The Russian Socialist Party, the Bolsheviks brought about dramatic changes in Russian society following the 1917 Revolution. They took advantage of the unique time and place and once they had gained control of Russia they were willing to go to any lengths to ensure they remained in power and their Socialist ideals were put into action.
The social organisation in Russia was an unjust system of autocracy, resulting in a majority of discontent. Russian society consisted of large amounts of peasants who owned a small amount of the land but made up the greatest proportion of the population. Socialism, and thus the Bolsheviks, was seen as a great attraction as dramatic change was what the majority wanted to see to change this unfair social
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This did not mean that the Bolsheviks, now Communists, did not have enemies. Enemies who were determined that the party should not remain in power for long. 1918 was the beginning of a civil war between the Reds (Communists) and the Whites ( Bolshevik opponents) which was to tear Russia apart. To keep the Red Army supplied Lenin instituted war communism. Society suffered as it meant food supplies were low and industry production fell as workers left the cities. By 1921 this policy had left the Russian economy in ruins, cities were in chaos and agricultural production had collapsed resulting in famine.
The Bolsheviks had take power with little resistance and quickly instituted many changes to the system of government and social organisation of Russia. However, a large percentage of the Russian population did not believe the Bolsheviks should govern Russia. The Reds single-minded belief that they were in the right and their unity allowed them to win the Civil War and firmly entrench themselves in government.
The social organisation in Russia was changed radically once the Bolsheviks seized power. Women and men became equal, maximum eight-hour day was implemented, workers insurance was established and everyone became equal as class distinctions were abolished. Even so, harsh standards of living had to be endured under the policy of war communism- the brutality of the new government quickly became apparent with the Red Terror. The Communists under the
Bolsheviks were members of a section of the Russian Social-Democratic Worker’s party. The section was led by Vladimir Lenin, who helped the group seize control of Russia, beginning the Soviet Union. Bolsheviks were founded when supporters of Lenin fought for restriction of membership to professional revolutionaries, and won. They maintained a highly consolidated, well-ordered, and professional party. The group became gradually popular among workers and solders after Lenin demanded peace and insisted that the soviets, worker’s councils, should be in power. This rise in popularity is what drove the Bolsheviks to take over the Russian government and set a dominant power, the Soviet Union.
In conclusion, the Bolsheviks gained power in Russian (1917), not only because of their acts of persuasion (posters, leaflets, propaganda etc...), but because of the Russian people’s hatred towards the Tsar and the Provisional Government. I strongly believe that if, Russia had a powerful leader who cared for poor and wealthy citizens, and the Russians would not have to turn to Lenin and the Bolsheviks. But, they had Tsar Nicholas and the Provisional Government and out of desperation they turned to the
During the 1900’s the Russian Government made it extremely hard for the Bolsheviks to progress which made them revolt against the government making this a prime matter for the start of the Revolution. The Czarist government was ostracized by the common people of Russia so Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown by the Provisional Government, whom later on were overthrown by Lenin and shortly after the Bolsheviks took control over Russia. Russia was hard to develop because of the major leaders who had control; Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky. Almost overnight an entire society was destroyed and replaced with one of the most radical social experiments ever seen. Poverty, crime, privileged and class-divisions were to be eliminated, a new era of socialism
The Marxists in Russia divided into two different political parties: The Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. Lenin led the Bolsheviks, they believed that the only way Russia would prevail was if it where to be governed by a small elite core of revolutionaries. February of 1917, workers gave protesting another try and actually had the soldiers side with them. The Tsar finally admitted defeat and stepped down from the throne and a provisional government was put into place. The leader of the provisional government was Andrew Kerensky, and when he decided to continue fighting World War I many soldiers deserted him and everyone turned to the Bolsheviks. The only political party to be completely against the provisional government as well as World War 1.
By the mid 19th century, the majority of Russians lived in rural communities, which limited economic growth. Russia’s economy and ideology were considered primitive to Western countries, whose advancements in technological development were far beyond those in Russia. Russia’s antiquated technologies restricted economic progression, and thus trailed the developed countries of the West. A deplorable Russian economy led to an extremely small upper class and a prevalent lower class. A Russian consensus in 1897 determined that peasants made up 82% of Russia’s population. After years of mistreatment, Russia’s middle and lower class espoused an idea developed by Karl Marx— Communism. Communism was a totalitarian governmental ideology that believed in equally distributed wealth and property, state provided services, governmental control of economy and the focus on the community. Communism became extremely popular because it seemed to promise political and social equality and end the many hardships of the 19th century. In November 1917, communist supporters lead by Vladimir Lenin overthrew tsarist regime and promised a national reform during the Russian Revolution. Subsequently, a government body called the Bolsheviks quickly seized complete power in the November Revolution. However, right-wing, anti-Bolshevik parties rose up against the Bolsheviks, resulting in civil war. In late 1917, the Red Army (pro-Bolshevik) fought the White
The Measures of the Bolsheviks to Maintain Power and Address the Problems of Russia Before the Outbreak of Civil War
Ever since the beginning, Russia was ruled by a central authority. This authority was known as the Tsar. Russia was a very large country and that made it difficult for everyone to thrive. Leaders did not care for most of the country, only for high ranking government officials. The position of Tsar was usually given to the first son of the current leader, it varied because some Tsar did not have children. Unfair and strict rule of the Tsar was strongly hated by many of the citizens of Russia. People of Russia were not equal with each other and a majority of them were very poor and could not afford food. Economy was struggling due to the lack of true leadership, and citizens were treated harshly and change was bound to happen. Lenin and Stalin
Vladimir Lenin played a significant role in the replacement of the monarchical Russian Empire with the ‘people-governed’ Soviet Union. Driven to act by the desperate situation present in Russia under the rule of Czar Nicholas II, he fought for the victory of the Marxist ideals. Despite being opposed and even exiled, Lenin managed to rise to the head of the Bolshevik party and secure his position as the head of the government. He used his power to attempt to organize, modernize, and reform the Soviet Union. His policies were necessary for the Soviet Union to regain strength and to return to the world map as a formidable power.
During the late 19th to early 20th century, Russia under the rule of Nicholas II is transforming itself into a more industrialized country. This transformation produced revolutionary socialist movements that quickly grew in power and influence throughout Russia. These opposition movements are formed by Russian labor workers are referred to as soviets. Out of these soviets, the Bolsheviks emerged in 1903 as a radical wing led by a prominent Russian and communist figure named Vladimir Lenin. The events in 1905 which involved a number of embarrassing Russian loses against the Japanese in their conflicts in the eastern Pacific made the government even less popular among its people. It sparked violent protests across the country including Russia’s then capital St. Petersburg. A number of peaceful demonstrators would be killed and injured as a result of these massive protests. These incidents would spark the Russian revolution of 1905, an unsuccessful revolution that was suppressed by the government. Less than a decade later, World War I would erupt and Russia would find itself at war (“Russian History,” n.d.).
Following the Second World War, complications arose centering on the shifting of international power. The Soviet Union wanted to acquire additional territory, while the United States attempted to limit the gains desired by the soviets. This battle of ideology has resulted in an increase in National security, Diplomatic tension and Proxy wars between the two powerful nations.For over three hundred years, Russia had been controlled by an autocratic government known as the tsarist regime. This empire was ruled by a series of tsars who had absolute dictatorship over the country. (BBC, 2014). From around the time of Peter the Great 's reign, the empire began to impose its will on the people with absolute disregard for their lives and liberty. This incorporation of force caused repression and unrest amongst the people and the Russian Revolution was essentially an outburst from this. (Columbia Encyclopedia, n.d). The Russian Revolution consisted of two separate strikes in 1917, the first of which overthrew the imperial government and the second strike which placed the Bolshevik party in power. The Russian Revolution evidently brought a drastic transformation to the government, society and economy of Russia. The communist party who took power over Russia did evidently improve the economy and reshape the military forces which proved vital for Russia in WW2. (Quizlet, 2015). Overall, the Russian Revolution was beneficial to the country 's development. Today, in modern history we
There are things that people get wrong about the Bolshevik revolution like who was in it, and what it was, and how it happened. First order of business is the who. Who was in it you might know. I am going to talk about the parties involved like the government and the factory workers and the peasants. There is one person in particular that may come to mind Lenin.
In 1917, two revolutions completely changed the constitution of Russia. The Russian Monarchy was removed from power, placing Lenin and the Bolshevik party as the head of the newly formed Soviet Russia, resulting in the formation of the world 's first communist country. Traditional culture of the Imperial Russia was cast aside and a new Soviet culture began to take shape. The rise of the Bolsheviks ensued major reforms which predominantly focused on wide spread cultivation and spreading of Marxist-Leninist ideology throughout the whole of society. One of the most significant was the proclamation of a new philosophical idealism that strove to shape the populace, predominantly the proletariat, to develop a “New Man”. This philosophical notion, paired with the objectives and ideology of the Soviet administration, has been labelled as “The New Soviet Man”. Before 1917, a large percentage of the soviet population was illiterate and still accustomed to the old traditional ways. In order to combat this, the “New Soviet Man” was used as a medium in an attempt to eliminate old social norms which lingered from the former regime, and to try and develop new citizens for a new, communist society. Various means were used to attain this unification of social consciousness. Propaganda through the arts, literature, and education were considered the key channels to creating the ideal human being, the “New Soviet Man”, and so the Bolshevik reforms attempted to establish a Marxist-based
The Bolsheviks (lit. “one for the majority”) were a Russian political party that was founded in 1903 by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov, when they split away from the Menshevik (lit. “one for the minority”) faction under the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. By 1905, the Bolsheviks were no longer a minor faction, but one that had over 8,400 members. This number increased to 46,000 by 1910, a time where the Mensheviks had only 38,000. The Bolsheviks and Mensheviks continued to both gain and lose the majority in their parent party, and in 1910, they were forced to band together due to their loss of numbers and pressure from the Tzar, even though Lenin was strongly against the idea. Then, in 1912, the Bolsheviks broke away
In the early years of the 20th century, Russia was still rules by a Czar. This changed during World War I. The Russians were suffering tremendously from their continued participance in the Great War. The ones who suffered most were the working class citizens of Russia. Eventually, the workers had had enough, and in 1917, Russia underwent two revolutions. The result was the emergence of a communist country at
The Russian Revolution was an extremely difficult time for everyone. The events that occurred lead to the idea of communism today. A great amount of events occurred during the years leading up to the revolution. First, Russia had already faced many other wars and the country was struggling because of lack of communication from their Emperor Tsar Nicholas II. Next, during the revolution, Nicholas II was pushed out of office and the country started to follow the ideas of Lenin and the Bolsheviks. The February and October Revolutions also took place during the span of time known as the Russian Revolution. Towards the end of the revolution a war between the “Reds” (for communism) and the “Whites” (against communism) began.