ALEKSANDR KÉRENSKY: BIOGRAPHY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF HIS GOVERNMENT - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Aleksandr Kérensky (1881–1970) was a Russian moderate socialist revolutionary and lawyer who served as head of the Russian provisional government from July to October 1917.

He stood out for being one of the key figures in the Russian Revolution of 1917. After the end of the revolution, he joined the Russian provisional government as Minister of Justice, then as Minister of War and finally as Prime Minister of the Government.

By Wood, Alan, via Wikimedia Commons

In addition, for a time he became the leader of the Socialist Trudoviks in the faction of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. He was also vice president of the Petrograd Soviet, being part of one of the deputies.

At the end of the October Revolution, his provisional government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Ilch Ulyanov, better known as Lenin.

Biography

Early life

Aleksandr Kérenski was born on May 2, 1881 (according to the new calendar, after the Russian Revolution), 1881. He was the eldest son of Fyodor Mikhailovich Kérenski, teacher and director of the local gymnasium and later promoted to inspector of public schools.

His mother, Nadezhda Aleksandrovna, was the daughter of a former serf who had had to buy her freedom in 1861 and later became a wealthy Moscow merchant.

In 1889, when Kérensky was 8 years old, his family moved to Tashkent where his father was appointed inspector of public schools. In 1899, he graduated with honors from high school, and that same year he entered the University of St. Petersburg.

He began studying history and philosophy and the following year he went on to study law obtaining his degree in 1904. That same year he married Olga Lvovna Baranovskaya, the daughter of a Russian general.

Furthermore, he was attracted to and joined the Socialist Revolutionary Party in 1905, becoming a prominent defender of revolutionaries accused of political crimes.

Political career

In 1912, he was elected to the Fourth Duma (lower house, part of the Legislative Assembly of the Russian Empire) as a member of the Trudoviks, a moderate non-Marxist labor party.

In the following years, he earned a reputation as an eloquent politician on the moderate left. He became known when he visited the gold fields on the Lena River and published material on the Lena minefield incident; a shooting of workers by the Russian Empire.

On the other hand, he became an important member of the Duma of the progressive bloc, which included various Socialist, Menshevik and Liberal parties. He was a brilliant orator and parliamentary leader of the socialist opposition to the government of Tsar Nicholas II.

While the First World War was brewing in 1914, Kérensky remained in the same position as the socialist delegates of the Zimmerwald Conference, a group formed and supported by the Petrograd Social Revolutionary Party in opposition to the war.

In 1915, he joined the government again and was considered one of the most prominent revolutionary figures. Later, in 1916, he was more convinced by the revolution and increased his attacks against the tsar and the royal family.

Revolutions of 1917

When the Russian Revolution broke out in 1917, Kérensky was one of the main leaders as the vice-president of the Petrograd Soviet. For this reason, he was one of those who was most involved in the removal of the Tsar and in the creation of the provisional government.

At first he was Minister of Justice, then he became Minister of War and later Prime Minister in July of that same year, thus establishing a republic in Russia together with the provisional government.

Being at the head of the command was harmed during those months by the Bolsheviks (led by Lenin), who took power after his short term. Some believe that his efforts in the war against Germany caused him to lose power.

Lenin's Bolshevik revolution promoted the workers to fight against the provisional government. After several battles, Kérensky had no choice but to flee, so Lenin remained under the command of the Russian government.

Last years

After exile and the Second World War (a few years after his escape), he finally managed to settle in New York, United States, where he taught and made a series of works dedicated to Russian politics and Bolsheviks.

On June 11, 1970, Kérenski passed away at the age of 89. According to the references, he was the last surviving protagonist of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Until his last years he defended the ideals of Russian democracy.

Characteristics of his government

Support for democracy

Since he became involved in politics, he made clear his enthusiasm for establishing a democratic government, in addition to supporting the dissolution of the monarchy. First, it instituted basic civil liberties, for example, freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion.

On the other hand, she supported universal suffrage, equal rights for women throughout Russia, becoming one of the most popular figures in the country.

Eloquence and oratory

When Kérensky was transferred to the post of minister of war and navy, he became one of the most dominant personalities in the government.

Subsequently, he planned a new offensive and traveled the entire front using his inspiring rhetoric to instill in demoralized troops a desire to renew their efforts and defend the revolution.

However, his eloquence proved inadequate compensation for the weariness of war and a lack of military discipline, making the offensive a complete failure.

Distanced from peace

Kérensky was characterized by maintaining a strong patriotism, for that reason when he was in front of power he called on all workers and peasants to defend Russia and rise up to free it if necessary.

For that reason, when he came to power, he did not support the peace he had previously promised. In the first place, he ruled out peace with Germany and did not exclude the offensive action of defending the new regime; rather, it woke up the soldiers to a campaign that became known as "The Kérensky Offensive."

Despite that, his army became a mess. In addition to spending loyal troops and making tactical mistakes, it caused the political climate to get worse and worse. Also, there were no coordinated movements and it allowed the German reinforcements to arrive.

It is theorized that the defeat of both Kéranski and the provisional government was fatal. It is said that the decision to attack the masses who wanted peace was what ended up ending the power it had.

References

1. Kerenskii, Aleksandr Fedorovich, Siobhan Peeling, (2014). Taken from encyclopedia. 1914-1918-online.net
2. Aleksandr Kerensky, editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, (nd). Taken from britannica.com
3. Alexander Kerensky, Wikipedia in English, (nd). Taken from wikipedia.org
4. The Russian Revolution, Rex A. Wade, (2017). Taken from books.google.com
5. Who's Who in Russia Since 1900, Martin McCauley, (1997). Taken from books.google.com