The Russian Revolution was a turning point in history because it tried to use communism as its main principal. “Communism is the riddle of history solved, and it knows itself to be this solution” (Marx Quotes: Quotes from Karl Marx and Frederick Engels). In a communist society, everyone in that society receives equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. In a communist nation, there would be a classless society, and everyone would be happy to share their wealth. The government would own all means of production, and the government would redistribute the wealth from the rich to the poor. The Russian revolution started due to the lack of food in Russia, and the huge difference between the rich and the poor. The Russian people were also mad that Czar Nicholas II was keeping Russia in war. Thousands of Russian soldiers were being killed every week. At the end of the war, around 1,700,000 soldiers died (WWI Casualty and Death Tables). At least 1,500,000 Russians and possibly up to more than 5 million Russians were wounded. (WWI -- Russia).
Before the Russian Revolution, Russia was going through some hard times. In Russia, during the early 1900’s, there was a huge difference between the rich and the poor. There was a large number of peasants living in poverty. On the other hand, there was a restricted amount of people living in a life of lavish, who owned large plots of land, and had servants to tend to their needs. Czar Nicholas II was one of the few that was living a life of luxury, which angered the peasants. What also angered the peasants was a man named Rasputin. Rasputin lived with the Romanovs because he claimed that he had magical powers that could cure Nicholas II’s son’s disease: haemophilia. When World War I came along...
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Brown, Archie. "Reform, Coup and Collapse: The End of the Soviet State."BBC News. BBC, 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 12 May 2014. .
"Marx Quotes: Quotes from Karl Marx and Frederick Engels." Marx Quotes: Quotes from Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/subject/quotes/ "WWI Casualty and Death Tables." PBS. PBS. Web. 16 May 2014.
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For centuries, autocratic and repressive tsarist regimes ruled the country and population under sever economic and social conditions; consequently, during the late 19th century and early 20th century, various movements were staging demonstrations to overthrow the oppressive government. Poor involvement in WWI also added to the rising discontent against Nicholas as Russian armies suffered terrible casualties and defeats because of a lack of food and equipment; in addition, the country was industrially backward compared to countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and the USA. It had failed to modernize, this was to do with the tsars lack of effort for reforms. The country was undergoing tremendous hardships as industrial and agricultural output dropped. Famine and poor morale could be found in all aspects of Russian life. Furthermore, the tsar committed a fatal mistake when he appointed himself supreme commander of the armed forces because he was responsible for the armies constant string of defeats.
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.
Rasputin’s loyalty to the czar and his family made him “immune” to the attempts of exile from Russia (DISCovering). Aleksey Nickolayevich was a hemophiliac (Rasputin). On one certain occasion, doctors were called in to check on the young heir. After nothing seemed to help, “Grigory Rasputin, who was reported to have miraculous powers of faith healing, was brought to Alexandra” (Massie 259). Rasputin didn’t cure Aleksey of hemophilia, but his ability to control the symptoms was “indisputable” (Fuhrmann 26). “In December 1916, a group of conservative aristocrats laced Rasputin’s wine with potassium cyanide at a soiree in the Yousoupov Palace” (DISCovering). The poison wasn’t strong enough to kill Rasputin. He was shot once, “lurched” at his attackers and they shot him again (DISCovering).
Another way in which the confidence in Tsarist rule could have been affected is by the fact that those who did criticise Rasputin usually exaggerated their points in order to actually be heard by the public, falsifying most of their arguments, although it still caught traction amongst the public in Russian cities. The reason as to why Rasputin was so close to the Tsar and Tsarina was due to the fact that he was believed to heal their son’s haemophilia, which coincidently, began to get better once Rasputin started treating him, overwhelming the Tsarina with admiration for Rasputin. This weakness in which their son had was kept from the public, which is why suspicion aroused as to the aim of the tsar for letting a Siberian peasant to live in the palace near his family. The people of Russia al...
so a treaty would be a minor set back if Germany lost the war to
There are many people who have lived through and within the Bolshevik Revolution, so there are a multitudinous variety of perspectives, thoughts, and insights about the revolution. The Bolshevik Revolution is known for many things; some say that the revolution helped women become free of control, and others proclaim that it did nothing but continue to hold women captive of their desired rights. The Bolshevik Revolution article states the side of a history professor Richard Stites, who argues yes the revolution benefited the women whilst the other side is declared no the revolution did no justice for women at all, which was argued by a Russian scholar, Lesly A. Rimmel. The opposing arguments both create an effective view on the revolution, and
Suny, Ronald Grigor. The Soviet Experiment: Russia, the USSR, and the Successor States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
A communist revolution is inspired by ideas of Marxism whose main purpose is to replace capitalism with communism also considered socialism. “Marxists believe that the workers of the world must unite and free themselves from capitalist oppression to create a world run by, and, for the working class (Britannica).” The Russian Revolution began in 1917 and consisted of two periods of revolts; the February Revolution and the October Revolution. It has been said that the 1905 Russian Revolution prompted the February Revolution due to “the massacre is Saint Petersburg, Russia known as Bloody Sunday. A council of wo...
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.
Grigori Rasputin and his relationship with the Romanovs: Rasputin was a religious teacher born in 1872, who was known for mystical healing powers and hypnotic abilities. He managed to convince Alexandra and her ailing son, both Romanovs, to allow him to make important political decisions. He opposed reforms and spread corruption throughout the courts. In 1916 a group of aristocrats tied to poison him but to no avail. He was then shot and drowned (Beck et al. 770).
Among the greatest mysteries of Russian history is the influence of the Mad Monk Grigori Rasputin. During his time in court 1907-1916, Rasputin developed a complex relationship with the ruling Romanovs and leading ministers due to his mystical ability to treat the hemophilia of the sole heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei.
The Russian Revolution (1917) was a series of economic and social upheavals in Russia, involving first the overthrow of the tsarist autocracy, and then the overthrow of the liberal and moderate-socialist Provisional Government, resulting in the establishment of Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party.
Buchanan , British ambassador to Russia in 1910, highlights how the lower urban class were not the only ones left disapointed by Tsar Nicholas II. In the course of the final phases of WW1 in 1917 , the second Russian Revolution took place. detaching Russia from the war , which carried about a major transformation for the Russian Empire into the union of soviet socialist republicans (USSR), exchanging Russia’s traditional monarchy with the worlds first communist state. The revolution was a response to their major losses , privations of WW1 and government in
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.
Russian Revolution Essay. Throughout history, there have been many revolutions between the population of a country and its government. People always wanted 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.