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The Russian Revolution and the Orange Revolution

Decent Essays

One example of a violent overthrow of government is the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Russian people were dissatisfied with the authoritarian rule of the Tsar and years of the majority living in poverty, with few resources. These problems were multiplied with Russia’s participation in World War I which strained resources further and removed skilled works from factories to fight. These workers were replaced them with peasant farmers, leaving fewer rural laborers. Peasant farmers had long felt that they should be allowed to own the land they worked, another point of contention. The war soon became extremely unpopular and long lines for bread became normal. The Tsar seemingly unaware of his country’s massive discontent, though warned by advisors, was finally forced to abdicate after the uprising known as the February Revolution (Wood, 1993). This was followed by an interim period where the country was ruled by a provisional government, as well as the “Soviet” a group that had the support of the workers and soldiers and the ability to mobilize them if needed. This system failed to meet the goals of the initial revolution: withdrawal from WW1, increased food supplies and property ownership for working class citizens. This fact was then capitalized on by the Bolsheviks who took as their slogan “Peace, Bread, Land” before coordinating the October Revolution which would again overthrow the government and give the Bolsheviks control (Delaine, n.d.). This second revolution did

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