Who among the following was the head of the Government that was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in the 1917 Revolution?
- (a)Alexander Kerensky
- (b)Prince Lvov
- (c)Grand Duke Sergei
- (d)Tsar Nicholas II
Correct — A, Alexander Kerensky. By the autumn of 1917 Kerensky headed the Provisional Government that had ruled Russia since the February Revolution. It was his government that the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, overthrew in the October Revolution (November by the new-style calendar) of 1917, seizing power in Petrograd.
- (b)Prince Lvov — Prince Georgy Lvov led the first Provisional Government from March 1917 but resigned in July 1917 — well before the Bolshevik takeover — handing leadership to Kerensky, so he was not the head overthrown by the Bolsheviks.
- (c)Grand Duke Sergei — Grand Duke Sergei was a Romanov governor-general assassinated in 1905; he held no government office in 1917 and had no role in the revolution.
- (d)Tsar Nicholas II — Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown in the February Revolution and abdicated in March 1917 — months before the Bolshevik seizure; he fell to the earlier revolution, not to the Bolsheviks.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 came in two stages. The February Revolution ended Tsarist rule (Nicholas II abdicated) and set up a Provisional Government, headed first by Prince Lvov and then by Alexander Kerensky. The October (Bolshevik) Revolution, led by Lenin, then overthrew Kerensky's Provisional Government and established Soviet rule.
The trap is Tsar Nicholas II — students associate '1917 revolution' with the fall of the Tsar. But the question specifies the government overthrown by the Bolsheviks, which was the Provisional Government under Kerensky, not the monarchy (which fell earlier in February).
- February Revolution (1917) — Tsar Nicholas II abdicated; Provisional Government formed.
- Prince Lvov led the first Provisional Government; Kerensky headed it from July 1917.
- October/November 1917 — Bolsheviks under Lenin overthrew Kerensky's Provisional Government.
- The Bolshevik takeover led to the world's first communist state and Russia's exit from World War I (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 1918).
- Answering Tsar Nicholas II — he was overthrown in February, not by the Bolsheviks in October.
- Confusing Prince Lvov (resigned July 1917) with Kerensky, who headed the government at the time of the Bolshevik takeover.
Asked by distinguishing the two 1917 revolutions, or by matching a leader (Nicholas II, Lvov, Kerensky, Lenin) to the correct stage.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The October Revolution of 1917 in Russia was led by
- (a)Kerensky
- (b)Lenin and the Bolsheviks
- (c)Tsar Nicholas II
- (d)Prince Lvov
Answer(b) Lenin and the Bolsheviks — they overthrew the Provisional Government in October/November 1917.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In which stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917 did Tsar Nicholas II abdicate?
- (a)The October Revolution
- (b)The February Revolution
- (c)The 1905 Revolution
- (d)The Civil War
Answer(b) The February Revolution — the monarchy fell first, before the Bolshevik takeover in October.