The Russian Revolution of 1917: Causes and Bolshevik Rise
The 1917 Revolution
World War I highlighted the poor preparation of the Russian economy to confront a large and prolonged conflict.
February Events: The Fall of the Tsar
The strike of 23 February 1917, convened by the textile workers, encouraged workers in the capital to show solidarity. There was a strike, and later, a mutiny of the garrison.
The Duma established a provisional government. Prince Lvov forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate. The new government, with the Soviet, appointed a moderate socialist, Kerensky, as the prime minister (July 1917).
The Soviets multiplied and established a dual power structure: the government and the popular assemblies.
Ascension of the Bolsheviks
Before the First World War, European socialism suffered a split between those who supported their governments against other countries and those who were against exploiting the war. Lenin was in the latter group, having been exiled after the 1905 revolution. Once in Petrograd, the Bolshevik leader proposed an action program known as the April Theses to his party.
- Rejection of the government and continuation of the war.
- Control of production and distribution by the Soviets.
- Transformation of the bourgeois republic into a republic of soviets of workers and fields.
Lenin’s program was understandable for the Russian people. Kerensky refused to accept requests for land distribution and to make peace, losing support among the left, workers, and peasants. He failed to restore order in factories, fields, and troops.
In October 1917, Lenin convinced his party that the time had come for an armed rebellion against Kerensky’s government.
The 1917 Revolution
World War I highlighted the poor preparation of the Russian economy to confront a large and prolonged conflict.
February Events: The Fall of the Tsar
The strike of 23 February 1917, convened by the textile workers, encouraged workers in the capital to show solidarity. There was a strike, and later, a mutiny of the garrison.
The Duma established a provisional government. Prince Lvov forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate. The new government, with the Soviet, appointed a moderate socialist, Kerensky, as the prime minister (July 1917).
The Soviets multiplied and established a dual power structure: the government and the popular assemblies.
Ascension of the Bolsheviks
Before the First World War, European socialism suffered a split between those who supported their governments against other countries and those who were against exploiting the war. Lenin was in the latter group, having been exiled after the 1905 revolution. Once in Petrograd, the Bolshevik leader proposed an action program known as the April Theses to his party.
- Rejection of the government and continuation of the war.
- Control of production and distribution by the Soviets.
- Transformation of the bourgeois republic into a republic of soviets of workers and fields.
Lenin’s program was understandable for the Russian people. Kerensky refused to accept requests for land distribution and to make peace, losing support among the left, workers, and peasants. He failed to restore order in factories, fields, and troops.
In October 1917, Lenin convinced his party that the time had come for an armed rebellion against Kerensky’s government.