Russian Revolution and Soviet Union Formation
The Russian Revolution and the Creation of the USSR
At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia was an absolutist monarchy that lacked individual freedoms. In November 1917 (October according to the Russian calendar), a popular revolution led by workers, peasants, and soldiers took place. The Russian Revolution began in Petrograd with the storming of the Winter Palace, overthrowing the absolute monarchy of the Tsar. The revolutionaries, led by Vladimir Lenin, established communism and aimed to transform society from top to bottom.
Key Measures Implemented:
- The expropriation of crown lands, which were given to the peasants who worked them.
- Worker control over businesses with more than 5 employees.
- Nationalization of banks.
- Withdrawal from World War I.
Stalinism
After the leader of the revolution, Lenin, died in 1924, he was succeeded by Joseph Stalin. Stalin consolidated power, suppressed his opponents, and became a dictator. He aimed to make the USSR the world’s leading industrial power. The Communist Party adopted the five-year plan, which became the basis of the economy with the objective of achieving economic growth to keep pace with Western industrialized countries. In 10 years, a true industrial revolution transformed the country, multiplying national income by four. Agriculture was also transformed through collectivization, creating collective farms (kolkhozes) and state farms (sovkhozes) where farmers were salaried. However, collectivization led to great famines in the mid-1930s and the deportation of thousands of villagers from their land. Stalin’s rule initiated a period of terror known as Stalinism, during which any opposition was eliminated, and many people were executed or deported to concentration camps in Siberia.
The Crisis of the Political System of the Restoration
In 1902, King Alfonso XIII was proclaimed, and the Restoration system, based on ‘caciquismo’ (political bossism), was maintained. Since the colonial defeat of 1898, the Restoration system had been questioned, particularly from Catalonia by the Catalanist League, a regionalist party created in 1901. By 1917, the crisis of the Restoration intensified. Politically, this was evident when an Assembly of Representatives was convened. Socially, armed clashes and general strikes demanded an 8-hour workday, culminating in a major strike in 1919. Militarily, after 1898, Spain’s only remaining African possessions required significant effort, causing economic losses and many casualties. In 1921, the Spanish army suffered a devastating defeat, known as the Annual Disaster, resulting in the deaths of thousands of soldiers.
The Working Class
Workers’ organizations called a strike in 1909 to protest against the recruitment of soldiers for the war in Morocco. Barcelona became a scene of barricades, with churches and religious buildings burned. This conflict is known as the Tragic Week and was violently suppressed by the military. The pedagogue Francesc Ferrer was executed. In 1911, the National Confederation of Labor (CNT), an anarchist union, advocated for direct action and anti-political stances. Clashes between trade unions and employers were constant during the first four decades of the twentieth century. In 1917 and 1923, social violence reached a peak, known as the ‘pistolerismo’ period, during which workers’ organizations and trade unions engaged in armed conflict in the streets of Barcelona, resulting in over 500 deaths. In 1923, the military uprising of Primo de Rivera ended this confrontation.
The Crisis of 1929
Countries heavily indebted by the war, particularly the U.S., faced difficulties in repaying credits. This, combined with overproduction, led to a crisis. In late 1929, the value of company shares began to fall considerably, and many banks closed due to a lack of liquidity. The entire American economic system was soon paralyzed, and the economic crisis spread rapidly. The stock market crash of 1929 devastated Spain and Catalonia.
The economic crisis and its impact contributed to the establishment of the Second Republic (1931-1939). A major cause of the crisis was the direct state intervention in the market economy, as states became dynamic agents and regulators of economic activity.