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Rise and fall of communism in the soviet union
Rise and fall of communism in the soviet union
Communism in russia 1990 - 1940
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The Seizure of Power by the Bolsheviks in 1917
How did the Bolsheviks seize power of the Russia 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, though such promises as land, food, equality and peace.
Through such events Lenin was able to take full control for the
Bolsheviks.
The Bolsheviks started off, in 1903, as the main minority of the
Social Democratic Labour Party. As all anti-tsarist groups the party
was illegal. The party was based upon the beliefs of Karl Marx, a
German writer and revolutionary, who believed a revolution could only
be started within the workforce of the major cities. Lenin believed
strongly in these morals and used them as a guide to his goal of
revolution.
The party continued to protest against the current government in
Russia and over time the political, social and economic discontent and
the famous event know as 'Bloody Sunday', where the imperial guards
shot and killed the protesting people of St.Petersburg, eventually
pulled more followers over to the party.
After these events, which were known as the 1905 revolution, the
October Manifesto occurred. This gave the people a lot more rights and
a national parliament, the Duma. All seemed well, but there was one
problem. The Mensheviks, who were the less radical majority of the
Social Democratic Labour Party, argued that the revolution had gone
far enough, however the Bolsheviks insisted that it go further until a
new, soviet state was established. Thus, the party split up and formed
two separate groups. Also, since the revolution hadn't worked, many of
the revolution's leaders, such as Lenin, were forced to go into exile
abroad.
During his time in Switzerland, in exile, Lenin wrote his thoughts in
his revolutionary newspaper, "Pravda". Through this Lenin was able to
show his supporters their mistakes in the first revolution and what
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.
The Transformation of Bolshevik Position Between February and October 1917 Most historians think that the Bolshevik’s position went from playing almost no role in February 1917; they had only 150 members in the Pultilov Works which had 20,000 workers, to taking control of the country in October by a combination of luck and skill. It was said of the Bolshevik party in early 1917 that “The Communist Party existed solely in the leaders.” Many historians think Lenin’s leadership was the joint main reason for making the party into the leading revolutionary group in Russia, along with the luck the Bolsheviks had in the circumstances under the Provisional Government. A few historians claim Germany played a major role in the Bolshevik’s road to power. The Germans helped many previously exiled revolutionaries to get back to Russia when the Tsar abdicated and the Provisional Government came to power from March onwards, in the hope that they would end the war.
so a treaty would be a minor set back if Germany lost the war to
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. ...
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
Lenin made a series of policies throughout the beginning of the Revolution and through his short time in public office that came to be collectively known as ‘Leninism’. There were many things that influenced Leninism, such as Karl Marx. Lenin had read Karl Marx and his...
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...
Bolsheviks' Power 1917-1924 The Bolsheviks were a communist party, after the tsar, who believed that all classes in society should be fair and equal. Therefore they wanted to demolish the elites and the bourgeois and distribute their land and money amongst the workers and the peasants. The Bolsheviks were prepared to use any means to retain power and their slogan became 'all power to the soviets'. When the results of the constituent assembly were revealed the SR's (Social Revolutionaries) came out on top.
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.
out of touch with his people. 'He heard of the blood and tears of the
Over the next few years, Russia went through a traumatic time of civil war and turmoil. The Bolsheviks’ Red Army fought the white army of farmers, etc. against Lenin and his ways. Lenin and the Bolsheviks won and began to wean Russia of non-conforming parties eventually banning all non-communist as well as removing an assembly elected shortly after the Bolshevik’s gain of power. Lenin’s strict government, however, was about to get a lot stricter with his death in 1924.
The Rise of the Bolshevik Party On the night of October 25, 1917, the Bolshevik Party of Russia seized control of the Winter Palace in Petrograd without firing a single shot. However, this silent successful opportunity had been in the works for many years. The Bolshevik party rose to power in Russia by giving in to the needs of the people, having superb organizational skills, and their ability to take advantage of a weak provisional government, especially after the Kornilov Affair took place. The combination of all of these conditions enabled the Bolsheviks to take control of Russia and keep her in its iron fist for years to come.
Lenin’s reforms were necessary to carry out a socialist revolution in Russia, and the contributions he made drastically changed the course of history. It can be assumed that, the Soviet Union would not have been as powerful if it had not been for Lenin’s initial advocacy of violence and tight organization. Marxism is a philosophy coined by Karl Marx with the help of Friedrich Engles in the early nineteenth century. Marx’s writings inspired many progressive thinkers throughout the European continent and the United States. The Marxist doctrine stated that first a bourgeoisie revolution, which will ignite a capitalist fire.
Account For the Success of the Bolsheviks in October 1917 At the beginning of 1917 most of the Bolsheviks were in exile but by the end of 1917 the Bolshevik party had not only consolidated control of Moscow and Petrograd, but they were also advancing on the rest of the country. This success was due to several linked factors; the Bolshevik policy of non-cooperation, weakness of the Provisional Government, division of alternative opposition, Lenin's leadership skills, the power of the Petrograd Soviet and Trotsky as its leader, failure on deliver of land reform and the oppressed, armed workers in Petrograd. Bolshevik success is dictated by whether they met their aims; these included the establishment of a Socialist government over the whole of Russia, which would be ruled by a centralised democracy achieved through a Proletarian Revolution. Lenin returned from exile in 1917, the same year as the Bolshevik success, which immediately implicates him as vital to the Bolshevik victory.
As communication was poor to the rural areas of Russia, the peasants had little or no knowledge of political parties and so did not support the Bolsheviks in their takeover. When the Bolsheviks changed to the Communist party in 1918, many peasants believed these to be a new party challenging Bolshevism and so made banners saying ’Down with the Communists, Long live the Bolsheviks!’ The national minorities currently part of the Russian empire, predominately Finland and Poland, were demanding independence and Russia’s allies, Britain, France, USA, Japan, etc. were growing ever suspicious of Bolshevism and so were set to intervene if the Bolsheviks were to pull out of World War 1.