Assess the view that it was mainly the tactics of the Bolshevik leadership that made possible the October Revolution.
INTRO:
It was undoubtedly the Bolshevik leadership that made possible the revolution. It was the excellent combination of Trotsky’s rhetoric, rallying and inspiring personality, Lenin’s astute ability to judge the political mien and the whole party’s force and power within the country that led to superb tactics that would eventually make possible the October Revolution.
Most modern historians agree that the peasants, workers and soldiers played a major part in the revolution and therefore it was the job of the Bolsheviks to capture this power and manipulate and use it for their own ends. This was made much easier as a result of Trotsky’s excellent rhetoric and Victor Serge, in ‘Memoirs of a Revolutionary’ (1945), recalled that ‘Trotsky was all tension and energy […] an orator of unique quality [whose voice] always infused with a truly spontaneous passion. He outshone Lenin through his great oratorical talent, through his organising ability, first with the army, then on the railways, and by his brilliant gifts as a theoretician. ’ Naturally, as a Bolshevik it was easier for Serge to agree with Trotsky and therefore, find his words inspiring and interesting. However, to make special note of his rhetoric suggests an unusually good quality to his work and this is further demonstrated by the number of people he managed to rally around his cause. Wood writes
Architecture should not be separated from the political and social life of human-beings. On the contrary, “throughout the history, architects have always been involved to some extent in politics, and have a nearly always sought positions of power and influence’’. Communist ideology in the Soviet Union had a huge impact on the architectural development of many modern nations: Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Azerbaijan. The amount of affected countries makes the topic of my analysis relevant and worth-discussing. My essay will be structured in a following way. I argue that communist ideology had an
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.
Assess the role of the Bolsheviks for the decline and fall of the Romanov dynasty.
The Failure of the Provisional Government and the Rise of the Bolsheviks i. Subject of investigation. How did the failure of the Provisional Government allow for the rise of the Bolsheviks? ii. Methods to be used. 1.
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
In the light of the Russian struggle there was a Revolution called the February Revolution which came before the October revolution and dethroned Czar Nicholas II. (“1917 Russian Revolution Facts and Summary”)The end result of this revolution was the birth of the Provisional Government which was made up of high class Russians. The October Revolution is also known by two other names: Russian Revolution and Bolshevik Revolution which occurred in November of 1917. This date might catch some off guard, but according to (“Russian Revolution”) the Russians used a Julian Calendar which means in Russia it was “October”. The Revolution was led by Vladimir Lenin, who was the leader of the Bolshevik party at the time. The reason for both of the Revolutions is that the people felt that they should not be involved in World War I while Russia was struggling to survive. The Bolshevik party was made
In the early 1900’s, Russia was a country ripe for a revolution; with a dwindling tsar autocracy deteriorating due to poor leadership, overworked and poverty stricken citizens, World War I in motion, and numerous attempts at economic, social or political reforms, which all failed, the people of Russia had had enough and decided that the year 1917 was the right time to create the Bolshevik (Russian) Revolution.
The Tsars guards open fired on the marchers, killing around 200 people, including women and children. This tragic event is often thought of as the catalyst that started the Revolution; it damaged the parental image of the Tsar and evoked a wave of protest. Russia was not united in her attempt to change the government, the peasants, workers liberals, soldiers, students… did not work together to co-ordinate their agitation on the Tsar. The groups all had different motives and aims; the workers and soldiers wanted better working conditions while the peasants were only focused on gaining more land, had no comprehension of the world of politics and thus did not care about the running of the country. In contrast the educated liberal bourgeois understood that the current system was failing Russia.
The Bolsheviks created one of the most sophisticated propaganda machines of the early 20th century, establishing a wide range of government newspapers, while banning all counter revolutionary papers. This allowed them to develop and garner the support they needed to consolidate the regime. The implementation of a coercive machinery of power was crucial to their consolidation efforts. The building of a new army, police system, a disciplined ruling group and fiscal machinery necessary to support their regime. The evolution of the Red army showed clearly how the government were forced to abandon the idea of a “people’s army” and created an authoritarian style rule.
Leon Trotsky was born Lev Davidovich Bronstein in 1879 in Kherson, Ukraine. He excelled academically from a young age and in 1896 moved to Nikolayev to complete his last year of schooling. Here, he was introduced to the ideas of Karl Marx and joined “The Orchard Commune” in which he was able to discuss revolutionary ideas with fellow students.
These radical ideas that Lenin has caused a split in the Russian Social Democratic party. In 1903 it split into the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks, the Bolsheviks being led by Lenin and the Mensheviks being led by Martov. Stalin went with the Bolsheviks and Trotsky went with the Mensheviks. The Bolshevik party that was formed was the main contributor to the revolution in 1917 as they were the ones that would eventually overthrow the provisional government. However that revolution would never have been able to take place without the social and political factors in Russia at the time, as well as the contribution of the First World War.
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.
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
The misuse of absolute power from a tyrant eventually results in revolution and constitutional change; The United States and USSR revolted from their previous ways of government and crafted constitutions to gain control over their decision as a country; various changes also occurred over time with The United States choosing to distribute its new power to the people and the USSR after gaining civil rights by force tried to distribute its power to eliminated social class. Although the ways the USSR and United States distributes its new power as countries radically differ from one another, they remain to change and alter to fit the needs of its people.
Lenin’s April Theses targeted areas that the Provisional Government was failing in. “Peace, Bread, and Land” appealed to large masses of the population. Peace targeted most people, as it addressed the war weariness the majority of Russians were experiencing. Bread appealed to the masses due to the massive food shortages in Russian cities due to the war. Land appealed to many farmers, as they desired owning their own land. The other thesis, “All Power to the Soviets” was an attack against the legitimacy of the Provisional Government and intensified the ideas among the population that the Provisional Government had no right to rule. Furthermore, the Bolshevik party was highly organized and exploited the militaristic weakness of the Provisional Government. Trotsky, the head of the Petrograd Soviet and the dominant member of the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Bolsheviks, exploited the military weakness of the Provisional Government revealed during the Kornilov Affair when devising the October