35 Facts About Alexander Kerensky

Alexander Kerensky was the leader of the social-democratic Trudovik faction of the Socialist Revolutionary Party.

Kerensky became the prime minister of the Provisional Government, and his tenure was consumed with World War I Despite mass opposition to the war, Kerensky chose to continue Russia's participation.

Alexander Kerensky's government cracked down on anti-war sentiment and dissent in 1917, which made his administration even more unpopular.

Alexander Kerensky fled Russia and lived the remainder of his life in exile.

Alexander Kerensky divided his time between Paris and New York City.

Alexander Kerensky worked for the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Alexander Kerensky was born in Simbirsk on the Volga River on 4 May 1881 and was the eldest son in the family.

Alexander Kerensky's father, Fyodor Mikhailovich Kerensky, was a teacher and director of the local gymnasium and was later promoted to be an inspector of public schools.

The surname Alexander Kerensky comes from the name of this village.

Alexander Kerensky subsequently embarked upon a mercantile career, in which he prospered.

In 1889, when Alexander Kerensky was eight, the family moved to Tashkent, where his father had been appointed the main inspector of public schools.

Alexander Kerensky earned his law degree in 1904 and married Olga Lvovna Baranovskaya, the daughter of a Russian general, the same year.

Alexander Kerensky joined the Narodnik movement and worked as a legal counsel to victims of the Revolution of 1905.

In 1912, Alexander Kerensky became widely known when he visited the goldfields at the Lena River and published material about the Lena Minefields incident.

Alexander Kerensky was a brilliant orator and skilled parliamentary leader of the socialist opposition to the government of Tsar Nicholas II.

Alexander Kerensky was an active member of the irregular Freemasonic lodge, the Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples, which derived from the Grand Orient of France.

Alexander Kerensky was Secretary-General of the Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples and stood down following his ascent to the government in July 1917.

Shortly after the February Revolution of 1917, Alexander Kerensky ordered soldiers to re-bury the corpse at an unmarked spot in the countryside.

Alexander Kerensky became one of the members representing the Social Revolutionary party.

Alexander Kerensky's speeches were impressive and convincing for the moment, but had little lasting effect.

Alexander Kerensky formed a five-member Directory, which consisted of himself, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Tereshchenko, Minister of War General Aleksandr Verkhovsky, Minister of the Navy Admiral Dmitry Verderevsky and Minister of Posts and Telegraphs Aleksei Nikitin.

Alexander Kerensky faced a major challenge: three years of participation in World War had exhausted Russia, while the provisional government offered little motivation for a victory outside of continuing Russia's obligations towards its allies.

Furthermore, Alexander Kerensky adopted a policy that isolated the right-wing conservatives, both democratic and monarchist-oriented.

Alexander Kerensky escaped the Bolsheviks and fled to Pskov, where he rallied some loyal troops for an attempt to re-take the city.

Alexander Kerensky's troops managed to capture Tsarskoye Selo but were beaten the next day at Pulkovo.

Alexander Kerensky narrowly escaped, and he spent the next few weeks in hiding before fleeing the country, eventually arriving in France.

Alexander Kerensky was married to Olga Lvovna Baranovskaya and they had two sons, Oleg and Gleb, who both went on to become engineers.

When his wife Nell became terminally ill in 1945, Alexander Kerensky travelled with her to Brisbane, Australia, and lived there with her family.

Alexander Kerensky suffered a stroke in February 1946, and he remained there until her death on 10 April 1946.

Alexander Kerensky then returned to the United States, where he spent the rest of his life.

Alexander Kerensky eventually settled in New York City, living on the Upper East Side on 91st Street near Central Park but spent much of his time at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in California, where he both used and contributed to the Institution's huge archive on Russian history, and where he taught graduate courses.

Alexander Kerensky wrote and broadcast extensively on Russian politics and history.

Alexander Kerensky died of arteriosclerotic heart disease at St Luke's Hospital in New York City on 11 June 1970 after being initially admitted from injuries sustained in a fall.

Alexander Kerensky's body was flown to London, where he was buried at the non-denominational Putney Vale Cemetery.

Papers of the Alexander Kerensky family are held at the Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham.