Social Problems
History: KS3, topic 17.4.1
Social Problems
Kerensky and the Provisional Government had problems keeping the peasants under control.
The government and the old regime
- The fundamental problem for the Provisional Government was that it seemed similar to the members of the 1912 Duma and the tsar's old regime.
- The Provisional Government was not representative like the Soviets, which held elections.
- Although the Provisional Government planned to hold an election, the turmoil of 1917 at home and at the front meant that this was impossible.
The peasantry
- The Provisional Government didn't satisfy the peasants.
- Most peasants just wanted to be left to get on with their own lives.
- Many peasants supported the Socialist Revolutionaries, although usually peasants did not have a clear political agenda or ideology.
The redistribution of land
- Many peasants wanted land.
- Some suggested that they should seize land from their former masters.
- The government wanted to wait for an election before making sweeping changes.
- Many peasants seized land anyway.
- When the Bolsheviks were looking for support, they played on the peasants’ thirst for land by promising it to them during the October Revolution.
Test yourself on Social Problems
Which party did many peasants support?