The July Days (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
The July Days
Lenin's consolidation of power within the Bolshevik Party
During the spring of 1917, Lenin employed tactical manoeuvring to establish dominance within the Bolshevik movement. Through a combination of persuasion, calculated compromises, threats to resign, and direct appeals to ordinary party members, he gradually secured control. Lenin adopted populist gestures, such as wearing a worker's cap at factory meetings, to strengthen his connection with the proletariat. His speeches consistently claimed personal credit for unfolding events in Russia, particularly the peasants' land seizures in rural areas, which occurred largely without central direction or oversight.
Lenin's strategy relied on appropriating credit for popular actions that occurred spontaneously. By associating the Bolshevik Party with movements already underway among workers and peasants, he built a narrative of Bolshevik leadership even when the party played little direct role in initiating these events.
Lenin similarly appropriated credit for the large anti-war demonstration in Petrograd during April, which followed Minister of Foreign Affairs Milyukov's announcement that Russia would continue fighting until achieving victory. His strategy of associating the Bolshevik Party with popular actions won him growing support. When Milyukov and War Minister Guchkov resigned from the Provisional Government in May, and four socialists joined the cabinet in what became known as the move to the left—a leftward shift in the composition of the Provisional Government through the inclusion of socialist ministers—Lenin portrayed this as vindication of his revolutionary programme.
Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party was the leading decision-making body of the Bolshevik organisation from 1912, responsible for determining broad policy objectives. In 1917, it comprised 21 members. By late April, Lenin had secured majority support within this body through the sheer force of his determination and tactical skill.
The political landscape in early summer 1917
When the first All-Russian Congress of Soviets convened in Petrograd on 3 June, it delivered a vote of confidence in the Provisional Government by 543 votes to 126. This substantial margin appeared to demonstrate continued support for the government. However, the Bolsheviks performed strongly in elections to the city Duma (council) during the same month. During mass demonstrations in June, organised by Petrograd Soviet leaders intending to outmanoeuvre the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik banners dominated the march, revealing their growing influence among urban workers and soldiers.
The contradiction between the Congress vote and the Bolsheviks' growing street-level support revealed a crucial disconnect. Whilst established socialist parties (Mensheviks and SRs) dominated the Congress, the Bolsheviks were winning over the urban workers and soldiers who would ultimately determine Russia's political fate.
Nevertheless, maintaining control over the expanding working-class base that increasingly gravitated towards the Bolsheviks proved challenging. The party leadership faced constant pressure from below as workers and soldiers demanded more radical action than the leadership considered tactically wise.
Economic deterioration and social unrest
Between February and June 1917, Russia experienced severe economic deterioration. Grain prices doubled in Petrograd, whilst shortages of fuel and raw materials forced 586 factories to close, eliminating 100,000 jobs. Workers pinned hopes on factory soviets to improve their conditions, but wage rises failed to keep pace with soaring prices. By October, prices reached 755 per cent above pre-war levels. Real wages fell rapidly, creating intense hardship for urban workers.
The economic crisis created the perfect conditions for revolutionary upheaval. As workers faced unemployment, hunger, and rapidly declining living standards, the Provisional Government's inability to address these basic needs undermined its legitimacy and drove desperate populations towards the Bolsheviks' radical promises.
The Provisional Government attempted price controls but lacked the authority to implement them effectively. Fear of industrial unrest paralysed government action. The continuation of the war and the government's failure to redistribute land also eroded support in the countryside. Peasants simply seized land without waiting for legislative authorisation. Although an electoral commission was established in May to arrange elections for November, suspicion grew among workers and peasants that the 'bourgeois' government deliberately delayed moves towards greater democracy to preserve its own position. The group that benefited most from this widespread disillusionment was the Bolsheviks, whose uncompromising opposition to the Provisional Government resonated with increasingly desperate populations.
Military failure and the June offensive
In June 1917, the Provisional Government launched a major offensive in Galicia under General Brusilov, hoping to rally national sentiment behind the war effort. The Russian advance was beaten back with heavy losses. Desertions escalated dramatically, and anti-war sentiment intensified throughout the army. In July, Minister of War Kerensky appointed General Lavr Kornilov as Commander-in-Chief in an effort to restore military discipline. Among other measures, Kornilov reinstated the death penalty for desertion and insubordination, believing this was the only method of controlling the troops.
The July Days: 3-5 July 1917
Maintaining control over workers and soldiers who increasingly identified with the Bolshevik cause proved difficult. At the Kronstadt naval base—a naval facility whose sailors had organised their own armed forces and established a reputation for radical militancy—sailors initiated their own armed demonstration in July. The demonstration spread to Petrograd, creating a crisis for Lenin and the Bolshevik leadership.
Lenin faced an impossible dilemma during the July Days. He could neither condemn the armed action without alienating his militant base, nor offer full support to what he recognised as a premature uprising. Premature revolutionary action risked catastrophic defeat, as the Bolsheviks lacked the strength to seize and hold power. Yet restraining the demonstrations exposed the limits of Bolshevik control over the very workers and soldiers they claimed to lead.
The Bolsheviks attempted to channel the protests into peaceful processions, but their efforts proved futile. The demonstrations descended into chaos and uncontrolled rioting, which undermined Lenin's credibility and threatened to expose the limits of Bolshevik organisational capacity.
The uprising gathered momentum when approximately 20,000 armed sailors from Kronstadt appeared on Petrograd's streets. Workers and soldiers joined them, chanting Bolshevik slogans, attacking property, looting shops, and seizing railway stations and other essential buildings. Some demonstrators invaded the Tauride Palace, demanding that the Soviet assume power immediately.
The Provisional Government's response
The Provisional Government, receiving support from Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) within the Soviet, brought in reinforcements to crush the demonstrations. Whilst the Bolsheviks assisted in forcing demonstrators away from the Peter and Paul Fortress, which they had seized, and participated in negotiating the disarming and arrest of the sailors, they bore the blame for the bloodshed that resulted from the suppression.
The government closed the offices of the Bolshevik newspaper Pravda and issued warrants for the arrest of Bolshevik leaders. Lenin and Kamenev faced imprisonment. The Bolshevik newspaper Izvestia (News) denounced Bolshevik leaders, suggesting that Lenin operated as a German agent working against Russia's best interests. Bolshevik propaganda materials were destroyed, and Lenin's reputation suffered damage. Rather than leading decisively, he appeared to flee from confrontation, whilst other leaders languished in prison. On 8 July, Kerensky replaced Prince Lvov as Prime Minister, and it appeared that the Bolsheviks' opportunity had passed.
The crackdown following the July Days represented the nadir of Bolshevik fortunes in 1917. With their newspaper closed, their leaders arrested or in hiding, and their reputation damaged by accusations of working for Germany, the party appeared politically finished. The recovery from this low point to seizing power in October demonstrates the Provisional Government's profound weakness and the rapidly shifting dynamics of revolutionary Russia.
Lenin and Trotsky's responses to the July Days
The extent to which the Bolsheviks actually fomented the rebellion remains disputed. Lenin had been away when the rioting erupted and consistently claimed that the demonstrations occurred spontaneously. He returned immediately upon hearing the news, but fled quickly in disguise, eventually reaching Finland, where he remained until October.
Leon Trotsky, who had returned to Russia in May but had not immediately committed himself to the Bolshevik cause, was elected to the Executive Committee of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets in June. He was accused of inciting the July Days demonstrations and imprisoned. Whilst in prison, he became a committed Bolshevik, adding his considerable organisational talents and revolutionary credentials to the party.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- Lenin consolidated control of the Bolshevik Central Committee by late April 1917 through persuasion, tactical compromises, and appeals to rank-and-file members, positioning the party for radical opposition to the Provisional Government.
- Economic crisis between February and June—with grain prices doubling, 586 factories closing, and 100,000 jobs lost—created conditions for revolutionary upheaval and increased support for the Bolsheviks among desperate workers.
- The July Days (3-5 July) began as a spontaneous armed demonstration by Kronstadt sailors but descended into chaos, forcing Lenin to flee to Finland and temporarily damaging Bolshevik credibility when the government crushed the uprising.
- The Provisional Government blamed the Bolsheviks for the July violence, closed the Pravda newspaper, and issued arrest warrants for leaders, whilst Kerensky replaced Lvov as Prime Minister on 8 July.