The October Revolution

1220 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Bolshevik tactics in the Bolshevik revolution

The October Revolution

“The October Revolution was no more than a well planned military coup carried out with

out the knowledge and against the wishes of the people.”

This statement is entirely false, the October Revolution was wished for and very

necessary for the people of Russia, to bring more power back to the people. The events

of 1917 were crucial for the Bolsheviks, they represented their rise in power and their rise

in popularity with the people. It was these events that rallied the Russian people behind

the Bolshevik party and gave them the idea that a revolution was necessary. With this

argument I will first look back at the events in Russia that lead us to the October

Revolution and their effect on the people.

There were many events in Russian history before the October Revolution that

gave the Russian people less hope in their government, and made the idea of a revolution

seem inviting. Russia under the Tsarist system gave no power or rights to the people.

The autocratic system gave only the tsar rights and consequently all the power. In fact, it

was the tsar who told people what rights they had. The power in the autocracy flowed

from top to bottom, the top being the tsar and the bottom being people. “During the

system of Tsarism the peoples of Russia were systematically incited against one

another.”(pg.66, Daniels) During the Time of Trouble between 1598 and 1613 society

fell and there was no tsar to represent the people, Russia was undergoverned. During this

time, the Poles and the Swedes both invaded Russia. There is a battle going on over

lands between the nobles and the peasants who constitute 95% of Russia’s population. ...

... middle of paper ...

...oletariat against the bourgeoisie.”(pg 87,Dziew)

In conclusion the October Revolution was carried out with the support of most

Russians and it was a necessary trend in Russian History. The events leading up to the

October Revolution such as Bloody Sunday and the Peasant Revolts of 1905 and

especially the workers strikes gave Russia and it’s people a sense that a revolt was

necessary. The leadership of Lenin and Trotsky whose speeches helped gain support for

the Bolsheviks along with their excellent use of propaganda is what gave them the

support of the Russian people. Those events along with the struggling domestic

conditions in Russia led to the October Revolution. “According to Soviet historiography,

the October Revolution was the product of a clearly discernible, irresistible trend in

Russian history.”(pg. 87, Dziew)

Show More
Related

  • Tensions in Russia in the Early 1900

    448 Words  | 1 Pages

    In 1900, Russia was an autocracy led by a Tsar who had a total control over the country. The Tsar was Nicholas II. Along with his family and all other nobles, he was very wealthy and lived in luxury. Other wealthy groups of people were: Ÿ Upper class- Church leaders and lesser nobles. Ÿ Commercial class- Bankers, factory workers all known as capitalists.

    Read More

  • Essay On Tsar's Power Crumbled In 1917

    572 Words  | 2 Pages

    Russia's industries were beginning to develop and the number of people living in towns was increasing. These people were the urban working class of Russia and they were not as eager to accept the poor wages and conditions as the peasants were.

    Read More

  • Assess the impact of World War I on the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    Moss, W., 2014. A History of Russia Volume 2: Since 1855. 1st ed. London, England: Anthem Press London, pp.112-113.

    Read More

  • The Seizure of Power by the Bolsheviks in 1917

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Legacy of Russia and the Soviet Union - Authoritarian and Repressive Traditions that Refuse to

    1785 Words  | 4 Pages

    Historically, Russia has always been a country of perplexing dualities. The reality of Dual Russia, the separation of the official culture from that of the common people, persisted after the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War. The Czarist Russia was at once modernized and backward: St. Petersburg and Moscow stood as the highly developed industrial centers of the country and two of the capitals of Europe, yet the overwhelming majority of the population were subsistent farms who lived on mir; French was the official language and the elites were highly literate, yet 82% of the populati...

    Read More

  • How Far Was the First World War the Main Cause of the Fall of the Romanovs in 1917?

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... food making it into the cities and towns and the little food that was already there was now overly expensive due to inflation. There was trouble in the countryside, peasants had started demanding land in order to grow their own food to survive. The people in Russia were fed up with how things were going and were ready for a revolution.

    Read More

  • How Significant Was Lenin 's Leadership? The Bolshevik Consolidation Of Power?

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lenin’s pragmatic leadership was the most considerable factor in helping to fortify Bolshevik power. His willingness to take power in October/November 1917 and the successes of the move, through his right-hand man, Trotsky, was critical as it helped give him unquestioned authority within the party despite members of the Central Committee i.e. Zinoviev and Kamenev who suggested industrialisation needed to occur first. This highlighted Lenin’s communist ideology in practice which was essential to the Bolsheviks maintaining power. Following the failure of the Provisional Government, Lenin recognised that it was the Bolshevik’s priority to legitimise their government. As a result, issues of ‘Peace, Bread and Land’ were addressed through the issuing of a number of decrees in late 1917 including decrees on land, peace, Workers’ Rights as well as reforms to marriage and religion. ...

    Read More

  • Russia's Condition before the Bolshevik Revolution

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    Deplorable working conditions, strong ethnic divide, political repression and an autocratic rule where the underlying conditions that made the people of Russia desire a Bolshevik revolution. During the late 19th century everyone including the nobles were deep in debt because of the failed attempts of land reform. The final straw that really made the citizens of Russia to side with the Bolsheviks would be during World War I where even with their suffering economy they decided to go to war.

    Read More

  • French and Russian Revolutions

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Changes Brought by The Russian Revolution

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Bolsheviks a more intense revolutionary group took over. This party was lead by Vladi-mir Lenin who believed in the ideas of Karl Marx and Marxism (Stock). Lenin’s First step was to sign a peace treaty with Germany to pull Russian troops out of the war. The Bolshevik govern-ment was a dictatorship. Lenin had revolutionary antecedents His older brother, Alexander was plotting to murder Tsar Alexander and was executed leaving Lenin with hate toward the royal (Lerner). Lenin created the very first Communist state and declared Russia a Soviet republic. There were more people getting involved in this revolution, inspired by the Bolsheviks and Len-in’s over all ideas for Russia. His slogan Peace, la...

    Read More

  • Essay On The Causes Of Russian Revolution

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Russian revolution of February 1917 was a momentous event in the course of Russian history. The causes of the revolution were very critical and even today historians debate on what was the primary cause of the revolution. The revolution began in Petrograd as “a workers’ revolt” in response to bread shortages. It removed Russia from the war and brought about the transformation of the Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, replacing Russia’s monarchy with the world’s first Communist state. The revolution opened the door for Russia to fully enter the industrial age. Before 1917, Russia was a mostly agrarian nation. The Russian working class had been for many years fed up with the ways they had to live and work and it was only a matter of time before they had to take a stand. Peasants worked many hours for low wages and no land, which caused many families to lose their lives. Some would argue that World War I led to the intense downfall of Russia, while others believe that the main cause was the peasant unrest because of harsh living conditions. Although World War I cost Russia many resources and much land, the primary cause of the Russian Revolution was the peasant unrest due to living conditions because even before the war began in Russia there were outbreaks from peasants due to the lack of food and land that were only going to get worse with time.

    Read More

  • The Similarities of Tsarist and Communist Rule in Russia

    1871 Words  | 4 Pages

    But the Tsar had least central control. After the 1905 Revolution the Russian people were granted civil rights, an... ... middle of paper ... ... ressed the Tsars lost support from the nobles and power, after 1905 revolution Nicholas II had very little central control.

    Read More

  • Influence of Russian Revolution on Western Civilization

    1422 Words  | 3 Pages

    History of the XX century cannot be understood without looking at Russian Revolution, whose influence brought important effects on present rights and freedoms of every individual in the social structure of today’s society (Hobsbawm, 1995, p.84).

    Read More

  • The Rise Of Communism

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    There were many events that lead up to the Bolshevik Revolution. First off, in 1848, Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels published a thought-provoking book. The Communist Manifesto expressed their support of a world in which there was no difference in class. A world in which the workers and commoners ran the show and there was no high and supreme ruler. Many intellectual Russians began to become aware of this pamphlet as well as the advanced state of the world compared to Russia. Other countries were going through an industrial revolution, while the Czars had made it clear that no industrial surge was about to happen in Russia. The popularity of the Czars further went down hill as Nicolas II’s poor military and political decisions caused mass losses in World War I. Eventually, the citizens could take no more and began a riot in St. Petersburg that led to the first Russian Revolution of 1917.

    Read More

  • 1917 Russian Revolution Essay

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The October Revolution

Open Document