How accurate is it to say that Lenin’s Leadership was the most important reason for the Bolsheviks success in the revolution of November 1917? The October revolution happened because of three main factors: Lenin’s leadership, the planning of Trotsky and the failure of the Provisional Government. Without one then it is likely the revolution would not have happened at all. However, I do not think that it was Lenin’s leadership that was the most important factor; I think the weakness of the Provisional Government was the main reason why a revolution occurred. Lenin’s leadership was crucial to the October revolution, during his time in hiding before April, the Bolsheviks that were in Russia supported the Provisional Government.
This gave Stalin a most important comeback and it was only the beginning of Stalin’s quest for the power of Russia. Lenin’s testament was send to the CC in May 1924 but it was not released to the party. If it had been it would have ended Stalin’s career. Zinoviev and Kamenev convinced the CC not to release it, because of the following causes it could have; the testament was not very positive about the party, Zinoviev and Kamenev thought that Stalin was no real threat to them and they wanted his help to get rid of Trotsky, and that the testament would help Trotsky. Zinoviev, Kamenev and Stalin were now ahead in the struggle to conquer the power.
How far was the Provisional Government responsible for its own downfall? The Provisional Government was put in power as a temporary measure after the February Revolution of 1917, in which the Tsar abdicated his throne on behalf of himself and his son. However, the Government only lasted until October of the same year, where the Bolsheviks overthrew them. Their downfall was due to several factors, some of which the Provisional Government themselves were principally responsible for. Firstly, the most pivotal factor that led to the Provisional Government being ousted from power was the fact that, against the masses wishes, they did not withdraw from World War I.
The 1905 revolution was extremely different from the 1917 March revolution in both what was demanded from the Tsar and also due to the size and support the Tsar had. Although there was a revolution in October 1917, the March 1917 revolution in Russia was the one resulting in the Tsar’s abdication and ultimately the end of Tsarism. The reason for the Tsar surviving the 1905 revolution is because of a number of reasons. Firstly, he issued an ‘October Manifesto’ which granted the peoples wishes as it gave them more power. The manifesto offered free speech, the right to form political parties and it created a “democratic” elected house of parliament – called a Duma.
Nicholas II attempted to rule Russia as an autocrat as he believed that autocracy was the only was to save Russia from anarchy. As historian Orland Figes noted, “instead of embracing reform, [Nicholas] adhered rigidly to his own archaic vision of autocracy.” He had ascended to the throne in 1894 after his father Alexander III died suddenly. He had not been prepared for life as a ruler as his father had not briefed him in matters of the state, believing Nicholas to be unintelligent and weak. And Alexander was probably right. Nicholas turned out to be inflexible in his views and politically naive.
How important was the role of Lenin compared to the failures of the Provisional Government in bringing about the October revolution? After the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917, the Provisional Government (PG) took control of Petrograd, and led the country how they thought it should be led. Their main policy was to maintain Russia in fighting in the war; this was not a favoured idea with the PG followers. Although, they promised to stop the food shortage and to give peasants land which was what everyone wanted. This was one of the main reasons why they gained many followers during the period of the Tsars abdication.
This was Trotsky’s chance to remove three possible candidates but he doesn’t take it because he doesn’t see any of them as any kind of a threat so once again Stalin was able to continue his rise to power unhalted by Trotsky. The third point at which Stalin was underestimated was when Zinoviev Kamenev and Trotsky began to attack each other viciously. While Stalin just sat back he had set them up as now people began to lose faith in the other three as Zinoviev and Kamenev questioned Trotsky’s loyalty to the Bolshevik cause while Trotsky brought up their unwillingness to begin the revolution. And so because
How important was the October manifesto in ensuring the survival of Nicolas II up to the 23rd of April 1906? In the early months of 1905 a small revolution had started in Russia, it took place because of civil unrest across the country and anger towards the Tsar if Russia Nicolas the second. Some historians argue that the most important reason Nicolas the 2nd survived the revolution was because of the October manifesto that appeased some of the rebels. But i believe other factors where more important, for example the rebellion had no leadership and all parties had different aims, this is what i believe to be the most important reason. Also the Tsar still had the support of the Russian army and the navy which stopped any serious uprising.
What the other members of the soviet party such as Trotsky did not realize however; was that Stalin would use the position to gain a mass of followers for his socialist ideals and would use it as a stepping stone to achieve greater political influence and manipulate his way even further in the ranks. He had gained so much power and influence that in 1922 Lenin had asked for his removal from the party as he had “gained too much power”, he would advise his party this in a document that is now called “Lenin’s Last testament” a document that has a numerous amount of varying theories into its actual creation, either way the testament was for the most part underplayed and Stalin manipulated the party rules and the people in the party to for the most part ignore the document; much to Trotsky’s disappointment. After Lenin’s death in 1924 Stalin would not hesitate to preach his socialist ideals, which would be successful as the government did not choose to open up it’s meetings to the public in order to appear “healthy and stable”. By wanting to appear stable the party made it relatively simple for Stalin to use threats and targeted attacks to crush
The time was right to take control and replace the temporary body with Lenin’s communist regime, based upon the theories of Karl Marx. Without Lenin, this revolution would have barely taken off the ground. His ideology is undoubtedly the theory behind the revolution of the people, but perhaps it is unfair to say that Lenin was fully responsible for the successful outcome - there are others who can claim a part in this Revolution. Predominantly Trotsky, who was a “fiery orator and revolutionary leader” , led the revolution and action on the ground, also he later implemented the Provisional Government in trying to attack the Soviet bodies, giving the Bolsheviks a reason for taking control. The October revolution was an uprising against the Provisional Government led by the Bolsheviks, however there is much debate surrounding who actually commanded the revolution - was it Lenin’s theory or Trotsky’s actions that led to the Bolsheviks success in October?