Russian Revolution: A Deep Dive into its History
Background
The Russian Revolution was a political, social, and economic movement that took place in 1917. It was led by two groups: the Mensheviks (professional, moderate monarchists) and the Bolsheviks (the working class and the poor, in general). These groups opposed the monarchy of Tsar Nicholas II, whose policies had generated discontent among the population. This movement took place during the contemporary epoch of history.
Protagonists
In the first stage of the Russian Revolution, led by the Mensheviks, the first president was Alexander Kerensky. Later, the group of radical, communist Bolsheviks had as their leader a historical personage familiar with the ideas of Karl Marx called “Lenin” (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov). Lenin later led the Bolshevik movement of the new Soviet Union. With the speech “All power for the Soviets,” he finally overthrew Kerensky, with the help of Leon Trotsky, who led Lenin’s Red Army.
Causes of the Russian Revolution
There was significant discontent with the monarchist policies of the Tsar’s government. Various social sectors and the population, in general, were frustrated by the constant defeats in battles with Germany during World War I and by the social, political, and economic policies of the monarchy. Many opponents felt that their rights and freedoms were compromised and that the new social and economic policies of nascent socialism would solve many of their problems.
Development of Events
Based on the aforementioned, the new working class, especially, preferred to adopt Karl Marx’s policies. In their belief, this would prevent the disadvantaged social classes from being exploited by what they called the “Royals.” That principle could lead them to have the power that no one had ever offered them before. They then oriented their speech in the direction that, for many years, Lenin, the forerunner of the movement and a faithful believer in the ideas of Karl Marx, had advocated.
The discontent generated by the monarchist government ended up uniting the working classes, workers, the military, and disgruntled oligarchs. This led to the fall of Tsar Nicholas II on March 15, 1917. The actors of this political movement that overthrew him were mostly supporters of the communist policies of Karl Marx and Bolsheviks from various countries that merged with Russia. This eventually gave rise to a socialist nation or state that was called the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).
Consequences of the Russian Revolution
Lenin’s government concentrated on reforms that would enable the Soviet people to gain access to land and power. This included the formation of committees of workers and peasants, a process of nationalization of banks and companies, and similar reforms. However, Lenin, the Communist leader, died in 1924 and was succeeded by Josef Stalin, a fierce leader who imposed tougher reforms. Stalin dominated the Soviet Union for 31 years, deepening and radicalizing the policies advanced by Lenin.
Subsequently, in 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved. Its territory was mostly occupied by the Russian Federation, and other countries in Europe and Asia returned to their original names.