Alexander Kerenski

Alexander Kerenski (Александр Федорович Керенский)  was the Second Minister Chairman (Prime Minister) of the Provisional Russian Government in 1917. Born in 1881 in Simbrisk, Russia, Kerenski had been a lawyer by trade, focusing in the defence of arrested revolutionaries. He became increasingly involved in the Socialist-Revolutionary Party and Russian politics, and by the time he had risen to the position of Minister Chairman, Russia was facing its worst crisis since the Napoleonic Invasion in 1812. However, the crisis proved too much, even for a politician as skilled as Kerenski, and in October 1917, Lenin and his Bolsheviks revolted, taking over Russia, thus ending Kerenski’s rule, and bringing about the dawn of Communism.

Beginings of the Revolution


By 1916, Kerenski had become a leading figure within Russia and his Socialist-Revolutionary Party. He, like mostother politicians at the time, blamed Tsar Nicholas II for the conflict and desperation found within the country, and as resentment for the Tsar grew amongst Russians, Kerenski and fellow politicians began to discuss the possibility of taking action against the Tsar. Amongst these were the leading politicians Guchkov (an Octobrist), Milyukov (a Kadet), and Lvov (a member of Zemgor, a Russian organization created to help the government during World War I). The general consensus amongst them was that were the Tsar to be removed, there would be an increase in economic and administrative efficiency, and as generals and industrialists overcame difficulties they had once faced from the war, they became optimistic, so much so that they too felt that they could do even better without the Tsar. However, despite the growing anti-Monarchist feeling, there as not enough support to be hopeful about a successful coup d’état with only Guchkov unintimidated at the prospect of it in 1916.

The Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II
However, on February 26th 1917, Nicholas II prorogued the Duma, an act that caused outrage, so much so that when soldiers were sent to quell the now common protests, many either handed over their rifles to the protesters, or joined in themselves. This growing insubordination within the military greatly encouraged the aforementioned leading politicians, and following much work from Milyukov and his Kadets (as well as other parties), Tsar Nicholas II chose to abdicate on March 2nd. Originally, he abdicated in favour of Alexei, and then later to his brother Grand Duke Michael, who after some reflection, refused the offer and thus ended the Romanov Dynasty.

The Creation of the Provisional Government
This provided Kerenski and his colleagues with the opportunity to create the Provisional Government on March 3rd. Milyukov was made Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guchkov head of the War Ministry, Lvov the Minister Chairman, and Kerenski the head of the Ministry of Justice (following an invitation from Lvov).

The Milyukov Telegram
On April 18th though, Milyukov sent a telegram to the Allied Forces stating that Russia would stay involved in the warat any cost, a move that would cost both his and Guchkov’s career following war demonstrations over the matter. This, however, proved to be to the benefit of Kerenski who was promoted to the head of the War Ministry. At the same time, his party had amassed over 1,000,000 members.

Early Difficulties
However, Kerenski would only remain head of the War Ministry until July when Lvov resigned from his position as Minister Chairman. Previously, Lvov had ordered a Russian military offensive on the Eastern Front’s Southern Sector in order to prove Russia’s utility to the Allies and as a means of gaining support at home through military success, but the offensive was ultimately a failure, with Russian forces retreating back deep into Ukraine after German reinforcements had been sent to the Austro-Hungarian line. This made Lvov less popular, and at the same time, the Bolsheviks had been causing mischief in Petrograd, the so-called “July Days” where demonstrations orchestrated by local workers took place. During these demonstrations, the Provisional Government Troops killed dozens of workers, making Lvov even more unpopular. These events proved to be too difficult for Lvov, and so he resigned in favour of Kerenski.

Early Days
Kerenski was said to have been a master of the arts of 20th Century political communication, a strong patriot, and a brilliant orator. Despite being temperamental, he was also very tenacious and did his best to avoid favouritism. He believed that he could save Russia from political disintegration and military defeat, and for the above reasons seemed to be a perfect candidate for the position of Minister Chairman. Kerenski’s rule was decidedly off to a bad start though as he scavenged to create the Second Coalition. The Kadets had rejected him, and Tsereteli, the Menshevik leader under Lvov, stood down so that he could dedicate himself to the soviets. It was not until July 25th that Kerenski was able to establish his coalition.

Aims and Priorities
Initially, Kerenski focused his cabinet on political and economic emergencies. He continued diplomatic discussions with the allies, but planned no further major attacks on the Russian front. He also did not try to stop the Mensheviks and Socialists who were doing all that they could to bring war to an end. They later tried to convoke a fathering of all combatant socialist parties in Stockholm in order to try and bring an end to the war, only to be stopped by the British and French. Kerenski’s two priorities were to reimpose the government’s authority in the towns and at the front as well as to secure a more regular supply of food from the countryside. In regards to Kerenski’s latter priority, Kerenski gave an assurance that his cabinet would bring a new efficiency to the task of guaranteeing the availability of bread for urban consumption. However, foreign financial support became harder to obtain and although a liberty loan had been raised at home to help, it was not enough. As a result inflation accelerated to an even higher rate. Furthermore, peasants refused to realise their stocks until there was a stable currency and that there was an abundance of industrial products. In an attempt to satisfy them, on August 27th, Kerenski doubled the price offered for wheat, but even afterwards, Russia was only procuring 56% of the grain they had procured in the same month the year before. This meant that only 3-day rations could be issued in Petrograd. The military situation was not much better than the situation at home either. Russian soldiers were becoming ill disciplined and wondered if the war was worth fighting especially given that they thought that the government was still pursuing expansionist aims. Furthermore, desertions were taking place on a massive scale and now the government could no longer be confident about avoiding defeat and territorial dismemberment. Kerenski’s chances on remaining in power depended on the allied performance in the west. If they lost, Russia would be overrun, and if they were too quick to beat the Germans, the Provisional Government would become obsolete as Russia would have been victorious.

Leading politicians were also becoming increasingly annoyed with Kerenski for the manoeuvres he made to maintain support from the Mensheviks and Socialists. Many Russian Military Commanders were also beginning to lose respect for Kerenski.

The Kornilov Affair
Things only got worse following the Kornilov affair. Bother Kerenski and Kornilov had initially gotten along very well, and had both wanted a restoration of order, feeling that the Provisional Government as it stood was not particularly good. Kerenski was soon irked by Kornilov, and although Kerenski had originally summoned Kornilov to Petrograd as to stiffen the authority of the government, Kerenski changed his mind and countermanded the transfer of troops. On August 27th, Kornilov saw this as a sign that Kerenski had given up on what Kornilov saw as necessary action, and so pressed onwards to Petrograd in open mutiny. Things were made worse for Kerenski by the fact that Riga had been lost to the Germans just five days previously. As a result, he turned to the Petrograd Soviet for help, despite the fact that he had been trying to heel them. There were happy to help, and following some fighting, Kornilov was put under house arrest.

Continued Growth of Unpopularity
Popular discontent only continued to increase thereafter. Soldiers wanted peace, peasants land, workers job security and higher real wages. Both working and middle class people faced hunger in winter. Shopkeepers, carriage-drivers and providers of other services feared that potato and bread might become unobtainable, thus disrupting their businesses. The urban cost of living was rising dramatically, and unemployment had now become wide spread. Furthermore, for those thrown out of work, there was no state welfare. Factory workers and miners also felt the adverse effects of the collapsing economy. Kerenski could only satisfy their needs if he withdrew from war, something that was not an option. If he did so, he would come under fire from all parties, and this would not be aided by the fact that Lenin had been accusing Kerenski of wanting to hand over Petrograd to the Germans. At any rate, it was unlikely that Kerenski would survive the following elections anyway.

Later on there was an increased willingness to attack landowners and burn their houses and farming property. Whereas there had only been 5 destructive raids of this sort in July, there were 144 in October. During this time, the slogan of “Workers Control” gained in appeal to working classes. Workers were being encouraged to take power, and in some cases, workers even took over their enterprises and got rid of their bosses. Sailors and soldiers also became increasingly disruptive, and because Kerenski had gotten rid of tsarist police, there was little he could do. Kerenski became so desperate, that at one point he ruled for several weeks by means of a temporary five-man Directory.

In a last ditch effort to gather support, in part because only 7 of his 17 ministers were Socialist-Revolutionary, Kerenski called a Democratic Conference on September 14th. Although this did not help Kerenski gain supporters, a Provisional Council of the Russian republic was suggested. The idea behind it was that Socialist-Revolutionaries and Liberals would act as a quasi-parliament under the Constituent Parliament met, a sort of Pre-Parliament. It was established on October 14th. However, Kerenski could ignore them if he chose, and the Pre-Parliament only just brought the Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, and Kadets into further disrepute.

The October Revolution


The growing discontent with Kerenski and the Provisional Government resulted in Lenin beginning to urge his party toseize power immediately and so began composing a treatise on The State and Revolution. Lenin along with Yuli Martov (a Left-Socialist-Revolutionary) as well as many others wanted a break with both the old and new regimes in Russia. Furthermore, despite the fact that many thought that Lenin was rushing things, Trotski, Sverdlov, Stalin, and Dzierzynski steadied the nerve of the Bolshevik central leadership as plans were laid down to take action. Trotski helped to coordinate the Military-Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet. This body had lots of influence of the capital’s Garrison soldiers. They worked to remove Kerenski with the Red Guards Garrison troops as a result.

On October 25th 1917, the Provisional Government was overthrown.

Kerenski, held up in Winter Palace with several of his ministers, made his escape by adopting the disguise of a female nurse and getting into a governmental limousine.

As the Provisional Government Fell, so rose Lenin and his Communism that was to completely change the face of the 20th Century.