Why did the 1917 First Russian Revolution fail and why did the Bolsheviks Succeed?
There are three main reasons why the Provisional Government fell and the Bolsheviks did not (well, not for 70 years). 1) Democratic legitimacy. The Provisional Government was basically the reconstituted State Duma – only a few monarchists were arrested, and they were not elected to office by the majority of the Russian people. The Petrograd Soviet, and the composition of the Congress of Soviets – and the later Supreme Soviet – provided the Bolsheviks with a democratic veneer. This veneer they would, in time, lay on top of their imposition of Communist rule across Eastern Europe. 2) Failure to listen. The Provisional Government failed to address the reasons that the Russian people rose up against the Tsar; Russia’s involvement in WWI, the land question, hunger in the cities and long hours and low pay – along with poor working and living conditions for Russia’s factory workers. Nor did they heed calls for elections for a Constituent Assembly – saying that they would wait until after the
