The Russian Revolution of 1917 there were two popular uprisings:the first took place in February, against the government of Tsar Nicholas II, and the second, in October.
In the February Revolution, the revolutionaries abolished the monarchy and, in the October Revolution, they began to implement a government regime based on socialist ideas.
Causes of the Russian Revolution:Historical Context
In Russia, during the 19th century, the lack of freedom was almost absolute.
In the countryside, there was strong social tension, due to the large concentration of land in the hands of the nobility. Russia was the last country to abolish serfdom, in 1861, and in many places, the feudal production system continued.
The agrarian reform promoted by Tsar Alexander II (1855-1881) did little to alleviate tensions in the countryside. The tsarist regime repressed the opposition and Ochrana , political police, controlled education, the press and the courts.
Thousands of people were sent into exile in Siberia, convicted of political crimes. Capitalists and landowners held sway over urban and rural workers.
During the government of Tsar Nicholas II (1894-1917), Russia accelerated its industrialization process allied with foreign capital. Workers were concentrated in large centers like Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Despite this, living conditions worsened, with hunger, unemployment and lower wages. The bourgeoisie did not benefit either, as capital was concentrated in the hands of bankers and big businessmen.
Opposition to the government grew. One of the biggest opposition parties was the Social Democratic Party, but its leaders, Plekhanov and Lenin, had to live outside Russia to escape political persecution.
The Russian Social Democratic Labor Party was critical of the country's politics. However, they differed on how to solve Russia's problems. This ended up splitting it into two streams:
- Bolsheviks (majority, in Russian), led by Lenin, defended the revolutionary idea of the armed struggle to reach power.
- Mensheviks (minority, in Russian), led by Plekhanov, defended the evolutionary idea of conquering power through normal and peaceful ways, such as elections.
1917 Revolution:Background
In January 1905, a group of workers took part in a peaceful demonstration in front of the St. Petersburg Winter Palace, one of the government headquarters. The aim was to deliver a petition to the Tsar, asking for improvements.
The palace guard, frightened by the crowd, opened fire killing over a thousand people. The episode became known as Bloody Sunday and sparked a wave of protests across the country.
Faced with revolutionary pressure, the tsar promulgated a constitution and allowed elections to be called for the Duma (Parliament). Russia thus became a constitutional monarchy , although the tsar still concentrated great power, and the Parliament had a limited role.
In reality, the government bought time and organized the reactions against social unrest and the soviets. These were assemblies of workers, soldiers or peasants that were organized after the 1905 Revolution. They would later play an essential role in the 1917 Revolution.
Still in 1905, another factor of discontent was the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. Russia lost the conflict to Japan which was considered an inferior people and had to cede some islands to this country.
Russia's Role in World War I
During World War I, as a member of the Triple Entente, Russia fought alongside England and France against Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
However, the Russian army was unprepared for the confrontation. The consequences were defeats in several battles that left Russia weakened and economically disorganized.
In March, the revolutionary movement was unleashed, with strikes starting in St. Petersburg and spreading to several industrial centers. The peasants also rebelled.
Most of the military joined the revolutionaries and forced the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in February 1917.
Revolution of February and October 1917
After the abdication of the tsar, a Provisional Government was formed, under the leadership of Kerensky, which would find itself involved in disputes between liberals and socialists.
Under pressure from the soviets, the government granted amnesty to political prisoners and exiles. Back in Russia, the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin and Trotsky, organized a congress where they defended slogans such as:“Peace, land and bread ” and “All power to the soviets ”.
On November 7 (October 25 in the Gregorian calendar), workers and peasants, under Lenin's leadership, seized power. The Bolsheviks distributed the land among the peasants and nationalized the banks, railways and industries, which came under the control of the workers.
Consequences of the Russian Revolution
Russia withdraws from World War I
The first important act of the new government was to withdraw Russia from the war. For this, in February 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers was signed.
This provided for the surrender of Finland, the Baltics, Poland, Ukraine and Belarus, as well as districts in the Ottoman Empire and the Georgia region.
Civil War in Russia
The first four years of Bolshevik rule were marked by a civil war that deeply shook the country.
Likewise, to prevent any attempt at monarchical restoration, Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered without any kind of trial in July 1918.
The Red Army, created by Leon Trotsky, defeated the White Army, formed by nobles and bourgeois, guaranteeing the permanence of the Bolsheviks in power. The revolution was saved, but the economic standstill was almost total.
To restore confidence in the government, the NEP was created (New Economic Policy), which allowed the entry of foreign capital and the operation of private companies. The application of the NEP resulted in the industrial and agricultural growth of Russia.
Completion of the Russian Revolution
In 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established under Lenin's leadership. After his death in 1924, a power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin began.
Defeated, Trotsky was expelled from the country and, in 1940, he was killed in Mexico City by an assassin in the service of Stalin. Under his rule, the USSR experienced one of the most violent dictatorships in history, while experiencing dizzying economic growth.
During World War II, the country would be one of the main enemies of Nazism, an ally of the United States and the United Kingdom.
After the conflict, it would be elevated to the status of second world power.
See also:StalinismRussian Revolution:Summary
The Russian Revolution, which took place in 1917, were two popular uprisings that took place in February and October.
However, the social unrest came from afar. In 1905, protesters asked Tsar Nicholas II for better living conditions, but were shot back. As a result, the monarch sought to modernize the country with elections for a parliament (Duma) and a constitution.
With Russia's entry into World War I (1914-1917), the situation only worsened. Several soldiers deserted, officers began to conspire against the tsar and he was deposed through the February Revolution of 1917.
Although they abolished the monarchy, many revolutionaries felt that it was not enough. Thus, a new blow is delivered, this time by the Bolsheviks and peasants, who institute a regime closer to socialism through the October Revolution.
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- Marxism
- Phases of the First World War
Questions about the Russian Revolution
Question 1
(UFES) The Russian Revolution of 1917 overthrew the tsarist regime and established socialism in the country.
Mark the correct alternative in relation to the measures adopted by the new government.
a) With the abdication of the Tsar, a political alliance was established between the leaders of the Tsarist regime and the leaders of the provisional government.
b) Lenin, a political prisoner exiled in Siberia, was excluded from the revolutionary process.
c) The socialist government immediately put into practice the project to rebuild the economy, the New Economic Policy (NEP).
d) The initial phase of the process was characterized by the amendment of civil rights laws, the annulment of titles of nobility, the separation of Church and State, agrarian reform and the end of private property.
e) At the political level, the revolutionary government promulgated, in the same year, a new constitution, which legitimized the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Correct alternative:d) The initial phase of the process was characterized by the change in civil rights laws, the annulment of titles of nobility, the separation of Church and State, agrarian reform and the end of private property.
The February Revolution broke with the order of the constitutional monarchy that had prevailed in Russia until now, as expressed in alternative "d".
Option "a" speaks of an alliance that did not exist; a "b" states that Lenin was imprisoned in Siberia, but was actually exiled in England. The option "c", refers to the NEP that began in 1921 and not in 1917. Finally, the letter "e" mentions facts that only occurred later.
Question 2
(UFJF) About the social context of Russia, before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, it is incorrect to say that:
a) the great mass of the population was peasant, a reflection of the previous economic and social conditions, with great concentration of land in the hands of a few.
b) industrialization was restricted to a few cities, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, and was largely financed by western European capital.
c) presented a strong and organized bourgeoisie, with a mature revolutionary project, which defended, among other aspects, the creation of a Republic in place of the tsarist government.
d) the proletariat faced terrible living conditions in the cities, as a result of low wages, but it had a certain degree of political organization, which enabled its mobilization.
e) after the end of serfdom, there was an intense migration from the countryside towards the city, contributing to the increase of available labor, which would be directed, in large part, to industry.
Correct alternative:c) It presented a strong and organized bourgeoisie, with a mature revolutionary project, which defended, among other aspects, the creation of a Republic in place of the tsarist government.
The bourgeoisie was not organized and it was not the class that made the revolution in Russia, as advocated by Marx's studies on the subject. In Russia, it was the peasants who overthrew the government and supported the revolutionaries.
Question 3
(PUC/RJ) Considering the 1905 Revolution in Russia as a whole, in terms of its characteristics and main results, it can be said that, from the point of view of the origins of 1917, its greatest importance was:
a) Enable the installation of a Constitutional Monarchy, giving freedom to political parties.
b) Grant autonomy to the various nationalities of the Russian Empire, in addition to revealing the success of the populists.
c) Allow the election of the Duma and complete the abolition of serfdom benefiting millions of peasants.
d) To provoke the emergence of the soviets, to demonstrate the decisive weight of the agrarian problem and to reveal the weakness of the bourgeoisie.
e) Open the way to capitalist development, as well as to agrarian reform, by eliminating revolutionary parties.
Correct alternative:d) Incite the emergence of the soviets, demonstrate the decisive weight of the agrarian problem and reveal the weakness of the bourgeoisie.
The 1905 Revolution is considered the "dress rehearsal" for the 1917 Revolution. This is because this movement enabled the emergence of new actors such as the soviets (workers' groups) to direct factories and territories. In turn, it showed Russian society that the big question was in the countryside, with thousands of peasants suffering miseries, now aggravated by the First World War. As for the bourgeoisie, it was few in number and was not interested in radical changes, even if they benefited it in the long run.
In option "a", there was no freedom for political parties in Russia. In "b", no autonomy was granted to the existing nationalities and in "c" the "abolition of serfdom" that had already been done in 1861 is mentioned.
Finally, the letter "e" did not eliminate the revolutionary parties.
Question 4
One of the consequences of the February Revolution of 1917 was:
a) the victories of the Russian Army on the German front and the establishment of a Constitution.
b) the removal of the democrats from the government and the adhesion of the Army to the Revolution.
c) adhesion of officers to the revolution and abdication of the tsar.
d) the establishment of a liberal democracy and the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Correct alternative c) adhesion of officers to the revolution and the abdication of the tsar.
The successive defeats on the battlefield suffered by the Russians strained the officers' relations with Tsar Nicholas II. Therefore, part of them joined the revolutionary movement, which forced the abdication of the monarch.
Question 5
The victory of the October Revolution of 1917 did not guarantee the political stability of Russia, which was taken by a civil war between:
a) the army led by Trotsky against the armed forces sponsored by nobles and bourgeois.
b) the imperial guard, loyal to the tsar, against the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin.
c) the Russian army against rural militias that had the help of urban workers.
d) the red army against the white army, supported by the tsar
Correct alternative a) the army led by Trotsky against the armed forces sponsored by nobles and bourgeois.
After the October Revolution and the end of the First War, Russia became the concern of the European powers that supported the White Army, created by nobles and bourgeois who opposed the Revolution. Despite everything, the Red Army, led by Trotsky, defeats the enemy.