User:Slebens97/sandbox

Contributions to Kornilov affair article:

Added continuity to the article [On Abby's account]

Updated Source 3

Removed an unnecessary sentence

Added the word "allegedly" in a sentence describing Kornilov's intent because the whole thing was a misunderstanding

Added a sentence to display the lack of violence in the affair.

Provided context for Bolshevik arrests

Cleared [Source needed] bubbles

IN ADDING INFO I AM IP 140.192.113.246  (THERE WAS A SIGN IN MISHAP)

--Intro--

The Kornilov affair, or the Kornilov putsch, was an attempted military coup d'état by the then Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, General Lavr Kornilov, in September 10 of 1917 (August 27 old style) against the Russian Provisional Government headed by Aleksander Kerensky and the Petrograd Soviet of Soldiers' and Workers' Deputies. The exact details and motivations of the Kornilov affair are unconfirmed due to the general confusion of all parties involved. Many historians have pieced together various historiographies as a result.

--Background--

Following the "February Revolution" of March 8 to 16 in 1917 (February 22 to March 2 old style), the Russian monarchy fell from power, replaced by a Provisional Government. The members of which came from various liberal and left-wing political parties, some previously represented in the Duma, and others in the Petrograd Soviet. However, the initial wave of support for the Provisional Government amongst the Russian people soon subsided and unrest grew, a result mainly of Russia's continued participation in the First World War and the economic ramifications of the fighting on Russian society. The unrest felt by the Russian people reached a peak with the Kerensky Offensive on July 15 1917 (July 1 old style). Kerensky's offensive was done as a way to boost the moral of the troops and reignite support for Russia's participation in World War I. The offensive ended up having the opposite effect. Troops and workers had become frustrated with Russia's continued involvement in World War 1 which led to the July Days revolt. The July Days took place in Russian capital of Petrograd from July 16 to July 20 (July 3 to 7 old style) and was a rebellion against the Provisional Government. The demonstrations during the "July Days" did not alleviate the frustrations of the Russian people and continued unrest in throughout that summer sparked calls for more discipline and a stronger, more unified government. Unease also escalated amongst Russia's businessmen and industrialists in the Provisional Government. Support for the restoration of order was strong even amongst the politicians who formed the Provisional Government. Immediately following the July Days, Aleksander Kerensky became prime minister of the Provisional Government and swiftly appointed Kornilov the commander-in-chief of the Russian army. With the help of officers of the Russian Army, Kornilov amongst them, he hoped to obtain this more unified form of government. The officers feared that ill-discipline amongst their troops accounted for the continued poor performance of the Russian army in the ongoing First World War. They demanded the reintroduction of the death penalty at the front lines as well as the abolition of the various soldiers committees that had sprung up in the months following the Petrograd Soviet's Order Number 1 on March 28 1917 (March 14 old style). The officers, especially Kornilov, wanted to put an end to any signs of revolution in Russia, particularly in regards to the Bolsheviks. Kornilov mobilized his troops to Petrograd to address the revolutionary threat shortly after he was appointed commander-in-chief.

--Consequences--

After the failed coup, Kornilov was removed from his position as Commander-in-Chief and incarcerated in the Bykhov Fortress alongside 30 other army officers accused of involvement in the conspiracy. The Provisional Government had lost all credibility and crumbled. Shortly after the Lenin seized power with the Bolshevik " October Revolution" of November 7 1917, (October 25 old style) Kornilov managed to escape from Bykhov Fortress and went on to establish the Volunteer Army, which fought the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. He was killed in battle against Bolshevik forces in the town of Ekaterinodar in April 1918.

The biggest beneficiary of the Kornilov affair was the Bolshevik Party, who enjoyed a revival in support and strength in the wake of the attempted coup. Kerensky released Bolsheviks who had been arrested during the July Days a few months earlier, when Vladimir Lenin was accused of being in the pay of the Germans and subsequently fled to Finland. Kerensky's plea to the Petrograd Soviet for support had resulted in the rearmament of the Bolshevik Military Organization and the release of Bolshevik political prisoners, including Leon Trotsky. Though these weapons were not needed to fight off Kornilov's advancing troops in August, they were kept by the Bolsheviks and used in their own successful armed October Revolution. Bolshevik support amongst the Russian public also increased following the Kornilov affair, a consequence of dissatisfaction with the Provisional Government's handling of Kornilov's attempted seizure of power. Following the October Revolution, Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power and the Provisional Government that Kornilov was a part of no longer had any power in Russia's government. The fragments of the Provisional Government were a pivotal force in the Russian Civil War that occurred in response to Lenin's rule of Russia.

Despite the officer corps' refusal to participate in Kornilov's mutiny, they were angry with the punishment given to him by Kerensky, as well as Kerensky's accommodation to the left and his arresting of prominent generals. This would later come back to haunt Kerensky as the military did not heed his request to defend the government when the Bolsheviks attacked in the October Revolution in 1917.