Poor Living and Working Conditions as the Reason for Bolsheviks' Seizure of Power in 1917
Around eighty percent of Russia’s population were peasants who lived
in communities. Living and working conditions for most peasants were
dreadful, famine and starvation were common. People worked for long
hours, their wages were low and rent was high. In factory towns people
lived in overcrowded slums and there were very few sanitary
facilities. Poor living and working conditions existed all the way,
while other causes of the Bolshevik seizure of power came in later on.
Peasants wanted change, but they were not getting it. The peasants
became furious and more issues got worse for them. Everything added up
towards their dissatisfaction. The 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power
would not have occurred had conditions not been so bad, however if
this was the most important reason, the seizure would have occurred
sooner.
The provisional government was led by, Alexander Kerensky, leader of
social Revolutionary Party. Kerensky introduced many reforms e.g.
freedom of speech and universal suffrage. Many of these reforms were
popular. When the provisional government came into power a lot of
things started to go wrong. Inflation grew worse and prices were ten
times high, there were severe food shortages and peasants began to
seize land from noble estates. However Kerensky made a crucial mistake
by deciding to go on with the war, so he like the Tsar lost support of
the army. The troops in Petrograd were now under the control of
Soviets and refused to obey the government. All these factors allowed
the Bolsheviks to make another bid for power. However this is no...
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...izure of power in 1917 as if there was
not the appeal of Lenin and the Bolsheviks there would not have been
anyone to organise and plan the revolution.
The appeal of Lenin and the Bolsheviks is the most important cause for
the Bolsheviks’ seizure of power in 1917 as Lenin was the person who
organised most of the revolution. Lenin’s April theses encouraged
workers and peasants to take action. If there was no appeal of Lenin
and the Bolsheviks there would have not been anyone to plan the
overthrowing of Kerensky and his provisional government. If poor
living and working conditions had been the main reason for the
Bolsheviks’ seizure of power in 1917 the revolution would have
occurred much sooner as poor working and living conditions had existed
all the way and peasant’s conditions had been dreadful for a long
time.
The Seizure of Power by the Bolsheviks in 1917. How did the Bolsheviks seize power of the Russian Empire in 1917? They were able to do this as a result of taking advantage of the current political and social situations in the country at the time. Through such decisions as disbanding the army and siding with the majority. the peasants, through such promises as land, food, equality and peace.
In February of 1917 a group of female factory workers and led a revolt in which the Tsar was dethroned, only to be replaced by a provisionary government composed of the Russian elite. When this government did not live up to its promises of an end to Russian involvement in World War I, the Bolsheviks (“majority”), a revolutionary movement led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the provisionary government in what bacame known as the October revolution.
Revisionist historians have also benefited from the post-glasnost era and hence have both greater access to more sources as well as the advantage of hindsight. To understand the reasons for the collapse of the Provisional Government it is crucial to be aware of the events leading up to the October Revolution and the atmosphere politically and socio-economically at the time. The year 1917 was a turbulent year of strikes, bad harvests and inflation. ' Week by week food became scarcer'[1] and any that was available usually went to the soldiers. Russian agriculture was primitive and machinery was rarely used hence production was not efficient.
The Failure of the Provisional Government and the Rise of the Bolsheviks i. Subject of investigation. How did the failure of the Provisional Government allow for the rise of the Bolsheviks? ii. Methods to be used.
There is so much that can be said in regards to the question “Why the Downfall of the Russian Empire? “ You cannot blame it on just a few individuals or because of any single factor, but you have to consider the historical and spiritual situation during the time Tsar Nicholas reigned. You have to consider historically development of Europe, its spiritual changes and also of course, the political aspects that had deeply affected the internal life of the Russian Empire and contributed to the downfall of the Tsar and the empire. In Russia, there were various spiritual changes that took place. Citizens began to turn away from their beliefs in God, and instead were influenced by new philosophical ideals and beliefs, many of which came from writers based in Germany. These writings had a tremendous influence on the Russian political life. Atheism was the new philosophy. The outcome was highly significant for Russia. There was a turning away from Divine Revelation and from the former attitude of respect and love for Tsar. Treason also was a key ingredient. From Germany, the Kaisers agents found Russian willing to collaborate with their plans of conquest, and used every means to influence supporters of the revolutionary cause. There were frequent, emotionally charged rallies, and much use was made of the press to exploit the revolutionary atmosphere being created. Rumors were encouraged and spread rapidly, and most citizens believed what they read, whether it was true or not. There was an fwere a German spy. Her Iapkaeokpamperial Highness Tsarirqtkoewna Alexandria, the empress and wife of qwettkgoeTsar Nricholas was accused of being a spy s born in Hesse, Germany. The war with Japan in 1904 didn’t help intrernal matters and the war wif Germany in 1914 caused Russia to lose some territory. Both of these wars severely damaged the economy of the Tsarist dEmpire, and the revolutionaries took advantage of these internal rand manipulated them to bsring afbout the efnd of Imperifrojqdqal governmentwnever been adequate and thrqfaunjnace war had reduced its capacity to transport essential supplies. The lack of food and medical supplies, which could no lrqrqiqcnonger be transferred from Western Europe rail, accelerated thafkoeakjorjnqe problems of the Russian Empire, and the Germans made safaeiijwure the trains did not get through to reach the needy people. The distress and anger this caused also contributed to the downfall of the Russian Empire.
The Bolsheviks physically mistreated them in several ways; however, their excuse was that it was always for their own good and protection, even though the family knew otherwise. A perfect example of this is the ridiculous conditions they were told to live in. They cannot even open a single window even though it is stuffy and smells. “For two weeks the former Emperor has been asking- just a single window, just a little fresh air…” (Alexander 8). Not being allowed to have single window open in the middle of summer with sweaty and smelly armed guards makes living conditions very unbearable for the family. They cannot even open a window to relieve themselves in the slightest, even though no harm could have come to them. The Romanovs were not permitted any contact with the outside world at all. They have no idea about and were unaware of what was happening in their country, with their friends, or even the weather. “Weeks earlier, the Bolsheviki had painted the thermometer with lime as well…” (63). The Bolsheviks are so cruel and demanding that the family could not even know what the weather was directly outside of them. They have almost none of their original ...
It lacked legitimate power to justify its actions. There was no tradition of Russia being ruled by a government such as this, indeed, many people were opposed to it. It was self-appointed and therefore many people questioned its authority. The lack of an able and charismatic leader simply compounded the problem. This was their chance to seize charismatic legitimacy and gain the support of the people.
Why the Bolsheviks were Able to Seize Power in 1917 There are many reasons for which the Bolsheviks were able to take control 1917, amongst them being precise organisation and planning, exceptional timing and a fair amount of good luck. In this essay I wish to discuss these issues in more depth and explain why the Bolshevik revolution was able to take place. In September 1917 the Bolshevik party became the largest in the Petrograd Soviet and they controlled the Military Committee, which was under chairman Leon Trotsky, a leading member of the Bolshevik movement.
In 1905 , Russia had a prerevolution that was put down of the Czar. Instead of learning from this prerevolution, Czar Nicholas II, made a very big mistake by in not introducing some reforms to correct the problems. So because of his actions, the situation grew worse. In 1917, the Russians were fighting in World War I. A good majority of the Russian people were weary and uncontent with the way the war was going and with the Czar's rule. This uncontent along with economic hardships caused riots and demonstrations to break out. The Czar called for the army to put down the revolution as they did in 1905. But the army joined the revolt and the Czar was kicked out of power soon afterwards. A temporary government was set up to decide on what kind of government Russia was gonna set up. Two political parties were set up. The Bolsheviks were one of the two. The leader of the Bolshevik party was a man named Lenin. Lenin was a firm believer of the theories and ideas of Karl Marx. So with his slogan of "Bread, Peace and Land", Lenin gained the support of the peasants and gained control of Russia and setup a communist state.
The discontentment of industrial workers in Russia was an important factor behind the 1905 revolution in Russia. The conditions in the factories left a lot of workers dissatisfied with how they were treat, with many factories completely forsaking anything resembling health and safety regulations and others making their employees work 11 hours a day throughout the week and 10 hours on a Saturday. However, there were several other important factors that led to the 1905 revolution such as the Russo Japanese war in 1904-1905, The policy of Russification and the events of Bloody Sunday. All of these factors will be discussed in the
The Soviet economy was highly centralized with a “command economy” (p.1). fsmitha.com), which had been broken down due to its complexity and centrally controlled with corruption involved in it. A strong government needs a strong economy to maintain its power and influence, but in this case the economic planning of the Soviet Union was just not working, which had an influence in other communist nations in Eastern Europe as they declined to collapse. The economic stagnation led to the frustration of the workers because of low payments, bad working conditions, inefficiency, corruption and any lack of incentive to do good work. There were lots of frustrations among the workers in the working field who began to express their feelings and emotions towards the Soviet government.
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.
Lenin and the Bolsheviks forced the Russian peasants and workers to live in constant fear of the brutal Cheka and led Russia into a devastating famine that wiped out thousands of the Russian proletariat.
January 22, 1905, commonly known as Bloody Sunday, was the beginning of the Russian Revolution. “Father Gapon led a group of demonstrators to bring economic grievances to the tsar. Police fired upon the demonstrators as they approached the Winter Palace.”(Outline, 2) The revolution started with a priest leading demonstrators to the Winter Palace, not the working class or the peasantry. The peasants living conditions were bad, and the government was making the situation worse by taxing harshly. “The urban revolution of 1905 stimulated the most serious peasant uprising since the Pugachev revolt in the late eighteenth century. Peasant rioting consisted of the sacking and burning of manor houses and attacks on landowners and officials.”(Fitzpatrick, 34) The peasantry was showing signs of rioting behavior, but not revolutionary change. During October of 1905 the Tsar Nicholas the II agreed to an elected parliament called the Duma.
Lenin's Economic Policies in 1924 When the Bolsheviks seized power in October 1917 they inherited many of the problems faced by the old Tsarist regime as well as those of the Provisional Government after the Tsars abdication. Lenin, as leader of the Bolsheviks took many measures to try and solve these problems, each with varying degrees of success. This essay will, therefore, go on to look at and discuss the various measures that Lenin and the Bolshevik party took, and, whether these measures created more problems for Russia in the end or in fact made significant progress towards the communist society that Lenin had prophesised for Russia. In the early days of Bolshevik rule, there were many problems facing Lenin.