ABSTRACT
The overthrow of tsarism in February 1917* was long anticipated but unexpected when it came. A Provisional Government was established under Prince Lvov that appeared to open the way for Russia’s ‘bourgeois’ democratic development The Bolshevik party in Russia was confused over the stance to take, with most of the leadership (including Stalin) favouring cooperation with the government as long as it sought an end to the war. On his return Lenin took a sharply critical stance, insisting that the ‘bourgeois’ revolution could be transformed into a socialist one, but only if certain conditions were met. The Provisional Government staggered from crisis to crisis until finally overthrown in October.
