1917 without Lenin

i'm doing my AP Euro homework at the moment, i just read something intresting, my book says that after the July Days many Bolsheviks thought that the party should work with the Provisional Government, but Lenin in Finland told them they shouldn't, so my question is this, what if Lenin died in Finland (lets say the strokes got him a few year early) would the Bolsheviks work with the Provisional Government? and how would this change things? and even if they don't work with the Provisional Government without Lenin can they pull off the October Revolution? and if they do pull that off can they win the Civil War without him?
 
I could see the Bolsheviks working with the Provisional Government under Kerensky. The real problem is that Kerensky refuses to halt Russia's involvement in World War I. Until he does that, the problems in Russia are only going to get worse (economic ruin, food shortages, political instability, increasing death rate at the front, an increasingly bitter batch of military veterans). Imagine Weimar Germany only with a war going on and no real leaders to guide it safely through. End result: Russia is going to implode. There will still be a civil war. Without Lenin though I'm unsure as to who wins. Probably a military dictatorship.
 
at the time of the October Revolution, WWI was only going to last 1 more year, by the time of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk it was only going to last 8 months, if Russia was still in the fight the war may of ended sooner, so if the Civil War can be held off (no October Revolution no Treaty of Brest-Litovsk=more time to Civil war?) for a year then the war is over or ending, would there be a Civil War?
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
If Lenin died, the Bolsheviks would get disorganized for a while, but then be as strong as IRL with a new leader, if everything else go as IRL there'd probably still be a revolution.
 
Bolsheviks did work with Provisional government almost until the coup and were even forced by popular sentiment to allow elections to Constitutional Assembly. I'm not 100% sure that Lenin's death would mean no October, but it is possible (it would basically hang on whever someone within Communist leadership would have cojones big enough to believe that left can govern on their own).
 
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