In 1917 a great revolution would collapse Russia’s monarchy and extend the color of red throughout the world. During this time, Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin were instrumental in causing the grand collapse of the Russian government and the reformation into a communist state. The Russian revolution changed the world when it happened and I believe it changed the people of Europe after it occurred.
The Russian Revolution actually has two important parts to it the February Revolution (March 1917) and the October Revolution (November 1917). The February Revolution, which took place in modern day St. Petersburg, was lethal to the royal government of Russia. It began with the bread, it was not like they did not have the supplies for the population, “the problem was the breakdown of the transport system” (Figes 68). The February Revolution was also largely caused by the ineffectiveness of the Russian military in World War One and the failure of the Russian empire throughout the last couple decades. The people of Russia were ashamed of the military throwing away their lives and having to eat sparingly to survive the winter. Peasants were so poor they could barely afford a piece of bread for a week. Mass demonstrations were held in the squares and violence took to the streets. People ambushed the royal guards in front of the palace and they were shot down by the insignificant force left to guard the capital. The revolution was largely leaderless as Russian people just wanted food
For many revolutions people may argue different reasons why that particular revolution was caused, but there often one that is the primary cause. The Russian Revolution began February 1917, many people in Russia lost faith in their government, especially since they had not done so well to begin with when they participated in World War I. Which resulted in a lot of expenses. Others may argue that since Tsar was an unproductive leader and because of the decisions he made when he was in power that influenced the Russian Revolution. Although Tsar’s weak leadership may have influenced the Russian Revolution, World War I was the main cause of the Russian Revolution because it destroyed the economy, which led to riots and many people
The Russian Revolutions of 1917 There were two revolutions that occurred in Russia in 1917. The first one, in February, overthrew the Russian monarchy. The second one, in October, created the world’s first Communist state. The Russian revolutions of 1917 involved a series of uprisings by workers and peasants throughout the country and by soldiers, who were predominantly of peasant origin, in the Russian army.
In 1905, the social and economic tensions building up within Russia boiled over into Revolution. It was described by Lenin as the “Great Dress Rehearsal” for the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and may give us clues as to why the 1917 revolution started. The suggestion that Tsar Nicholas II and his actions were to blame for this revolution is debatable and there are many factors such as the repressive Tsarist system, the growth of opposition from the time of Alexander II and the defeat in the war with Japan to consider. These events can be separated into short and long term effects on the revolution. Bloody Sunday and defeat to Japan would be short term effects whereas the
The Russian Revolution began in 1917 and lasted until late 1930’s, the revolution was very brutal with total death of 3 million people and 7 million people were arrested (Document 12). The revolution broke out when Nicholas II comes to power because Bloody Sunday leads to Duma, then he steps down and the Duma sets up a provisional government thus sparking the want for domination and the revolution kicks off (Book). By the end of the revolution Russia was definitely weakened in some aspects but strengthened as a nation. Therefore, the Russian people were better off after the Russian Revolution because they benefited from a better economy, government, and living conditions.
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
In 1917, a revolution started more specifically the Russian Revolution. Many people were impacted by this revolution. It started in 1905 when Russia was suffering military defeats in the Russo-Japanese War. Following, Russians flooded the streets protesting. About 300 people were killed and many were wounded. The two leaders during this time were Czar Nicholas II and Vladimir Lenin. Czar Nicholas II was the leader who caused the Russian Revolution because of his bad leadership.
The Russian revolution was a monumental change for Russia they went from a government of ordocrasy to communism, with evidence it will show that this truly was a change Russia needed. Yet many argue that the death and outcome was not what the people had imagined when agreeing to communism.
The Russian Revolution was a series of two revolutions that consisted of the February Revolution and the October Revolution. The February Revolution of March 8th, 1917 was a revolution targeted and successfully removed Czar Nicholas II from power. The February Revolution first began to take place when strikes and public protests between 1916 and early 1917 started occurring. These strikes were created to protest against and to blame Czar Nicholas II for Russia’s poor performance in WWI and severe food shortages that the country facing. Soon, violence between protesters and authorities began to escalate, and on February 24th, 1917 in the city of Petrograd, hundreds of thousands of male and female workers flooded the streets. They all had the same purpose which was to protest against the “Great War” and the monarchy. The protests began to escalate and the vastly outnumbered police were unable to control the crowds. When news of the unrest reached the czar, he ordered the military to put an end to the riots by the next day, and on February 26th, 1917, several troops of a local guard regiment fired upon the crowds, but however many soldiers felt pity and empathy for the protesters than the czar, and on the next day, more than 80,000 soldiers join the protest even directly fighting the police.
One of the main causes of these revolutions was the grinding poverty. In Russia, the peasants were still serfs meaning that they were still in the feudal system with class privileges (Wilde 2nd). French also had disputes between classes following the “Ancien Regime” a political system developed during the 15th century (Schwartz 4th). Without privileges the peasants in Russia and French were both suffering from poverty. After the World War I, Russia’s economy was in danger; there was food shortages, food prices
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
The revolution in Russia was successful because they replaced their old government with a new communist nation. Karl Marx never had envisioned this for Russia. The Bolshevik’s goal was to destroy Russia’s social system and replace it with a more superior one. This shows that the revolution was truly a success and not only impacted Russia, but other countries around the world as well.
Russia entered the twentieth century with deplorable living conditions. The citizens of Russia were poor, famished and overburdened. Eventually, the Russian Revolution of 1917 occurred which sparked a significant change and it was a defining moment for Russia. Many instances preceded the Revolution which ultimately led to revolt such as World War I, the poverty of the Russian population and the inefficient government. Primarily, Russians faced the burden of financial hardship resulting from the aftermath of war. Economic issues continued to escalate due to the loss of sections of Russia’s land. In addition, there was much disapproval towards the government. Tsar Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia, was an autocrat of poor leadership
Revolutions are usually associated with change. Although change is monumental and significant, the way change happens and why it happens are more important things to consider. Looking at two specific revolutions in history, the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution, there are two major leaders who greatly stand out. In these two primary sources they share their goals, characterization of democracy, and opinions of violence in their movements that greatly influenced change. The French Revolution lasted from 1789 to 1799 and had a main goal of decreasing powerful monarchs and increasing democracies and nationalism. The Russian revolution in this primary source took place in 1917 and had a goal to get rid of Bourgeoisie power and
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was one of the most important events of the twentieth century. Having to deal with his growing opposition and the embarrassing defeats Tsar Nicholas II faced in World War I, the Tsar was left with no choice but to abdicate his throne and get replaced by the Provisional Government. The Provisional Government however failed to disengage from WWI or resolve the economic downfall that resulted from the collapse of the old order. Due to these failures the Provisional Government also broke down and were unable to bring Russia back to the functioning democracy it once was. Because of the lack of an operating government The Bolsheviks were able to seize power without competition, for a long time. Although Lenin’s leadership is widely regarded as the reason for The
During the WWI (which started in 1914), Food Shortages increased greatly because more strikes begun demanding an end to the war. Strikes of course caused food shortages as peasants began striking and not producing any food. Also more soldiers were needed to join the army and so the factory workers were taken to fight and peasants left the countryside to seek better jobs in factories so fewer farmers were left to grow food. Another very important reason that caused an increase in food shortage was that ` the Russian railway system was being used to carry supplies to the war front and so trains carrying food to the cities had been reduced`1so