Karol Regula
Global IV
Ms. Shuman
Period VII
April 13, 2015
TITLE
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. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was born in the town of Simbirsk (now renamed to Ulyanovsk to honor his accomplishments) on the 22nd of April in 1870. He led a
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People were becoming restless and beginning to question the authority of Czar Nicholas II. The events of Bloody Sunday forced the czar to allow some reform through his October Manifesto. The changes were not enough, the new Duma lacked power and could be easily disbanded by the czar. Finally, when Russia’s involvement in World War I used the remaining resources that were still available, the czar was overthrown and a provisional government put in place. A power struggle arose between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. During this time Lenin had already begun to rise in the ranks of the Bolsheviks. On the 4th of April, 1917, he issued his April theses in which he denounced the provisional government and stated his plans for the proceedings of the Bolsheviks and the Socialist future of Russia. Once he assumed total control, he began his rule with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The treaty allowed the Soviet Union to withdraw from World War I and in return it must give up a large amount of its territories in Europe. This allowed Russia to focus on its internal
Alexander Kerensky had a remarkable career. He was born in Simbirsk on the Volga River on May 2, 1881. His father was a head schoolmaster. Kerensky trained and graduated as a lawyer. He went on to a legal practice in St. Petersburg where he specialized in defending cases that involved political offenses.
Lenin was able to consolidate Bolshevik rule in Russia by combining popular policies and repression: To what extent do you agree with this statement.
From the initial seizure of power in 1917 until 1924, the Bolsheviks were confronted with a series of crises that threatened their ability to control and govern in Russia. The response and resolutions to these crises included Initial Reforms, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Civil War, Red terror, War Communism and the NEP. Under the leadership of Lenin, the execution of these responses were made possible and the Bolsheviks were able to maintain and expand their power. The Civil War however was the direct consequence of the Bolshevik’s actions as they tried to maintain their grasp on power. The victory in the Civil War was extremely pivotal for the Bolshevik consolidation of power as it brought control and power but more importantly it eliminated
Lenin and the Bolsheviks assumed power in Russia, in 1917 because of many reasons. Lenin promised to take farmland away from the rich and give to the poor. He promised and end to the war with Germany if he came to power. He demanded all over Russia, control of cities should be given to the Soviets councils of workers. Septembers 1917, is when the Bolsheviks won the election for control of the Soviet in the city of Petrograd (council made up of workers). Then in October, 1917, Lenin ordered the Bolsheviks to violently take over the Tsar’s winter palace, which was the new meeting place for the Provisional Government.
In 1917, Russia was crumbling into pieces. The World War I was draining all of Russia’s resources. There was shortage of food throughout the country, which left people starving. At the battlefront, millions of Russian soldiers were dying, they did not possess many of the powerful weapons that their opponents had. The government under Czar Nicholas II was disintegrating, and a provisional government had been set up. In November of 1917, Lenin and his communist followers known as the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government and set a communist government in Russia. However, in 1924, Lenin died and Josef Stalin assumed leadership of the Soviet Union, which was the name for the communist Russia. Stalin was a ruthless leader who brought
Trotsky’s overall role in the Soviet Union is indisputable as his strategic leadership skills enabled him to play a fundamental role in the organisation and implementation of the November 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power and the Civil War of 1918-21. However, the importance of Lenin’s role must also be taken into account to achieve a more balanced portrayal, as many of Trotsky’s successes were based on Lenin’s initiatives. Although Lenin held authority over the Bolshevik’s, it
He left Trotsky in charge of planning the event, and he became the main leader of the Bolsheviks, the communist party he founded. In an attempt to bring the government down,in November 6th the Red Guards, first took main points in the city of Petrograd . Not many people were killed in the process. In November 8, the soldiers decided to take the Winter Palace. Here the Provisional Government surrendered and were captured and arrested.Lenin then gave a speech, revealing his own self and announcing that the government he was creating.
According to History.com Staff, “The provisional government had created a group of leaders from Russia’s bourgeois capitalist class. Lenin would alternatively call for a Soviet state that would be controlled directly by councils of workers, peasants, and soldiers.” (“Russian Revolution”). Both decided that the Soviets was going to be a useful instrument in the next revolution. They didn't want the Soviets to have all the power until they could control them. In the book, Rise and fall of Communism 2009, Archie Brown shows us that, “On 12 October, according to the old calendar, Trotsky took command of the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet and on 25 October...the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd” (Brown 51). Insurrection was to start, but there were complications with the date set. In the book, The History of the Russian Revolution 1960, Leon Trotsky says, “At a session of the Petrograd Soviet on the 18th, Trotsky, in answer to a question raised by the enemy, declared that the Soviet had not set a date for an insurrection, in the coming days, but that if it became necessary to set one, the workers and soldiers would come out as one man” (Trotsky 162). There were forty thousand workers in the army of Petrograd.
Lenin grew up in a middle class family but was never fond of the political party and the class system. Having a Marxist political belief system, Lenin wanted the government to own and control everything. After taking control of the Soviet Union, Lenin wanted supreme power for himself and the government, with hopes to make all of the citizens’ equal. Throughout his reign, the Soviet Union was crowded with war, disease, and destruction. His idea of a perfect communist society was anything but
Lenin became one of the most powerful and influential tsars in Russian history. He led Russia into a one-party communist country. Lenin fell when Joseph Stalin had him assassinated. This caused a serious uproar and led to a new form of communism. Finally, when Stalin came to power, he
First, Lenin took total control in Russia. At this time, the Bolsheviks became the Communist Party, and Russia was named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the USSR. In addition, he separated Russia into various governments to prevent nationalism from destroying the Communist Party. Second, Lenin had many beliefs on how he thought society should act. For instance, he believed that their country should have only one political party, and this is shown when he gets rid of every party except the Communist Party.
The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution was the seizure of power by the radical Marxists led by Vladimir Lenin and was one of the pivotal moments of the 20th Century. The ramifications of the event, and the subsequent establishment of the world's first Communist regime were immediately obvious, but also had continuing repercussions for decades. This essay will argue that although Lenin and Stalin seemed to have conflicting views, in reality they shared very similar policies; Stalin just took these policies to an extreme.
The effects that Lenin’s arrival first had on the Bolsheviks party began with the weakening of the provisional government, primarily ending Russia’s fight in the war. Lenin had been gathering supporters since the 1890s with those apart of the forces in the war, alongside other supporters, travelling worldwide and spreading his word of Marxist ideals and a Russia that was no longer wrapped up in World War One. It wasn’t long before he garnered enough manpower to seize control and caused a great deal of uproar when he had turned the Russian Army against the Russian provisional government to completely wash Prime Minister Kerensky out. After seizing railroad stations, telegraph lines, and government offices, and subsequently sending out the people-elected provisional government, Lenin was able to intimidate the elected government out of office and have control.
Vladimir Lenin was a Bolshevik Leader for the 1917 October Revolution, and the first Head of State for the Soviet Union. His contribution to
The Russian Revolution of 1917 set the country on a course that few other countries took in the 20th century. The shift from the direction of a democratic, parliamentary-style government to a one party communist rule was a drastic change that many did not and could not predict. Looking back on this key moment in Russian history, many historians ask the question ‘why did the political power in Russia shift to the Bolsheviks’? Since the revolution in 1905 Russia was becoming progressively more democratic, distributing power throughout the political sphere. This came to an abrupt halt when Vladimir Lenin was put into power by the Bolshevik takeover of the Provisional Government. Many authors have had different takes on this event. Two particularly interesting ones were Arthur Mendel and John D. Basil. Their pieces On Interpreting the Fate of Imperial Russia and Russia and the Bolshevik Revolution give various perspectives on the Russian Revolution and attempt to answer the question of the power shift. This key point in Russia’s history sets the tone for the next 100 years. Russia became a superpower, an enemy of the United States, started multiple wars directly and indirectly, and started using an economic system used by various countries around the world. Today we still see the effects of the 1917 Revolution. Looking at both Mendel’s and Basil’s attempt to answer why the power shifted to the Bolsheviks. Since both historian 's account of the events is different they cannot