...Between 1861 and 1917, Russian society had undergone many changes. It is safe to say that every aspect of that society had been some how modified. These changes led up to the Bolshevik revolution in November of 1917. Given the nature of Russian society, was the Bolshevik revolution unavoidable? Among the changes Russian society had undergone, one starts off the whole chain of events. This was the emancipation of the serfs, in 1861, by Czar Alexander. The emancipation freed 44 million peasants. The Czar knew that the only way to end the discontent of the serfs and to show that Russia too was a modern society would be to let them free. The Edict of Emancipation caused many problems these uneducated peasants. The land now assigned to them was smaller then the plots they were using as serfs. This was an average of 8 acres. There was also a forty-nine year period over which installments could be paid before the peasants were given full ownership of the land. In fact many peasants were still working for their landlords after the edict. Because of his efforts Alexander was nicknamed "the liberator". Despite giving the serfs their freedom, Alexander's actions cause more problems then they solved. After the unification of Germany between 1861 and 1891, which accelerated it's military and political power, Russia too felt it should industrialize. A man named Sergei Witte, who was Minister of Finance from 1892-1903, almost single-handedly pushed Russia into its industrialization. He...
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...1917 Russian Revolution The 1917 Russian Revolution was not, as many people suppose, one well organised event in which Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown and Lenin and the Bolsheviks took power. It was a series of events that took place during 1917, which entailed two separate revolutions in February and October (with a great deal of political wranglings inbetween), and which eventually plunged the country into Civil War before leading to the founding of the Communist State. Growing Unrest The first major event of the Russian Revolution was the February Revolution, which was a chaotic affair and the culmination of over a century of civil and military unrest. The causes of this unrest of the common people towards the Tsar and aristocratic landowners are too many and complicated to neatly summarise, but key factors to consider were ongoing resentment at the cruel treatment of peasants by patricians, poor working conditions experienced by city workers in the fledgling industrial economy and a growing sense of political and social awareness of the lower orders in general (democratic ideas were reaching Russia from the West and being touted by political activists). Dissatisfaction of the proletarian lot was further compounded by food shortages and military failures. In 1905 Russia experienced humilating losses in the Russo-Japanese war and, during a demonstration against the war in the same year, Tsarist troops fired upon an unarmed crowd - further dividing Nicholas II from his...
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...Russia has never been a happy place. Since the 12th Century it has been bogged down in poverty, horrific living conditions, and an extremely separated class system. It took many years 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...
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...The Russia -Japanese war was a key reason into why revolution broke out in 1905 Plehve was reputed to have said that a “short victorious war to avert a revolution” Russia lost several battles producing an amount of 107,000 Russian troops lost. Also the Russian Baltic Fleet, which had sailed half-way round the world to assist their failing army, was completely destroyed by Japanese Ships as it entered the Straits of Tsushima. By this time the Japanese were exhausted and the Russians were almost in Revolution so they signed the Treaty of Portsmouth. The war meant that taxes and therefore prices rose this caused great discomfort and anger among the Russian people. The army was punished for its humiliating defeat and enforced strict disciplinary action. But the Damage had been done to Russia, Revolution was almost upon them. Russia’s population was overwhelmingly peasant. Before the Emancipation of Serfs by Alexander II, peasants were tied to the land they tended so they couldn’t migrate and depopulate Russia. After they had been emancipated the peasants had to buy their land and spend almost the rest of their lives paying back redemption payments. The peasants first struck back at the Government by attacking their Landlords property. Some groups of peasants went as far as to chase down and kill their landlords and burn the property. These attacks were triggered by the spreading of terrorist acts from the towns and cities to the countryside. These attacks continued throughout 1904...
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...Paper 2: The Russian Revolution c. 1910-24 Checklist: Key Topics to Revise A. Russia before the First World War: i. The Nature of Russia as a State ii. Government and Politics under the Tsar iii. Economy and Society iv. Failures before WWI v. Opposition to the Tsar B. The First World War i. Russia’s involvement in WWI ii. Rasputin iii. Effects of WWI on Russia C. The Revolutions of 1917 and the Provisional Government i. The Fall of the Tsar (February / March Revolution – 1917) ii. Reasons for the fall of the Tsar iii. The Provisional Government iv. Bolshevik Revolution (October 1917) v. Reasons for Bolshevik Success D. After the Revolution: Bolshevik Government, Civil War, New Economic Policy i. A Marxist Dictatorship? ii. Making Peace with Germany iii. The Civil War iv. War Communism v. The New Economic Policy vi. The death of Lenin (1924). SECTION A) Russia before the First World War: i. The Nature of Russia as a State • Huge country, poor transport and communications (took a week to cross). • Russian land was hard to farm – much was infertile Tundra, Desert or Taiga (forest). • 44% of people were Russian – the rest were different nationalities, many of whom wanted to be free of Russian rule. • Over 80% of population = peasants. ii. Government and Politics under the Tsar • Tsar was an autocrat (absolute ruler). He relied on the army and Okhrana (secret police) to maintain control. • Tsar viewed by many as God’s...
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...The Russian Revolution was a significant in russia’s main history because it was the revolution that changed Russia forever. There were many reasons why the revolution sparked but the main three I believe that had the biggest effect on Russia concluded of the lack of food, Tsar’s lack of responsibility and bad decisions , and the prices of food and other materials skyrocketing. Russia for centuries was being ruled by the same family but because of Nicolas II bad performance and significant events that happen this brought an end to the family throne and brought a new way of living for Russia’s people. One of Russia’s main problem for years was the lack of food because of the environment. Since Russia has extremely cold weather and snow it...
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...Based on events in history the main cause of the Russian Revolution was that the people were unhappy. "The revolution was the cumulative of a long period of repression and untrust"("Russian Revolution"). Most of the people living in the Soviet Union were unhappy, hungry, and they all had very little freedom. At one point the people were so unhappy that all of the petrograde workers went on strike and they were so strong that the military stopped fighting them ("Russian Revolution" History.com). The Bolshevik forces and the corrupt government were largely responsible for the Russian Revolution. The government being corrupt was due to the fact that Czar Nicholas II kept dissolving the Duma ("Russian Revolution" History.com). The Bolsheviks had a part in this because their leader Lenin became a...
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...tension existed within the Russian Empire. This was not helped by the fact that over 80% of the population were peasants who were closely regulated, were redistributed land allotments and only had somewhat primitive farming techniques available. This led to underproduction, land hunger and even famine. As a result of no one solving these issues, there were incidents of peasant violence that forced the government to introduce a new series of reforms. However this had happened far too late and peasantry rebellions became a recurring dilemma for the government until a long time after the 1917 revolution. However, it was not just Russian peasantry that caused reason for a revolution but the industrial working class too. In a very short amount of time, the working class had developed into a highly militant force with regards to both economic standing and politics. This was indicated by strikes in October 1905 that left which caused the Russian economy to temporarily collapse. This huge change in the working class that helped spur a revolution was a result of several factors. Firstly, the horrific living and working conditions that they were subjected to but also the result of propaganda and the organisation of Marxist revolutionary activists who looked to over-throw tsarism. Workers formed revolutionary parties such as the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party, split into two groups the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks, that also helped spur the Russian Revolution through spreading their...
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...streets of Russia. Many people were starving --everyone was badly off, except the Tsar(like a king) and his family. The tension between the upper and lower class grew , causing the russian revolution of 1917. Russian has had many Tsars , in the pass citizens have loved or hated them. The people decided to fight back and kill the last of the tsars - the killing left to the myth of Anastasia. Soon after the defeat of the Romanov’s, the people formed a new government , the Soviet Union. The revolution brought a new age for Russia. The Russian revolution was crucial to Russia, because of the history , the fights to get there, and the new government formed. Every country needs a leader to govern the people. Russia had tsars( or czars, spelling differs). Tsars are like a king. One of the tsars were , Peter the great. According to missinglink.edu Peter “introduced millitary conscritption” . There has be some not so great tsars,like Ivan the terrible. Ivan made life in russian a living hell. When his terror end it change the rights of the tsars. The last tsar to be alive was Nicholas ii . He was the one to kill iccent worker on bloody sunday. The people of Russia were furious at this event and decided to start a revolution. A...
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...extent do you agree with these explanations of the collapse of autocracy in Russia? Nicholas Romanov was an indecisive man who was easily influenced by others. Although it was not his character that was the decisive factor in bringing on the revolution. He may have been a leader at the wrong time but if he had related better for the time he was in power. Russia before 1917 was the largest country under one empire. In economic terms it was backward as it was late industrialising and late to emerge from feudalism. In political terms it was also backward as there was no legal political parties nor was there any centrally elected government Russia at this time was under tsarist rule by Nicholas II of the Romanov empire. Nicholas II was brought up by his father Alexander III who didn't believe that his son could take an intelligent interest in anything and therefore did not educate him in the business of state . The fact that his father who died at age 49 thought that he had many more years ahead of him may also be another factor behind Nicholas' poor leadership of Russia . Alexander who died in 1894 had left Russia with a society no longer controlled by tsarist rule and when Nicholas took the throne after his father's death Russian society was not prepared to turn on it's heels and return to how it use to be . Nicholas II was 26 when his father died and was soon to marry the German princess, Alix of Hess, Granddaughter of Queen Victoria . The relationship between Alexandra...
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...People have started to get paid less to do more work. This angers the workers because they see this treatment as cruel and those forced to labour in these factories began to unionize. The unions formed and thrived with a united purpose: fixing the working conditions and getting enough money to support their families. They used small acts of violence to show the government how they were feeling. The small rebellions one of the main causes for the revolution. The third problem is the absence of nationalism. Russia was a multi-ethnic country and the peasants claim that the government prioritizes certain people and religions over others. This discrimination is being used to show some minorities that they aren't welcome and should leave Russia. Without nationalism people felt no reason to support their country as it was falling apart. The peasants felt that they deserved better and they gathered to officially rebel against the government. The people also saw the Russo-Japanese war as a huge problem. The Japanese were very strong and the Russians were losing many battles. These battles also put a strain on the economy to slowly fall...
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...protesting. Russia was this way before the Revolution. There were poor working conditions, selfish and greedy government, and a lot more. It got to a point when people could not take it anymore and they started a peaceful protest. The government responded by killing hundreds of their own people. Since the government did not do anything and just fought back, a revolution soon occurred. The Russian Revolution made many changes to society. Before the war, the Tsar family ruled the Soviet Union for 300 years. They over worked people and enjoyed everything someone could want while everyone else in Russia suffered from starvation, or exhaustion. A lot of the peasants were serfs. Serfs are pretty much slaves but they are the countries own people. Thirty thousand serfs died because they were over worked. Everybody in the Soviet Union was overworked. This got to a point when people started to protest. They destroyed all the symbols of things honoring the Tsar family and broke into prisons and led out all the prisoners. This made Nicholas Tsar the third...
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...The corrupt government was the main cause of the Russian Revolution. The majority of the people were poor and starving. ("Russian Revolution") Since the people were living so poorly, they were obviously unhappy. They were suffering badly and their ruler wasn't doing anything about it. Their ruler was the one to blame. "Government corruption was rampant, the Russian economy remained backwards and Nicholas repeatedly dissolved the Duma..." ("Russian Revolution" History.com) Czar Nicholas II wasn't making good decisions, and so the economy was bad and the government was corrupt under his rule. By this point there was a group of revolutionaries called the Bolsheviks, and this group convinced many people to revolt as well. After all of this and more revolts, Nicholas abdicated his thrown. ("Russian Revolution" History.com) With so many strikes and the...
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...Introduction As indicated in the discussion of the French Revolution, there is a logical and long-range pattern that revolutions follow. Therefore, understanding the pattern of past revolutions can help us anticipate events in current revolutions, more specifically the final stages of the process now taking place in Russia and China. One word of caution, however: these are likely trends, not absolute certainties. Outside events (e.g., a major war) and other historical forces unique to Russia and China respectively, could divert events in a very different direction from what is indicated here. Still, this pattern generally holds up and should serve as a guide in how we deal with nations still undergoing this process. That being said, following is a comparison of the French Revolution, which after 82 years finally reached a stable democratic form of government by 1871, and the Russian Revolution, which after 92 years is presumably in its final stage of evolution toward democracy. Forces leading to revolution Both countries shared three elements that helped lead to war: 1) Both regimes were burdened by heavy debts incurred from wars. In France’s case, this was the debt incurred by its support of the American Revolution. For Russia, this was the even higher cost in lives and money suffered during the first three years of World War I....
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...challenge.’ –p.39 Reaction and Revolution. The failure of the revolution in 1905 was caused by many different contributing factors, however the key reason for the failure, was the success of state authority in retaining control. If the Tsarist state had collapsed, as in 1917, the revolution would have inevitably been successful. A revolution means to forcibly overthrow a government or social order, for a new system. However, this simply cannot be possible if the state authority (controlled by the government) does not collapse. The survival of state authority was fundamentally the reason for the failure of the 1905 revolution. Trotsky once said “although with a few broken ribs, (the Tsarist system) had come out of the experience of 1905 alive and strong enough." This quote shows that although the revolt unsettled the government and was the biggest indication of the lack of support for the regime, it wasn’t actually strong enough to break it. In 1905, the armed forces hadn’t yet become sufficiently disillusioned by the Tsarist regime in the same way that many peasants and working class had. The army stayed loyal to the Tsar, crushing revolutionary disturbances and arresting thousands of revolutionaries. The Black Hundreds, a counter revolutionary pro-government terrorist group also helped the military to hunt down and ‘execute’ thousands of known reformers. Apart from the Tsarist system remaining strong, there was also a problem with the revolution itself. The revolt lacked...
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