Russian Revolution-Causes and Effects
The Russian Revolution took place during World War One and consisted of two different revolutions. The two revolutions are known as the March Revolution, and the October Revolution. Russia’s Economy during WWI was weak. It had a limited industry, a lack of industrialization and a scarce supply of food and fuel. The nation was in debt. WWI played a major role in the start of the Russian Revolution. The sense of a nationalistic pride accompanied by the nation during the fighting of WWI caused the Russian people to be confident in their country and have a strong passion to support its people. This would most definitely lead to revolts and uprisings. Another thing that contributed to the spark of the Russian Revolution was the economic poverty being faced in Russia at the time. During the Russo-Japanese War, Czar Nicholas spent and wasted all of Russia’s money to fight and ended up losing the war anyways. This put Russia in debt and further industrialization pushed Russia even further into an economic crisis. The people of Russia were sickened by Czar Nicholas’s wasteful mind in handling money and despised his ways of dealing with the economic crisis. These feelings would lead to the people wanting change and revolting. Another thing that contributed to the cause of the Russian Revolution is the choice made when Czar Nicholas went to the front to fight in war. Once Czar Nicholas leaves to fight, the Queen is left hopeless and feels she cannot lead a nation alone. She recently hired a monk to heal her son and his disease and was overcome by the fact that he could make her son not sick anymore. She greatly appreciated and admired this monk, named Rasputin, and felt he would be a great companion for her to help rule the nation. The people were not at all happy with this choice. They believed Rasputin to be a mad man who does not have any knowledge and is a poor ruler. At this point, amongst the economic crisis, the nationalistic views and the poor ruling habits, the people of Russia were ready and willing to start a revolution. The first revolution is known as the March Revolution in 1917. Protestors marched on Petrograd; workers boycotted and went on strike, and soldiers refused to fight in the war. The people, at this point, needed the Czar’s power to be diminished and that is exactly what occurred. The Abdication of Czar Nicholas took place and the people were overcome with joy. Also a new government was set up due to the March Revolution and was called a Provisional government. This was set up by the Duma and Alexander Kerensky was set to be the leader. Although the people were happy about Czar Nicholas’s abdication, their main problem was not fixed. Russia’s people wanted to be removed from their involvement in WWI, and Kerensky wanted to continue Russia’s involvement in the war. Russia was infuriated with this because their involvement in the war is what led to their destruction. From this, another uprising occurred called the November Revolution. The provisional government was failing and people searched for change. They were losing WWI, food shortages were occurring, and disarray amongst the people was present. The Bolsheviks, a newly created communist group, gained support through the November Revolution. They supported violence, rioting, protests, and participated in many uprisings. The Bolsheviks started the November Revolution against Alexander Kerensky's Provisional Government. They overthrew it and took control of the nation, making Russia a communist country. The Bolsheviks emerged as new authority. This group was now greatly supported by the people and was led by Vladimir Lenin. He encouraged political change and followed ideas of Marxism. The peasants supported Lenin’s ideas the most because he promoted equality for the people and freedom for the peasants. The people were very pleased with this change and believed all was for Russia’s best interest. However there were still many who opposed the ideas of Lenin and the Bolsheviks. Eventually, two different groups emerged due to the lack of agreement. The groups that emerged are called the Whites, which were the Bolsheviks, and the Reds consisting of the individuals who did not support the Bolsheviks. These two opposing groups had much conflict in ideas for Russia and a civil war broke out between the two.
The Russian Revolution was a time in history where the people were able to voice their opinion and overrun the corrupt government. The impact that the people had was so strong. Their voice led to many reforms for the country, and laid down the foundations for future generations. Overall, the Russian Revolution was a powerful turning point in history that changed Russia forever.
The Russian Revolution was a time in history where the people were able to voice their opinion and overrun the corrupt government. The impact that the people had was so strong. Their voice led to many reforms for the country, and laid down the foundations for future generations. Overall, the Russian Revolution was a powerful turning point in history that changed Russia forever.