Problems facing Imperial Russia- Transition from Empire to Provisional Government to Bolshevism.

This discussion addresses the following outcomes:

• Critically evaluate the problems facing Imperial Russia and the transition from Empire to Provisional Government to Bolshevism. (CO3 & 6)

As you read in the Neiberg text, the Russian people were frustrated over the Tsar’s mismanagement of the First World War. His seemingly callous disregard for the lives of his soldiers echoed earlier complaints about his outdated and ineffectual ruling of the Russian Empire. After his overthrow and abdication, the Provisional Government inherited a difficult situation. The new government furthered the democratic reforms of the October Manifesto, but that was not what the majority of the Russian people needed. They did not care about elections; they needed food and stability.  And so the Provisional Government had to choose whether to satisfy the needs of its people by ending the war with Germany, even if it meant abject surrender and a humiliating loss of territory and prestige. Or, in order to gain the recognition and financial backing of the major western powers, they would have to remain at war with Germany. 

The Provisional Government chose the latter and, after more soldiers died during the failed offensive of summer 1917, the Bolsheviks (Links to an external site.) provided the leadership the people wanted. Individual communities began to form collective councils, called soviets (Links to an external site.), which shared resources and information. The soviets largely ignored the Provisional Government, communicating with one another and marshaling their resources until they were able to seize power in the October Revolution, which lasted less than 48 hours. One of the first acts of the new Bolshevik State was the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Links to an external site.), a humiliating treaty that ceded much of Eastern Europe to the German Empire, but bought the fledgling state of soviets the peace and stability it needed to govern itself.

In preparation for this discussion, read Chapter 8: Driving out the Devi (Links to an external site.)l in the Neiberg text as well as the Module Notes.     

Then, in an initial post of at least 250 words discuss the following:

• Explain how the Provisional Government might have remained in power by choosing a different path, considering the obstacles they faced.
• If you were Kerensky, explain why you would have either accepted Germany’s terms or fought on in favor of Allied funding. 

Your initial post must use evidence from the assigned readings, including at least two full citations in proper APA (Links to an external site.) or Chicago (Links to an external site.) style.