'The fall of the Provisional Government in October 1917 was entirely due to its own failings.’ Explain whether you agree or disagree with this view [25] Although the Provisional Government’s failings were the main reason as to why they fell in October 1917, it was not the only reason; therefore making the above statement false. There are other factors affecting their downfall such as the strength of the Bolsheviks and extraneous variables that weren’t controlled. The first mistake was allowing revolutionaries back into Russia. Although the government was using this to show to the people that it was different to the Tsar and was a good idea in theory, the government severely underestimated their opposition. By allowing the revolutionaries back into Russia, the government was trying to show its strength, however allowed their main threat to walk back into Russia. The government were also indecisive; they often spent long periods of time deciding information and often had conflicts of interest. The lack of …show more content…
On the one hand, they wanted to continue with the war however that would follow in the Tsar’s footsteps, and therefore make them no different from the authority they had taken over, however they could also not discontinue the war because it would mean all the resources, money and lives that had been lost due to the war would have all been for nothing, which would have likely caused equal unrest. It was however a decision which needed to be made and although it was decided to be a defensive war, this was only after the Kerensky offensive (where the government ordered an attack on Austria which ultimately failed) which caused only more unpopularity. The provisional government had been elected by the Duma and had no real authority at the time, meaning they had little power and strength from the beginning, and suggests that they were doomed from the