Vincent Herschlein – October Revolution – 17th of March, 2015

The statement "The October Revolution (1917) resulted not from the actions of the Bolsheviks, but from the failure of the Provisional Government." is largely agreeable as the mishandling of military decisions, as well as the socio-political failures of the Provisional Government allowed the Bolsheviks to seize power. However, the October Revolution cannot be entirely attributed to the failures of the Provisional Government, as the Bolshevik’s strategic exploitation of the weaknesses of the Provisional Government also played an important role in the October Revolution.

One of the key failures of the Provisional Government was the staying in WWI. After the Tsar had abdicated the Provisional Government made the decision to stay in WWI. This is arguably the worst decision of the Provisional Government. Russia was losing the war and was large masses of soldiers were dying. This led to war weariness among both soldiers, who believed they were dying in vain, and citizens who were losing family members and experiencing the internal problems caused by the war. This war weariness was further intensified by the food shortages Russia was experiencing. The war also put economic strains on Russia, while Russia received financial support from France and Britain most of the money of the Russian state went to the war effort. This led to both problems internally through strikes and on the front through mutinies. Another huge