...Name: Ayesha Khan Class: BPA 2K13 Professor: Sr. Riffat Hussain An Analysis of the causes and similarities between the French, Russian and the Chinese Revolutions. An overview of how the tables have turned and how History has contributed in several ways to major political and social structuring that is taking place all around the globe in today’s world is a must in order to be able to link History with current affairs and better understand how and why certain historical events took place and had enough significance to challenge the existing system. The French, Russian and the Chinese revolutions are a perfect example of how totalitarian rule faced a strong challenge and with time was unable to resist this gradually fell apart. The revolutions paved way towards emancipation of the masses. The French revolutions success had a domino effect, the Russian followed in its footsteps and so did the Chinese. These revolutions may have not been exactly the same in nature but they did have similarities as far as causes and effects are concerned. This paper will work out an explanation of the causes and outcomes of the French Revolution of 1787-1800, the Russian Revolution of 1917-1921, and the Chinese Revolution of 1911-1949 and a detailed analysis of the three revolutions and historical references that will help understand the uprisings in a more credible manner and how although these revolutions took place at different times but their underlying goal was in many ways similar and...
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...History How far do you agree that the most important cause of the revolution in February 1917 was the Great War? The February revolution which occurred in 1917 was the result of several causes, one of which being World War 1; in my opinion, it was the most important trigger. The Great War was the cause of Russia becoming financially dependent on Britain and France, decreasing the prestige the Tsar once held. Russia was unable to sustain its wealth due to the extreme costs the War brought: Anger rose within the people and with 85% of the army containing surfs that were losing their loyalty towards the Tsar, a revolution was inevitable. The war encouraged the breakdown of the autocratic way of ruling, but Tsar Nicholas was unqualified to lead the army anyhow, and was ill suited as Commander-In-Chief. This did not aid the Brusilov Offensive in any way; the result was the failure of the attack in August 1916: With the Russian forces deserting from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, the loyalty towards the Tsar was largely affected and reduced. The morale further diminished as during December 1916, the railways were unable to commit to their desired function, which lead to a shortage of military equipment. These transportation failures halted vital supplies reaching the battle areas. The major shortage of military equipment led to the Russian artillery units limiting to firing 3 shells per day – which had an enormous impact on the Russian Army, aiding...
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...The main cause for the Russian Revolution of 1917 was poor government ruling. “...The czardom increasingly became a bureacy that imposed its will on the people by force, with wanton disregard for human life and liberty.(“Russian Revolution”)” This government was faulty and unfair, causing widespread scarcity and hunger. The everyday hard-working middle class of Russia knew no different was forced to live their everyday lives like this. It was the well educated, experienced Russians that came up with the idea of a revolution. They have been to Universities and met a variety of people from different countries and backgrounds and got another outlook and perspective on the struggles at home. Those who stay at home don't see how life could be better and only know how to cope with their tough everyday hardships (“Russian Revolution”). The Russian Revolution was actually made of up two separate revolutions...
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...for the workers and slaves of Russian life to finally organize themselves and revolt against the causes of such hardship; many years of pain, suffering, and oppression that were brought on by the czars. It was this stagnant suffering that would finally begin to lift, and eventually bring power to the Bolsheviks and communism to Russia. Many revolutionaries encouraged killing, robbery, and used terror to advance their effort. However, there were other kinds of revolutionaries, some violent, some not. Gorky, Dostoevsky, and Turgenev all contributed to the progress of the revolution by communicating through literature. All four books were intended to identify critical issues of life, to instigate social and political changes throughout Russia, and to wholly improve Russian life. Gorky’s My Childhood explains the terrible conditions Russia peasants faced. Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons represents the struggle between two ideologies, romanticism and liberalism. Gorky’s next book Mother is the idea of insurgency cells and how a group with no distinct leader can be effective. Finally, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Possessed shows how violence can be a major tool in fuelling a rebellion, although it also shows how extreme nihilism is self-destructive. Simply listing the problems with Russia up to the 19th and early 20th century would be pointless, because there were numerous factors that contributed to the discontentment of the society. However I will discuss how the three authors present the...
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...How far was it the Tsar’s personal inadequacies that caused the revolution in February 1917? Tsar Nicolas II of Russia had many personal inadequacies and made many mistakes in the run up to the revolution in February 1917. These have been blamed as the cause to the revolution, as as leader of the country it was his job to prevent revolution by making sure the people were happy and that the country was being ran well, but he blatantly failed in this role as the revolution went ahead. However there were also many other factors that contributed to the revolution. Another big factor that is thought to have caused the revolution is the First World War, which was in full force when the revolution took place. The war badly affected morale, and also caused shortages of necessities and this all made the people upset, causes demonstrations that helped to spark the revolution. There were also still great amounts of Russification, for example towards the Turks, which made all kinds of Nationalities unhappy and turn against the Tsar. The peasant hunger and land question also had had not been solved, and millions of peasants had been sent to war. Adding to the general unrest and possibly sparking the revolution was also the political opposition the Tsar now faced. There are also arguments that the revolution was completely spontaneous, simply sparked by the Woman’s Day Parade, which was joined by unhappy workers, who went to demonstrate due to their unfair working conditions. All these...
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...How Accurate Is It To Say That The Growth of Reformist Groups In The Years From 1881 Was The Main Cause Of The 1905 Revolution? I do not think that it is very accurate to say that the activity of reformist groups was the main reason for the 1905 revolution since there were only two parties really mentioned, and they were mostly threats with no action. More prominent causes were social economic and political preconditions, the Russo-Japanese war and Bloody Sunday. The most important cause of the 1905 revolution were the preconditions, especially social and economic ones. The vast majority of the Russian population were peasants living in extreme poverty, especially industry and agriculture workers, even though the economy was thriving, apart from the agricultural side of it. The Russian population was growing rapidly and there was no space for them all too live and cities like Moscow and St Petersburg were full of slums. There was not enough food to harvest, leading to famines in 1892, 1898 and 1901. Conditions like this led to the trigger conditions that set off revolutionary activities like Bloody Sunday, and other strikes and protests. The second most important cause of the 1905 revolution was Bloody Sunday which happened on the 9th January 1905, according to the Russian calendar. It had started off as a peaceful demonstration led by a priest named Father Gapon. Suddenly the Russian army units opened fire on an unarmed group of protesters marching on St Petersburg’s Winter...
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...Stolypin’s reforms failed and the Tsar’s Imperial government did not learn the lessons of the 1905 Revolution by Professor Peter Waldron. University of Sunderland new perspective. Volume 6. Number 3. March 2001 Summary: The Tsarist government received a severe jolt from the 1905 Revolution and, in order to relieve discontent, soon instituted reforms, including the creation of an elected Duma. From 1906 Stolypin proposed fundamental reforms, especially of the agricultural system, which would ensure that the population had no reason to rebel. But his programme was not implemented, partly because the Duma was an inefficient instrument for the passage of government legislation, and partly because the regime, now that law and order had been restablished, had not the will to overcome opposition from the nobility and the Church. Reform, not revolution, seemed the problem. As a result, the regime failed to learn the lessons of 1905 and collapsed in 1917. Questions to consider How far-reaching were the reforms prompted by the disturbances of 1905? How did Stolypin intend to stabilise the Tsarist regime? Why did Stolypin’s reform strategy fail? Why may he have been assassinated by enemies on the Right? In what ways did the failure of reforms after 1905 pave the way for the revolution of 1917? During 1905, Imperial Russia was beset by revolution. Across the empire, peasants rose in rebellion so that troops had to be called to put down more than 3,000 separate instances of rural...
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...problems. This then means that the Russo-Japanese war was partly responsible for the 1905 revolution. The Russo-Japanese war created many huge military defeats which showed the Russian people how weak the military were which therefore caused national humiliation. With the people of Russia humiliated, they began the 1905 Revolution. An example of one of the most humiliating Russian defeats during the war was the Battle of Tsushima in May of 1905. The Russians sent 35 battleships from northern Europe to Japan. As the north of Russia was frozen over, the Russian fleet was forced to go past Africa and of an 8 month journey. When the Russian fleet finally arrived, they were overwhelmed and lost 25 of their initial 35 ships. The decisions made during this period lead to the military losing loyalty in the Tsar, for example, the strikes in Odessa. All of these problems and the fact the huge empire of Russia lose to a country that many had never heard of made Russians very humiliated. However, many argue that this did not cause the outbreak of the revolution, but only adding to the opposition of the autocratic Tsar and prolonging the revolution. The Russo-Japanese war also brought great economic problems for Russia. This meant there was a huge lack of money to try to solve the other problems which Russia was faced with which makes the Russo-Japanese war partly responsible for the 1905 revolution. The price of the war was huge...
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...The reasons behind the 1905 Russian Revolution were multifaceted, varying in proximity. Long-term causes included the difficulties in ruling Russia, where vast size, climate and economy combined with a system of autocracy proved factors to the discontent of society. Personal limitations of Tsar Nicholas II destined his leadership to fail, no determination or desire inside his intentions, as growing hatred of the Tsar heightened for a lack of political representation plagued civilian’s lives. Short-term effects include the impact of the Russo-Japanese War and the impact of Bloody Sunday, eroding Nicholas’s reputation to that of a power hungry sadist. The Mutiny of the Black Sea Fleet presented disquiet within the military, concern for an inability of security forces to cope with pressure surging the need for revolution. The spectre of revolt was ever present. An extensive contribution to the 1905 Revolution can be uncovered through the difficulties in ruling Russia. A home to 125 million people, the Russian Empire consisted of nearly 23 million square kilometres, with only 5% of this area useable for agricultural purposes. This affected Russia’s industry and farming immensely, featuring shortages of food, living space and quality of living for victims of such conditions. A lack of nationalism lingered, as more than half the population consisted of Poles and Ukraine’s, creating barriers in language and traditions. This resulted in a vast difference of religion, and therefor stripped...
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...So if the government diminishes the society that their in charge of securing misusing their power rebellion is inevitable, so the outcome is the same as provoking a beast and expecting no repercussions. As expressed, in the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell the struggle of farm animals to gain proper care and equality to that of humans: This elaborated on the situation through the symbolism that correlated to the downfall of the Soviet Union in the Russian Revolution. Also, the novel a Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens put the reader in the setting of the French Revolution, where treachery and societal injustice was prominent. Furthermore, the article “Iranian Revolution” by Janet Afary highlights the depression that was drawn upon the...
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...A2 Russia and its Rulers 1855–1964 Past Questions workbook How to use this booklet Your Russia and Cold War teachers will discuss what they want you to do in each Cold War lesson (now that your coursework is finished). This booklet has a page for each examination question that has been asked about our course since the change of course in 2010. For each question there is a section from the guidance given to examiners for marking it, and a section from the examiner’s report on each question. Each page also contains a section where you can record what you have learned about answering each question. Tackling past questions is an excellent way of revising. You could be doing several things in any order: * Reading the examiner’s remarks; * Planning an answer to the question; * Using your notes to find the evidence you’ll need to answer each question; * Sending a plan to a friend for constructive criticism. Before you get going – please note the advice that the Chief Examiner has given to his exam markers for the last year: ------------------------------------------------- “Candidates are expected to demonstrate understanding of the issues in each of their selected questions over a period of at least a hundred years (unless an individual question specifies a slightly shorter period.) Candidates are reminded of the synoptic nature of the Unit. Answers are required to demonstrate understanding of the processes of historical continuity, development...
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...The Bolshevik Revolution At the turn of the 20th century, Russia was a vast empire. The country spanned across the entire northern half of Asia, from the Pacific coast in the east, and into Western Europe. Tsar Nicholas II ruled the country as it had been ruled by his family for centuries before. The strict feudal traditions were upheld with brutality; Tsarist policies prolonged the agony of the lower classes and supported the opulence of the royal family. In the early 1900s, the poor social and economic conditions coincided with the spread and increased study of Karl Marx’s communist philosophy. The Russian people, determined to establish a new government, initiated a chain of events that climaxed with the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917. The Bolshevik Revolution transformed Eastern Europe and Asia and had a significant impact on the entire world throughout the twentieth century. The fallout of the Bolshevik Revolution still impacts Russia and the rest of the world today. There was no singular cause or event that sparked the Bolsheviks to take to arms in 1917, instead the action resulted from the culmination of a history of social, political, and economic issues. Prior to the Bolsheviks’ rise to power in October 1917, there were two Revolutions that set the stage for the Soviet takeover. The First was the revolution of 1905. This revolution resulted in Russia transitioning from a strict feudal system to a constitutional monarchy; the power of the Tsar was limited...
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...Why did Russia interfere in the 2005 Ukrainian Presidential election? Ukraine is Russia's largest European neighbour. Regardless of their common history, Ukrainian domestic policies have a significant impact on Russia's perceived interest. Parts of Ukraine have been under Russian rule sine the 17th century. Eastern parts of Ukraine had been continually subjected to dominance from the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Western Ukraine did not join the Soviet Union until 1939. The country has a history of fragmentation that continues to this day, this is exasperated Russia's continued desire to meddle in the domestic affairs of former republics of the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union dissolved in in 1991, Ukraine received their independence but there was no great change in policy. Former members of the Communist Party managed to remain power without much difficulty. Opposition parties found it difficult to break their stranglehold on power. In the late Soviet era the Communist Party of Ukraine began to accumulate vast sums of sums of cash.[1] Much of this cash disappeared when the Communist Party disbanded after the collapse of the Soviet Union. However much of this money was reinvested to ensure the same people form the Communist Party stayed in power. Leonid Kuchma was elected President in 2004. he had previously been Prime Minister without much note. However he won the election against incumbent Leonid Kravchuk with 52% of the vote.[2] Due to his election as...
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...of the gunfire, 10 men lay dead in the snow while dozens crawled away wounded. All across St. Petersburg, the same scenario played again and again; by the end of the day, 96 were dead and 333 were wounded. Upon hearing the news of his soldiers shooting and killing the crowd, the Tsar mourned, “A terrible day… God, how painful and awful!” After public outrage over Bloody Sunday, Nicholas II (1868-1918) issued the October Manifesto, granting civil liberties and...
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...Imperii (Complete Collection of the Laws of the Russian Empire), 1st series, Vol. 3, No. 1736, pp. 681-82. Peter the Great Reforms Russia: DECREES ON THE DUTIES OF THE SENATE, ed., Peter Stearns, et al., Documents in World History, Volume II. The Modern Centuries: from 1500 to the Present (New York: Harper and Row, 1988), 33. Duties of the Senate from Polnoe Sobranie, Vol. 4, No. 2321, p. 627 and No. 2330, p. 643. Peter the Great Reforms Russia: DECREES ON CONPULSORY EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN NOBILITY, JANUARY 12, AND FEBRUARY 28, 1714, ed., Peter Stearns, et al., Documents in World History, Volume II. The Modern Centuries: from 1500 to the Present (New York: Harper and Row, 1988), 33-34. Compulsory Education from Polnoe Sobranie, Vol. 5, No. 2762, p. 78 and No. 2778, p. 86. Lenin and the Russian Revolution: OUR PROGRAMME (1899), ed., Peter Stearns, et al., Documents in World History, Volume II. The Modern Centuries: from 1500 to the Present (New York: Harper and Row, 1988), 123. V.I. Lenin, Selected Works (New York: International Publishers, 1971), p.33. Lenin and the Russian Revolution: PROCLAIMING THE NEW SOVIET GOVERNMENT (NOVEMBER 1917), ed., Peter Stearns, et al., Documents in World History, Volume II. The Modern Centuries: from 1500 to the Present (New York: Harper and Row, 1988) 123-124. Robert C. Tucker, ed., The Lenin Anthology (New York: W.W. Norton, 1975), pp. 76-77, 492-95, 743. Lenin and the Russian Revolution: MODERNIZING RUSSIA (1920), ed., Peter Stearns...
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