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OPPOSITION TO THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT - Coggle Diagram
OPPOSITION TO THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT
The significance of the debate on the war
the debate on the war had genuine political significance
first, it split the SRs and the mensheviks between those who favoured ending the war and those who advocated for 'revolutionary defencism'
second, as the war dragged on it created greater economic chaos and hardship for the working people
The consequences of the crisis
Impact on the Mensheviks and SRs
rather than strengthening the government, the decision of some mensheviks and SRs to join the government undermined the authority of moderate socialist parties
following May, increasing numbers of workers and soldiers lost faith in the mensheviks and SRs
they believed that they entered an alliance with an intrustworthy capitalist dominated government
in order to re-establish trust between the PG and the Soviet, Prince Lvov invited 6 of the lkeading members of the Soviet to join the government
Tsereteli (the creator of 'revolutionary defencism' was one of the 6 socialists to join the new cabinet
Milyukov resigned on 2nd May
However, his telegram had seriously undermined faith in the honesty of the new government
The Milyukov crisis
in April, the PG and the Petrograd Soviet reached an agreement on the aims of the war
the 'Declaration of War Aims' committed the new government to 'revolutionary defencism'
however, it allowed Milyukov to resturcturethe war and aim for victory
Protest
the telegram was a betrayal of the compromise set out in the 'Declaration of War Aims'
consequently, when the telegram was made public, soliders and workers began protest marches demanding Milyukov's resignation
the Bolsheviks went further, demanding the overthrow of the pg
Milyukov's fall
on 18th April, Milyukov sent a telegram to Britain and France which committed Russia to fighting in order to achieve a 'decisive victory'
this directly opposed 'revolutionary defencism'
he believed that the 'revolutionary defencism' was a feeable policy
he thought that he failed to take the advantage of the opportunity to win the war that the fall of the Tsar had created
this was the first major test of the relationship between the PG and the Petrograd Soviets
Conflicting attitudes to the war
by March 1917 ' revolutionary defencism' became the dominant view among Mensheviks
there were 3 main points of view during the war:
liberals
wanted to continue the way to ensure Russian victory
Milyukov's appointment as Foreign Minister and Guchkov's appointment as Minister for War showed the first PG's ambition to fight the war to win
this meant it sacrificed the lives of the working people to provide more land for the capitalists to get richer
to Lenin, WW1 was an imperialist war
in 1917 the Bolsheviks campainged for a 'democratic peace'
mensheviks
majority adopted a policy of 'revolutionary defencism'
bolsheviks and left SRs
consistently argued for the end of the war
workers had a duty to fight in order to defend their revolution