Why were the Bolsheviks able to take power in October 1917?
Why were the Bolsheviks able to take power in October 1917?
There are many factors that allowed to Bolsheviks to take power in October 1917 such as the growing unpopularity of the Provisional Government at the time. Moreover, events such as the July days and the return of Lenin and Trotsky. The Bolshevik slogans "Bread, Land and Peace" and "All Power to the Soviets" also sum up the other major factors to their rise.
The Provisional Government was becoming increasingly unpopular. They had failed to end the war and were blamed for food shortages and rising prices. Also, the Russian people were unable to choose their own government as the Provisional Government had not held elections which had displeased most people of Russia. The Bolsheviks took advantage of the unpopularity of the Provisional Government and increased its support. Its slogan “Bread, Land and Peace” was a really attractive offer to the Russian people. The "Bread" issue was not being solved by the government, but the Bolsheviks promised that they would deal with it. Lenin promised to provide the people with sufficient food, and the starving population turned to him for help. Furthermore, most peasants were furious with the government and the landowners for not giving the peasants a chance to earn their own money with their own land. Lenin, in accordance with the communist ideology, promised that the landowners' property would be split up and distributed equally, naturally attracting mass support from the majority of the population. In addition, the slogan ‘Peace’ was the most appealed out of the 3 by the Russian people. Almost everybody wanted the war to stop, as it continued for so long. The devastated economy and dwindling food supplies were all caused by the war, and people wished to return to their old lives. Lenin knew this and aptly used this as a slogan for his campaign. Being the only party which constantly opposed the continuation of the war, the Bolsheviks attracted many supporters.
There are many factors that allowed to Bolsheviks to take power in October 1917 such as the growing unpopularity of the Provisional Government at the time. Moreover, events such as the July days and the return of Lenin and Trotsky. The Bolshevik slogans "Bread, Land and Peace" and "All Power to the Soviets" also sum up the other major factors to their rise.
The Provisional Government was becoming increasingly unpopular. They had failed to end the war and were blamed for food shortages and rising prices. Also, the Russian people were unable to choose their own government as the Provisional Government had not held elections which had displeased most people of Russia. The Bolsheviks took advantage of the unpopularity of the Provisional Government and increased its support. Its slogan “Bread, Land and Peace” was a really attractive offer to the Russian people. The "Bread" issue was not being solved by the government, but the Bolsheviks promised that they would deal with it. Lenin promised to provide the people with sufficient food, and the starving population turned to him for help. Furthermore, most peasants were furious with the government and the landowners for not giving the peasants a chance to earn their own money with their own land. Lenin, in accordance with the communist ideology, promised that the landowners' property would be split up and distributed equally, naturally attracting mass support from the majority of the population. In addition, the slogan ‘Peace’ was the most appealed out of the 3 by the Russian people. Almost everybody wanted the war to stop, as it continued for so long. The devastated economy and dwindling food supplies were all caused by the war, and people wished to return to their old lives. Lenin knew this and aptly used this as a slogan for his campaign. Being the only party which constantly opposed the continuation of the war, the Bolsheviks attracted many supporters.