Kerensky, Aleksandr Fyodorovich 1881-1970
Russian revolutionary leader

Born in Simbirsk, he was the son of a high school principal. He studied law in St Petersburg and made a name for himself as counsel for the defence in Tsarist times in several leading political trials. He was a critical but reasonable member of the Third and Fourth Dumas. In the 1917 Revolution he became Minister of Justice in March, Minister of War in May, and Prime Minister in July in the Provisional Government. Though crushing the military revolt of Lavr Georgevich Kornilov in August, he found it increasingly difficult to put through moderate reforms in a deteriorating political situation, and in October was swept away by the Bolsheviks, and fled to France. In 1940 he went to Australia and in 1946 to the USA where he taught at Stanford University from 1956. His writings include The Prelude to Bolshevism (1919), The Catastrophe (1927), The Road to Tragedy (1935), and The Kerensky Memoirs (1966). He died in New York City.

Bibliography: R Abraham, Alexander Kerensky (1987)