The Provisional Government | Why did it fail?

Hearts of Iron IV478 views5 favorites3 min readby На ужин цыгaнeUpdated 25 MarView on Steam ↗

Forewords

So at the start of the guide, i gonna give some forewords for those ppl who slept through High School history lessons:

  • Wut is "Provisional Government"?

    The Provisional Government was a transitional administration that temporarily governed Russia after the abdication of Nicholas II in February 1917. Their goal was to hold the country together until the convening of the Constituent Assembly, where they would decide what to do with the country next.


  • Why "Provisional"?

    So u can guys ask: "why it was Provisional"... So the reason for this was the lack of a permanent mandate. They considered themselves a placeholder until elections could be held.
    Although, as the saying goes: Nothing is more permanent than the temporary. It's a shame it didn't work out that way this time.

The original version of the guide:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3682413165

What's went wrong?

After that introduction, you might ask: "So, what exactly went wrong?"
If you want the short answer: EVERYTHING.

  • War until "the bitter end"
    After the abdication of Nicholas II, the people hoped Russia would exit World War I. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The government kept insisting: "Russia must fulfill its obligations to the Allies." The reality: They should have been thinking about their own starving country, not their allies.
  • The Land Question
    The government promised to give land to the peasants, but only after the Constituent Assembly. The peasants, however, wanted the land here and now. As you can imagine, they weren't in the mood to wait.
  • Dual Power
    Alongside the Provisional Government, there was the Petrograd Soviet, consisting of workers and soldiers.
    • Provisional Government: Had the formal power.
    • Petrograd Soviet: Had the real power (they controlled factories, railroads, and most institutions).

Aleksander Kerensky: The rockstar of 1917

If the Provisional Government was a band - Kerensky was theirs frontman.

  • Career and style of Kerensky
    Kerensky rose from Minister of Justice to Prime Minister. Kerensky was a masterful orator and sought to bring order through the power of words. He dressed simply, pretending to be a man of the people.
  • Wut was his problem?
    Kerensky liked to flirt with both the left and the right, but ultimately received support from neither. There's a myth that he fled the Winter Palace afterward in a woman's dress, but unfortunately, this is just a myth, invented by the Bolsheviks for trolling. In reality, he left in an American embassy car (yes, that's not very noble either).

The fall of The Provisional Government

Ultimately, in October 1917, the Bolsheviks simply came and dispersed the Provisional Government, which no one supported anymore and, by that point, was no longer of any use to anyone. The Russian Republic ceased to exist that very day. I suggest you watch this amusing meme about Kerensky:

Afterwords

That's the end of this guide. In it, I've tried to convey to you everything I knew about the Provisional Government and its collapse.
Bottom line: the Provisional Government tried to do everything beautifully and legally, but in the end, it turned out to be Lenin.

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