Russian Revolution

Zach Corgiat-Raymond

Mr. Hertz

English 2

7 February 2013

Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution was a big part of the political history of the world.  It brought about the end of Czardom (the Russian Monarchy) and began a vicious battle for the control of Russia.  The intentions of the revolution was to bring about an equal society, Communism, but actually occurred was something different.  The leaders of the revolution considered themselves better than the common worker and they killed their comrades to maintain power.  The events of the Russian Revolution taught us that there are forms of government that can start with the best of intentions, but over time can be morphed to be used in a bad way.

The Russian Revolution started in 1917 and it had no official end, is suspected to have ended around 1926. It started with Lenin ruling the USSR then Stalin became popular and ruled with brute force. The Russian Revolution ended a little while after Stalin died (Encyclopedia Britannica).

The downfall of the USSR started with lack of freedom, poor leadership, major economic problems, and food shortages. Losing the Japanese-Russo war didn't help them with morale. The Russian army started drafting men to join the army, because of decline in men(Russian Revolution). There were strikes from the factory workers because of how much they were paid and the working conditions. Russia was not in good shape they needed someone to lead them.

In 1916 to 1917 there were demonstrations and protests were held against the government. The protests involved soldiers, rural and urban workers, and intelligence were involved. Then radical movements gained support and momentum. The Bolshevik party and their leader, Vladimir Lenin, gained enough power and support to seize control of the government “on behalf of the people”. The means of the public is owned by the “public” and operated for the good of all. The government controlled all the key industries and hence controlling the economy.

The type of government they used was a more primitive form of communism. The majority of the working class would bring together and forcibly take the political and economic power from the wealthy minority. Then the working class would control the government, industry, and agriculture. Then there was a civil war that lasted from 1918 to 1920(History.com). The Bolsheviks were red and the white included Nationalists, Monarchists, and Moderates.

Joseph Stalin was slowly gaining power in the communist party. Stalin became the Totalitarian leader, he had his enemies removed with extreme force. During Stalin's rule he made seven million arrests, one million executions, nine million people were in camps, two million people died in camps(Encyclopedia Britannica). The mentality was to rule with brutality to create a strong state. According to Stalin the duty of the USSR was to first create a strong state. The women were legally equal to men. Men still dominated the society. Stalin died in 1953 which in my opinion worked out for the Russians a lot better.  

Work Cited

"Russian Revolution." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 20 May 2013.

“"Documents on the Russian Revolution." Documents on the Russian Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2013.

"Russian Revolution." Russian Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2013.

"Russian Revolution of 1917." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 20 May 2013.