Russia: Land of Hope and Glory
On March 2nd 1917 as his country was falling apart, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated as leader of the Russia. Urged on by his generals and advisors the Tsar refused to name his haemophilic son Alexei as the new Tsar and the Romanov dynasty came to an end. There was a half-hearted proposal to name Nicholas’s brother Michael as the new leader but wisely, the Grand Duke declined, not wanting to be blamed for bringing down the Russian Empire. So, a Provisional Government is formed the very next day and given the monumental task of fixing the country. Key parties in the Duma are given roles in this new government with Milyukov, Guchkov and Kerensky, all party leaders, all becoming ministers under the leadership of Prince Lvov, a wealthy aristocrat. Initially the Provisional Government was successful passing much-needed liberal reforms such as freedom of speech, an elected parliament and freedom of religion but with the war dragging on, the government became unpopular. In May, both the leader of the Cadets and the Octobrists as they sought to continue the war even if they pushed the Germans off Russian soil. Furthermore, the next month, the so called Kerensky offensive failed and this, combined with further military defeats and the fact that there was hyperinflation and near constant food shortages made the government even more unpopular.
Lenin’s April Thesis became a symbol of the growing opposition to the Provisional Government as the Bolsheviks became even more dangerous due to their 10,000 Red Guard. In July there was a vote of confidence in the new government however as the Petrograd Soviet gained power the Provisional Government lost it. This ‘Dvoyevlastiye’ or dual power was causing the government to collapse and this culminated in the July Days. Both Bolsheviks and soldiers returning from the front started rioting in Petrograd on July 16th. About 400 people were killed and injured but the rioting and dissent was eventually crushed by Kerensky, who was the Minister for War. After the failed Bolsheviks coup the government worked to rebuild itself as Lvov resigned as was replaced by the Socialist Revolutionary Kerensky. Pravda, the communist newspaper was shut down and some order was restored.
The first thing Kerensky did when he came to power was to bring forward the date of the elections. Originally meant to occur in September but running behind schedule, Kerensky ordered the intricacies of election law to be left unspecified as he wanted to hold the elections as early as possible. Next, although a controversial descision, Kerensky decided to sue for peace with Germany. He didn’t commit to anything but at least wanted to start negotiations. This was opposed by some members of his government who promptly resigned but welcomed by the general population. Lenin, although he strongly opposed the government declared it “a day when I am proud to be Russian,” and in general the Bolsheviks and other revolutionaries cautiously supported the measure. However, this was not to last when a month later General Kornilov , a leading general and Supreme Commander of the Russian military, marched on the capital with his army. Kornilov was disgraced by what he saw as Kerensky’s cowardice and wanted to restore order and establish a military dictatorship and continue the war.
While all this was happening, the first free elections in Russian history were being held. Although due to the chaos around the country much was the counting was incomplete none of the parties disputed the results as Kerensky’s Socialist Revolutionaries won a majority. The Bolsheviks unperformed, coming a distant second and achieving around 15% of the vote. The Petrograd Soviet was still powerful but not powerful enough it seemed. As Kornilov marched with his men the election results became known the Provisional Government gained authority as it was democratically elected. The people didn’t want Kornilov to continue the war and did not feel like law and order had to be so strongly enforced. As he reached Petrograd Kornilov realised this. With his troops deserting and a lack of support from the people the general stopped in front of Petrograd and turned back calling of his revolution. In November the Constitutional Assembly met for the first time. It was given the task of drawing up a new constitution for Russia but was met with violent resistance from many members of the Bolshevik Party. The Red Guard stormed the building and killed over a hundred supporters of the Assembly who were protesting for it. But, Kerensky, as his position was now more secure, calling in some of the troops stationed in Petrograd to disperse the Communists. Lenin managed to escape but many other key members were arrested. After that the Bolsheviks were basically dead. After the new and liberal constitution was put in place Kerensky formed the first democratically elected government, made up of solely Socialist Revolutionaries. Now, Kerensky was elected he could fully pull out of the war and pass through many more reforms, continuing on from the Provisional Government.
Kerensky’s new government managed to negotiate a peace treaty with their German counterparts but they lost vast amounts of land including the Ukraine and Poland and the Baltic States. Kerensky however used this to his advantage as it meant he no longer had to deal with nationalists and separatists. Britain and France were dismayed at Russia’s withdrawal on the 4th of December but understood the difficulty it was facing and that he needed to get out of the war. As 1917 turned into 1918 Kerensky’s government was going well. Most of the opposition to the harsh peace treaty of Minsk, as it became known, had subsided and the government concentrated on domestic and economic affairs. Kerensky took steps to curtail the power of the Soviets and banned the Bolshevik Party, arresting key members. He also helped increase safety regulations for industrial workers and continued the Provisional Government’s policy of an eight hour working day. For the Socialist Revolutionaries’ key supporters, the peasants, he passed legislation to helped share land from the wealthy so they could farm in small communities. On January 11th 1919 the Great War officially ended after one last, long Christmas of fighting. The German economy had collapsed and with a new wave of American troops the Entente was able to seize victory.
After the a mediocrely successful term Kerensky was re-elected at the 1922 Constituent Assembly elections although he was forced to go into a coalition with a smattering of other small, socialist groups. With the Bolshevik vote disappearing after the party banning and Lenin’s subsequent escape to Mexico, the Mensheviks gained and together with the liberal Kadets made up the official opposition. After the war, Russia began to once again ally with Britain and France as it moved from a transitioning democracy to a fully-functioning one. Kerensky lost the next election but did make a substantial impact of Russia and is fondly remembered for making it the country it is today. Julius Martov of the Mensheviks became Russia’s second Prime Minister and continued with reforms, albeit slightly more radical than Kerensky’s. He introduced a minimum wage and moved the country towards a social democracy. Meanwhile, in Germany, unrest was growing due to the harsh Treaty of Versailles. With the rise of the Nazi’s and ever-present Communists, egged on by a dying Lenin, German democracy was endangered. However, somehow the chancellor Hindenburg managed to hold on. Russia progressed steadily in a relatively peaceful world throughout the decades. It acted to stop Mussolini in the 40’s and agreed to a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty after the new technology was by the Americans in 60’s.
Today, Russia is a superpower and is able to challenge the likes of countries such as the European Federation, Britain and the U.S. It has a population of 200 million and is one of the largest economies in world after successful industrialization by Markov. Currently led by Ivan Repin of the Kadet Party it helped Western nations during the invasion of Yemen earlier this year and is currently enforcing sanctions, along with many other countries, on the last remaining Communist country in the world ; China. Communism around the world is mainly gone but there has been an increase of nationalism of the past couple of years. According to surveys the average Russian says they have an ‘above average’ faith in their government and democracy is Russia has been going on uninterrupted for nearly a hundred years. The capital of the Russian Republic is still St. Petersburg, as it always has been, and the country continues to play a key role in world affairs.
