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On the night of 25–26 October 1917 (7–8 November by the Western calendar), the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd, overthrowing the Provisional Government. Unlike the spontaneous February Revolution, the October Revolution was a planned coup organised by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. This lesson examines how and why the Bolsheviks came to power for AQA GCSE History.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, had been in exile in Switzerland when the February Revolution occurred. In April 1917, the German government helped him return to Russia in a sealed train (Germany hoped Lenin would take Russia out of the war).
On his arrival in Petrograd in April 1917, Lenin issued his April Theses — a set of radical demands.
| Demand | Detail |
|---|---|
| "Peace, Bread, Land" | End the war immediately; give bread to the workers; give land to the peasants |
| No support for the Provisional Government | Lenin called it a "bourgeois" government serving the interests of the rich |
| "All Power to the Soviets" | Power should be transferred from the Provisional Government to the soviets (workers' councils) |
| World revolution | The Russian revolution should be the start of a worldwide socialist revolution |
The April Theses were initially controversial even within the Bolshevik Party, but Lenin gradually won the party round. His simple slogans — especially "Peace, Bread, Land" and "All Power to the Soviets" — proved enormously popular.
Exam Tip: Lenin's simple, clear slogans were crucial to the Bolsheviks' success. They addressed exactly what the Russian people wanted — an end to the war, food, and land. Compare this to the Provisional Government, which offered none of these things.
Between April and October 1917, the Provisional Government lurched from crisis to crisis, while Bolshevik support grew.
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| June 1917 | June Offensive | Kerensky launched a new military offensive that ended in disaster; soldiers deserted in huge numbers |
| July 1917 | July Days | Bolsheviks and soldiers attempted a premature uprising in Petrograd; it was crushed; Lenin fled to Finland; the Bolsheviks were temporarily weakened |
| August 1917 | Kornilov Affair | General Lavr Kornilov attempted a military coup to overthrow the Provisional Government; Kerensky armed the Bolsheviks (giving them 40,000 rifles) to help defend Petrograd; the coup collapsed, but the Bolsheviks kept the weapons and emerged as defenders of the revolution |
| September 1917 | Bolshevik majority in Soviets | The Bolsheviks won majorities in the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets; Trotsky became chairman of the Petrograd Soviet |
Exam Tip: The Kornilov Affair was a turning point. It discredited the Provisional Government and the army, armed the Bolsheviks, and showed the Bolsheviks as the defenders of the revolution. Many exam questions ask about the relative importance of the Kornilov Affair in the Bolshevik seizure of power.
| Weakness | Detail |
|---|---|
| Continued the war | The most unpopular decision; soldiers were deserting in their thousands |
| Failed to redistribute land | Peasants were seizing land anyway; the government lost their support |
| Economic failure | Inflation, food shortages, and fuel shortages continued to worsen |
| No elections | The promised Constituent Assembly was repeatedly delayed |
| Dual Power | The government had authority but not real power; the Soviet controlled the army and transport |
| Loss of credibility | The Kornilov Affair destroyed what remained of the government's authority |
| Strength | Detail |
|---|---|
| Lenin's leadership | Determined, decisive, and ruthless; drove the party towards seizing power |
| Trotsky's organisation | As chairman of the Petrograd Soviet and head of the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC), Trotsky planned and organised the seizure of power |
| Clear message | "Peace, Bread, Land" and "All Power to the Soviets" addressed the people's most urgent demands |
| Disciplined party | The Bolsheviks were a tightly organised party of approximately 200,000 members by October |
| Armed force | The Red Guards (Bolshevik militia) had been armed during the Kornilov Affair |
| Support in key institutions | Controlled the Petrograd Soviet and had growing support in the army and navy |
Lenin returned secretly to Petrograd in October and convinced the Bolshevik Central Committee to plan an armed uprising.
| Stage | Detail |
|---|---|
| Night of 24–25 October | Red Guards and pro-Bolshevik soldiers occupied key points in Petrograd — bridges, railway stations, the telephone exchange, the post office, the state bank |
| 25 October | Lenin announced that the Provisional Government had been overthrown (this was premature — the Winter Palace had not yet fallen) |
| Night of 25–26 October | The cruiser Aurora fired a blank shot as a signal; Red Guards stormed the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government was meeting; the ministers were arrested; Kerensky had already fled |
| 26 October | Lenin announced the new Bolshevik government — the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) — with himself as chairman |
Contrary to later Soviet propaganda, the seizure of power was a relatively small-scale event.
Exam Tip: The October Revolution was a planned coup by a minority, not a mass popular uprising. This is an important distinction. However, the Bolsheviks could not have succeeded without widespread passive support — most people did not resist because the Provisional Government had lost all credibility.
On 26 October 1917, Lenin issued a series of decrees that fulfilled the Bolsheviks' promises.
| Decree | Detail |
|---|---|
| Decree on Peace | Called for an immediate armistice and a just peace with no annexations |
| Decree on Land | Abolished private land ownership; land was to be distributed to the peasants |
| Decree on Workers' Control | Workers' committees were given control of factories |
| Abolition of social ranks | All titles and class privileges were abolished |
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