Assess the significance in a) The July days b) The Kornilov coup c) The delay in setting up the constituent assembly in affecting the position of the Bolsheviks.

Essay by KeirHigh School, 12th grade September 2004

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The July days is the name given to the event where the Kronstadt sailors held demonstrations under Bolshevik slogans, such as "all power to the people." The July days had both a positive and a negative effect on the position of the Bolsheviks. Its positive effect was that it demonstrated their popularity amongst the lower social class through the fact that it was their image, their slogans, that incited them to demonstrate. However its negative effect was that it 'discredited the Bolsheviks' who were for a short time blamed for the bloodshed that occurred while the provisional government crushed the rising. Furthermore, it also disrupted, or one might be led to think so, the activity of the Bolsheviks during the period in which Lenin was being attacked by Kerensky and most of the Bolshevik leaders were forced into hiding. Moreover, the newspaper Pravda was closed down during this period, also having a great negative influence on the position of the Bolsheviks.

This is due to the fact the media, newspapers at the time, is an effective mean of controlling and communicating with the masses. However, bearing in mind the fact that the masses 'loyal' to the Bolsheviks at the time were largely comprised of peasants and other less educated people, one wonders how effective the newspaper was, and hence the impact this had on the position of the Bolsheviks. Nevertheless, the exact extent to which the Bolsheviks position was affected by the July days is in my opinion immeasurable.

The Kornilov coup is the event in Russian history where Kornilov, leader of the army at the time, defied Kerensky's orders to take his troops out of Petrograd. This was seen as a \n intended coup on his behalf, leading to his arrest. The Kornilov coup had a positive effect on...