ABSTRACT
ANALYSIS (1): WHY WERE THE BOLSHEVIKS ABLE TO OVERTHROW THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT IN OCTOBER 1917?
Bolshevik success in October 1917 can – logically – be attributed to three main possibilities. The first was the social and political situation between February and October, which gradually undermined the Provisional Government and its supporters. The second was the growing popularity of the Bolsheviks during the course of 1917, which meant that they were able to harness a powerful undercurrent of revolutionary activism. And the third was the Bolsheviks’ organisation and strategy, which enabled them to take maximum advantage of the vulnerability of their opponents and the resentment of the urban and rural masses.
