What is the Russian Revolution summary?
The Russian Revolution is the set of events that took place between February and October 1917 and that led to the overthrow of the Tsarist regime and the establishment of the world’s first socialist government.
What happened to the Russian revolution?
The Russian Revolution had two stages . A first revolution in which the tsarist government is overthrown and a provisional government is imposed, and a second revolution in which this provisional government is eliminated to establish a communist government.
The Russian Revolution was led by the Bolshevik Party under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, it meant the first declared socialist revolution of the 20th century, with the participation of workers, peasants and soldiers through the soviets.
At the end of the First World War, peace, bread and land were raised for the people. Equality between men and women. Education and culture in their own languages for the different nations of Russian Empire.
It proved that a government managed by peasants, workers, and soldiers was possible.
The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was one of the most important events that occurred in contemporary history. Its impact was palpable both in America and in Europe.
Although the Revolution did not spread Communism as an immediate effect, it gave other troubled Third World countries an example to follow.
Decades later, the philosophical / governmental model would take on renewed notoriety as the Soviet Union, turned into a socialist state and an economic and military superpower, faced off against the United States in the Cold War.
Causes of the Russian Revolution
Economic causes
The economic causes of the Russian Revolution are largely attributed to the Emperor’s mismanagement, adding the Empire to the First World War. More than fifteen million men joined the army, which left an insufficient number of workers in factories and farms.
The result was a widespread shortage of food and raw materials. The workers had to endure terrible working conditions, including twelve to fourteen hour days and low wages.
Numerous revolts and strikes were unleashed demanding better conditions and higher wages. Although some factories agreed to requests to raise wages, war inflation nullified its effect.
There was a protest to which Nicholas responded with violence, in response, the industry workers went on strike and in fact paralyzed the railway and the rest of the transport networks.
The few goods that were available could not be taken to their destination. Prices soared as essential goods became increasingly scarce. In 1917, famine threatened many of the big cities.
Social causes
The social causes of the Revolution have their origin in centuries of oppression of the tsarist regime over the dispossessed.
Approximately 85% of the Russian people were part of the peasantry, oppressed by the feudal aristocracy and imperial officials.
The vassalage, commonly associated with the Middle Ages , accurately describes the social situation of Russia in the early 20th century .
The First World War only increased chaos. The huge demand for industrial production of war articles and workers caused many more insurrections and strikes.
Furthermore, as many workers were needed in the factories, the farmers migrated to the cities, which soon became overcrowded, living under conditions that quickly worsened.
To make matters worse, while the amount of food required by the army was increasing, the supply behind the front became more and more impoverished. In 1917 , famine threatened most of the big cities.
The sum of all the above factors contributed to a growing discontent among Russian citizens, which would later lead to the Revolution.
Political causes
Since at least 1904 , Russian workers have suffered a dire economic situation. Many of them worked eleven hours a day. Health and safety conditions at work were poor, and wages fell.
Numerous strikes and protests occurred over time. Almost all of them were ignored by the Russian Empire government or repressed, sometimes in a bloody way.
The failure of Russian foreign policy, especially in the Far East with the unsuccessful attempt to conquer Manchuria and the debacle of the empire army and navy during the Russian-Japanese War of 1905 caused deep unrest in different social sectors of the country.
Part of the intellectual class (educated in many cases in the West) also rejected the tsarist autocracy. In 1915, the situation became critical when Nicholas II decided to take direct control of the army, personally supervising the war front and leaving his incapable wife Alexandra in charge of the government.
About October 1916 Russia had lost between 1.6 and 1.8 million soldiers, to which must be added two million prisoners of war and one million disappeared.
These figures did little to help the morale of the army. Riots began, and in 1916 rumors of fraternization with the enemy began to circulate.
The soldiers were hungry and lacking footwear, ammunition, and even weapons. Nicholas was blamed for these calamities, and the little support he still had began to falter.
As this general discontent and hatred for Nicholas II grew, the Duma (the lower house of the Russian Parliament composed of landowners, citizens, industry workers, and farmers) issued a warning to the Emperor in November 1916, declaring that the disaster on the nation if constitutional reforms were not implemented.
As expected, Nicholas II ignored it. The result was not delayed, and, several months later, the regime collapsed during the February 1917 Revolution.
The October Revolution
The 25 of October of 1917 ( 7 November according to the Gregorian calendar ), the leader of the Bolshevik Party, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin, led the uprising in Petrograd, then capital of Russia, against the provisional government of Alexander Feodorovich Kerensky .
The Red Guard, led by the Bolsheviks, took over the main government buildings before launching a final assault on the Winter Palace during the night of November 7-8. The assault, led by Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko, was launched at 9:45 PM after a volley from the Cruiser Aurora.
The palace was taken around two in the morning on the 8th; November 7 would be officially established as the date of the Revolution.
Consequences of the Russian Revolution
The Russian revolution had important consequences since it meant a profound change within the society, economy and even the culture of the Soviet Union.
The first obvious consequence was the overthrow of the Tsarist regime and the Romanoff dynasty, which had centuries of pressure and absolutist power in the so-called Russian Empire. In its place was created the world’s first socialist state, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
This involved the adoption of socialist ideas and the development of other anarchist and communist ideas.
The Russian Revolution also caused some disagreements about the way forward after Lenin’s death and power struggles between leaders such as Stalin (who sought to consolidate the revolution in Russia) and Trotsky (seeking a revolution on a general level).
In any case, the implantation of socialism in the USSR was already unstoppable.
After the Russian Revolution, the USSR became one of the main economic powers worldwide, a position that it maintained until its dissolution.
Among other things, the USSR was instrumental in defeating Germany in World War II and was the country that fought for world supremacy with the US during the Cold War , staging the fight between the capitalist bloc and the communist bloc.
Another consequence, in this immediate case, that the Russian revolution was the exit of the USSR from World War 1 after the signing of the Brest-Litovsk treaty with Germany.
The adoption of new economic policies also occurred. First, a so-called New Economic Policy was imposed, which gave the farmer more freedom to sell the surplus of his production.
However, with the arrival of Stalin to power, other measures aimed at the collectivization of work were approved, such as the suppression of the peasant or individual worker and the absolute priority of heavy industry.
What is the importance of the Russian revolution?
The Russian revolution was one of the most important events of the 20th century, an event that is on par with the two world wars or the end of the Cold War. … The Russian revolution meant the transition from an absolutist-type political organization to a communist-type organization.
