4. The October 1917 Revolution - Why did the ….ppt

Russia The October 1917 Revolution – Why did the Bolsheviks Win? Learning objectives The new government’s problems Bolsheviks and Mensheviks Bolsheviks and Mensheviks Bolsheviks and Mensheviks Karl Marx Marx’s ideas Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Lenin and the April Theses The July Days The Kornilov Affair Preparing for revolution The October Revolution The October Revolution: source analysis The October Revolution: source analysis Why did the Bolsheviks succeed? Why did the Bolsheviks succeed? Quiz Teacher’s Notes There is the opportunity here to discuss the two slogans above and how speeches such as this seemed to promise the people just what they were looking for. Much of Bolshevik popularity was based on vague promises such as these. When Lenin arrived back in Petrograd in April 1917 he immediately made a speech to the waiting crowds of workers and soldiers by the railway station. His speech was enthusiastically received by those in the crowd because he promised them the three things they wanted most: Peace, Bread and Land. Lenin’s return journey had been paid for by Germany because Germany thought Lenin would be the person to get Russia out of the war. If this happened then German troops could stop fighting the Russians and turn their attention to the Western Front. Some people in Russia regarded Lenin as a possible German spy and the members of the Provisional Government were particularly suspicious of his return as they knew how popular he could make the Bolsheviks become. He’d been exiled in 1905 for revolutionary behaviour so they knew what he was capable of doing. More surprisingly, the members of his own party were not particularly pleased to see him back. Even though he was their leader, he hadn’t been in Russia for over 12 years and they resented him coming back and taking control of things. When he presented his April Thesis, promising Peace, Bread and Land and pushing for a revolution, the central committee of the party were against it and he found himself