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Why The Bolsheviks Came Into Power?

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Why The Bolsheviks Came Into Power?
How far do you agree that the weakness of the provisional government was the main reason why the Bolsheviks came into power?

There are two main reasons why the Bolsheviks were able to take over power in Russia in November 1917. They are the strengths of Bolsheviks themselves and factors in their favour, and the weaknesses and mistakes of the Provisional Government.
The most important reason why the Bolsheviks were able to take over power was the faults and mistakes of the Provisional Government. A key factor was ‘Order No. 1’ which gave the Soviet control over the armed forcesand communications in Petrograd, and stated that the Provisional Government couldn’t pass any laws without the Soviet’s permission. This meant that the Provisional Government were lacking in power and couldn’t govern effectively right from the start which meant that people were dissatisfied. Also the Provisional Government hesitated when it came to important decisions such as the war and the …show more content…
Trotsky was important in organising and coordinating the actual take over Petrograd in November, but Lenin was even more important because he was a strong leader who guided the Central Committee of the Party and pushed to make the takeover happen. For example, he produced the April Theses, which gave the Bolsheviks clear goals and made them better focused and organized, which was vital if they were going to take over successfully. He also put together the slogan ‘Bread, Peace, Land, and All power to the Soviets!’ which was designed to appeal to a broad range of people and he gave speeches and led rallies to inspire people to join the party. This meant that the Bolsheviks grew in popularity because they were offering people what they wanted – in particular they were the only party who opposed the war and all the other parties were associated with the much-disliked Provisional Government, which seemed to be doing
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