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=Week 6=
(For a more indepth course on the October Revolution, please see- [course coming late January and done late Summer 2007])
==October Revolution (1917)==
{{History_of_Russia}}

The '''Russian Revolution of 1917''' was a series of political events in [[Russia]], involving first the overthrow of the system of [[autocracy]], and then the overthrow of the liberal [[Russian Provisional Government|Provisional Government]] ([[Duma]]), resulting in the establishment of the [[Soviet (council)|Soviet]] power under the control of the [[Bolshevik]] party. This eventually led to the establishment of the [[Soviet Union]], which lasted until its [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution]] in [[1991]]. 

The Revolution can be viewed in two distinct phases:

* The [[February Revolution]] of 1917, which displaced the autocracy of Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia]], the last effective [[Tsar]] of Russia, and sought to establish in its place a liberal [[republic]].
* The [[October Revolution]], in which the [[Bolshevik]] party and the workers' [[soviet (council)|Soviet]]s, led by [[Vladimir Lenin]], overthrew the Provisional Government. While many notable historical events occurred in [[Moscow]] and [[St. Petersburg]], there was also a broadly based movement in the rural areas as [[peasant]]s seized and redistributed land.

See also "[[Russian history, 1892-1920]]" for the general frame of events.

== Causes of the Russian Revolution ==

1917 saw two distinct revolutions in Russia: the overthrow of the Tsarist regime and formation of the [[Russian Provisional Government|Provisional Government]] ([[February Revolution]]), and the [[October Revolution]] in which the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government. The causes of these two revolutions encompass Russia’s political, social, and economic situation. Politically, the people of Russia resented the [[autocracy]] of Tsar Nicholas II and the corrupt and anachronistic elements in his government.  Socially, Tsarist Russia stood well behind the rest of Europe in its industry and farming, resulting in few opportunities for fair advancement on the part of peasants and industrial workers. Economically, widespread [[inflation]] and food shortages in Russia contributed to the revolution. Militarily, inadequate supplies, logistics, and weaponry led to heavy losses that the Russians suffered during [[World War I]]; this further weakened Russia’s view of Nicholas II. They viewed him as weak and unfit to rule.

Ultimately, a combination of these four, coupled with the development of revolutionary ideas and movements (particularly since the 1905 [[Bloody Sunday (1905)|Bloody Sunday]] Massacre) led to the Russian Revolution.

=== Economic ===

The economic causes of the Russian Revolution largely originated in Russia's slightly outdated economy. Russia's agriculture was largely based on independent peasants, who seldom owned modern machinery. Suffering from a naturally cold climate, Russia's growing season was only 4-6 months, compared to 8-9 in most of Western Europe.However, vast territory and population still allowed Russia to be the largest exporter of agricultural products in the world, even supplying North America in the 1900's.

=== Social ===

The social causes of the Russian Revolution mainly came from centuries of oppression towards the lower classes by the Tsarist regime and Nicholas's failures in World War I. While rural agrarian peasants had been [[Emancipation of the serfs|emancipated]] from [[serfdom]] in 1861, they still resented paying redemption payments to the state, and demanded communal tender of the land they worked. Increasing peasant disturbances and sometimes full revolts occurred, with the goal of securing ownership of their land. Russia consisted mainly of poor farming peasants, with 1.5% of the population owning 25% of the land.{{cn}}

The rapid industrialization of Russia also resulted in urban overcrowding and poor conditions for urban industrial workers (as mentioned above). Between 1890 and 1910, the population of the capital of St Petersburg swelled from 1,033,600 to 1,905,600, with Moscow experiencing similar growth. In one 1904 survey, it was found that an average of sixteen people shared each apartment in St Petersburg, with six people per room. There was also no running water, and piles of human waste were a threat to the health of the workers.

World War I then only added to the chaos. Conscription swept up the unwilling in all parts of Russia. The vast demand for factory production of war supplies and workers caused many more labor riots and strikes. Conscription stripped skilled workers from the cities, who had to be replaced with unskilled peasants, and then, when famine began to hit, workers abandoned the cities in droves to look for food. Finally, the soldiers themselves, who suffered from a lack of equipment and protection from the elements were discontent with Russia's poor accounting in the war.

=== Political ===

Politically, most areas of Russian society had reason to be dissatisfied with the existing autocratic system. They had no representation in government, and the Tsar remained out of touch with the people's problems.

Dissatisfaction with Russian autocracy culminated in the [[Bloody Sunday (1905)|Bloody Sunday]] massacre, in which Russian workers saw their pleas for justice rejected as thousands of unarmed protestors were shot by the Tsar's troops. The response to the massacre crippled the nation with strikes, and Nicholas released his [[October Manifesto]], promising a democratic parliament (the [[Duma#State Duma in Imperial Russia|State Duma]]) to appease the people. However, the Tsar effectively nullified his promises of Democracy with Article 87 of the 1906 [[Russian Constitution of 1906|Fundamental State Laws]], and then subsequently dismissed the first two Dumas when they proved uncooperative. These unfulfilled hopes of democracy fuelled revolutionary ideas and violence targeted at the Tsarist regime.

It appears as though Tsar Nicholas II never really considered Russia a constitutional state and invariably held on to his strong inclination towards an Autocratic Russia.

: ''"Let it be known to all that I... shall maintain the principle of autocracy just as firmly and unflinchingly as did my unforgettable dead father"'' - Tsar Nicholas II, 1906, in a speech to the Duma.

Beside the economic and social problems plaguing the country, the Russian Empire was still recovering from a humiliating defeat at the [[Russo-Japanese War|Russo-Japanese War of 1905]]. One of Nicholas's reasons for going to war in 1914 was his desire to restore the prestige that Russia had lost during that war. Nicholas also wanted to galvanize the diverse people in his empire under a single banner by directing military force at a common enemy, namely Germany and the Central Powers. He believed by doing so he could also distract the people from the ongoing issues of poverty, inequality, and poor working conditions that were sources of discontent.{{fact}}

Instead of restoring Russia's political and military standing, [[World War I]] would lead to horrifying military casualties on the Russian side and undermined it further. From the beginning the troops were not adequately supplied with weapons, or were led by incompetent generals and officers. Logistics were also a problem, since Russia's poorly maintained roads and railroads inhibited communication and distribution of supplies. Almost everywhere Russian forces were matched against German forces who had a superior advantage in weaponry, military talent, and logistics.

== World War I ==

Russia's recent history was a litany of military failures. Even before the outbreak of the [[World War I|First World War]], Russia had lost a [[Russo-Japanese War|war with Japan]] in 1904–05. Most of Russia's fleet was sunk by the Japanese in that war. While the Russian army enjoyed some initial successes against Austria-Hungary in 1914, Russia's deficiencies — particularly regarding the equipment of its soldiers and the lack of advanced technology (aeroplanes, telephones, poison gas) became increasingly evident.

Russia's first major battle of the war was a disaster.  In the 1914 [[Battle of Tannenberg (1914)|Battle of Tannenberg]], over 120,000 Russian troops were killed, wounded, or captured, while Germany suffered only 20,000 casualties.  Whatever nationalistic or patriotic support the Russian government had gained in the initial time frame leading up to the war had been lost.

In 1915, things took a critical turn for the worse when Germany shifted its focus of attack to the Eastern front. The superior German army - better led, better trained, better supplied - was terrifyingly effective against the ill-equipped Russian forces. By the end of October [[1916]], Russia had lost between 1.6 and 1.8 million soldiers, with an additional two million prisoners of war and one million missing for a total of nearly five million men. These were staggering losses. Mutinies began to occur, and in 1916 reports of fraternizing with the enemy started to circulate. Soldiers went hungry and lacked shoes, munitions, and even weapons.  Sometimes entire regiments would be sent to the front without guns, only hoping that before they made contact with the enemy, they would find weapons from soldiers that had been killed in earlier waves. Rampant discontent lowered morale, only to be further undermined by a series of military defeats.

In the autumn of [[1915]], Nicholas had taken direct command of the army, personally overseeing Russia's main theater of war and leaving his ambitious though incapable wife Alexandra in charge of the government. Reports of corruption and incompetence in the Imperial government began to emerge, and the growing influence of [[Grigori Rasputin]] in the Imperial family was widely resented.

Nicholas was blamed for all these crises, and what little support he had left began to crumble. As this discontent grew, the [[State Duma]] issued a warning to Nicholas in November 1916 stating that disaster would overtake the country unless a constitutional form of government was put in place. In typical fashion, Nicholas ignored them. As a result, Russia's Tsarist regime collapsed a few months later during the February Revolution of [[1917]]. A year later, the Tsar and his family were executed. Ultimately, Nicholas's inept handling of his country and the War destroyed the Tsarist regime and cost him both his rule and his life.

== February Revolution ==
{{main | February Revolution}}

[[Image:Nikolaus II. (Russland).jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]], March 1917, shortly after the revolution brought about his abdication.]]

The February Revolution was the result of the acute aggravation of the economical and political crisis in Russia. It came about seemingly spontaneously when people of the Russian capital [[Petrograd]] started to rally against the [[World War I|war]] and against the food supply shortages in the city.

As the protests grew, various political reformists (both liberal and radical left) started to coordinate their activities. In February the protests in Petrograd turned violent as large numbers of city residents rioted and clashed with police and soldiers, followed by the total strike. Eventually the bulk of the soldiers garrisoned in Petrograd joined the protests, and the uprisen people occupied most of the important places in the city. This had led to the abdication of Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] in a nearly bloodless transition of power.

A new [[Russian Provisional Government, 1917|Provisional Government]] was formed. Between February and October revolutionaries attempted to foment further change, working through the [[Petrograd Soviet]] and other organizations. The driving force behind the provisional government was a young and popular lawyer named [[Alexander Kerensky]]. Kerensky, as minister of war, decided to continue the Russian effort in World War I despite the enormous unpopularity of the war. He appointed new generals and began a new offensive, the [[Kerensky Offensive]], which started well and then turned into yet another defeat. Kerensky's government tried to shame the soldiers into fighting by creating a [[Women's Battalion]], but without success. The failure of his offensive brought about much resentment from the people.

== October Revolution ==

[[Image:Soviet Union, Lenin (55).jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[Vladimir Lenin]], leader of the Bolsheviks]]

{{main | October Revolution}}

The October Revolution was led by [[Vladimir Lenin]] and was based upon Lenin's writing on the ideas of [[Karl Marx]], a political ideology often known as [[Marxism-Leninism]]. It marked the beginning of the spread of [[communism]] in the twentieth century. It was far less sporadic than the revolution of February and came about as the result of deliberate planning and coordinated activity to that end. Though Lenin was the leader of the Bolshevik Party, it has been argued that, seeing as Lenin wasn't present during the actual take over of the Winter Palace, it was really Trotsky's organization and direction that led the revolution, spurred by the motivation Lenin instigated within his party. The financial and logistical assistance of German intelligence via their key agent, [[Alexander Parvus]] was a key component as well.

On [[November 7]], [[1917]], [[Bolshevik]] leader Vladimir Lenin led his leftist revolutionaries in a revolt against the ineffective Provisional Government (Russia was still using the [[Julian Calendar]] at the time, so period references show an [[October 25]] date). The October Revolution ended the phase of the revolution instigated in February, replacing Russia's short-lived provisional government with a [[soviet (council)|Soviet]] one. Although many Bolsheviks  supported a [[soviet democracy]], the 'reform from above' model gained definitive power when Lenin died and [[Stalin]] gained control of the USSR. Trotsky and his supporters, as well as a number of other democratically-minded communists, were persecuted and eventually imprisoned or killed.

After October 1917, many SR's (members of the [[Socialist-Revolutionary Party]]) and Russian Anarchists opposed the Bolsheviks through the soviets. When this failed, they revolted in a series of events calling for "a third revolution." The most notable instances were the [[Tambov rebellion]], 1919–1921, and the [[Kronstadt rebellion]] in March 1921. These movements, which made a wide range of demands and lacked effective coordination, were eventually crushed during the [[Russian Civil War|Civil War]].

== Civil war ==
{{main | Russian Civil War}}

The Russian Civil War, which broke out in 1918 shortly after the revolution, brought death and suffering to millions of people regardless of their political orientation. The war was fought mainly between the [[Red Army]] ("Reds"), consisting of radical communists and revolutionaries, and the [[White Movement|"Whites"]] - the monarchists, conservatives, liberals and moderate socialists who opposed the drastic restructuring championed by the Bolsheviks. The Whites had backing from nations such as the UK, France, USA and Japan.

Also during the Civil War, [[Nestor Makhno]] led a Ukrainian [[anarchist]] movement which generally cooperated with the Bolsheviks. However, a Bolshevik force under [[Mikhail Frunze]] destroyed the [[Makhnovist]] movement, when the Makhnovists refused to merge into the [[Red Army]]. In addition, the so-called "[[Green Army]]" (nationalists and anarchists) played a secondary role in the war, mainly in Ukraine.

== The Russian revolution and the world ==

[[Lenin]] and [[Trotsky]] said that the goal of [[socialism]] in Russia would not be realized without the success of the [[world revolution]]. Indeed, a [[revolutionary wave]] [[Revolutions of 1917-23|lasted until 1923]]. Despite initial hopes for success in the [[German Revolution]], in the short-lived [[Hungarian Soviet Republic]] and others like it, no other [[Marxist]] movement succeeded in keeping power in its hands. 

This issue is subject to conflicting views on the communist history by various Marxist groups and parties. [[Stalin]] later rejected this idea, stating that [[Socialism in one country|socialism was possible in one country]].

The confusion regarding Stalin's position on the issue stems from the fact that he, after Lenin's death in 1924, successfully used Lenin's argument - the argument that socialism's success needs the workers of other countries in order to happen - to defeat his competitors within the party by accusing them of betraying Lenin and, therefore, the ideals of the October Revolution.

== Brief chronology leading to Revolution of 1917 ==

''Dates are correct for the [[Julian calendar]], which was used in Russia until [[1918]]. It was twelve days behind the [[Gregorian calendar]] during the 19th century and thirteen days behind it during the 20th century.''

{| class="wikitable"
! Date(s)
! Event(s)
|-
| [[1855]]
| Start of reign of [[Alexander II of Russia|Tsar Alexander II]]
|-
| [[1861]]
| [[Emancipation of the serfs]]
|-
| [[1866]]-[[1874|74]]
| [[The White Terror]]
|-
| [[1881]]
| Alexander II assassinated; succeeded by [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]]
|-
| [[1883]]
| First Russian [[Marxism|Marxist]] group formed
|-
| [[1894]]
| Start of reign of [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]]
|-
| [[1898]]
| First Congress of [[Russian Social Democratic Labour Party]] (RSDLP)
|-
| [[1900]]
| Foundation of [[Socialist Revolutionary Party]] (SR)
|-
| [[1903]]
| Second Congress of Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Beginning of split between [[Bolshevik]]s and [[Menshevik]]s.
|-
| [[1904]]-[[1905|5]]
| [[Russo-Japanese War]]; Russia loses war
|-
| [[1905]]
| [[Russian Revolution of 1905]].

* January - [[Bloody Sunday 1905|Bloody Sunday]] in [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]].
* June - [[Battleship Potemkin uprising]] at [[Odessa]] on the [[Black Sea]] (see movie ''[[The Battleship Potemkin]]'')
* October - general strike, [[St. Petersburg Soviet]] formed; [[October Manifesto]]: Imperial agreement on elections to the State [[Duma]]

|-
| [[1906]]
| First State [[Duma]]. Prime Minister - [[Petr Stolypin]]. Agrarian reforms begin
|-
| [[1907]]
| Second State Duma, February - June
|-
| [[1907]]
| Third State Duma, until [[1912]]
|-
| [[1911]]
| Stolypin assassinated
|-
| [[1912]]
| Fourth State Duma, until 1917. [[Bolshevik]]/[[Menshevik]] split final
|-
| [[1914]]
| [[Germany]] declares war on Russia
|-
| [[1915]]
| Serious defeats, Nicholas II declares himself Commander in Chief. [[Progressive Bloc]] formed.
|-
| [[1916]]
| Food and fuel shortages and high prices
|-
| [[1917]]
| Strikes and riots; troops summoned to Petrograd
|}

==== Expanded chronology of Revolution of 1917 ====

{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
! Gregorian Date
! Julian Date
! Event
|-
|
| January
| Strikes and unrest in [[Petrograd]]
|-
|
| February
| [[February Revolution]]
|-
|
| February 26<sup>th</sup>
| 50 demonstrators killed in [[Znamenskaya Square]]
|-
|
| February 27<sup>th</sup>
| * Troops refuse to fire on demonstrators, desertions. Prison, courts, and police stations attacked and looted by angry crowds.

* [[Okhranka]] buildings set on fire. Garrison joins revolutionaries.
* [[Petrograd]] Soviet formed.

|-
|
| March 1<sup>st</sup>
| Order No.1 of the Petrograd Soviet
|-
|
| March 2<sup>nd</sup>
| [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] abdicates. [[Russian Provisional Government, 1917|Provisional Government]] formed under Prime Minister [[Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov|Prince Lvov]]
|-
|
| April 3<sup>rd</sup>
| Return of [[Lenin]] to Russia. He publishes his [[Lenin's April Theses|April Theses]].
|-
|
| April 20<sup>th</sup>
| [[Pavel Miliukov|Miliukov]]'s note published. Provisional Government falls.
|-
|
| May 5<sup>th</sup>
| New Provisional Government formed. [[Kerensky]] made minister of war and navy
|-
|
| June 3<sup>rd</sup>
| First All-Russian Congress of Soviets in Petrograd. Closed on 24<sup>th</sup>.
|-
|
| June 16<sup>th</sup>
| Kerensky orders offensive against Austro-Hungarian forces. Initial success.
|-
|
| July 2<sup>nd</sup>
| Russian offensive ends. [[Leon Trotsky|Trotsky]] joins Bolsheviks.
|-
|
| July 4<sup>th</sup> – 7<sup>th</sup>
| The "[[July Days]]"; anti-government demonstrations in Petrograd.
|-
|
| July 6<sup>th</sup>
| German and [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] counter-attack. Russians retreat in panic, sacking the town of [[Tarnopol]]. Arrest of Bolshevik leaders ordered.
|-
|
| July 7<sup>th</sup>
| Lvov resigns. Kerensky is new Prime Minister
|-
|
| July 22<sup>nd</sup>
| Trotsky and Lunacharskii arrested
|-
|
| August 26<sup>th</sup>
| Second coalition government ends
|-
|
| August 27<sup>th</sup>
| Right-wing General [[Lavr Kornilov]] is alleged by Kerensky to have attempted a coup. Kornilov arrested and imprisoned.
|-
|
| September 1<sup>st</sup>
| Russia declared a republic
|-
|
| September 4<sup>th</sup>
| Trotsky and others freed. Trotsky becomes head of [[Petrograd Soviet]] of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.
|-
|
| September 25<sup>th</sup>
| Third coalition government formed
|-
|
| October 10<sup>th</sup>
| Bolshevik Central Committee meeting approves armed uprising.
|-
|
| October 11<sup>th</sup>
| Congress of Soviets of the Northern Region, until October 13<sup>th</sup>
|-
|
| October 20<sup>th</sup>
| First meeting of the [[Military Revolutionary Committee]] of the [[Petrograd Soviet]]
|-
|
| October 25<sup>th</sup>
| [[October Revolution]] is launched as MRC directs armed workers and soldiers to capture key buildings in Petrograd. [[Winter Palace]] attacked at 9.40pm and captured at 2am. Kerensky flees Petrograd. Opening of the [[2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets]].
|-
|
| October 26<sup>th</sup>
| Second Congress of Soviets: Mensheviks and right SR delegates walk out in protest against the previous day's events. [[Decree on Peace]] and [[Decree on Land]]. Soviet government declared - the [[Council of People's Commissars]] (Bolshevik dominated with Lenin as chairman).
|}

== Cultural portrayal ==

The Russian Revolution has been portrayed in several [[film]]s.

* ''Arsenal'' ' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019649/ (IMDB profile)]. Written and directed by [[Aleksandr Dovzhenko]].
* ''Konets Sankt-Peterburga'' aka ''The End of St. Petersburg'' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018066/ (IMDB profile)].
* ''Lenin v 1918 godu''' aka '''Lenin in 1918'' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031564/ (IMDB profile)]. Directed by Mikhail Romm and E. Aron (co-director).
* [[October: Ten Days That Shook The World]] [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018217/ (IMDB profile)]. Directed by [[Sergei M. Eisenstein]] and [[Grigori Aleksandrov]]. Runtimes: Sweden:104 min, USA:95 min. Country: Soviet Union. Black and White. Silent. 1927.
* [[Reds]] [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082979/ (IMDB profile)]. Directed by [[Warren Beatty]]. It is based on the book [[Ten Days that Shook the World]].
* [[Anastasia (1997 film)|Anastasia]] [http://imdb.com/title/tt0118617/ (IMDB profile)]. Directed by [[Don Bluth]] and [[Gary Goldman]].
* [[Doctor Zhivago (1965 film)|Dr. Zhivago]]

== Bibliography ==
=== Participants' accounts ===

* [[John Reed (journalist)|Reed, John]]. [http://www.marxists.org/archive/reed/1919/10days/10days/index.htm Ten Days that Shook the World]. 1919, 1st Edition, published by BONI & Liveright, Inc. for International Publishers. Transcribed and marked by David Walters for [http://www.marxists.org/archive/reed/works/index.htm John Reed Internet Archive]. Penguin Books; 1st edition. June 1, 1980. ISBN 0-14-018293-4. Retrieved May 14, 2005.
* [[Victor Serge|Serge, Victor]]. [http://www.marxists.org/archive/serge/1930/year-one/index.htm Year One of the Russian Revolution]. L'An l de la revolution russe, 1930. Year One of the Russian Revolution, Holt, Reinhart, and Winston. Translation, editor's Introduction, and notes © 1972 by Peter Sedgwick. Reprinted on Victor Serge Internet Archive by permission. ISBN 0-86316-150-2. Retrieved May 14, 2005.
* [[Leon Trotsky|Trotsky, Leon]]. [http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1930-hrr/index.htm The History of the Russian Revolution]. Translated by Max Eastman, 1932. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 8083994. ISBN 0-913460-83-4. Transcribed for the World Wide Web by John Gowland (Australia), Alphanos Pangas (Greece) and David Walters (United States). Pathfinder Press edition. June 1, 1980. ISBN 0-87348-829-6. Retrieved May 14, 2005.

=== Primary Documents  ===
* Steinberg, Mark D. ''Voices of Revolution, 1917''. In the series “Annals of Communism,” Yale University Press, 2001. On-line publication of these texts in the Russian original: ''Golosa revoliutsii, 1917 g.'' (Yale University Press, 2002): http://www.yale.edu/annals/Steinberg/golosa.htm

=== References ===

* Malone, Richard. ''Analysing the Russian Revolution'', : ISBN 0-521-54141-7, Melbourne, Cambridge University Press; 1st edition, 2004
* Figes, Orlando. ''A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891-1924'', : ISBN 0-14-024364-X (trade paperback) ISBN 0-670-85916-8 (hardcover)
* Fitzpatrick, Sheila. ''The Russian Revolution''. 199 pages. Oxford University Press; 2nd Reissu edition. December 1, 2001. ISBN 0-19-280204-6.
* Lincoln, W. Bruce. " Red Victory: A History of the Russian Civil War 1918 to 1921, pp. 163-193. ISBN 0-306-80909-5 New York, Simon and Schuster, 1989.

== External links ==

[[Russian_Revolution/External_Links#Week_6|External Links for Week 6]]

==Questions==
[[Russian Revolution/Questions#Week 6|Week 6 Questions]]

==Next week's materials==
[[Russian_Revolution/Week 7|Week 7]]

[[Category:Russian Revolution]]