ABSTRACT
The seminal political event of the summer of 1917 was the Kornilov affair, the attempt to re-establish an authoritarian government in Russia. Despite the importance of this affair its history remains unclear, the result of remaining gaps in the evidence and the often anecdotal and selective, if not biased, nature of that which is available (Munck 1987:16–39). However, the context within which it took place is more certain. The collapse of the June offensive and the increasing radicalisation of the ‘dark masses’ moved those conservative forces opposed to any further deepening of the Revolution to mobilise to prevent it. They thought to take advantage of the rout of the Bolsheviks during the July Days to put pressure on the Provisional Government to introduce measures to reimpose discipline, both at the front and in the rear.
