Russian Revolution of 1917: From Tsarist Rule to Bolshevik Power
The 1905 Revolution
During Tsar Nicholas II’s reign (beginning in 1894), social and political unrest grew due to poor living conditions, court corruption (influenced by figures like Rasputin), and Russia’s defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904). In January 1905, a revolutionary movement erupted against Tsarist oppression and social injustices, demanding improvements. The revolution gained momentum in St. Petersburg with a demonstration outside the Winter Palace, met by army repression, resulting in “Bloody Sunday.” This revolt involved various political groups opposing the system, including the Orthodox clergy. The Potemkin mutiny in Odessa also resonated significantly. Following the 1905 revolution, the Tsar’s government implemented timid economic and political reforms, including a Duma (legislative assembly) and proposed land reform. However, these efforts failed to transform the social and political structures.
World War I’s Impact
Russia’s entry into World War I accelerated events. Factories shifted to war production, and peasant recruitment reduced agricultural output. Scarcity, rising prices, and decreased purchasing power led to widespread hunger. Confidence in the Tsar plummeted, and plots emerged. This situation reignited revolutionary sentiment.
The Revolutionary Days
By the summer of 1917, the Bolshevik Party was banned, and Lenin was exiled, returning secretly in October after a failed Petrograd insurrection in June. However, the Bolshevik and Menshevik-led Soviets, supported by some Socialist Revolutionaries, planned an insurrection backed by the Red Army (a Soviet-led armed unit). October 25th was chosen. Rebel forces seized key locations and services in the capital. The capture of the Peter and Paul Fortress signaled the army’s reluctance to fire on the people, leading to the decisive Winter Palace assault, where the provisional government resided. Victory in Petrograd proved decisive, and the government resigned after Kerensky’s (its president) flight. The revolution spread to Moscow and other industrial centers. By November, northern Russia was under Bolshevik control, but significant areas remained under former Tsarist authorities.
The Fall of the Tsars
The first revolutionary episode unfolded in February 1917, with grassroots groups demanding an end to the war and improved living conditions. Starting in Petrograd, the movement spread to other cities, culminating in a general strike and the capital’s military garrison mutiny. Soviets formed across the country, playing a crucial role in channeling the subversive movement. The Tsar and his government refused to leave the war, but under army and party pressure, the Tsar abdicated. The Duma, alongside the Petrograd Soviet, established a provisional government, promising political and social reforms and a constituent assembly to decide Russia’s political future. However, Russia remained in World War I.
The Duality of Powers
: The government of Lvov, liberal in nature and directed by KDT party was overwhelmed by the popular movement, led by the Soviets. Since returning to exile, Lenin had argued that the revolution was to overcome his liberal-bourgeois phase into a proletarian revolution. In his April Theses had launched the slogan All power to the soviets!, And had made a call for war output, the withdrawal of Soviet support the government and seize power. Protests calling for subsidies for soldiers lso, the distribution of land and the end of the war became more extensive. Given the worsening, Lvov was replaced by a moderate Socialist, Alexander Jerenski. The government promised new elections for a Constituent Assembly, but was faced with the Petrograd Soviet and beginning a persecution of the Bolsheviks. The difficulties of the Kerensky government increased following a coup d’etat of the Tsarist military starring Kornilov to regain power. Kerensky could win with the support of the Soviet and especially the Bolsheviks. The role of the Bolsheviks to abort the coup was to increase its popularity and influence. Since that time, the Bolsheviks seized the initiative. Conventional Lenin the Bolshevik Party of the need to move to the insurrection. The next step was to convince the influential OPLAN to Moscow and Petrograd soviets. This noise level in the hands of a Bolshevik, Trotsky, and took power.