1917 - the provisional government and the Bolshevik revolution

• The July days was caused by the APRIL THESIS:- "peace, bread and land" "all power to the soviets"
• Industrial workers demonstrated against the provisional government and chanted the Bolshevik slogans from the APRIL THESIS. 
• This lead to Kerensky, the leader of the provisional government at the time to order the arrest of all Bolshevik party memvbers. However Lenin had fled to Finland. 
• This demobilised the Bolsheviks and showed the strength and sucesses of the Provisional Government, 
• The Kornilov Coup however was the after math.

• General Kornilov (commander in cheif) attempted to sieze power by marching the russian army into Petrograd.
• Kerensky was cowardly and called the Bolsheviks out of prison in order to help him remain in power, to do so he also gave the Bolsheviks fire arms.
• The Bolsheviks stopped all trains carrying Kornilovs army.
• However, once over The Bolsheviks refused to hand back fire arms to Kerensky.
• This puts Kerensky in a bad light and shows he was an extremly cowardly and poor leader to call on his enemies to help him remain in power as he was incapable of doing it on his own. 
• This was an aftermath of the July Days and lead towards the successes of the Bolsheviks. 

• "PEACE, BREAD AND LAND"
• "ALL POWER TO THE SOVIETS!"
• This was an extremly memorable way of remembering Bolshevik policies and ideas. It was suited to the Peasents as 80% of the Population of Russia were peasents and they were in desperate need of Peace,bread and land as the provisional government had not yet listened to their needs making the Bolsheviks more popular.
• Lenin made the announcement of the April thesis on the 3rd of April and released them in the Pravda (Bolshevik newspaper) on the 7th of April. 
• This however lead to the July Days, a failure of the Bolsheviks but was a success as it gained them more support. 

• this is proof that the provisional government didnt listen to peasent demands for peace.
• Kerensky ordered the army to march into Galicia and attack the Austro-Germans.
• Large Failure, army refused to leave their trenches and fight which resulted in the Austro Germans Counter attacing them.
• This presents Kerensky and the provisional Governments lack of power over the army and refusal to listen to peasents demands.
• This resulted into the July Days and peasents became more favourable to the Bolsheviks. "Peace, bread and land."
• Afterwards, Kerensky appointed General Kornilov as Commander in Cheif as he was determined to enforce army discipline. 

• Order No.1 - The army must obey officers and the provisional government ONLY if their orders DO NOT contridict those of the Petrograd Soviets.
• Trosky in charge of the army, and so the army is owned by the Petrograd Soviets. However, Kerensky was minister of war and was determined to continue war and spend millions on it. 
• They could not comprimise, Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviets disagreed in terms of war. The Petrograd Soviets wanted it to end, provisional government did not. 
• Neither had ultimate power - it was as if there was no power! 

• Trotsky was the leader of the army THROUGHOUT the time of 1917 due to order No. 1.
• The army favoured Trotsky more than the provisional government or Kornilov (kornilov coup) as Trotsky wanted war to end and was a member of the Bolsheviks.
• During the July Days, Lenin fled meaning Trotsky was left in charge of the Bolsheviks while he was away and proceeded to lead the Bolsheviks into success (kornilov coup etc.) Lenin did not return until October to commence the October Revolution.

Lenin wanted immedicate revolution.

Kerensky underestimated the Bolsheviks - military commanders had told him that the garison were not influenced by Bolshevism.

24th October: gov troops relinquish positions without any affective opposition to MRC troops.