The Russian Revolution







  

The Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution of February 1917

By the End of February 1917, many of the Workers in Petrograd and Moscow, were Rioting and striking for increased food rations. Most of the Russian soldiers refused to subdue the protestors. Military insubordination and mutiny spread like wildfire in a parched forest. Czar Nicholas desperately wanted to stop the workers and their riots. He decided to do this by force. Later that month Czar Nicholas ended the power of the Duma. The Duma refused to obey, and the Protestors soon stormed the Capital. Czar Nicholas was forced to renounce the throne. The Duma than had appointed a provisional government, composed mainly of moderates.

Many Russians welcomed the end of Autocracy, that was about all they could agree on. The Provisional government had limited support and power. It's authority was limited by the workers and soldiers soviet in Petrograd, who controlled the Troops, communications, and transport.

However all the problems were not solved. Two pressing issues still remained. World War I was still ravaging Russia and a Proper long term Government needed to be established.

The October Revolution of 1917

The October Revolution like the February Revolution was the result of a series of events. The Russian People were growing impatient with the provisional government, due to the continuation of the war (World War I) were causing unrest. An all-out military offensive in July was an utter failure. Concurrently, violence in Petrograd led to popular demands that the soviet seize power.
Later that year the impatient workers and soldiers abandoned the Socialist revolutionary leaders and than turned to the Bolsheviks (who later became the communists) for support. In June of 1917 the Bolsheviks were a minority in the First all- Russian congress of the soviets, they continued to gain influence. Several attempts at reform by the Bolsheviks were abandoned when conservative and moderate members of the First Russian congress would not allow them to proceed. From mid September on the Bolsheviks had a majority in the Petrograd soviet, form this point forward Lenin (who will be discussed later), a major voice in the Bolshevik/soviet movement, urged the soviet leaders to take power.
On the night of October 24, 1917 the Bolsheviks stages a coup, engineered by Trotsky (Who will be discussed later) and the soviet workers aided him as well. The Red Guard( The army at the time) captured many government buildings and the winter place in Petrograd. Shortly afterward a second all Russian Congress met and approved the coup. The rival parties to the Bolsheviks, the Mensheviks and the Socialist revolutionaries walked out on the Meeting.
As a result the Bolsheviks had free reign, and there fore pass many reforms. A cabinet known as the Council of People's commissars, was established with Lenin as Charmin, Trotsky and foreign minister and Stalin (who will be discussed later) as commissar of nationalities. The People’s commissar soon called for a halt in the violence that was gripping the nation, gave private and church lands to village soviets and abolished all private property.
The City of Moscow was soon taken by force as well as other cities all across Russia by local groups of the Bolshevik workers and soldiers. Any remaining members of the Original provisional government established after the February Revolution were arrested and all remnants were dissolved.
In late 1917, new Bolshevik/Soviet Government changed the old Marriage and Divorce laws, established a workers control board in the factories, the banks were nationalized and a supreme economic council was established to run the economy.

As the Russian Citizens had hoped World War I came to a close, but at a large cost. The cost of the war in terms of human losses was staggering, and Russia was forced to sign a humiliating treaty, the Brest-Litovsk treaty. In the Treaty Russia was forced to cede lands such as Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan ect. After Germany's defeat by the allies, The Bolsheviks regained some of the territories they lost, they included the Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.