By Lynne Ann Hartnett, Villanova University
Alexander Kerensky came into power in 1917 once Tsar Nicholas abdicated the throne. He could be called an accidental revolutionary. Kerensky had the best interests of the Russians at heart, frequently vacillating between reform and revolution. He wanted to become a just and ethical leader of the people.
The Petrograd Soviet and Kerensky
After Tsar Nicholas had abdicated his throne, a provisional government was formed to fill the power vacuum, and Alexander Kerensky was made the minister of justice.
Kerensky’s appointment posed a problem because the Petrograd Soviet, a socialist-leaning district council, on which he sat as vice chairman, had decided to abstain from taking part in the provisional government. It seemed obvious that he would need to resign from the Soviet were he to accept the justice ministry. But Kerensky refused to compromise.
He addressed the Petrograd Soviet with a rousing speech, asking its members to trust him. He vowed to be a representative of democracy in the provisional government and to represent the interests of the people.
Kerensky’s passion carried the day, and he was now firmly at the center of the revolution.
However, while the provisional government purported to represent all of Russia, the Petrograd Soviet regularly censured it as a tool of the bourgeoisie. The Soviet agreed to support the provisional government only “insofar as it did not encroach on the rights of the workers won by the Revolution”. Kerensky responded that this put the provisional government at the soviet’s mercy.
And so, in the midst of revolution, both bodies vied for legitimacy and influence.
Changes and Reforms
Within weeks of Nicholas’ abdication, the provisional government brought about liberal reforms like freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly; and amnesty for political prisoners. Universal suffrage followed, and Kerensky proclaimed that with these reforms, Russia had become the freest country in the world.
Most Russians relished the reforms and reveled in what had been achieved. But members of Lenin’s Bolshevik Party, who had been freed during the general amnesty, did not join in approval. Their biggest bone of contention was about the provisional government’s decision to continue fighting in World War I, honoring Russia’s commitment to its allies. Lenin and the Bolsheviks characterized the war as an imperialist endeavor and opposed it.
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The Bolshevik and Lenin
Each day, more and more Russian soldiers came forward in active support of Lenin. Still, the provisional government’s minister of foreign affairs, Pavel Milyukov, sent a note to Russia’s allies vowing that the government would fully carry out its obligations and remain in the war. When this note leaked to the press, bedlam broke out.
Bolsheviks marched down Nevsky Prospekt with signs reading “All Power to the Soviets” and “Down with the Provisional Government”. A group loyal to the provisional government beat them back, killing several demonstrators in the process.
Reshuffle in the Cabinet and Rise of the Bolsheviks
Amidst the unrest, the provisional government’s cabinet was reorganized. Several ministers, including Milyukov, announced their resignations. Kerensky convinced the Petrograd Soviet’s executive committee to allow its members to replace them. As a result, the provisional government’s political leanings shifted leftward. And Kerensky, appointed minister of war, now found himself running an increasingly unpopular war.
Kerensky had to manage desertions, agrarian disturbances, a devastated economy, and Bolshevik demand to exit the conflict. Without any military experience, Kerensky directed a disastrous offensive against the Germans and Austrians that July. Meanwhile, the Bolsheviks continued to distribute propaganda among Russian military units.
In Petrograd, the Bolsheviks’ influence climbed, including in the city’s military garrisons. Resolving to regain control, Kerensky announced the deployment of pro-Bolshevik units to the front. In addition, he organized the arrests of more than two-dozen Bolsheviks in the capital.
A large contingent of Bolshevized soldiers now took to the streets against the provisional government. For four days, Bolshevik-inspired mobs tried to compel the Petrograd Soviet to seize control from the provisional government, in what became known as the July Days. The disorder prompted another realignment of the government.
Prince Lvov resigned as president-minister and Kerensky was named his replacement.
Kerensky, the New Ruler
Kerensky sanctioned the transfer of noblemen’s estates to the peasantry and announced universal suffrage. He tried to crack down on the Bolsheviks to establish order and regain control. In a public speech, he announced that any attempt to generate anarchy and disorder would be mercilessly repressed.
Meanwhile, strikes gripped the country. The working classes struggled to survive, and food and fuel went into short supply.
And Kerensky, a socialist, was throwing other socialists into prison. The Marxist theorist Leon Trotsky, and other leading Bolsheviks, were among those who found themselves in prison. Lenin—whom the provisional government now wanted for treason—fled to Finland, however. From exile, he heaped scorn on Kerensky in the Bolshevik press even as a new threat arose.
The military leader General Lavr Kornilov believed that Russia’s only hope for salvation was a military dictatorship and martial law. After a series of ambiguous exchanges with Kerensky, Kornilov marched on the capital in an attempted coup. Kerensky wasted no time in branding Kornilov a traitor.
Kerensky’s government survived, thanks in part to a defense mounted by armed workers—whom the Bolsheviks organized into Red Guards—along with railroad workers who prevented the troops from reaching the capital. The Bolsheviks were now able to claim that they were the true defenders of the revolution.
Kerensky, who now made his home in Tsar Alexander III’s suite at the Winter Palace, could be seen as more ruler than revolutionary.
Common Questions about Alexander Kerensky
After Tsar Nicholas had abdicated his throne, a provisional government was formed to fill the power vacuum, and Alexander Kerensky was made the minister of justice.
The provisional government brought about liberal reforms like freedom of speech, press, religion, and assembly. Also, they announced amnesty for political prisoners and universal suffrage.
The military leader General Lavr Kornilov believed that Russia’s only hope for salvation was a military dictatorship and martial law.
