The February Revolution (or in the European calendar, the March Revolution) was a large scale revolution that was popular among almost all people of Russia. It holds many differences to the later-occurring October Revolution (or November Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution) that was smaller scale and based around the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks, and not many similarities. This essay will talk about the differences of the two revolutions, as well as the sparse similarities they possess.
One of the main differences between the February Revolution and the October Revolution was the scale. The February Revolution was visibly larger, after the accumulation of all the issues that had been forming and developing since the debatable success of the 1905 Revolution. The revolution was enough of a success to remove Nicholas II from the throne, and create other reforms such as inputting a Provisional Government to take power (as well as a Soviet). In it participated people from all walks of life- the middle class, peasants, workers, and even soldiers. The October Revolution, on the other hand, was relatively small and less due to accumulated anger. The Bolsheviks seized the
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the February Revolution used World War One as the final breaking point for the people- the heavy losses combined with economic shortages, especially of food. Similarly, the notion that the Bolsheviks had towards the war and access to food won them a lot of support which made the October revolution possible. The slogan “peace, land, bread” encouraged even the least educated Russians with its simplicity- especially during a war as difficult and draining as that one. Although the war being fought was the same, the October Revolution missed out on the worst peak of it, as well as some of the anger being already diminished by the Provisional Government (that were very much supporting an aggressive
The Bolshevik October Revolution brought Vladimir Lenin to power. Lenin’s vow to end the war and open negotiations with the Germans provoked the Allies and led to the detachment of a military excursion to oppose the newly established government and aid rebels who had begun a civil war to oust the Bolsheviks.
With the October revolution in 1917, Lenin managed to execute a successful coup d’état against the provisional government of Russia and with the death of the constituent assembly early 1918; Lenin and his Bolsheviks had finally control over Russia. However this was just the beginning of various problems he would be facing. This raised the debate on whether Lenin could deal with these problems or not. Many of the quarrels originated from the Tsar’s regime and the provisional government such as Russia’s participation in WW1 as well as economic underdevelopment. Immediate problems such as the raging civil war existed as
The last Tsar Nicholas II ascended the throne in 1894 and was faced with a country that was trying to free itself from its autocratic regime. The serfs had recently been emancipated, the industry and economy was just starting to develop and opposition to the Tsar was building up. Russia was still behind Europe in terms of the political regime, the social conditions and the economy. Nicholas II who was a weak and very influenced by his mother and his wife had to deal with Russia’s troubles during his reign. In order to ascertain how successfully Russia dealt with its problems by 1914, this essay will examine the October Manifesto and the split of the opposition, how the Tsar became more reactionary after the 1905 revolution, Stolypin’s
Known as the October Revolution or the Bolshevik Revolution, it was led by a group of revolutionary socialists called Bolsheviks. It brushed aside the Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks hoped that their revolution would result in more fundamental changes to carry out socialist revolutions. The Provisional Government was made up of liberal leaders, and as well as some moderate socialists.
In 1905, the social and economic tensions building up within Russia boiled over into Revolution. It was described by Lenin as the “Great Dress Rehearsal” for the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and may give us clues as to why the 1917 revolution started. The suggestion that Tsar Nicholas II and his actions were to blame for this revolution is debatable and there are many factors such as the repressive Tsarist system, the growth of opposition from the time of Alexander II and the defeat in the war with Japan to consider. These events can be separated into short and long term effects on the revolution. Bloody Sunday and defeat to Japan would be short term effects whereas the
This downfall came due to the amount of soldier and horses being placed into the war leaving the peasants at home with a loss of man power to continue a, "standard of living"( Causes of the Russian Revolution 2). Due to the decrease in man power, and materials to use at the home front, prices increased and a hunger endemic began. With hunger increasing and inflation of prices continuing strikes began, which eventually stopped transportation. When the transportation stopped supplies and food did not get to the soldiers at war decreasing the amount of people who believed in the czar. The goal of the peasants of the Russian Revolution of 1917, was to gain a new leader and for their voices to be heard. In March 1917, a riot of peasants, and soldiers stormed the streets with the support of the Duma, a group of government officials, forcing Nicolas II out of power.
The Success of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in October 1917 The Bolshevik seizure of power or coup de’tat of October 25th, 1917 was a culmination of both internal and external failure to satisfy the needs of an oppressed Russian society. In contrast to the spontaneous revolts earlier in 1917, the Bolshevik revolution was ‘a carefully planned plot carried out by ‘professional’ revolutionaries. ’[1] The victory of the Marxist Lenin’s
After the 1905 revolution Russia was in need of reforms both economically and politically, to allow it maintain its role of a great power and to prevent another revolution occurring the answer to this was the October Manifesto. However, due to the stubbornness of the Tsar who was determined not to relinquish his autocratic powers, what may have appeared as reforms were largely superficial making little change in particular to the Russian political system.
The Russian Revolution was a series of two revolutions that consisted of the February Revolution and the October Revolution. The February Revolution of March 8th, 1917 was a revolution targeted and successfully removed Czar Nicholas II from power. The February Revolution first began to take place when strikes and public protests between 1916 and early 1917 started occurring. These strikes were created to protest against and to blame Czar Nicholas II for Russia’s poor performance in WWI and severe food shortages that the country facing. Soon, violence between protesters and authorities began to escalate, and on February 24th, 1917 in the city of Petrograd, hundreds of thousands of male and female workers flooded the streets. They all had the same purpose which was to protest against the “Great War” and the monarchy. The protests began to escalate and the vastly outnumbered police were unable to control the crowds. When news of the unrest reached the czar, he ordered the military to put an end to the riots by the next day, and on February 26th, 1917, several troops of a local guard regiment fired upon the crowds, but however many soldiers felt pity and empathy for the protesters than the czar, and on the next day, more than 80,000 soldiers join the protest even directly fighting the police.
Hundreds of billions of capital...bringing death, hunger, ruin, and barbarism to the peoples...There is only one way to get out of this frightful war...and that is by transferring all the state power to the...workers and poor peasants,...will be able to do effectively what the capitalists only promise, namely, end the war by concluding a lasting peace that will assure liberty to all peoples without exception.” When Lenin says, “Hundreds of millions of people...Hundreds of billions of capital” he uses two hyperboles to emphasize the difference of numbers between the “people” and the “capital” or wealth. Lenin also blames “death, hunger, ruin, and barbarism” on capitalists, effectively making the “workers and poor peasants” hate the capitalists and buy into Lenin’s agenda even more. Equality. He believed that ending the war would result in “lasting peace that will assure liberty to all peoples without exception.” This speech gained Lenin more popularity for he had a reason for the “death, hunger, ruin, and barbarism” and optimistic promises, which would eventually lead to the October Revolution. The October Revolution was when Lenin’s army, the Bolsheviks, overthrew the Soviet regime therefore manifesting the transformative events caused by
The Russian Revolution actually has two important parts to it the February Revolution (March 1917) and the October Revolution (November 1917). The February Revolution, which took place in modern day St. Petersburg, was lethal to the royal government of Russia. It began with the bread, it was not like they did not have the supplies for the population, “the problem was the breakdown of the transport system” (Figes 68). The February Revolution was also largely caused by the ineffectiveness of the Russian military in World War One and the failure of the Russian empire throughout the last couple decades. The people of Russia were ashamed of the military throwing away their lives and having to eat sparingly to survive the winter. Peasants were so poor they could barely afford a piece of bread for a week. Mass demonstrations were held in the squares and violence took to the streets. People ambushed the royal guards in front of the palace and they were shot down by the insignificant force left to guard the capital. The revolution was largely leaderless as Russian people just wanted food
The revolution was an event that was constructed on a small scale of people that were made up of the Bolshevik party, for overturning the Provisional government into the Soviet Union. The revolution was a voluntarist revolution, as it explored the idea of individual agencies and the concept that the cause of an event is based on the actions of those participating themselves. For instance, in the October revolution, the uprising of the political change was due to the action of Lenin and the Bolshevik party. Without the participation of the party and the leadership of Lenin, the revolution would not have been executed in such magnitude. The October revolution is a voluntarist revolution for the following reasons, first, the leadership from Lenin, proved to be more progressive, compared to the traditional leaders at that time. Lenin instructed the affairs of the revolution in public, after writing the April These a speech that criticized the Provisional government and promoted that the Russian government falls under the Soviet Union. Lenin’s charismatic traits are essentially the reason behind the large amount of support that the Bolshevik party and the Soviet Union received, a famous line from the April These: “All Power to the Soviets”, was used in propaganda during the time of the revolution, it was a phrase that changed the course of
In 1917, in the midst of the Great War, Russia faced one of the biggest political shifts that the Tsarist-ruled country had ever known-the Bolshevik Revolution. There are two significant time frames associated with the Bolshevik Revolution. In the February revolution Tsar Nicholas II abdicated his throne and a Provisional Government took control. In the October revolution the Bolsheviks took power by overthrowing the Provisional Government. How did the October revolution become a reality? What factors facilitated the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917? Two important factors were the July event at Taurida Palace, and the Kornilov Affair. Richard Pipes describes in detail how Lenin influenced the Bolshevik party throughout the
At the start of the 20th century, the ruling Tsar of Russia had absolute power and his Government was corrupt, hence, the majority of the people were against him. Vladimir Ilich Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks Socialist Party wanted a revolution to overthrow the Government. Relative to these times, it was Lenin who directed the course of the oncoming Russian October Revolution.
The February Revolution of 1917 was first of the two revolutions in Russia in 1917, the revolution which began the transformation of the country. As an immediate result of this revolution, Tsar Nicholas II decided to abdicate, which lead to the end of the Romanov dynasty. The Tsar was immediately replaced by the provisional government and at the same time the