July Days

Encyclopedia : J : JU : JUL : July Days

The July Days took place between July 4 and 7 July in 1917 in Russia when sailors and industrial workers of Petrograd rioted against the Russian Provisional Government.

Causes

Alexander Kerensky, the minister of war and navy, ordered a huge offensive against Austro-Hungarian forces on 16 June. Although there were initial successes, the Russians were defeated and the operation ended on July 2, quickly to be followed by a combined counter-offensive by German and Austro-Hungarian forces on 6 July.

Anti-war feelings were rife among the proletariat at this time, it was from the proletariat that most soldiers were conscripted from, and it was they that worked in the factories to produce the weapons and munitions needed for war. This feeling intensified with the news of the failed offensive. Discontented workers started protests which soon spiralled into violent riots. The protest was disorganised and the group was not united.

Bolshevik Response

The Bolshevik party held a debate on the likely outcome and importance of the riots, and decided to take control, thinking it showed the proletariat were suitably ready and motivated for a second revolution to take power from the Provisional Government. However, the riots were ruthlessly crushed by the police and the Bolsheviks withdrew their support.

Consequences

Kerensky ordered the arrest of Lenin and the other leading Bolsheviks, accusing them of inciting revolt with German financial backing. Lenin successfully fled the country and went into hiding in Finland, but many others were arrested, including Trotsky and Lunacharskii who were caught on 22 July. They remained in prison until Kerensky released them in response to the Kornilov Affair.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.