HIS250Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Petrograd Soviet, July Days, Mensheviks
Document Summary
In february impossible to foresee that the bolsheviks would seize power in oct. Their success = due to their own efforts + failures of other socialist groups. Lenin had been shocked by the sudden revolution in feb (bolsheviks had played a little role) Only 10,000 members in bolshevik party at the start of 1917. Bolsheviks seemed the least likely to take power leaders scattered across the world. Trotsky, organizer of october rev was a menshevik. 3rd april lenin returned to petrograd new revolutionary gov. Lenin was ridiculed by many not even all party members supported him. 1000+ delegates from soviets throughout russia met for the first time june 1917: at the congress, 105 bolsheviks, 285 srs, 248 mensheviks. Entry of mensheviks/srs into pg gov of bourgeois ministers" left vacuum in left politics. By opposing the new coalition gov, bolsheviks were the only loyal" party to the working class their support grew.
