Russian Revolution

DBQ Essay

The Russian Revolution was not merely a culmination of event from 1905-19-17, but was the result of political, economic and social conditions from centuries of corrupt tsarist rule.The Russian Revolution of 1917 involved the collapse of an empire under Tsar Nicholas II and the rise of Marxian socialism under Lenin and his Bolsheviks. It sparked the beginning of a new era in Russia that had effects on countries around the world.The Russian Revolution of 1917 was one of the most significant events in the 20th century. It completely changed the government and outlook on life in the very large country of Russia. The events of the revolution were a direct result of the conflict in World War I. Many problems had led to the debilitating situation in the early 20th century for explain like social, economic and political conditions led to the Russian Revolution. For the social conditions Russia needed to educate the population. Many peasants were hungry and starving caused many to die of starvation. Many peasants were unskilled and forced into labor. Also A large majority of the population was illiterate meaning didn't know how to read and write, so many were jobless and uneducated. Factory owners wanted workers who knew how to read and write and factories were looking for more skilled workers. According to Document 3 unskilled workers had dedication but were forced into factories with dangerous conditions. Also according to Document 2 the Communist government wanted to take away illiteracy which affected city workers . But then as early as 1919 a campaign was started to remove illiteracy . In 1921 school were built in factories and were offered to construct basic reading, writing and arithmetic lessons.The education of the people led to the growing popularity of several anti-Czarist groups Another condition that affected the situation was Political Russia’s Army was extremely weak, made mainly of peasants, and the cost of war was weighing down on the citizens of Russia. In reality, Czars Nicholas II had no ability to be a ruler, and proved himself to be politically incapable of governing a country. Starvation and poor living conditions lined the streets of homeless families. Many people were unemployed, and those who were faced terrible conditions when they were working.Czar Nicholas II was a firm believer that his power to rule was granted by Divine Right, Nicholas assumed that the Russian people were devoted to him with unquestioning loyalty. This belief rendered Nicholas unwilling to allow the progressive reforms that might have made the suffering of the Russian people die down.Dissatisfaction with Tsar Nicholas II culminated in the huge national disturbance, that followed the Bloody Sunday massacre of January 1905, in which hundreds of unarmed protesters were shot by the Tsar's troops. Workers responded to the massacre with a crippling general strike This led to the growing population of several anti-czarist groups There.were also social democrats, such as the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. Both groups aimed to overthrow the Czar and create a socialist state, they had the support of students and workers, but the main differences were in the organization of the parties. The Bolsheviks, "believed in a small, secret, disciplined party of professional revolutionists who would seize power when the time was right". They planned revolutionary cells of three or four people who would organize strikes and demonstrations in factories. Among these people was Vladimir Ulyanov, better as Lenin. He was a devoted Bolshevik who was exile to in Siberia after being arrested for his action in a Marxist group Marxism is a political ideology often known as Marxism-Leninism. It marked the beginning of the spread of communism in the 20th century. The Mensheviks, "believed the party should be a mass organization which all workers could join. This mass party would grow until it eventually took power. Among these the Mensheviks was Lev Bronstein, better known as Trotsky. Trotsky was a "kulak", a rich peasant..Later on, he became the Menshevik chairman. One more condition that affected the situation was economic At the same time, peasant life and culture was changing constantly. Change was facilitated by the physical movement of growing numbers of peasant villagers who migrated to and from industrial and urban environments, but also by the introduction of city culture into the village through material goods. Workers also had good reasons for dissatisfaction overcrowded housing with often disgraceful sanitary conditions, long hours at work 10-hour workday six days a week was the average and many were working 11–12 hours a day by 1916, constant risk of injury and death from very poor safety and sanitary conditions, harsh discipline (not only rules and fines, but foremen’s fists), and poor wages. At the same time, urban industrial life was full of benefits, though these could be just as dangerous, from the point of view of social and political stability, as the hardships. Acquiring new skills gave many workers a sense of self-respect and confidence, heightening expectations and desires. Living in cities, workers encountered material goods such as they had never seen while in the village. Most important, living in cities, they were exposed to new ideas about the social and political order. The soviet state from the early 1920s through the 1930s had many problems that led to the revolution. Stalin missed much of the activity leading up to the Russian Revolution in 1917 because he was exiled to Siberia from 1913 to 1917. Upon his release in March of 1917, Stalin resumed his role as a Bolshevik leader. By the time he was reunited with Lenin, who also returned to Russia a few weeks after Stalin, Czar Nicholas II had already step down from is thrown as part of the February Russian Revolution. With the czar removed, the Provisional Government was in charge. Lenin and Stalin, however, wanted to break the Provisional Government and install a Communist one, controlled by the Bolsheviks. Feeling that the country was ready for another revolution, Lenin and the Bolsheviks began a nearly bloodless coup on October 25, 1917. In just two days, the Bolsheviks had taken over Petrograd, the capital of Russia, and then became the leaders of the country. By 1927, Stalin had effectively eliminated all of his political rivals (and exiled Trotsky) to emerge as the head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Lenin wanted a worldwide communist revolution stalin only wants to increase the power to the soviet union. Stalin's willingness to use brutality to achieve political aims was well established by the time he took power; nevertheless, the Soviet Union was unprepared for the extreme violence and oppression that Stalin unleashed in 1928. This was the first year of Stalin's Five Year Plan, a radical attempt to bring the Soviet Union into the industrial age. Stalin’s Five Year Plans started a farming revolution. The government took control of farms and combined them to make government owned farms called collective farms. According to Document 5 it shows how Stalin's first Five Year Plan worked how the government took control over everything like electricity coal ,oil, pig iron, steel. Alson in Document 6 too it shows how the USSRs collectivization affected agricultural production in soviet union. As in conclusion Social , Economic and Political conditions affected the Situation and it led to the Russian Revolution. Some of those conditions had a positive affects and also a negative affect.