Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky, a socialist lawyer and electrifying orator, was the dominant figure of Russia's Provisional Government in 1917, serving as Minister of Justice, Minister of War, and from July as Minister-President. Uniquely positioned as a member of both the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet, he embodied the hope of a democratic Russia between tsarism and Bolshevism. His fateful decision to launch a new offensive in June 1917 — the Kerensky Offensive — collapsed within days and shattered both the army and his government's credibility, while his entanglement in the confused Kornilov affair of August alienated the officer corps without winning over the left. When the Bolsheviks struck in October he could rally no significant force to defend the government. He escaped Petrograd and spent the remaining half-century of his life in exile, dying in New York in 1970.
- Lived: 1881 CE – 1970 CE
- Nationality: Russian
- Roles: head of government, revolutionary politician
