the year1917

A detailed Summary of the year1917

It was hoped that the abdication of Czar Nicholas II and the collapse of the old regime would result in a new russian society which would emerge from the ruble of authoritrianism to bring wealth and prosperity to the peasents and workers of Russia. The state of affairs following the abdication of the Czar was anything but glorious and prosperous. Revolutionary groups throughout the country emerged to seize local power. No distinct group was able to replace the Czar's strong control over the Russian state. As a consequence, several different parties and organizations coexisted within Russia. The military, provisional government, socialists, and workers each maintained some level of authority over the daily functioning of the country. As important decisions needed to be made concerning the future of the Russian state, the encroaching German armies, and the downturn of the economy, it was clear that some group was going to have to dominate over the others, and set national policy. The first clash over the power of the state took the form of the Kornilov affair. The provisional government found itself faced off against the military. The ensuing struggle for control involved every center of power in the Russian state.

It was difficult, in fact probably impossible, to find a more suitable general and supreme commander in these days of mortal danger being experienced by Russia. The Provisonal Government was forced tochoose between meetings at the front, the disintegration of the army, the destruction of souther Russia -- and the saving of the state. And it found in itelf the courage and decisiveness to make the choice.1

Kornilov's popularity appeared to be high both in the military and in Russias main cities. While visiting Moscow on August 13th for the Moscow Conference, Kornilov was met with showers of support by local military and rightist organizations. Many people on the right supported the idea of a military dictatorship in Russia and looked to Kornilov for leadership. Kadet Fedor Rodichev displayed this feeling in a speech given to Kornilov on August 13th, "You are now the symbol of our unity. We are unified, indeed all Moscow is unified in confidence in you. ... Save Russia and a thankful people will crown you."2 Though it may have appeared that Kornilov maintained a large amount of popular support, this may have been merely an illusion in reality. It appears that many of the public demonstrations for Kornilov were staged by advocates of a military dictatorship. The appearance of such strong popular support was enough to worry Kerensky however. As August approached, Kerensky had grown increasingly paranoid about a coup from the right -- more specifically a coup from Kornilov. This paranoia was intensified when Kornilov received cheers fr

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1049
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History