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The Red Resurgence
During late August and September, the Bolsheviks enjoyed a sudden growth in strength,. On August 31, they finally achieved a majority in the Petrograd Soviet, and on September 5, they won a similar victory in the Moscow Soviet. Lenin, fearing arrest after the events of July, continued to hide in rural areas near the Finnish border. As time went on, he become more and more impatient and began calling urgently for the downfall of the provisional government.
Although Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky’s authority was faltering, the provisional government was coming closer to organizing the Constituent Assembly, which would formally establish a republican government in Russia. Elections for the assembly were scheduled for November 12. Lenin knew that once this process started, it would be far more difficult to seize power while still preserving the appearance of legitimacy. If there were to be another revolution, it had to take place before then.
Internal Opposition
Before a revolution could happen, Lenin still had to deal with considerable opposition from within his own party. Many still felt that the timing was wrong and that Lenin had made no concrete plans for how the country would be administered after power was seized. On October 10, shortly following Lenin’s return to Petrograd, the Bolshevik Party leadership (the Central Committee) held a fateful meeting, during which Lenin had talked all but two of the twelve members present into approving an armed uprising to oust the provisional government. What had yet to be decided was precisely when the revolution would happen.
Final Plans
During the next two weeks, Lenin’s followers made their final plans and assembled their forces. A Second Congress of Soviets was scheduled for October 25, and the Bolsheviks were confident that they would have its overwhelming support, since they had taken pains to invite only those delegates likely to sympathize with their cause. Just to be sure, however, the Bolsheviks decided to hold the revolution on the day before the meeting and then to ask the Congress to approve their action after the fact.
By this point, the Bolsheviks had an army of sorts with the help of the Military Revolutionary Committee, which technically belonged to the Petrograd Soviet. Lenin and the other Bolshevik leaders knew that these troops were unreliable but expected that at least the main Petrograd garrison would support them once they saw that the Bolsheviks had the upper hand.
The Provisional Government’s Response
Although the details may have been secret, by late October, it was well known throughout Petrograd that the Bolsheviks were planning something major. Prime Minister Kerensky pressed for greater security and for the arrest of every Bolshevik who could be found, especially those in the Military Revolutionary Committee. The other ministers of the provisional government resisted Kerensky’s suggestions and believed that everything could ultimately be solved by negotiation.
Nonetheless, the provisional government did make a few modest preparatory arrangements. First, it closed down all Bolshevik newspapers on October 23, but this had little practical effect. Then, on the morning of October 24, the day the uprising was to begin, the provisional government installed junkers—cadets from local military academies—to guard government buildings and strategic points around the city. One of these positions was the tsar’s old Winter Palace, which the provisional government now used for its headquarters.
Events Timeline
August 31, 1917
Bolsheviks achieve majority in the Petrograd Soviet
September 5
Bolsheviks achieve majority in the Moscow Soviet
October 10
Lenin and the Bolshevik Central Committee decide to proceed with revolution
October 23
Provisional government acts to shut down all Bolshevik newspapers
October 24
Provisional government deploys student cadet junkers
Key People
Vladimir Lenin
Bolshevik leader; convinced the Bolsheviks to authorize a coup
Alexander Kerensky
Prime minister of provisional government; wanted to arrest Bolsheviks as a precaution
