What is the Russian revolution?
The Russian Revolution is the name given to the events that occurred between February and October 1917 in Russia, which caused the fall of the tsarist regime and led to the first communist government in the world.
The Russian Revolution is divided into two stages: the February Revolution of 1917, led by the Mensheviks, and the October Revolution of 1917, led by the Bolsheviks.
The leaders of the Russian Revolution were: Alexander Kerensky (1881-1970), head of the provisional government of the Mensheviks. Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), head of the Bolshevik government, and Joseph Stalin (1878-1953), his successor. Another key figure was Leon Trotsky (1879-1940), at first close to the Mensheviks and then to the Bolsheviks, becoming commissar of military affairs for the communist regime.
Alexander Kerensky, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.
It was caused by the deep economic and political crisis. Russia not only faced the conservative government of the Romanov dynasty, which kept it in feudalism. It was also facing multiple defeats on the front lines of World War I that deepened the crisis.
The Russian Revolution was characterized by being a process originally mobilized by the soviets, which were assemblies of workers, peasants and soldiers organized to defend their rights. It was also characterized by being a radical process that in just one year replaced tsarism, in force since the 15th century.
The importance of the Russian Revolution lies in the fact that it changed the political order of Eastern Europe, destabilized European international politics and became a reference for the confrontation between capitalism and communism.
Causes of the Russian Revolution
Line to buy bread in early 1917.
Deep inequality social. At the beginning of the 20th century, about eighty-five percent of the Russian population was made up of peasants in the service of the feudal aristocracy and state officials. On the other hand, the workers did not have labor rights, but rather suffered inhumane working conditions.
Impact of the First World War. Russia was part of the Triple Entente, along with the United Kingdom and France. The successive defeats left an exorbitant number of casualties in the Russian army, both in combat and due to lack of weapons, ammunition, clothing, footwear and food. All of this collapsed the morale of the Russian army and people.
Economic crisis derived from the war. The situation was worsened by the abandonment of the countryside and industry due to forced recruitment, which decreased the production of consumer goods and generated shortages. An economic crisis soon arose with overwhelming inflation, falling wages and widespread hunger.
Internal political crisis and violent repression. Throughout this process, Russia faced a political crisis that was neglected by Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918). He had left his wife Alejandra in charge in 1915 to directly supervise the troops. The tsarina consulted with Rasputin, a Russian mystic who was attributed supernatural powers. Under her advice, she appointed a team of incompetent ministers. The demonstrations increased and the repression was increasing.
Irradiation of Marxism and other political theories. The different political ideas of Western Europe circulated in Russia thanks to two factors: the training of intellectuals outside the country and recent schooling. Among them are liberalism, anarchism and Marxism. The latter became very influential, since it questioned the modes of production of industrial capitalism and made visible the exploitation of the proletariat.
Summary of the Russian Revolution
Statue of Tsar Nicholas II vandalized and demolished. 1917.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia was ruled by tsarism, an absolutist system that concentrated all the powers of the State in the emperor or czar. The economy was feudal and there was no social mobility. Although feudal serfdom had been abolished in 1861, Russia remained predominantly rural, and incipient industrialization did not lead to the prosperity of the new working class. The economy and modernization remained stagnant.
Background
A fundamental antecedent of the Russian Revolution of 1917 was the Russian revolution of 1905. This was a consequence, among other things, of Russia’s defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. This sparked a demonstration demanding the resignation of Tsar Nicholas II. Despite the bloody repression, uprisings and strikes organized by the Soviets continued throughout that year..
The political situation worsened when the First World War began in 1914, and Russia fought as part of the Triple Entente. The war only deepened the economic crisis and exposed the abandonment in which the authorities had the people and the troops.
The February Revolution of 1917
The February Revolution marked the beginning of the Russian Revolution. It was led by the mensheviks, the moderate wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. Along with other sectors, such as cadets of the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Mensheviks achieved the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II Romanov and installed a transitional government.
The provisional government
The provisional government was represented by Alexander Kerensky, who was concerned about the safety of the tsar’s family and sought an intermediate solution between different sectors of society.
Furthermore, the Menshevik government maintained its commitment to remain in the First World War, which aroused discontent among the military and workers sectors.
However, the most radical groups of the soviets began to dissent from the policies of the provisional government. Socialism continued to grow under the slogans “Peace, bread and land” and “all power to the soviets.”
The October Revolution of 1917
The tension soon led to the October Revolution, also known as Red October. This was promoted by the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks were the most radical sector of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. They were led by Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Vladimir Lenin.
On October 25, 1917 (November 7, according to the Gregorian calendar), Lenin led an uprising in Petrograd (St. Petersburg). After the capture of different military garrisons, the elite of the transitional government were captured and accused of being counterrevolutionary.
The Bolshevik government
The Bolsheviks came to power in the midst of an economy paralyzed by the war and a state of general shortages. Bolshevik policies caused various uprisings. The repression was frontal and freedom of the press was limited.
In November 1917 the civil war broke out. In January 1918, the Red Guard dissolved the Russian Constituent Assembly, after the Bolsheviks gained only a few seats. That same year, Trotsky ended Russia’s participation in World War I by signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
In 1924 Vladimir Lenin died, which meant the rise to power of Joseph Stalin. This promoted a centralized economic policy, promoted large-scale industrialization and intensified repression. His government policy was known as stalinism or Stalinism, although it was he who coined the term Marxism-Leninism, with which he claimed to identify.
Consequences of the Russian Revolution
USSR in 1991: 1. Armenia. 2. Azerbaijan. 3. Belarus. 4. Estonia. 5. Georgia. 6. Kazakhstan. 7. Kyrgyzstan. 8. Latvia. 9. Lithuania. 10. Moldova. 11. Russia. 12. Tajikistan. 13. Turkmenistan. 14. Ukraine. 15. Uzbekistan.
Fall of the absolutist monarchy of Russia. The rebels managed to overthrow the absolutist monarchy in Russia. That involved the murder of the entire tsarist dynasty.
Establishment of a communist Bolshevik government. With the triumph of the Bolshevik sector, the first communist government in history was established in Russia. Some of the policies implemented were:
Aggressive agrarian reform, which promoted the confiscation and collectivization of land, and implied the extinction of feudalism; Dizzying industrialization, planned and centralized by the State; Incorporation of women into work; Mass literacy; Political persecution of the opposition; Limitation of freedom of press.
Start of the civil war in 1917. The main sides in conflict were the Red Army (Bolshevik) and the White Army. The Whites brought together monarchists, liberals and Mensheviks. In addition, a third group was formed: the Green Army. This brought together the peasants who rejected the forced recruitment and requisitions perpetrated by the Whites and the Reds.
Russia’s exit from the First World War. After the revolution, Russia managed to get out of the First World War by signing the Brest-Litovsk treaty, which took place in 1918.
Creation of the Communist International in 1919. Also called the Third International, it was the initiative of Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party. He intended to fight against capitalism, establish the dictatorship of the proletariat, definitively abolish social classes and form the International Republic of Soviets. This meant breaking with the Socialist International.
Formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922. Lenin and Trotsky aspired to become leaders of the working class at the international level. Thus, in 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also called the Soviet Union, was created. The USSR was a federal government that initially grouped Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Transcaucasia (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan). The number of annexed republics varied over the years.
The Soviet Union is emerging as an industrial superpower. After the triumph of the Bolsheviks, there was progressive industrial growth in the USSR, which profiled it as an international superpower. The communist model aroused fear in the Western community regarding its proselytizing and expansive vocation.
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