Russian Revolution

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RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
The Russian revolution of 1917 was one of the most explosive political events of
the 20th century. The violent revolution marked the end of the Romanov dynasty
and the centuries of Russian imperial rule. During the Russian revolution, the
Bolsheviks, led by the left revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, seized power and
destroyed the tradition of the Tsarist government. The Bolsheviks, later became the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
RUSSIA BEFORE 20TH CENTRY
Russia was ruled by an emperor called the Tsar, and the Romanov family
was holding this position for more than three centuries. In the early 1900s, Russia
was one of the most impoverished countries in Europe with an enormous peasantry
and a growing minority of poor industrial workers.
Much of Western Europe viewed Russia as an undeveloped, backwards

society. The Russian Empire practiced serfdom—a form of feudalism in which
landless peasants were forced to serve the land-owning nobility—well into the
nineteenth century. In contrast, the practice had disappeared in most of Western
Europe by the end of the Middle Ages.
In 1861, the Russian Empire under the Alexander-II finally abolished

serfdom. The emancipation of serfs would influence the events leading up to the
Russian Revolution by giving peasants more freedom to organize in form of
revolution demanding groups.
Alexander-II was assassinated by a member of revolutionists group and

Alexander III came into power in 1881. Alexander III cracked down severely on
reform and revolutionary groups, prompting growing unrest. Alexander III’s son,
Nicholas II, came into power in 1894 on death of his father and was the ruler of
Russia during the Russian Revolution in 1917.
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In 1917, two revolutions swept through Russia, ending centuries of imperial

rule and setting into motion political and social changes that would lead to the
formation of the Soviet Union. While the two revolutionary events took place
within a few short months, social unrest in Russia had been simmering for decades.
CAUSES OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Several key fault lines can be identified as the causes of revolution which can be
divided into two categories.
1. Long Term Causes
2. Short Term
Long Term Causes of Russian Revolution

Russia industrialized much later than Western Europe and the United States.
When it finally did, around the turn of the 20th century, it brought with it immense
social and political changes.
i. Soaring population and urbanization

Russia in late 19th / early 20th century was a massive empire, stretching
from Poland to Pacific and a home to 165 million people of various
languages, religions and cultures. Between 1890 and 1910, the population
of major Russian cities such as St. Petersburg and Moscow nearly
doubled, resulting in overcrowding and destitute living conditions for a
new class of Russian industrial workers.
ii. Politicization of labor

With the industrial revolution in 1890s, the Russian cities expanded and a
large number of people from rural areas started to settle in urban areas in
quest of jobs. The uncontrolled urbanization was accompanied by issues
of poor wages and shortage of employment rights. These workers started
to get politicized by forming their unions.
iii. Rising literacy rate

With the rapid industrialization, Russia had also developed an educated
class. This class was part of society, which sent their youth to schools to
be educated and to serve the public instead of Tsar.
iv. Serfdom and Poverty

By 18th Century, the most of Russian population was peasants who lived
and farmed in small villages. However, the serfs freed in 1861 and small
lands were allotted to them but they had to pay back a sum to
government. The obsolete farming techniques were keeping the
production low which resulted.
v. The imbalanced Social System:

The Russian Society was divided into two classes before the Revolution.
They were the rich and the poor. The nobles, feudal lords and the rich
belonged to the rich class. The peasants, labourers and serfs belonged to
the poor class. These societies were imbalanced. No class could be
happy. Czar Alexander II emancipated the ‘Serfdom’.
The feudal lords were annoyed as they had lost their lands. The Liberated
Serfs became depressed as they could not get lands beyond their hope.
The labourers and workers became unable to live their lives as they got
very low wages. The slaves became unhappy as they had got very low
salary.
The peasants were the happiest class. The political parties became
unhappy as they were debarred from all the privileges. The people of all
sections of the society were fading of with the Czarist rule.
vi. Inclemency of weather

A population boom at the end of the nineteenth century, a harsh growing
season due to Russia’s northern climate, and a series of costly wars—
starting with the Crimean War (1854-1856)—meant frequent food
shortages across the vast empire
vii. Autocratic Rule of the Czars:

Czar Alexander II brought some reforms in Russia and became famous
among all. But after him Czar Alexander III and Czar Nicholas II became
despotic. During their reign the political organisations like-Meer,
Jemstvo and Duma had lost their political powers. The Czarist autocracy
flamed the fire of unrest among the labourers, peasants, intellectuals and
students of Russia. In course of time, public unrest increased in Russia.

Thus, hatred towards the Czardom began
viii. The Policy of Russification:

Czar Alexander III was not only a despotic ruler but he also followed the
policy of Russification of all the systems. His son Czar Nicholas II also
followed his policy. He declared ‘One Czar, One Church, One Russia’.
According to this Policy, of the Czarist rule, only the Catholic religion
and the Russian language were introduced in Russia.
Even in Poland, Lithuania and Finland and other non- Russian regions
which were under the Russian domination, the Russian language was
introduced.This Russification Policy of Czar Nicholas II created an
environment of unrest in the whole of Russia.
ix. The uprising / revolution of 1905
Large protests by Russian workers against the monarchy led to the

Bloody Sunday massacre of 1905. Hundreds of unarmed protesters were
killed or wounded by the czar’s troops.
The massacre sparked the Russian revolution of 1905, during which

angry workers responded with a series of crippling strikes throughout the
country.
After the bloodshed of 1905, Czar Nicholas II promised the formation of

a series of representative assemblies, or Dumas, to work toward reform.
SHORT TERM CAUSES OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Russia entered into World War I in August 1914 in support of the Serbs and their
French and British allies. Their involvement in the war would soon prove
disastrous for the Russian Empire.
i. Nicholas-II, taking control of war

Czar Nicholas left the Russian capital of Petrograd (St. Petersburg) in
1915 to take command of the Russian Army front. And responsibility
of all the failures in war was laid upon him.
ii. Degradation of standard of living

As demand for soldiers grew, the young men and horses were taken
away from the population which damage their breed winning and
damaged their standards of living.
iii. Soaring inflation

Russia’s most successful farms labour was taken for the war and
remaining peasants became more concerned with self-sufficiency and
less concerned with selling the surplus. Inflation occurred and prices
rose, so hunger became endemic.
iv. Shortage of food and fuel

Militarily, imperial Russia was no match for industrialized Germany,
and Russian casualties were greater than those sustained by any nation
in any previous war. Food and fuel shortages plagued Russia as
inflation mounted. The economy was hopelessly disrupted by the
costly war effort.
In the above scenario, moderates soon joined Russian radical elements in calling
for an overthrow of the hapless czar. Accordingly, two revolutions occurred in
Russia.
1. February Revolution
2. October Revolution (Bolshevik Revolution)
The February Revolution (27 Feb 1917)

The February Revolution - Demonstrators clamoring for bread took to the streets
of Petrograd. Supported by huge crowds of striking industrial workers, the
protesters clashed with police but refused to leave the streets.
 On March 11, the troops of the Petrograd army garrison were called out to
quell the uprising. In some encounters, the regiments opened fire, killing
demonstrators, but the protesters kept to the streets and the troops began to
waver.
 With a no Military backing, Nicholas-II abdicated the throne on 2 March

1917.
 A Provisional Government, the Duma formed on March 12,1917 .

The Provisional Government(Mensheviks)

The leaders of the provisional government, including young Russian lawyer
Alexander Kerensky, established a liberal program of rights such as freedom
of speech, equality before the law, and the right of unions to organize and
strike. They opposed violent social revolution.
However, minister of war, Kerensky continued the Russian war effort, even
though Russian involvement in World War I was enormously unpopular.
This further exacerbated Russia’s food supply problems. Unrest continued to
grow as peasants looted farms and food riots erupted in the cities.
Provisional Government was opposed right away by Soviets, or council of

workers & peasants who wanted the right ot make their own decisions.
In the meantime V.lenin arrived from exile in spring of 1917 and started to
lead the peasants
October Revolution (Bolshevik Revolution)
When provisional government refused to distribute the land fairly, the peasants
took the matter in their hands. They started to support lenin and his party.
On November 6 and 7, 1917 (or October 24 and 25 on the Julian calendar, which is
why the event is often referred to as the October Revolution), leftist revolutionaries
led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin launched a nearly bloodless coup
d’état against the Duma’s provisional government.
The provisional government had been assembled by a group of leaders from

Russia’s bourgeois capitalist class. Lenin instead called for a Soviet government
that would be ruled directly by councils of soldiers, peasants and workers.
The Bolsheviks and their allies occupied government buildings and other strategic
locations in Petrograd, and soon formed a new government with Lenin as its head.
Lenin became the dictator of the world’s first communist state.
RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR
Civil War broke out in Russia in late 1917 after the Bolshevik Revolution. The
warring factions included the Red and White Armies.
The Red Army fought for the Lenin’s Bolshevik government. The White Army
represented a large group of loosely allied forces, including monarchists, capitalists
and supporters of democratic socialism.
The Russian Civil War ended in 1923 with Lenin’s Red Army claiming victory and
establishing the Soviet Union.
CONSEQUENCES OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Positive Consequences
 Readjustments in Military Policies

Backed out from WWI, Russia was able to relieve the economical distress
which the country was in due to being constantly losing their wars.
According to Wilde, soldiers were able to return to their families and
contribute to the economy, instead of sacrificing their lives in wars which
they have been severely disadvantaged. (Wilde, 2014) Families were able to
be reunited and men no longer have to fear for being forcefully entered to
the military service by the government. Moreover, under the lead of the
Bolsheviks, the incompetent generals and officials were being replaced.
Military tactics have been improved, and modernized weapons have been
applied as well as produced during the time when Russia was at peace.
"Russia backed out of World War I", as well as the treaties signed by the
Bolsheviks with the imperialists who splitted the colonies encouraged the
end towards the war in general, according to Hamouda. (Hamouda, 2012)
 Economic Recovery
Russia was able to recover from the extreme inflation due to collapse in
transportation system, which results in the shortage of resources. With the
series of Five-Years Plan established by Stalin, there has been a mass level
of export between Russia and the foreign countries, which supported and
lead to improvement to the economy. Industrilization and modernization of
the agricultural industry have been introduced, allowing a significant
improvement in the economy.
 Allocation of land to peasants

Land has been given to the peasants and factories were given to the workers.
Peasants have an increase income, and being allowed to sell the remaining of
their crops, they were able to earn more money to support their household.
More job opportunities have been produced in the process. In addition, the
economy was stablised and centralized under numerous policies, with
products "produced, allocated and distributed according to government
plan". With the War Communism and New Economic Policy, major
industries such as the railway and banks have been nationalised, preventing
the wealthy to have excessive power and being able to manipulate the
society, according to Kreis. (Kreis, 2012)With the economical power
controlled in the hands of the government, social policies were able to
cooperate with the economic policies to maximize efficiency and
effectiveness.
 Peasantry Receives Education

After the revolution, Lenin realizes that the vast majority of the peasants
were illiterate. To ressolve the issue, he constructed many schools and made
education free of charge. According to Behrent, "Free and universal access
to education was mandated for all children from the ages of three to sixteen
years old" (Behrent) There were schools of mix genders, as well as schools
for people with disabilities, according to Behrent. Besides from children,
adults in the working class were enabled with night schools. Although
communist concepts have severely influenced the education, which the
peasants recieved, through propaganda, the provision of education has
allowed workers to develop sophisticated levels of skills, that enables them
to progress for job opportunities that requires a higher level of skills.
Moreover, education allows farmers to adapt to westernized concepts, which
results to industrialization and improvement in the productivity of crops, as
well as contributing to the recovery in the economy in general. With the
availability of co-education, eqality has been promoted within the society.
"Coeducation was immediately implemented as a means of combating sex
discrimination", suggesting that females have the opportunity to receive
education, which suggests a significant improvement in sexism, according to
Behrent. (Behrent) Preschools and university education was also encouraged
for better quality education.
 Establishment of the Soviet Union

Result of countries being introduced to communism, Russia formed the
Soviet Union with its neighboring countries, consisting of countries such as
Ukraine and Belarus, later spread to Europe and Asia. "On 30 December
1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was declared." The
tight bond between the countries made the USSR a center of power, and
established close cooperation as well as connection between the countries.
Leaded by Stalin, the USSR had extreme communist beliefs. They were able
to establish large programs, such as free education within the nation, with
the vast amount of resources shared between the countries, forming a strong
union. Cultures have been intergrated and territorial issues have been
temporarily ressolved.
 Promotion of Communism & Revolution

With Russia's example of succeeding in a communist system, many
countries have been inspired and decided to follow their footsteps. China
was a well-known example, with Mao adapting to the concept of communist
from Stalin and Karl Marx, result in creating Maoism as well as
transforming China into a communist country. Other countries, such as
Germany and Hungary, have been aspired into conducting short-lived
revolutions against the existing regimes. According to Gupta, the revolution
has lead to the formation of Communist International, an organization which
supported the formation of Communist regimes and parties in revolutions
later on. According to Kreis, "Zinoviev was chairman of the Petrograd
Soviet and head man of the Communist International (referred to as the
Comintern)". (Kreis, 2012) The communist ideals promoted the values of
equality across various countries.
Negative consequences
 Increase Conflict with Capitalistic Countries
Due to the formation of the Soviet Union, many western countries, such as
the United States, view Russia as a significant threat towards them. The
revolution has lead to a division among the countries- Communist and
Captalist, "mainly between the Western World and the Communist World,
that was led by the Soviet Union", according to Hamouda. (Hamouda, 2012)
Conflicts between the two has spread to a range of different countries, but
fundamentally between the U.S and the USSR. These conflicts have
eventually lead to a tension between the capiltastic western world and the
communist countries, and resulted in the Cold War, happening between
1947-1991. During this period of time, there has been an aggressive
competition in technological and military advancement between the two
countries, leading to the mass production of weapons. According
to Hamouda, there "was a continuous state of political and military tension
between these two worlds", people live in constant fear of war breaking out
between the countries. (Hamouda, 2012)
 Civil War
The revolution has not only lead to war outside of Russia, but also civil war
within the country. Those who remain to be loyal to the Tsar, or simply
disagrees with the Bolsheviks, formed the White army and went against the
Red army, which consist of the Bolsheviks and their supporters. Despite of
the foreign support received by the White army, the Reds won the war. War
Communism was a key to the Red Army's success. During that period of
time, workers were forced to work under military conditions, with the
outlaw of strikes and demonstration. Production of crops was immediately
adminstrated by the government, “food they produced was seized without
payment" having the military needs prioritized before the peasants,
according to history20. (history20, 2002) It was difficult to fulfill the
survival needs of the peasants due to the lack of sufficient resources. While
the country was at war, over 7.5 million Russian died of famine due the War
Communism policy, according to history20. (history20, 2002) The economy
was immobilized due to the prioritazation of the military service, and the
living conditions have been the same, or even worsen due to the harsh
conditions.
 Oppressive Control
To secure their power, Lenin and Stalin established oppressive control over
the social aspect of the country. Secret police organization has been setted
up. Cheka, which stnads for “‘All-Russian Emergency Commission for
Combatting Counter-Revolution and Sabotage’”, helped Stalin to elimiate
any possible opposition force against the Bolshevik authority in the name of
"anti-revolutionaries", according to Trueman. (Trueman, 2000) Political
right of expression, speech and strikes have been removed ever since the
establishment of such organization. It has been estimated that up to 50,000
people have "disappeared" during this period of time, according to Trueman.

(Trueman, 2013) In addition, Gulag, "a vast, brutal and cruel network of
prison camps for criminal and political prisoners", according to Hamouda.
(Hamouda, 2012) These camps were usually built in Siberia, and thousands
of people died under the difficult working environment in these camps. The
society was in a dangerous tension, fearful of the authority to have
themselves and their families suddenly "disappear" or sent to the Gulag. The
tradition of applying authoritarian regime remained in Russia. Until now, the
Russian government will still utilize organizations such as the KGB to
monitor the citizens.
 Reduction in Territory
Due to the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia have to "sign the treaty of Brest-
Litovsk that gave land to Germany", according to Hamouda. (Kreis, 2012)
The reduction in territory has lead to a reduction in the area of land available
for agricultural activity, impacting on the amount of land being given to the
farmers for them to farm. In addition, resources such as mines have been
givin to the foreign countries as a compensation for Russia backing out from
the war, which as a consequence impacts on the resources available in the
country for infrastructure, impairing the economy.
 Widespread Poverty, Famine and Starvation
Due to War Communism and Stalin's Five-Year Plan, the living condition of
the peasantry has not improved. During the War Communism period, "all
industries have been nationalised", and the economy was centralized to the
government, according to www.skwirk.com. (www.skwirk.com, 2014) With
the ban of free market, people had to rely on the government on the
provision of resources, which priorities the supply of the army before the
peasants. As a result, it was difficult to meet the requirements of survival,
and as mentioned above, many died of famine and starvation. Although
during the era of New Economic Policy, the ban on local private trades has
been lifted, and "instead began to take only what was needed to meet the
minimum requirements of the army and urban workers", with the amount of
heavy tax peasants remain to struggle in poverty, according to Kreis. (Kreis,
2012) In addition, during the Five-Year Plan, Stalin maintained a high level
of export in agricultural products, ignoring the needs of the local peasants.
Sub-consequently, many farmers died of starvation when their food has been
exported out towards the foreign countries. According to www.skwirk.com,
"millions died working on the farms and in the factories".

(www.skwirk.com, 2014) Having to meet the almost-impossible
expectations set by Stalin, peasants exhausted their resources and many died
due to shortage in neccessities.
SOURCES
The Russian Revolutions of 1917. Anna M. Cienciala, University of Kansas.

The Russian Revolution of 1917. Daniel J. Meissner, Marquette University.
Russian Revolution of 1917. McGill University.
Questions From Past Papers
Discuss the core causes of “Bolshevik Revolution” in Russia and explain its
fundamental political and socio-economic impact on the Western European
politics. CSS-2016
To what extent did the regime established in Russia by the Bolsheviks

represent it’s revolutionary ideology for consemerism, political stability, law
and order and social progress? CSS-2018
FOR OBJECTIVE

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Handouts by Qasim [CSS COMPETITION ZONE PAKISTAN - AN ONLINE ACADEMY FOR CSS / PMS]

RUSSIA BEFORE 20TH CENTRY

Much of Western Europe viewed Russia as an undeveloped, backwards

In 1861, the Russian Empire under the Alexander-II finally abolished

Alexander-II was assassinated by a member of revolutionists group and

In 1917, two revolutions swept through Russia, ending centuries of imperial

CAUSES OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Long Term Causes of Russian Revolution

i. Soaring population and urbanization

ii. Politicization of labor

iii. Rising literacy rate

iv. Serfdom and Poverty

v. The imbalanced Social System:

vi. Inclemency of weather

vii. Autocratic Rule of the Czars:

students of Russia. In course of time, public unrest increased in Russia.

viii. The Policy of Russification:

ix. The uprising / revolution of 1905

Large protests by Russian workers against the monarchy led to the

The massacre sparked the Russian revolution of 1905, during which

After the bloodshed of 1905, Czar Nicholas II promised the formation of

SHORT TERM CAUSES OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

i. Nicholas-II, taking control of war

ii. Degradation of standard of living

iii. Soaring inflation

iv. Shortage of food and fuel

The February Revolution (27 Feb 1917)

 With a no Military backing, Nicholas-II abdicated the throne on 2 March

 A Provisional Government, the Duma formed on March 12,1917 .

The Provisional Government(Mensheviks)

Provisional Government was opposed right away by Soviets, or council of

October Revolution (Bolshevik Revolution)

The provisional government had been assembled by a group of leaders from

RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR

CONSEQUENCES OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

 Readjustments in Military Policies

 Allocation of land to peasants

 Peasantry Receives Education

 Establishment of the Soviet Union

 Promotion of Communism & Revolution

 Increase Conflict with Capitalistic Countries

people have "disappeared" during this period of time, according to Trueman.

 Widespread Poverty, Famine and Starvation

"millions died working on the farms and in the factories".

The Russian Revolutions of 1917. Anna M. Cienciala, University of Kansas.

Questions From Past Papers

To what extent did the regime established in Russia by the Bolsheviks

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