How Far Was the Weakness of the Provisional Government the Reason for the Bolshevik Success in October 1917?

How far was the weakness of the Provisional Government the reason for the Bolshevik success in October 1917?

Undoubtedly, the numerous weaknesses of the provisional government played a significant role in the success of the Bolshevik party in October 1917. Their weaknesses included the lack of a shared vision between the many parties in the coalition, the fact that they believed the war was right, their absence of a strong leader and their failings when trying to deal with their opposition. However, their flaws were not the only reason that the Bolshevik party took control in October 1917 – the strength of the Bolsheviks also played a vital role.

The lack of a shared vision between the parties in the provisional government hugely weakened it – the fact that they were unable to agree on very little bar their hatred for the Bolsheviks led to them having extreme difficulties when trying to gain control in Russia. This was partly because they were unable to bring about the changes that the people in Russia were desperate for. They could not create any new policies because of the vast array of different opinions on every aspect of Russia and so, as a result of this, they were unable to deliver on any of the areas that desperately needed to be changed, such as the huge food shortages that were prevalent all over Russia. In addition to this, they had very limited authority over the Russian people because they were not an elected body; they were in fact, just a recreation of the old duma. The foreign minister Paul Milyukov claimed that the provisional government had been ‘appointed by the revolution itself’ however, this view was not widely accepted by the people, leading many to oppose the undemocratic ruling of the provisional government. These weaknesses of the provisional government played a vital role in the success of the Bolshevik party – the fact that the people did not experience anything positive coming from the unelected provisional government led to the...