kerensky appointed General Kornilov as Supreme Commander to restore law and order in the cities and discipline in the army.
• Kornilov viewed it as an opportunity to crush radical socialists and restore order in Petrograd, and sent troops to seize control of the government.
• Kerensky denounced Kornilov and called on the Soviet to defend Petrograd from counter-revolution.
• The Bolsheviks organized the defense, and the Bolshevik Red Guard appeared on the streets, armed by Kerensky.

Effects of ill Judged Intervention

• Kerensky's reputation suffered irretrievable damage while the mass of people distrusted the Kadets and other liberals.
• Soldiers murdered hundreds of officers due to what they perceived as an officers' plot, and officers were unwilling to fight for Kerensky.
• The Bolsheviks gained popular support as saviors of the Revolution and won elections to soviets.
• On September 9, the Bolsheviks gained overall control of the Petrograd Soviet, and on September 25, Trotsky became its President; they also took control of the Moscow Soviet.
• Following the Kornilov affair, it looked increasingly like the Bolshevik seizure of power was inevitable as the party rode on a wave of popular support.

Lenin and Party Coordination

• Lenin, in hiding in Finland, assessed that the time was right for the Bolsheviks to seize power.
• He was worried that events might turn against the Bolsheviks if the Germans made a sudden move and a separate peace was negotiated.
• Lenin urged action by the Bolshevik Central Committee on September 12.
• Other leading Bolsheviks thought the plans were premature and rejected initial demands.
• Zinoviev and Kamenev thought it was too risky and opposed the seizure of power and they had publicised their views in a letter published in Gorky's newspaper, Novaia zhizn.

Kerensky's Response

• Kerensky tried to send radical army units out of the capital, leading the Soviet (under Bolshevik control) to set up a Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) to guard against right-wing coups.
• The MRC, dominated by Bolsheviks and controlled by Trotsky, had more direct control over soldiers in the capital and seized arms and ammunition.
• Kerensky tried to close down Bolshevik newspapers, restrict the MRC, and raise bridges, which gave the Bolsheviks an excuse for action.

Seizing power

• Lenin and Trotsky were concerned that Kerensky might turn up with troops loyal to the Provisional Government and that they did not know how the mass of the working class and other socialists would receive the news of their actions.
• The Bolsheviks wanted to use the All-Russian Congress of Soviets in their bid for power because It reflected the Bolshevik success in elections to the soviets.
• Trotsky used the congress to claim that they were taking power in the name of the soviets.

How the Took Control

• Trotsky and Sverdlov organized the final stages of the revolution at the Smolny Institute and units of the Red Guard, sailors, and garrison soldiers were dispatched to seize key points in Petrograd on the night of October 24-25.
• The next day in Petrograd began as normal and The Bolsheviks had decided to move in on the Provisional Government in the Winter Palace.
• On the night of October 25-26, Bolshevik soldiers entered the Palace; those who were there surrendered and at 2am what remained of the government was arrested.
• Socialists from other parties denounced the Bolsheviks' actions at the same evening that the All-Russian Congress of Soviets met.
• Only the left-wing Socialist Revolutionaries remained at the hall when the main socialist parties stormed from it which gave the Bolsheviks a majority in the congress.
• Lenin arrived and announced the formation of a Bolshevik government and a decree transferring land to the peasants.
• The Bolsheviks took power but it was very fragile at first as the insurrection in Petrograd was relatively bloodless, Moscow was not.
• Kerensky organized forces under General Krasnov, however the Bolsheviks repulsed them.

The Role of Trotsky

• Trotsky had finally joined the Bolsheviks in August and had played an active and important role in the government.
• He was known as a great orator and swayed a lot of crowds.
• Some believe he was more important than Lenin.

Kerensky's Role

• After August, Kerensky was affected by the pressures of leadership and displayed poor political judgment (such as his involvement with Kornilov).
• His actions on October 24, closing two Bolshevik newspapers and announcing action against the party, gave Trotsky the excuse to say the soviets were under attack, ensuring popular support for the Bolsheviks.