Unit One Section 5 Russian Revolution

Background of the Russian Revolution

The Russian Empire

Russia by far was the largest country in the world, but in many ways was one of the weakest in relation to the other powers engaged in the Great War. The Russian Empire contained within its large landmass a multitude of nationalities, religions, and resources.

Unfortunately, the size of the country made it difficult to rule and the population existed as a feudal (like the Medieval period) society. This meant that poor farming peasants were under the control of powerful landlords who controlled their lives. Finally, there was little industry or manufacturing of goods except in the very large cities. For the most part, Russia was a giant and backward nation by Western standards.

Internal Problems

To control such a massive empire, the tradition of a strong Tsar with the support of a powerful secret police, was belied to be the only way. Attempts to assist the suffering of peasants with land reforms had been attempted in the past, but had met with failure. In fact, Tsar Alexander II had freed the serfs (basically eliminated slavery), but was rewarded by being blown up by assassins. Regardless, many still believed that efforts had to be made to reform the country to catch up with West.

Eight out of ten Russians lived as peasants who labored under terrible conditions. Life in general was one of hardship and suffering. Many would starve to death during poor harvests and only ate meager rations with good harvests. Life in the cities was not much better, there people lived in cramped housing and worked low paying jobs. The rural and urban people of Russia were ready to hoping for improvements in their way of life from the Tsar.

Leadership of Russia

In 1894 a new Tsar (king) came to power named Nicholas II. Russia was not to benefit from the rule of Nicholas II, as he believed God had chosen him to rule alone. He was not interested in sharing the power to rule over Russia, but he came to the throne at a time when people were calling to this to occur.

In addition, he was physically weak, not very smart, and was a bad judge of people. This made him easy to be influenced by all sorts of poor advisors. One of these weak advisors was a monk named Gregory Rasputin. Rasputin gained access to the royal family because of the Tsar’s wife Empress Alexandra. She believed that Rasuptin was able to control her son’s hemophilia (a disease where uncontrollable bleeding occurs). Rasuptin used his position to have his friend appointed to posts in the Russian government.

Russo-Japanese War and the Revolution of 1905

War With Japan

A major dispute with Japan over the control of northern China led to war in 1904. The Tsar had hoped that a series of victories over the Japanese would rally the Russian people behind him. The war went very badly for the Russian both on land and at sea. In addition to the large numbers of casualties, things on the home front did not go well. Trade with other countries slowed and prices for food climbed. Many people who were already at starvation levels began to suffer tremendously. Russia was finally

forced to surrender to the Japanese by 1905.

The 1905 Revolution

During the war with Japan, the suffering people in the capital city of St Petersburg gathered on Sunday 22 January to ask the Tsar for food. The winter of 1904-5 was a very harsh one and people were starving to death. The people saw the Tsar as a father figure to the country and believed that he did not know his people were starving. The people wanted to go to the palace to explain to him the problems they faced.

The peaceful march was led by a number of priests carrying religious pictures and icons were soon joined by thousands of citizens.

The Tsar was not in St Petersburg at the time, but as the crowd entered the square in front of the palace they were met by hundreds of soldiers. It remains unclear what occurred next, but the soldiers opened fire upon the demonstrators. Hundreds of civilians were killed in what became known as “Bloody Sunday.” The shock that followed this event led to strikes and violence throughout the country.

The Tsar and his government were able to avoid a major revolution by promising to set up a duma (a type parliament where people would be elected). Although it looked like the Tsar was sharing power, the duma was almost powerless in the big picture. Some Russians felt that this was not enough, but for most, they believed that Russia was moving in

the right direction. A major revolution was avoided, but a strong movement by revolutionary socialists continued to push for radical changes.

Karl Marx and the Theory of Communism

Background of Karl Marx

Karl Marx was a German philosopher who became fascinated with revolution and the nature of change within civilization. The purpose of these changes would be the ultimate creation of an ideal society. His ideas were not well received by his home country and he was forced to leave. He settled in Belgium and France for short periods before moving to England.

During his travels, Marx met Friedrich Engels who had similar ideas about revolution and the development of a new society. The two men began to write a number of articles and books discussing the possibilities of developing a communist state. They produced two key books Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto. The books outlined the stages of evolution towards the ideal society and became guideposts for the future revolution in Russia.

The Communist Manifesto

Marx defined his ideas by examining human history to see if a struggle for power existed. He believed that there were two types of people that existed historically. The “haves” and the “have-nots” would be involved with a constant struggle for resources. The “haves” were called “capitalists” because they had all the money needed to build new factories, mines, railways or other “means of production.” The capitalists would then force the “have-nots,” who he called the “proletariat (working class),” to work for

them. This situation was unfair in the distribution of wealth within a society that would cause problems.

Problems emerge when capitalists pay the working classes very low wages while keeping the profits for themselves. In this manner the rich would become richer and the poor would become poorer. This situation would lead to the working class becoming frustrated and angry, therefore rising up to “seize the means of production.” The purpose of the uprising by the workers would be to distribute the wealth in a fair manner among all members of society. This stage of historical evolution would be called “socialism.”

A socialist state would have the workers own the means of production and all would share the profits equally. The workers would be working for themselves, not for the benefit of the capitalists. All forms of government would slowly disappear, as the workers understood the benefit of

working for the good of each other. Once this model state of affairs occurred, his ideal society that he called communism would exist.

The manifesto became a major influence for educated revolutionary Russians in the late 1880’s. The dream of creating a Marxian state became the goal for a number of movements within Russia.

Politics After the 1905 Revolution

The Split of the Socialist Party – Menshevik and Bolshevik

In the turmoil that followed the 1905 Revolution, socialist groups continued to push for a change in the way the Russia was ruled. These groups fought with the government and themselves in the attempt to define the future of the country. These battles led to a split of the socialist part into two groups called the Menshevik (Russian for minority) and Bolshevik parties (Russian for majority).

Initially, the majority of the socialist supporters belonged to the Menshevik party, but the leadership of the Bolsheviks was able to influence members to join their party. They believed that Russia must go through the various stages of historical evolution as defined by Karl Marx. Each stage must be completed before the country could reach the ideal socialist society that Marx predicted.

A radical group of socialists called the Bolsheviks split off from the Mensheviks. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, who took the nickname Lenin to protect himself from the secret police, led the group. He believed that a different course was necessary to develop the ideal socialist society. He proposed that a small party of “professional revolutionaries” seize power and drive the working classes into the vision proposed by Marx. In other words he did not trust the people to make the right decisions necessary to achieve socialism.

Effects of the Great War Upon Russia

The Russian Army – The Eastern Front

Russia had promised France to attack into East Prussia if a war was to break out. In effect, that was what they did when the Great War began. Initially they were successful in pushing their forces forward, but as German resistance grew, the problems with the Russian Army began to show.

The Russian Army had millions of men, but were poorly trained, led and equipped. In many cases Russian soldiers were sent into combat without weapons. They were expected to pick up the rifles of comrades who had been killed or wounded and carry on the fight. The troops often did not understand the language of their officers or fellow soldiers, as they were drawn from all over the Russian Empire. Officers and generals distrusted each other and in many cases refused to work together during battles. These and many more possible examples showcase the war effort by Russia.

By 1917 the army was near collapse. The Russian solider who had a reputation of being brave, tough and loyal had been broken. Massive losses, no medical treatment for wounded, limited weapons and food, and began to lose morale and a willingness to fight.

The Home Front

With the war going badly for Russia, the Tsar decided to take matters into his own hands. He believed that under his personal command his armies would fight like never before. While he was at the front, he left his wife Empress Alexandra in charge of affairs. She was not trained in the inner workings of government and listened to the advice of Rasputin.

Rasputin used his influence to put his friends into powerful government positions. During this time, many false rumors began to circulate among the people that Rasputin and Alexandra were lovers. Other rumors were spread that Alexandra was trying to

lose the war on purpose because she was German (the same rumors were spread about the British royal family and they promptly changed their name from Saxe-Coburg to Windsor as it sounded more English).

Although the rumors were false, many in Russia began to believe them. Ultimately, Rasputin was killed by a group of men trying to protect the prestige of the Russian throne. These problems, combined with the poor performance of the army, led to political great unrest.

The Two Revolutions of 1917

The March Revolution

Severe food shortages due to the war effort began causing major problems for the common people of Russia. As starvation claimed the lives of poor people, the duma began to publicly accuse the Tsar of destroying the country. Workers began strikes and riots against the government as a protest to the war and how it was being fought. Troops were called in to stop the riots and were ordered to fire upon the workers. Instead of firing upon the workers, they joined them in the protest against the war and therefore the Tsar.

The Tsar attempted to return to St Petersburg to take control of the situation, but the duma announced that they did not recognize the leadership of the Tsar any longer. They also announced the formation of a Provisional (temporary) Government to run the country in the absence of the Tsar. Nicholas II was shocked by the reaction of his people and was crushed by their lack of support. He abdicated the throne on 15 March 1917.

The Provisional Government

The new government of Russia immediately tried to fix the major problems facing the country. They promised the suffering peasants that they could own their land, and that all would be free to enjoy

the new prospects of Russia. The new government had good intentions, but did not have experience in running a large country.

Furthermore, the Provisional Government announced that the war against Germany and Austria-Hungary must continue. Western Russia was under the occupation of the advancing German Army and had to be stopped. All reforms to the Russian system were to be placed on hold until the enemy was defeated. This decision was soon to become the downfall of the government, as the people did not want to wait.

During this time of confusion within Russia, many former exiles returned to carry out changes to the system. One of the major players to return from Switzerland was Vladimir Lenin. Lenin was brought to Russia by the German army in a sealed railcar. They wanted him to undermine the Russian war effort. They never believed that he would be able to seize power and change the history of Europe.

The November (October) Revolution

Under the leadership of Lenin, the Bolshevik party gained strong support from the workers and soldiers inside the city of St Petersburg. As Lenin’s support grew, the Provisional Government suffered further defeats at the hands of the German Army. In addition, major plots against the government by socialist and supporters of the Tsar began to erode its power.

On the night of 7 November 1917, Lenin made his move to seize power. The Bolsheviks surrounded the Winter Palace where the Provisional Government was meeting and arrested everyone. As well, Bolshevik supporters seized the power stations and centers of communication. Lenin’s party immediately moved into the government offices and began to issue orders to run the country. Russian historians have described this series of events as the October Revolution. This can cause confusion because Russia used the Julian calendar, so what the rest of Europe calls November, they call October.

The job of seizing control of the government was relativity easy one for Lenin. The difficult task of trying to unite and run a large country like Russia was to prove to be something much more difficult.

Lenin In – Russia Out (of the Great War)

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Of primary importance to Lenin was to find an end to the war. He understood the need to consolidate his power inside of Russia, but could not do so with the threat of the German Army advancing. Lenin was prepared to seek peace at any cost with the Germans so that the revolution could continue. The Bolsheviks were prepared to give anything to the Germans because they believed in Marx’s theory about revolution. If a revolution occurs in one country, it will quickly spread to others. Thus, they believed that Germany was next to have the workers rise up and seize control. Lenin believed that Imperial Germany would not last long, so gave to the German demands.

On 3 March 1917 Russia and Germany signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Contained in the harsh treaty (some historians state that this treaty was worse that the Treaty of Versailles) was the demand that Russia give up Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Ukraine and the Transcaucasia. These areas were to be occupied by German troops and supply Germany with much needed supplies (the treaty was never enforced because Germany lost the war and the Allies did not give Germany any territories).

Red Verses White – The Russian Revolution

Civil War

With peace established with Germany, the war continued within the boundaries of Russia. As Lenin attempted to gain control over the whole country, forces loyal to the Tsar or that were anti-communist gathered strength to oppose him. This created a three-year civil war over control of the Russian state. The forces led by Lenin and the Bolsheviks were called the “Reds,” (red has been the color of revolution since the French Revolution) while forces opposed to him where termed “White” (white has traditionally been the color of royalty).

The White forces received support from the Western Allies during the internal war. The United States, England and Canada had contingents of men inside of Russia initially to guard supplies they had sent during the war, but they were in a position to fight if their

governments thought necessary.

The Red Army was able to defeat the much larger White armies over the course of the three-year conflict. The Red Army was led by fanatical communists who were prepared to do what ever was necessary to preserve the revolution. White forces were in many cases, composed of men that were not dedicated to restoring the Tsar. A number of Red victories led to the defeat of the White forces and their dreams of returning to the rule of the Tsars.

During the civil war, Lenin imposed “War Communism” to ensure victory. For rural peasants, this meant that the food they produced was seized without payment. In the cities, workers were forbidden to strike and placed under military discipline. The results of these measures allowed the Reds to win the civil war, but caused horrible problems for the future. Farm peasants refused to plant more crops as they believed that the communists were going to take it anyway. This led to a famine that claimed the lives of 7.5 million Russians. Millions of others lived just above the starvation level.

Lenin also saw the need to stabilize the government and country by eliminating people who did not support the revolution. This period became known as the “Red Terror.” During the terror, Lenin had people inside and outside of the party eliminated to ensure the success of the communist takeover (the Bolsheviks changed their name to the Communist Party in 1918). Thousands of people disappeared during the purge, but the plan helped control the opposition to the Communist Party.

The idea of “war communism” began to receive opposition from communist themselves. The harsh treatment of people under Lenin’s plan caused a major uprising by sailors at the Kronstadt Naval Base. They were ruthlessly executed for resisting the party’s plans, but the uprising forced Lenin to re-examine his policies.

Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP)

The Original Communist Plan

When the communist took over Russia, they immediately declared that all land, shops, factories, and machinery belonged to the state. In this manner, the state would own all the wealth in Russia. It would then be up to the state to distribute all the wealth equally among the people, so that there would no longer be individuals who were rich or poor. To distribute wealth, each person received a ration card that granted them food and clothing from the state run stores.

All land and machines were to be administered by a state official (communist party member) to ensure the system was fair. Although this seemed like a reasonable idea in theory, in practice it was a terrible failure. The communist party members running the factories and farms did not understand how they worked, and production fell causing starvation and suffering. The people began to demonstrate and riot against the communist government. These demonstrations were easy

to control in the urban centers, but in the rural areas, resistance grew.

The New Economic Policy

Lenin realized that Russia was not ready for the pure communism as set forth by Marx. He understood the need to relax the harsh policies and allow some capitalist behaviors to continue. The

decision to allow peasants to own farms and keep what they produced (after paying taxes to the state) created support for his policies and generated more trade. By allowing people to own small business and farms, production increase and caught up to pre-war levels. With the economy beginning to stabilize, Lenin turned his attention to how to govern the massive nation of Russia.

Building a Communist State

The Problem of Changing a Society

Lenin plunged into the creation of a new society modeled upon the writings of Karl Marx. Once again, the realities of make theories workable in practice presented a number of problems. The fears of invasion by other countries forced Lenin to create a barrier between Russia and the rest of the world. Tight censorship of books and people began to limit foreign ideas becoming popular inside of the country.

The power of the Russian Orthodox Church also had to be addressed. Karl Marx had called religion the “opium of the people.” In other words, to control the poor the rich used religion. To destroy the church in a very religious country became a large task for the Communist Party. Priest were arrested, churches

burned, and attempts to stamp out organized religion were taken.

Lenin was also forced to devote large amounts of time to the establishment of one political party across the nation. Russia was divided into Republics to be administered by the Party. Each Socialist Republic would then report to the to a parliament or union of republics. Here the Communist Party would rule under the direction of the Politburo (a small committee of communists led by Lenin). The new political format gave the new name for Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Slowly the Communist Party became involved with all aspects of an individual’s politics and personal lives. Although many of

the policies met with limited success, over time, they became accepted as a way of live within the newly created society.

The Death of Lenin and the Problem of a Replacement

The Failing Health of Lenin

The attempt to put into practice the theories of Karl Marx became all-consuming for Lenin. Lenin would spend countless hours over matters of state and in establishing the power of the Communist Party through out the country. Yet, Lenin’s health began to suffer. In 1918 he had been shot in an assassination attempt and had never fully recovered from his wounds. His health was further complicated by two large strokes that partially paralyzed him. Ultimately he died on 21 January 1924. Upon his death, he was hailed as a prophet and the creator of the USSR. In his honor, the city of Petrograd was renamed Leningrad and his body was enshrined near the Kremlin in Moscow.

Power Struggle in the Party

One of the most difficult problems faced by a country that does not elect its head of state becomes who replaces the leader upon their death (a similar situation exists in the communist country of Cuba. The successor to communist dictator Fidel Castro has yet to be established). In addition to the problem of selecting Lenin’s replacement, the party had split into two camps within the Politburo.

The “Rightist” were led by Nikolai Bukharin (with the support of Josef Stalin) who wanted to continue the program laid out by Lenin for the next twenty or more years. Leon Trotsky, who believed that the country must become heavily industrialized, led the “Left Opposition”. The purpose of the industrialization was to build weapons to resist the West should they try to destroy Communism. A vicious power struggle was to emerge for control of the Party and the country (See Unit Two – Stalin)