Russian Revolution of 1917

History of Russia
East Slavs
Rus' Khaganate
Khazars
Kievan Rus'
Vladimir-Suzdal
Novgorod Republic
Volga Bulgaria
Mongol invasion
Golden Horde
Muscovy
Khanate of Kazan
Tsardom of Russia
Russian Empire 1682–1796 1796–1855 1855–1892 1892–1917
Soviet Russia and the USSR 1917–1927 Russian Revolution Civil War 1927–1953 1953–1985 1985–1991
Russian Federation

The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a political movement in Russia which reached its peak in 1917 with the overthrow of the Provisional Government that had replaced the Russian Tsar system, and led to the establishment of the Soviet Union, which lasted until its collapse in 1991.

The Revolution can be viewed in two distinct phases:

• The first was that of the February Revolution of 1917, which displaced the autocracy of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last effective Tsar of Russia, and sought to establish in its place a liberal republic.
• The second phase was the October Revolution, in which the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, instigated a coup to overthrow the Provisional Government, presenting the takeover as a revolution in the name of the workers' Soviets. While many notable historical events occurred in Moscow and St. Petersburg, there was also a broadbased movement in the rural areas as peasants seized and redistributed land.

See also "Russian history, 1892-1920" for the general frame of events.

Causes of the Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution was one of the most important events in modern world history. Its impact was evident in both Europe and America. Although the revolution did not directly spread communism, it did give various other struggling third world countries an enticing example to follow. Decades later, the philosophy/governmental model would gain new notoriety as Russia, a full communist state at the time of the Cold War, squared off with the United States.

In any case, 1917 saw two distinct Revolutions in Russia: the overthrow of the tsarist regime (February Revolution) and the coup by which the Bolsheviks took power (October Revolution). The causes of these two revolutions encompass Russia’s political, social, and economic situation. Politically, the people of Russia resented the autocracy of Tsar Nicholas II. The losses that the Russians suffered during World War I further weakened Russia’s view of Nicholas. Socially, tsarist Russia stood well behind the rest of Europe in its industry and farming, resulting in few opportunities for fair advancement on the part of peasants and industrial workers. Economically, widespread inflation and famine in Russia contributed to the revolution.

Ultimately, a combination of these three, coupled with the development of revolutionary ideas and movements (particularly since the 1905 Bloody Sunday Massacre) led to the Russian Revolution.

Economic

The economic causes of the Russian Revolution largely originated in Russia's outdated economy and the Tsar's failure to modernise it. Russia's agrictural economy still resembled that of medieval Europe, with peasants bound to an inefficiently-managed village commune, and using outdated farming methods. Suffering from a naturally cold climate, Russia's growing season was only 4-6 months, compared to 8-9 in Western Europe, and so the rural agrarian economy struggled to produce enough food to feed the cities each year.

Further hampering food production was Russia's lack of modern infrastructure or transport. Despite vast expansions under Sergei Witte to the railway system, Russia still lacked the ability to effectively transport food to the cities. During WW1, this became a massive problem as haphazard conscription removed skilled workers from the railways and food-related industries, effectively aggravating poor harvests and causing famine.

Factory workers also suffered due to Russia's young industry that sought to catch up with the rest of Europe. They had to endure terrible working conditions, including twelve to fourteen hour days and low wages. Riots and strikes for better conditions and higher wages broke out. Although some factories agreed to the requests for higher wages, wartime inflation nullified the increase. There was one protest to which Nicholas responded with violence (see Causes: Political); in response, industrial workers went on strike and effectively paralyzed the railway and transportation networks. What few supplies were available could not be effectively transported. As goods became more and more scarce, prices skyrocketed. By 1917, famine threatened many of the larger cities. Nicholas's failure to solve his country's economic suffering and communism's promise to do just that comprised the core of the Revolution.

Social

The social causes of the Russian Revolution mainly stemmed from centuries of oppression towards the lower classes by the Tsarist regime and Nicholas's failures in World War I. While rural agrarian peasants had been emancipated from serfdom in 1861, they still resented paying dues to noble landowners, and demanded self-ownership of the land they worked. Increasing peasant disturbances and sometimes full revolts occurred, with the goal of securing ownership of their land.

The rapid industrialisation of Russia also resulted in urban overcrowding and poor conditions for urban industrial workers. (As mentioned above.) Between 1890 and 1910, the population of the capital of St Petersburg swelled from 1,033,600 to 1,905,600, with Moscow experiencing similar growth. In one 1904 survey, it was found that an average of sixteen people shared each apartment in St Petersburg, with six people per room.

World War I only added to the chaos. Conscription swept up the unwilling in all parts of Russia. The vast demand for factory production of war supplies and workers caused many more labor riots and strikes. Conscription stripped skilled workers from the cities, who had to be replaced with unskilled peasants, and then, when famine began to hit, workers abandoned the cities in droves to look for food. Finally, the soldiers themselves, who suffered from a lack of equipment and protection from the elements were discontent with Russia's poor accounting in the war.

Political

Politically, most areas of Russian society had reason to be dissatisfied with the existing autocratic system. They had no representation in government, and the Tsar remained out of touch with the people's problems.

Dissatisfaction with Russian autocracy culminated in the Bloody Sunday massacre, in which Russian workers saw their pleas for justice rejected as protestors were shot by the Tsar's troops. The response to the massacre crippled the nation with strikes, and the Nicholas released his October Manifesto, promising a democratic parliament (the State Duma) to appease the people. However, the Tsar effectively nullified his promises of Democracy with the 1906 Fundamental State Laws, and then subsequently dimissed the first two Dumas when they proved uncooperative. These unfulfilled hopes of democracy fuelled revolutionary ideas and violence targeted at the Tsarist regime.

World War 1

Russia's recent history catalogued successive military failures. Even before the outbreak of WW1, Russia had engaged in [[Russo-Japanese war|war with Japan] in 1904-05, to great expense and no gain. While the Russian army enjoyed some initial successes against Austria-Hungary in 1914, Russia's lackings - particularly regarding the equipment of its soldiers and the sophistication of its weapons - became increasingly evident.

In 1915, things took a critical turn for the worse when Nicholas decided to take direct command of the army, personally overseeing Russia's main warfront and leaving his incapable wife Alexandra in charge of the government. By the end of October 1916, Russia had lost between 1.6 and 1.8 million soldiers, with an additional two million prisoners of war and one million missing, which likely did little for the army's morale. Mutinies began to occur, and in 1916 reports of fraternizing with the enemy started to circulate. Soldiers went hungry and lacked shoes, munitions, and even weapons. Rampant discontent lowered morale, only to be further undermined by a series of military defeats.

Nicholas was blamed, and what little support he had left began to crumble. As this discontent and utter hate of Nicholas grew, the State Duma issued a warning to Nicholas in November 1916 stating that disaster would overtake the country unless a constitutional form of government was put in place. In typical fashion, Nicholas ignored them. As a result, Russia's Tsarist regime collapsed a few months later during the February Revolution of 1917. A year later, the Tsar and his family were executed. Ultimately, Nicholas's inept handling of his country and the War destroyed the Tsarist regime and cost him both his rule and his life.

February Revolution

Main article: February Revolution.

The February Revolution came about almost spontaneously when people of Petrograd protested against the tsarist regime because of food shortages in the city.

There was also great dissatisfaction with Russia's continued involvement in the First World War. As the protests grew, various political reformists (both liberal and radical left) started to coordinate some activity. In early February the protests turned violent as large numbers of city residents rioted and clashed with police and soldiers. When the bulk of the soldiers garrisoned in the Russian capital Petrograd joined the protests, they turned into a revolution ultimately leading to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in a nearly bloodless transition of power.

A new Provisional Government was formed, also called the Duma, while elections were being planned. Between February and October revolutionists attempted to foment further change, working through the Petrograd Soviet or more directly. In July, the Petrograd Bolsheviks, in combination with the Petrograd anarchists, fomented a civil revolt. This revolt failed.

October Revolution

Main article: October Revolution.

The October Revolution was led by Vladimir Lenin and was based upon the ideas of Karl Marx. It marked the beginning of the spread of communism in the twentieth century. It was far less sporadic than the revolution of February and came about as the result of deliberate planning and coordinated activity to that end. The financial and logistical assistance of German intelligence via their key agent, Alexander Parvus was a key component as well.

On November 7, 1917, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin led his leftist revolutionaries in a nearly bloodless revolt against the ineffective Provisional Government (Russia was still using the Julian Calendar at the time, so period references show an October 25 date). The October Revolution ended the phase of the revolution instigated in February, replacing Russia's short-lived provisional government with a Soviet one. Although many bolsheviks (such as Leon Trotsky) supported a soviet democracy, the 'reform from above' model gained definitive power when Lenin died and Stalin gained control of the USSR. Trotsky and his supporters, as well as a number of other democratically-minded communists, were persecuted and eventually imprisoned or killed.

After October 1917, many SR's (members of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party) and Russian Anarchists opposed the Bolsheviks through the soviets. When this failed, they revolted in a series of events calling for "a third revolution." The most notable instances were the Tambov rebellion, 1919 - 1921, and the Kronstadt rebellion in March 1921. These movements, which made a wide range of demands and lacked effective coordination, were eventually crushed during the Civil War.

Civil war

Main article: Russian Civil War.

The Russian Civil War, which broke out in 1918 shortly after the revolution, brought death and suffering to millions of people regardless of their political orientation. The war was fought mainly between the "Reds", the communists and revolutionaries, and the "Whites" - the monarchists, conservatives, liberals and moderate socialists who opposed the Bolshevik Revolution. The Whites had backing from nations such as the UK,France,USA and Japan.

Also during the Civil War, Nestor Makhno led a Ukrainian anarchist movement which generally cooperated with the Bolsheviks. However, a Bolshevik force under Mikhail Frunze destroyed the Makhnovist movement, when the Makhnovists refused to merge into the Red Army. In addition, the so-called "Green Army" (nationalists and anarchists) played a secondary role in the war, mainly in Ukraine.

The Russian revolution and the world

There are some who say that the Russian revolution was intended to spread across the world. Lenin and Trotsky said that the goal of socialism in Russia would not be realized without the success of the world proletariat in other countries, e.g. without German Revolution. However, till this day, this issue is subject to conflicting views on the communist history by various Marxist groups and parties.

Some state that it was Stalin who was the first to later reject this idea, stating that socialism was possible in one country.

Others counter that this was simply an excuse for Stalin and his followers to push back democratic gains won during the revolution and consolidate his bureaucratic dictatorship.

The confusion regarding Stalin's position on the issue stems from the fact that he, after Lenin's death in 1924, successfully used Lenin's argument - the argument that socialism's success needs the workers of other countries in order to happen - to defeat his competitors within the party by accussing them of betraying Lenin and, therefore, the ideals of the October Revolution. He also had many of them executed during the great purge.

Brief chronology leading to Revolution of 1917

Dates are correct for the Julian calendar, which was used in Russia until 1918. It was twelve days behind the Gregorian calendar during the 19th century and thirteen days behind it during the 20th century.

• 1855 - Start of reign of Tsar Alexander II
• 1861 - Emancipation of the serfs
• 1866-74 - The White Terror
• 1881 - Alexander II assassinated; succeeded by Alexander III
• 1883 - First Russian Marxist group formed
• 1894 - Start of reign of Nicholas II
• 1898 - First Congress of Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP)
• 1900 - Foundation of Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR)
• 1903 - Second Congress of Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Beginning of split between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.
• 1904-5 - Russo-Japanese War; Russia loses war
• 1905 - Russian Revolution of 1905.

January - Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg.

June - Battleship Potemkin uprising at Odessa on the Black Sea (see movie The Battleship Potemkin)

October - general strike, St. Petersburg Soviet formed

- October Manifesto - Imperial agreement on elections to the State Duma

• 1906 - First State Duma. Prime Minister - Petr Stolypin. Agrarian reforms begin
• 1907 - Second State Duma, February - June
• 1907 - Third State Duma, until 1912
• 1911 - Stolypin assassinated
• 1912 - Fourth State Duma, until 1917. Bolshevik - Menshevik split final
• 1914 - Germany declares war on Russia
• 1915 - Serious defeats, Nicholas II declares himself Commander in Chief. Progressive Bloc formed.
• 1916 - Food and fuel shortages and high prices
• 1917 - Strikes and riots; troops summoned to Petrograd

Expanded chronology of Revolution of 1917

File:Soviet Union, Lenin (55).jpg

Vladimir Lenin, leader of the October Bolshevik Revolution

January

Strikes and unrest in Petrograd

February

February Revolution

26th – 50 demonstrators killed in Znamenskaya Square

27th – Troops refuse to fire on demonstrators, desertions. Prison, courts, and police stations attacked and looted by angry crowds.

Okhranka buildings set on fire. Garrison joins revolutionaries.

Petrograd Soviet formed.

March

1st – Order No.1 of the Petrograd Soviet

2nd – Nicholas II abdicates. Provisional Government formed under Prime Minister Prince Lvov

April

3rd – Return of Lenin to Russia. He publishes his April Theses.

20th – Miliukov's note published. Provisional Government falls.

May

5th – New Provisional Government formed. Kerensky made minister of war and navy

June

3rd – First All-Russian Congress of Soviets in Petrograd. Closed on 24th.

16th – Kerensky orders offensive against Austro-Hungarian forces. Initial success.

July

2nd – Russian offensive ends. Trotsky joins Bolsheviks.

4th-7th – The "July Days"; anti-government demonstrations in Petrograd.

6th – German and Austro-Hungarian counter-attack. Russians retreat in panic, sacking the town of Tarnopol. Arrest of Bolshevik leaders ordered.

7th – Lvov resigns. Kerensky is new PM

22nd – Trotsky and Lunacharskii arrested

August

26th – Second coalition government ends

27th – Right-wing General Lavr Kornilov is alleged by Kerensky to have attempted a coup. Kornilov arrested and imprisoned.

September

1st – Russia declared a republic

4th – Trotsky and others freed. Trotsky becomes head of Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

25th – Third coalition government formed

October

10th – Bolshevik Central Committee meeting approves armed uprising

11th – Congress of Soviets of the Northern Region, until 13th

20th – First meeting of the Military Revolutionary Committee (Revolutionary Soviet Committee) of the Petrograd Soviet

25th – October Revolution is launched as MRC directs armed workers and soldiers to capture key buildings in Petrograd. Winter Palace attacked at 9.40pm and captured at 2am. Kerensky flees Petrograd. Opening of the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets.

26th – Second Congress of Soviets: Mensheviks and right SR delegates walk out in protest against the previous day's events. Decree on Peace and Decree on Land. Soviet government declared - the Council of People's Commissars (Bolshevik dominated with Lenin as chairman).

Bibliography

Participants' accounts

• Reed, John. Ten Days that Shook the World. 1919, 1st Edition, published by BONI & Liveright, Inc. for International Publishers. Transcribed and marked by David Walters for John Reed Internet Archive. Penguin Books; 1st edition. June 1, 1980. ISBN 0140182934. Retrieved May 14, 2005.
• Serge, Victor. Year One of the Russian Revolution. L'An l de la revolution russe, 1930. Year One of the Russian Revolution, Holt, Reinhart, and Winston. Translation, editor's Introduction, and notes © 1972 by Peter Sedgwick. Reprinted on Victor Serge Internet Archive by permission. ISBN 0863161502. Retrieved May 14, 2005.
• Trotsky, Leon. The History of the Russian Revolution. Translated by Max Eastman, 1932. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 8083994. ISBN 0913460834. Transcribed for the World Wide Web by John Gowland (Australia), Alphanos Pangas (Greece) and David Walters (United States). Pathfinder Press edition. June 1, 1980. ISBN 0873488296. Retrieved May 14, 2005.

Reference

• Malone, Richard. Analysing the Russian Revolution, : ISBN 0521541417, Melbourne, Cambridge University Press; 1st edition, 2004
• Figes, Orlando. A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924, : ISBN 014024364X (trade paperback) ISBN 0670859168 (hardcover)
• Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution. 199 pages. Oxford University Press; 2nd Reissu edition. December 1, 2001. ISBN 0192802046.
• Lincoln, W. Bruce. " Red Victory: A History of the Russian Civil War 1918 to 1921. ISBN 0-306-80909-5 New York, Simon and Schuster, 1989. Chapter 5

pp163-193.

External links

• Avrahm Yarmolinsky, Road to Revolution: A Century of Russian Radicalism, 1956.
• Soviet history archive at www.marxists.org
• Russian Revolution archive at www.libcom.org
• Year One of the Russian Revolution from the Victor Serge Internet Archive on Marxists Internet Archive. Translation, editor's Introduction, and notes © 1972 by Peter Sedgwick. Retrieved April 5, 2005.
• Russian Revolution Student Forums and Overview, on-line material for the Victorian Certificate of Education (Australia)

In Cinema

• Arsenal aka Арсенал aka January Uprising in Kiev in 1918 (IMDB profile). Written and Directed by Aleksandr Dovzhenko. Runtime: USA:70 min. Soviet Union / Ukraine. Language: Russian / Ukrainian. Black and White. Silent. 1928.

• Konets Sankt-Peterburga aka The End of St. Petersburg (IMDB profile). Directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin and Mikhail Doller (co-director). Written by Nathan Zarkhi. 80 min. Soviet Union. Black and White. Silent. 1927. Russian. Rural youth caught up in 1917 revolution.

• Lenin v 1918 godu aka Lenin in 1918 (IMDB profile). Directed by Mikhail Romm and E. Aron (co-director). Runtime: USA:130 min. 1939.

• Oktyabr aka October aka Ten Days that Shook the World (USA) (IMDB profile). Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein and Grigori Aleksandrov. Runtimes: Sweden:104 min, USA:95 min. Country: Soviet Union. Black and White. Silent. 1927.

• Reds (IMDB profile). Directed by Warren Beatty. Based on the book Ten Days that Shook the World. Runtime: 194 min. Country: USA. Language: English / Russian / German. Color (Technicolor). Stereo. 1981.

• Anastasia (IMDB profile). Directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. Based on Anastasia. Runtime: 94 min. Country: USA. Language: English / Russian / French. Color (Technicolor). Stereo. 1997.

World War I

European Theatre

Balkans | Western Front | Eastern Front | Italian Front

Middle East

Caucasus | Mesopotamia | Sinai and Palestine | Gallipoli | Aden and Persia

Africa

South-West Africa | West Africa | East Africa

Asian and Pacific Theatres

German Samoa and German New Guinea | Tsingtao

Other

Atlantic Ocean | Mediterranean Sea | Naval battles Air battles

Contemporary conflicts

Maritz Rebellion | North-West Frontier, India | Easter Rising | Russian Revolution

ca:Revolució Russa cy:Chwyldro Rwsia el:Ρωσική Επανάσταση es:Revolución Rusa de 1917 eo:Rusia revolucio de 1917 fa:انقلاب ۱۹۱۷ روسیه fr:Révolution russe ko:러시아 혁명 id:Revolusi Rusia it:Rivoluzione russa lv:1917. gada Krievijas revolūcija lt:Rusijos revoliucija nl:Russische Revolutie ja:ロシア革命 no:Den russiske revolusjon nn:Den russiske revolusjonen pl:Rewolucje w Rosji 1917 roku ro:Revoluţia Rusă din 1917 ru:Великая Октябрьская социалистическая революция sv:Ryska revolutionen zh:1917年俄羅斯大革命

Edit summary:

  Cancel | Editing help (opens in new window)

Templates used on this page: Template:Ed Template:History of Russia Template:WWITheatre Insert: Á á É é Í í Ó ó Ú ú À à È è Ì ì Ò ò Ù ù  â Ê ê Î î Ô ô Û û Ä ä Ë ë Ï ï Ö ö Ü ü ß Ã ã Ñ ñ Õ õ Ç ç Ģ ģ Ķ ķ Ļ ļ Ņ ņ Ŗ ŗ Ş ş Ţ ţ Ć ć Ĺ ĺ Ń ń Ŕ ŕ Ś ś Ý ý Ź ź Đ đ Ů ů Č č Ď ď Ľ ľ Ň ň Ř ř Š š Ť ť Ž ž Ǎ ǎ Ě ě Ǐ ǐ Ǒ ǒ Ǔ ǔ Ā ā Ē ē Ī ī Ō ō Ū ū ǖ ǘ ǚ ǜ Ĉ ĉ Ĝ ĝ Ĥ ĥ Ĵ ĵ Ŝ ŝ Ŵ ŵ Ŷ ŷ Ă ă Ğ ğ Ŭ ŭ Ċ ċ Ė ė Ġ ġ İ ı Ż ż Ą ą Ę ę Į į Ų ų Ł ł Ő ő Ű ű Ŀ ŀ Ħ ħ Ð ð Þ þ Œ œ Æ æ Ø ø Å å Ə ə – — … [] [[]] {{}} ~ | ° § → ≈ ± − × ¹ ² ³ ‘ “ ’ ” £ € Α α Β β Γ γ Δ δ Ε ε Ζ ζ Η η Θ θ Ι ι Κ κ Λ λ Μ μ Ν ν Ξ ξ Ο ο Π π Ρ ρ Σ σ ς Τ τ Υ υ Φ φ Χ χ Ψ ψ Ω ω

Your changes will be visible immediately. For testing, please use the sandbox. You are encouraged to create and improve articles. The community is quick to enforce the quality standards on all articles. Please cite your sources so others can verify your work. On discussion pages, please sign your comment by typing four tildes (David Burgess 02:26, 11 November 2005 (UTC)).

---

DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION All edits are released under the GFDL (see WP:Copyrights). If you don't want your writing to be edited and redistributed by others, do not submit it. Only public domain resources can be copied exactly—this does not include most web pages.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution_of_1917" ViewsArticleDiscussionEdit this pageHistory Personal toolsCreate account / log in Navigation Main PageCommunity PortalCurrent eventsRecent changesRandom articleHelpContact usDonations Search

  Toolbox

What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages

About Wikipedia Disclaimers

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Russian Revolution of 1917  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Russian Revolution of 1917"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.