Alexander Kerensky | |
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2nd Minister-Chairman of the Russian Provisional Government | |
In office 21 July 1917 – 7 November 1917 [8 July – 26 October 1917 Old Style] |
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Preceded by | Georgy Lvov |
Succeeded by |
Office abolished (Vladimir Lenin as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars) |
Personal details | |
Born |
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky 4 May 1881 Simbirsk, Russia |
Died | 11 June 1970 (aged 89) New York City, New York, United States |
Resting place | Putney Vale Cemetery, London, United Kingdom |
Nationality | Russian |
Political party | Socialist Revolutionary (Trudovik Parliamentary breakaway group) |
Education | Saint Petersburg State University |
Profession | Lawyer, politician |
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (Russian: Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Ке́ренский, IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr ˈkʲerʲɪnskʲɪj]; 4 May 1881 – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice in the newly formed Russian Provisional Government, as Minister of War, and second Minister-Chairman of the between July and November 1917. A leader of the moderate-socialist Trudoviks faction of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, Kerensky was a key political figure in the Russian Revolution of 1917. On 7 November, his government was overthrown by the Vladimir Lenin-led Bolsheviks in the October Revolution. He spent the remainder of his life in exile, in Paris and New York City, but was buried in London.
Alexander Kerensky was born in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk) on the Volga River on 4 May 1881. His father, Fyodor Kerensky, was a teacher and director of the local gymnasium and was later promoted to Inspector of public schools. His mother Nadezhda's father was head of the Topographical Bureau of the Kazan Military District, and her mother, also named Nadezhda (née Kalmykova), was the daughter of a former serf who had had to purchase his freedom before serfdom was abolished in 1861. He subsequently embarked upon a mercantile career, in which he prospered, allowing him to move his business to Moscow, where he continued his success, becoming a wealthy Moscow merchant.