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The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a series of political and social upheavals in Russia, involving first the overthrow
of the tsarist autocracy, and then the overthrow of the liberal and moderate-socialist Provisional Government, resulting in the establishment of Soviet power under the control of the Bolshevik party. This eventually led to the establishment of the Soviet Union, which lasted until its dissolution in 1991. The February Revolution of 1917 (March 1917 in the Western Calendar), which led directly to the fall of the autocracy of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last Tsar of Russia, and which sought to establish in its place a democratic republic. Trotsky released Bolshevik leaders hoping they would join the provisional government but instead they became the red guard (later the red army). At this point the country had been rechristened the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Vladimir Lenin created ten Bolshevik policies, one entitled "Abolish all State Debt", meaning any debt the prior country held to other countries was now considered eliminated. This caused other countries to become interested in what was going on in Russia. Eventually Lenin introduced War Communism but it was highly unsuccessful so the New Economic Policy* was created to help restore the economy until it had caught back up to the rest of the world. A period of dual power, in which the Provisional Government held state power and the national network of Soviets, led by socialists, had the allegiance of the lower-classes and the political Left. The Mensheviks were also fighting for control over the country at this time. The October Revolution (November in the Western Calendar), in which the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the workers'' Soviets, overthrew the Provisional Government and brought about a quite dramatic change in the social structure of Russia, as well as paving the way for the USSR. While many notable historical events occurred in Moscow and St. Petersburg, there was also a broadly-based movement in cities throughout the country, among national minorities throughout the empire, and in the rural areas, where peasants seized and redistributed land.<citation needed> New Economic Policy closely resembled a Mixed Economy and it was introduced to temporarily restore the economy. It proved extremely successful and was abolished in 1929 following Lenin''s death. See "Russian history, 1892-1917" for the general frame of events. At the start of 1917, a turning point in Russian history, the country was ripe for revolution -- and, indeed, this year saw two very distinct ones: the first, known as the February Revolution, growing rapidly, creating expanded social opportunities but also great uncertainty. Peasant villagers more and more often migrated between agrarian and industrial work environments, and many relocated entirely, creating a growing urban labor force. A middle class of white-collar employees, businessmen and professionals (the latter group comprising doctors, lawyers, teachers, journalists, engineers, etc.) was on the rise. Even nobles had to find new ways to subsist in this changing economy, and contemporaries spoke of new classes forming (proletarians and capitalists, for example), although these classes were also divided along crisscrossing lines of status, gender, age, ethnicity and belief. If anything, it was becoming harder to speak of clearly-defined social groups or boundaries. Not only were groups fractured in various ways, their defining boundaries were also increasingly blurred by migrating peasants, worker intellectuals, gentry professionals and the like. Almost everyone felt that the texture of their lives was transformed by a spreading commercial culture which remade the surfaces of material life (buildings, store fronts, advertisements, fashion, clocks and machines) and nurtured new objects of desire.<1> By 1917, the growth of political consciousness, the impact of revolutionary ideas, ane and inefficient system of government (which had been debilitated further by its participation in the First World War), should have convinced the emperor, Nicholas II to have taken the necessary steps towards reform. In January 1917, in fact, Sir George Buchanan, the British Ambassador in Russia, advised the emperor to "break down the barrier that separates you from your people to regain their confidence." He received little response from Nicholas. The people of Russia resented the autocracy of Nicholas II and the corrupt and anachronistic elements in his government. He was out of touch with the needs and aspirations of the Russian people, the vast majority of whom were victims of the wretched socio-economic conditions which prevailed. 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 food shortages in Russia contributed to the revolution. Militarily, inadequate supplies, logistics, and weaponry led to heavy losses that the Russians suffered during World War I; this further strengthened Russia''s view of Nicholas II as weak and unfit to rule. Ultimately, these factors, coupled with the development of revolutionary ideas and movements (particularly since the 1905 Bloody Sunday Massacre) led to the Russian Revolution. Contents 1 Economic and social changes 2 Political problems 3 World War I 4 February Revolution 5 Between February and throughout October: "Dual Power" (dvoevlastie) 6 October Revolution 7 Death of the royal family 8 Civil war 9 The Russian revolution and the world 10 Brief chronology leading to Revolution of 1917 10.1 Expanded chronology of Revolution of 1917 11 Cultural portrayal 12 Notes 13 References 13.1 Primary documents 14 External links // Economic and social changes Peasants had good reason to be attracted to ideas of a fairer social and political order. The abolition of serfdom in 1861 left peasants legally free but still economically dependent on landowners, who retained control over much of the land. Since then, rural commoners focused their discontents on a single goal -- land. This "land hunger", as it was often called, can be explained by poverty shaped by enormous population growth, low agricultural productivity, high taxes, and rising needs and wants as the economy modernized. No less important was an elementary theory of property, common to many peasants, that land should belong to those who work it. At the same time, peasant life and culture was changing constantly. Change was facilitated by the physical movement of growing numbers of peasant villagers who migrated to and from industrial and urban environments, but also by the migration of city culture into the village through material goods, the press, and word of mouth.<2> Workers also had good reasons for discontent: overcrowded housing with often deplorable sanitary conditions, long hours at work (on the eve of the war a 10-hour workday six days a week was the average and many were working 11-12 hours a day by 1916), constant risk of injury and death from very poor safety and sanitary conditions, harsh discipline (not only rules and fines, but foremen’s fists), and inadequate wages (made worse after 1914 by steep war-time increases in the cost of living). At the same time, urban industrial life was full of benefits, though these could be just as dangerous, from the point of view of social and political stability, as the hardships. There were many encouragements to expect more from life. Acquiring new skills gave many workers a sense of self respect and confidence, heightening expectations and desires. Living in cities, workers encountered material goods such as they had never seen while in the village. Most important, living in cities, they were exposed to new ideas about the social and political order. <3> The social causes of the Russian Revol
Published: September 23, 2007
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