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Lenin’s Return to Russia
During the February Revolution, Vladimir Lenin had been living in exile in Switzerland, but returned to his homeland in the spring of 1917 with the help of the German government, who wanted to destabilize Russia. Lenin arrived in Petrograd on the evening of April 3, 1917 and was greeted by a large, cheering crowd. To their surprise, however, he expressed hostility toward most of them, denouncing both the provisional government and the Petrograd Soviet. Although the various competing parties had cooperated ever since the February Revolution, Lenin would have nothing to do with this mentality. He considered any who were not Bolsheviks, a radical faction of Marxists, to be his sworn enemies and obstacles to the “natural” flow of history.
The April Theses
In the days following his arrival, Lenin gave several speeches calling for the overthrow of the provisional government. Published in the Bolshevik newspaper Pravda on April 7, these came to be known as the April Theses. From the moment of his return through late October 1917, Lenin worked for a single goal: to place Russia under Bolshevik control as quickly as possible. The immediate effect of Lenin’s attitude, however, was to alienate most other prominent Socialists in the city. Members of both the Petrograd Soviet and even Lenin’s own party, wrote Lenin off as too radical and anarchist to be taken seriously.
“All Power to the Soviets”
Despite this, Lenin pulled his closest supporters together and moved on toward the next step of his plan. He used the slogan “All power to the soviets” as he sought to agitate the masses against the provisional government, despite the fact that the soviets were simply socialist council of workers and were giving Lenin little support at the moment. Nonetheless, he believed he could manipulate them for his own purposes and orchestrate a new revolution in much the same way that the previous one had happened: by instigating large street demonstrations. Though the soviets were simply socialist council of workers and were giving Lenin little support at the moment, he believed he could manipulate them for his own purposes.
Failed Early Coup Attempts
From the moment Lenin returned to Russia, he began to work toward a Bolshevik coup using every means available. The first attempt took place in late April during a sharp disagreement between the provisional government and the Petrograd Soviet over the best way to remove Russia from World War I. As frustrated military personnel began to demonstrate in the streets, the Bolsheviks attempted to agitate the troops by demanding the ousting of the provisional government. However, no coup grew out of these demonstrations, and they dissipated without incident.
During the spring and summer, the Bolsheviks would make several more attempts to bring about a second revolution by inciting the masses. However, their repeated failures made it clear to Lenin that a repeat performance of the February Revolution was not to be and that a much more organized, top-down approach would be required.
The Bolsheviks and the Military
Lenin recognized that the current Russian leaders’ hesitation to pull the country out of World War I was a weakness that could be exploited. After four years of massive losses and humiliating defeats, the army was on the verge of revolting. While other politicians bickered over negotiating smaller war reparations or the possibility of territorial gains, Lenin demanded that Russia exit the war immediately, no matter the cost. With this position, Lenin received growing support throughout the Russian armed forces and launched an aggressive propaganda campaign directed specifically at the Russian troops still serving on the front.
Despite this new wave of military support, Lenin still had to backtrack temporarily on his earlier extreme positions with the aim of garnering more support, such as by embracing the Petrograd Soviet. Although this effort did have some limited success, it failed to produce the level of support that Lenin had hoped for. Therefore, he decided to concentrate instead on defaming the provisional government and continuing to build up connections within the military so that, after the revolution, he could deal with all his critics by force.
Events Timeline
April 3, 1917
Lenin arrives in Petrograd
April 7
April Theses published in the newspaper Pravda
April 21
First Bolshevik demonstrations
Key People
Vladimir Lenin
Revolutionary and intellectual; founded Bolshevik Party; returned to Russia from exile in April 1917 and advocated armed rebellion to establish Communist state
