Alexander Kerensky

          Kerensky was born in Simbrisk, Russia. He was educated at the University of St. Petersburg. When he was young he secretly joined the Socialist Revolutionary Party. At this time the Russian government banned the party. Publicly he declared himself a member of the Group of Toil. He was elected to the Duma as a member of this group. In March of 1917, after the overthrow of the Czarist government he was appointed to the position as the Minister of Justice and two months later he became the Minister of War. In June he attempted to rally his troops for an offensive against the Germans but his troops refused to obey him. The government was later reorganized and Kerensky became the prime minister of Russia.

          The first thing Kerensky did as prime minister was to suppress the Bolshevik party and to have many of its members arrested. This is when Lenin fled to Finland. Kerensky was unable to solve Russia’s problems, however, and the Bolsheviks steadily gained popularity in the country. In September the commander in chief of the Russian army attempted to establish himself as a military dictator. Kerensky failed to take decisive measures and the Bolsheviks used this attempted revolution to help them seize power on November 7. During this time Kerensky had gone to the front in an effort to win support with his troops. This did not work, and when he attempted to organize them and march them on the capital in order to retake Russia, his troops refused to fight. He fled to Paris and eventually settled in the United States where he became a lecturer of political and social science. He died in the year 1970.