The Fall of Tsarist Russia and the Rise of the USSR
Item 8: The Sinking of the Russian Revolution
1. The Tsarist Regime
1.1 The Situation in Russia Before the Revolution
The socio-economic analysis reflects an essentially rural and archaic economic activity with very low agricultural productivity. Russia was a backward, uncompetitive country, outside the changes occurring elsewhere in Europe. The failure in the Crimean War exposed this reality and the need for measures to modernize the country without abrupt changes. The most important decision was Alexander II’s decree of emancipation of the serfs, which affected 22.5 million farmers. Its aim was to liberalize the labor force and create a large middle class of farmers.
The Abolition of Serfdom did not achieve the desired results. The nobles retained most of the land: 40% was owned by a small group, while the remainder was divided among 60 million people. The peasants were now free but received plots almost always smaller than those they worked when they were serfs and were overwhelmed by taxes and debts. Some farmers formed communities (mir), while others sold their land or had it seized, adding to the properties of landowners (kulaks). Many were impoverished and forced to migrate to cities.
Industry did not offer a better picture. Industrial activity started later than in Russia than in most Western European countries and was limited to textiles and metallurgical mining. A characteristic of Russian industry was its focus on large companies. Funding was mixed, partly internal and partly with foreign capital.
The Social Reality presented an intermediate situation between feudalism and industrial society. Among the privileged classes were the aristocracy by blood, the landed courtly nobility of service who held senior imperial administration positions, the small industrial and commercial bourgeoisie, and the kulaks, benefiting from the timid land reforms. The clergy, controlled by the Tsar as head of the Russian Orthodox Church, also belonged to this group.
The middle class was very rudimentary, consisting of small businesses and industries. They were influenced by Western values and formed circles of scholars, particularly in St. Petersburg, who saw Russia as a barbaric and backward country in the east.
The largest group was the peasantry, comprising 80% of the population, paying taxes and state loans for land purchases. The industrial proletariat consisted of three million people living in miserable conditions.
The Political Reality showed an autocratic regime headed by the Tsar, whose pillars were the aristocracy, army, secret police, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the state bureaucracy. After abolishing serfdom, Tsar Alexander II initiated a timid liberalization with the creation of local zemstvos and Dumas. Inside and outside Russia, there were a number of ideological trends that promoted a liberal approach or revolutionary formulas. The assassination of the Tsar and the enthronement of Alexander III marked a reversal of the limited previous start, which continued during the reign of Nicholas II. The sovereign seemed least likely to undertake the reforms that Russia needed.
Among the political forces opposed to the regime, the most important were:
- Federation of Freedom: A liberal-reformist party whose main problem was the lack of support from social forces.
- Populist Party: Connecting with the Russian revolutionary tradition, it advocated land distribution. Its social base was the peasantry, and it admitted violent action as a strategy.
- Social Democrat Party: Marxist ideology. In 1898, it split into two groups:
- Mensheviks: Defended the model of a mass party and timely collaboration with the bourgeoisie.
- Bolsheviks: An elite and disciplined party capable of directing the masses.
1.2 The Revolution of 1905
Many described it as a dress rehearsal for the great revolution, as the source of social unrest. On January 22, a demonstration led by a priest gathered in St. Petersburg. This caused foreign outrage and deepened the rift between the Tsarist regime and its subjects. Following these events, widespread disorders occurred. In October, strikes reached almost every city of the empire with the help of revolutionaries and liberals. The revolutionary opposition continued to act more organized through the creation of several committees. The most important was that of St. Petersburg. The Soviets led the revolt of the Kronstadt sailors and strikes by farmers, showing that the Tsar’s measures did not fulfill all aspirations.
2. The Revolution of 1917
2.1 The February Revolution
A series of strikes in Petrograd occurred. The army refused to suppress the subversion and joined the revolt. The inevitable fall of the Tsar took place in early March. A dual power was created: the executive committee composed of liberals and the Soviet of workers and soldiers. Kerensky became the strongman of the moment.
2.2 February to October
In March, a provisional government was formed. Lvov promised elections to a constituent assembly, forgetting social reforms. In these circumstances, Lenin returned to Russia and enunciated his famous April Theses in Petrograd. The Bolsheviks’ aim was to end the war, take power through the Soviets, and create a new workers’ international. A new cabinet faced an adverse war, exasperation due to rising prices, and independent movements emerging in some cities. In his supreme effort to master the impulse, Kerensky became head of government in early summer. The first difficulty was continuing the war; in July, he attempted another offensive against the Germans, which ended in failure. In August, a Tsarist general attempted a coup, which was foiled thanks to the decisive action of the Bolshevik militias.
2.3 The October Revolution
Lenin secretly returned to Russia on October 9. Immediately, the Bolshevik Central Committee decided to accelerate the takeover, led by Trotsky and the mobilization order of the Soviets. The army of the capital revolted and joined the revolution. The Red Guard of the Bolsheviks and the army, with help from the battleship Aurora, seized the Winter Palace.
3. The Construction of the USSR Under Lenin
3.1 The Initial Stage: Decrees on Peace and Land
After seizing power, Lenin issued his first decrees:
- Decree on Peace: It meant Russia’s exit from World War I and the signing of peace with Germany, as promised in the April Theses. The Congress of Soviets ratified the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918. Russia lost Finland, the Baltic countries, Poland, Transcaucasia, and almost all of Ukraine. Romania ceded Bessarabia, Bulgaria ceded Dobrudja, and the Ottoman Empire gained Kars.
- Decree on Land: It was Lenin’s other major objective. Land was expropriated from former owners and distributed to the peasants, whose debts were accumulated. Collectivization was not easily achieved.
- Other Measures: Abolition of titles and privileges, the right to self-determination of peoples of the former empire, election of officers by soldiers, equal pay for staff and workers, and equal rights for women. The Constituent Assembly, according to the resolution adopted by the provisional government, was pending. The assembly superseded all decrees of the Bolsheviks.