1917 Russian Revolution Essay

1101 Words3 Pages

Russian Revolution Essay. Throughout history there have been many revolutions between the population of a country and its government. People always want change, usually in the directions of freedom, peace and equality and in the lead up to the 1917 Russian revolution; there were a variety of social, political and economic situations that all played their part. In the years leading up to the revolution, Russia had been involved in a series of wars. The Crimean war, The Russo-Turkish war, The Russo-Japanese war and the First World War. Russia had been defeated in all except the war with Turkey and its government and economy had the scars to prove it. A severe lack of food and poor living conditions amongst the peasant population led firstly to strikes and quickly escalated to violent riots. Tsar Nicholas II ruled Russia with an iron hand while much of Europe was moving away from the monarchical system of rule. All lands were owned by the Tsar’s family and Nobel land lords while the factories and industrial complexes were owned by the capitalists’. There were no unions or labour laws and the justice system had made almost all other laws in favour of the ruling elite. Rents and taxes were often unaffordable, while the gulf between workers and the ruling elite grew ever wider. After their defeat in the Crimean war (1853-1856), Russia’s leaders realized they were falling behind much of Europe in terms of modernisation and industrialisation. Alexander II took control of the empire and made the first steps towards radically improving the country’s infrastructure. Transcontinental railways were built and the government strengthened Russia’s economy by promoting industrialisation with the construction of factory complexes throughout... ... middle of paper ... ...atic government by what he called the liberal-bourgeoisie (liberal middleclass). Exploring the October revolution and the establishment of communism, Richard Pipes concludes that the origin of communism can be traced back to the distant past in Russia’s history. Pipes states that Russia had entered a period of crisis after the governments of the 19th century undertook a limited attempt at capitalisation, not trying to change the underlying patrimonial structures of Russian society. (Pipes, 1964) An unrelenting series of war’s, Unnecessary hunger and famines and the selfish greed of the ruling elite. These are some of the many reasons, along with the Romanov family’s inability to lead either troops in modern warfare or the Russian population into a modern industrialised society that brought about the inevitability of the 1917 Russian revolution and thus, The USSR.

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