6/12/98
THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION,
THE PEOPLES REVOLUTION
“The October Revolution was no more than a well planned military coup carried out with
out the knowledge and against the wishes of the people.”
This statement is entirely false, the October Revolution was wished for and very
necessary for the people of Russia, to bring more power back to the people. The events
of 1917 were crucial for the Bolsheviks, they represented their rise in power and their rise
in popularity with the people. It was these events that rallied the Russian people behind
the Bolshevik party and gave them the idea that a revolution was necessary. With this
argument I will first look back at the events in Russia that lead us to the October
Revolution and their effect on the people.
There were many events in Russian history before the October Revolution that
gave the Russian people less hope in their government, and made the idea of a revolution
seem inviting. Russia under the Tsarist system gave no power or rights to the people.
The autocratic system gave only the tsar rights and consequently all the power. In fact, it
was the tsar who told people what rights they had. The power in the autocracy flowed
from top to bottom, the top being the tsar and the bottom being people. “During the
system of Tsarism the peoples of Russia were systematically incited against one
The Essay on Revolution 3 Power Government Struggle
A revolution can be defined as many things. And many historians have attempted it in the past. The most accurate depiction of a revolution, in my opinion, was written by Chalmers Johnson in the 1960's. He stated that a revolution takes place when the dysfunction of an existing government and its decay gives rise to another power group taking control. I believe this to be most accurate because if a ...
another.”(pg.66, Daniels) During the Time of Trouble between 1598 and 1613 society
fell and there was no tsar to represent the people, Russia was undergoverned. During this
time, the Poles and the Swedes both invaded Russia. There is a battle going on over
lands between the nobles and the peasants who constitute 95% of Russia’s population.
With Russia being an agricultural society, the peasants first concern was surviving from
one harvest to the next. By this time society wants a dramatic change but the government
does not. The industrialization of Russia brought about the need for many workers, these
workers were mostly peasants working part time, and these same peasants eventually
became radicals. Marxist Revolutionaries targeted these unsatisfied workers to start a
revolution. Even during this time the thought of revolution was growing throughout
Russia. During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-1905 everything went wrong for
Russia. Russia failed to win even a single battle, despite the fact their army was five
times the size of the Japanese army. The Russian government felt the war would unify
Russia and its people, but this did not happen. They also felt the war would be a good
distraction for the people, but it was the government who was distracted, and the people
who lost more hope and trust in their government.
The Bolsheviks offered a change for the people of Russia and a chance to win
back control in their government. The first sign for the Russian people that a revolution
could be necessary was January 9, 1905 “Bloody Sunday.” This is when the Cossack
Cavalry shot and killed between 1-2000 striking workers. As a consequence of this,
laborers and owners unite. In mid January anti-government street demonstrations begin
in support of the workers strike.
Leon Trotsky became a member of the Bolshevik part in 1917, and soon became
the party’s most articulate speaker, rallying support for the revolution and the Bolsheviks.
Leon Trotsky the Marxist Revolutionary and spokesman of the Soviet gave speeches and
The Essay on Minimum Wage Troubles People Workers Work
Increasing the minimum wage may help hard working families make ends meat. The first federal minimum wage in 1938. Started at $. 25 an hour. In 1968 it reached its peak value. Since then the value has fallen thirty percent, so that today's minimum wage of $5. 15 is equal to $4. 18 which is equivalent to the value in 1995 (women, 4). Some states have decided to raise the minimum wage above $5. 15 ...
got workers riled up. This led to the Great October Strike of RR workers and in turn the
October Manifesto, which was viewed as a loss for the government. The October
Manifesto splits the liberal movement and leads in part to the Peasant Revolts of
1905. The peasants chose this time to revolt because they felt they could get away with it
with the government in turmoil and after the October Manifesto. All of the upheavals of
1905 gave the sense that a mass Russia had awakened. Out of the revolutions came the
Social Democrats in two factions the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. While the
Mensheviks had a working class mentality, the Bolsheviks wanted worker to be unhappy
to lead to revolt.
Lenin the leader of communism and the Bolsheviks led the charge to revolt and
to overthrow Capitalism. The Bolsheviks were the majority party and only took in
members who would devote their lives to the cause. In the April Theses Lenin wanted a
peaceful end to the war and felt that Capitalism must be done away with, as it was the
cause of the war. He also wanted all power to shift to the Soviets, this included the
workers, the soldiers and the peasants. For this reason the people of Russia trusted Lenin
and the Bolsheviks and thought of them as a breath of fresh air, and as a vehicle to
needed change in Russia. The people of Russia knew full well the revolutionary
intentions of Lenin who’s slogan clearly mapped out their intentions, “All power to the
Soviets through armed insurrection.”
The events of 1917 were crucial in the rise of the Bolsheviks in power and in
popularity with the people. Their campaign slogan was “Peace, Land and Bread”, which
is exactly what the Russian people needed at this time, the soldiers wished for peace, the
peasants wished for land, and the hungry masses needed bread. The Bolsheviks already
had the support of the workers and worked to protect their rights. January 9, 1917 the
anniversary of Bloody Sunday, 300,000 Petrograd workers demonstrated. Between
The Essay on Economic reform in the Soviet Union and Russia
Economic reforms in Russia and the Soviet Union have really never come to be, even after the constant assurances that the government gives its citizens that it is doing everything in its power to bring this to pass. One of the reasons this has been so difficult to achieve is the ‘man exploitation of man’ notion. Having some people live with hardly an income of between $40-$60 a month while others ...
January and February in 1917 the strike movement is moving towards revolution. Tsarist
authority ended when the Petrograd Garrison refused the tsars order to restore order in
Petrograd through violence if necessary. Now there is a dual power, which consists of
the Petrograd Soviet and the Provincial Government. Any separation of power in Russia
was viewed as bad. During the summer, the Bolsheviks take over the Soviet from the
Mensheviks. The Petrograd Soviet saw its role as speaking for all of Russia, it
represented the workers, the peasants and the soldiers. The Petrograd Soviet now wanted
to protect the revolution and the workers. The Soviet issues Order #1 saying that all
armed forces including the Petrograd Garrison must take their orders from the Soviet.
The Bolsheviks used their mastery of propaganda to gain support for their cause. The
workers were now ready for the Bolsheviks to take power, but they were not ready.
During the July Days the Bolsheviks try to seize power but fail, most of the party
leadership is arrested including Trotsky. After this the Bolsheviks rise seems to be dead.
However, on October 10 the Bolshevik Central Committee places armed uprising on the
agenda. Trotsky presents his 5- point plan saying the Soviet should be used to overthrow
the government and that they should mask the uprising as a defense of the Soviet. This
meant they would delay the uprising until an excuse for a defense was found. The
Bolsheviks had the support of the majority of workers and a good number of soldiers.
“The mass of the soldiers support us not because of the slogan of war, but because of the
slogan of peace.”(pg. 57 Daneils) Lenin managed to lead his party into action by October
21. The Provincial Government remained passive even while being aware of the
Bolshevik preparations. On October 22, 1917, the headquarters of the Petrograd Military
District failed to recognize the Military Revolutionary Committee and refused to conduct
its work in cooperation with the soldiers section of the Soviet. By this act headquarters
breaks with the revolutionary garrison and the Petrograd Soviet of Workers and soldiers
The Essay on Sources Of Bolshevik Victory In The Revolution And The Civil War
... after the Petrograd Soviets Order No. 1in March the conflict became evident. (Sakwa, pp.32-37) The Bolsheviks were in power after the October Revolution and ... of religious, cultural, or nationally defined beliefs and customs and supported Kolchak's coup d'etat.( Sakwa, pp.107-118) The next political movement ...
Deputies, which made headquarters a direct instrument in counter-revolutionary forces.
An order was issued on October 24 to ban the Bolshevik party and arrest its leaders.
However, this proved to be to little to late, and on October 25 the Bolsheviks uprising had
begun under Lenin’s slogan “All power to the soviets through armed insurrection.” The
slogan showed the people of Russia full well what Lenin and the Bolsheviks intentions
were, and the slogan gained them more supporters. The October Revolution was a
relatively bloodless affair with only six casualties. The operation consisted of the seizure
of the Winter Palace and the arrest of thirteen members of the Provincial- Government.
“Party historians insisted that the Bolshevik triumph was the inevitable consequence of
Russian domestic conditions and at the same time, an integral segment of the
international struggle of the proletariat against the bourgeoisie.”(pg 87,Dziew)
In conclusion the October Revolution was carried out with the support of most
Russians and it was a necessary trend in Russian History. The events leading up to the
October Revolution such as Bloody Sunday and the Peasant Revolts of 1905 and
especially the workers strikes gave Russia and it’s people a sense that a revolt was
necessary. The leadership of Lenin and Trotsky whose speeches helped gain support for
the Bolsheviks along with their excellent use of propaganda is what gave them the
support of the Russian people. Those events along with the struggling domestic
conditions in Russia led to the October Revolution. “According to Soviet historiography,
the October Revolution was the product of a clearly discernible, irresistible trend in
Russian history.”(pg. 87, Dziew)
Bibliography
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