Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social change in Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successful revolutions and a civil war. The revolution was seen as an example for the other revolutions that occurred in the aftermath of World War I, such as the German Revolution of 1918–1919. The Russian Revolution was one of the key events of the 20th century.

The Russian Revolution began with the February Revolution in early 1917, during World War I. With the German Empire dealing major defeats on the war front, Russian suffered heavy losses as the army was poorly trained and equipped. High officials were convinced that if Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, the unrest would calm. Nicholas agreed and stepped down, creating a provisional government led by the Russian Duma (the parliament).

During the civil unrest, soviet councils were formed by the locals in Petrograd that initially did not oppose the new Provisional Government; however, the Soviets did insist on their influence in the government and control over various militias. By March, Russia had two rival governments. The Provisional Government held state power in military and international affairs, while the Soviets held more power concerning domestic affairs. The Soviets held the allegiance of the working class, as well as the growing urban middle class. During this time, there were many mutinies, protests and strikes. Many socialist and other leftist political organizations were competing for influence within the Provisional Government and the Soviets. Notable factions included the Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries, Anarchists, as well as the Bolsheviks, a far-left party led by Vladimir Lenin.

The Bolsheviks won popularity with their program promising peace, land, and bread: end war with Germany, give land to the peasantry, and end the wartime famine. After Bolsheviks gained power, the Provisional Government chose to continue fighting in spite of public opposition.

 Background 
During the 1890s, improvements in Russian industry caused substantially more jobs in cities, which made them larger as people moved there. The workers in the cities, with their increasing levels of education, began to develop an interest in politics and the creation of political parties to try to improve their lives. The conditions in which they lived and worked were horrible. Poor people from other parts of the Russian Empire like Poland and Ukraine also created their own parties to try stop the Russians from oppressing them.

That added to the people's anger, and after the tsar's guards fired at a peaceful protest of workers, a rebellion began. That did not really change anything, but Tsar Nicholas II promised to create an elected parliament, the Duma.

The Duma was elected for the first time in March 1906. It had both left-wing and right-wing opponents, including socialists and people who were very loyal to the tsar. There were also arguments over whether or not to take power from the tsar and give it to more ordinary people.  Nicholas eventually dissolved the Duma three times. Without any Parliament that could say anything against him, people became angry.

In 1914, Russia joined World War I against Germany. At first, people supported the war, and the country was united by patriotism. However, there were huge problems with supplies, and by 1915, many soldiers were being sent to fight without ammo or guns. Communications were bad, and army officers argued so much that they did not make plans well. The soldiers became unhappy, and over 3,000,000 Russians died.

Saint Petersburg was also renamed to Petrograd by the tsar in 1914 because he thought that the name sounded too German, especially for a capital.

In 1915, the tsar took personal control of the Russian Army and moved to the army headquarters. That was a mistake since he did not improve the situation but now began to be blamed for it. The fact that he was not near the government also meant that his wife, Queen Alexandra, was left in charge. Whenever the Duma tried to warn her that the people were angry, she would say that they were lying and so she would ignore them. She even ignored a report by the secret police, the Okhrana, which said that a revolution might happen if things did not get better for ordinary people. She was unpopular also because she had been born in Germany.

 February Revolution 
The February Revolution began with a series of strikes in early February 1917. People in food queues in Petrograd, began a demonstration and were joined by thousands of women, who left the fabrics factories in which they worked. The strike spread through the capital. By February 25, most of Petrograd's factories had to close.

That evening, the tsar sent the chief of the army in Petrograd a telegram, which told him to use his soldiers to stop the strikes. The army chief did so, but the soldiers joined the workers, instead of stopping them, and the police also joined them. The government's power collapsed.

On March 15, Nicholas abdicated, and control of Russia was given to the socialist Provisional Government.

 Conditions from February to October 
After the February Revolution, the Provisional Government, led by Alexander Kerensky, was challenged by a large group of workers, the Petrograd Soviet. Kerensky tried to improve things by allowing freedom of speech and freeing political prisoners, but people were becoming more unhappy because there was not enough food, wages went down, and the national debt grew to 10 million rubles.

Vladimir Lenin arrived in Petrograd in April 1917. He was a communist, and the Provisional Government was socialist. He had been exiled to Switzerland by the tsar, but the Provisional Government allowed him to come back. He began to lead a communist group called the Bolsheviks.

In July, the Bolsheviks spent four days demonstrating against the government. The military attacked them. Lenin was forced to escape to Finland until August, when the Bolsheviks were asked to help defend the government against a takeover by the army. The result was that their reputation improved, and the government gave them weapons.

The Provisional Government's reputation kept getting worse. The Bolsheviks' reputation got better because they refused to work with the Provisional Government until both sides compromised.

 October Revolution 
On October 10, the Bolsheviks' Central Committee voted to start a revolution. One began in Estonia on October 23. Another started in Petrograd two days later. This time, the revolution was mostly peaceful. The Bolsheviks' Red Army took over many government buildings without a fight, and only two people were killed. The revolution ended with the takeover of the old tsar's Winter Palace on the morning of October 26, when the Provisional Government was arrested.

The Bolsheviks took power and formed a Congress and a new government, which began on October 25. Some members who were not Bolsheviks walked out during its first few meetings, but that made little difference to its decisions. The people who left were taunted by Leon Trotsky on their way out. He told them to go "where you belong... the dustbin of history!" All parties that opposed the Bolsheviks were eventually broken up, and their leaders were arrested.

The Congress began to get rid of private property. That meant that all land and money was to be owned by the people, and control of factories was given to their workers.

 Aftermath 
Several places that had been in the Russian Empire before the Revolution, such as Estonia and Ukraine, had been asking for independence since February. They declared and were allowed independence as the new government formed.

In Russia, enemies of the Bolsheviks organized a White Army and began the Russian Civil War. In July 1918, countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, sent more than 15 armies to help the White Army. The ex-tsar and his family were shot to stop them from being freed. To win the war, Lenin diverted food and supplies to the Red Army. The plan worked since the Bolsheviks won the war, but between 3 and 10 million people died of hunger.

The Third Russian Revolution was an anarchist revolution against both the Bolsheviks and the White Army and lasted from 1918 to 1922.

Some European countries recognized the Soviet Union as a proper country in the early 1920s, but the United States refused to do so until 1933.

Related pages
 Islamic Revolution

 References 

Category:1917 in Russia

Category:Russian Empire