<P> A period of dual power ensued , during which the Provisional Government held state power while the national network of soviets , led by socialists , had the allegiance of the lower classes and , increasingly , the left - leaning urban middle class . During this chaotic period there were frequent mutinies , protests and many strikes . Many socialist political organizations were engaged in daily struggle and vied for influence within the Duma and the soviets , central among which were the Bolsheviks ( `` Ones of the Majority '' ) led by Vladimir Lenin who campaigned for an immediate end to the war , land to the peasants , and bread to the workers . When the Provisional Government chose to continue fighting the war with Germany , the Bolsheviks and other socialist factions were able to exploit virtually universal disdain towards the war effort as justification to advance the revolution further . The Bolsheviks turned workers ' militias under their control into the Red Guards ( later the Red Army ) over which they exerted substantial control . </P>
<P> A period of dual power ensued , during which the Provisional Government held state power while the national network of soviets , led by socialists , had the allegiance of the lower classes and , increasingly , the left - leaning urban middle class . During this chaotic period there were frequent mutinies , protests and many strikes . Many socialist political organizations were engaged in daily struggle and vied for influence within the Duma and the soviets , central among which were the Bolsheviks ( `` Ones of the Majority '' ) led by Vladimir Lenin who campaigned for an immediate end to the war , land to the peasants , and bread to the workers . When the Provisional Government chose to continue fighting the war with Germany , the Bolsheviks and other socialist factions were able to exploit virtually universal disdain towards the war effort as justification to advance the revolution further . The Bolsheviks turned workers ' militias under their control into the Red Guards ( later the Red Army ) over which they exerted substantial control . </P>
who was the leader of the bolsheviks in 1917 during the november revolution
who was the leader of the bolsheviks in 1917 during the november revolution
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin