The Russian Revolutions: From Tsarist Rule to Bolshevik Power
Tsarist Russia: An Empire in Decline
Multinational Russia was an empire of more than 20 million square kilometers. Tsarist Russia had imposed a policy of Russification on very different peoples: administration, the Russian language, and the Orthodox religion. The Russian Empire was economically and socially backward in comparison with other European countries. Industrial development, tardy in Russia, was accelerated, driven by the railroad. However, it was a very controlled industrialization. Tsarist Russia was an autocratic system, based on the will of one person: the Tsar.
The 1905 Revolution: A Precursor to Change
This was a first attempt to change the current situation, but it did not succeed due to the disorganization of various political factions, involving industrial workers, liberals, and peasants.
Lessons from the 1905 Revolution
Lenin and Bolsheviks like Trotsky assessed the revolution and drew several conclusions:
- The bourgeoisie had been weak and timid, so the working class could replace it and carry out a revolution without bourgeois intervention.
- The peasants could be revolutionary and become an ally of the industrial workers.
- A very disciplined party was needed to replace the uncoordinated social and political forces.
The 1917 Revolutions: A Nation Transformed
During the winter of 1916-1917, widespread hunger and extremely low morale prevailed across Russia.
February 1917: The Fall of the Tsar
The strike on February 23, 1917, encouraged workers from the capital to show solidarity with textile workers. Later, on February 27, the military garrison mutinied and joined the workers. A Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies was formed in Petrograd. The Duma established a Provisional Government headed by Prince Lvov, which forced the Tsar to abdicate. Kerensky later became president of the government, tasked with calling elections for a Constituent Assembly.
The Bolshevik Ascent to Power
Lenin, who had been in exile, returned to Russia in April. In Petrograd, his party suggested the April Theses:
- Rejection of the Provisional Government and continuation of the war.
- Control of production and distribution by the Soviets.
- Transformation of the bourgeois revolution into a workers’ revolution, with power to the workers’ soviets.
The government of Kerensky refused to accept these petitions and therefore lost support from both the left and the right. The Bolsheviks gained prestige and control of the Soviets of Petrograd and Moscow. As the government lost power, the Bolsheviks took the Winter Palace.
The Early Bolshevik Regime: Consolidating Power
The objective of the Bolsheviks was to stay in power, pending the outbreak of revolution in Europe. Once the revolution had occurred, socialism could be built worldwide.
Key Decisions of the Bolshevik Government
- On Land: Lands were confiscated and distributed by the local Soviets among the peasants. Private property was abolished, and the employment of wage labor was prohibited.
- On Work: Workers’ committees were established to ensure production was in the hands of the workers themselves. Banks were nationalized, an 8-hour workday was introduced, and debts contracted by the Tsarist regime were annulled.
- On War: The Bolshevik regime proposed ending the war through a just peace. The Germans imposed harsh conditions, and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany.
- On the Organization of the State: This government was accountable to the Soviets, which the Bolsheviks controlled. The Constituent Assembly, intended to be the legislative power, was dissolved by force.