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Soviet
The Provisional Government was the liberal and socialist coalition government that took over control of Russia after the Tsar was deposed in February 1917 and overthrown by the Bolsheviks in October 1917. Though the Provisional Government began major reforms, they were unable to meet the demand for social change, and they alienated large sections of the population by continuing to fight in World War I. After the October Revolution, the Provisional Government relocated to Siberia under the White Army’s protection, but it was soon deposed by Admiral Kolchak’s military dictatorship.
The Provisional Government Quotes in Doctor Zhivago
The Doctor Zhivago quotes below are all either spoken by The Provisional Government or refer to The Provisional Government. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 6: The Moscow Encampment
Quotes
Administrative re-elections were held everywhere: in house committees, in organizations, at work, in public service institutions. Their makeup was changing. Commissars with unlimited power were appointed everywhere, people of iron will, in black leather jackets, armed with means of intimidation and revolvers, who rarely shaved and still more rarely slept.
They were well acquainted with the petty bourgeois breed, the average holder of small government bonds, the groveling conformist, and never spared him, talking to him with a Mephistophelean smirk, as with a pilferer caught in the act.
These people controlled everything as the program dictated, and enterprise after enterprise, association after association, became Bolshevik.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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The Provisional Government Term Timeline in Doctor Zhivago
The timeline below shows where the term The Provisional Government appears in Doctor Zhivago. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 6: The Moscow Encampment
...defective stove when Nikolai Nikolaevich enters with important news: supporters of the Bolsheviks and the Provisional Government are fighting in the streets.
(full context)
Part 10: On the High Road
...to Siberia. All along the highway the Bolsheviks have been deposed, replaced first by the Provisional Government and now by Admiral Kolchak’s dictatorship. The road leads directly to the Vozdvizhensky Monastery and...
(full context)
