The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions that took place in Russia in 1917, and which had the tsarist autocracy dismantled and led to the creation of the Russian SFSR. The emperor was forced to abdicate and the old regime was replaced by a provisional government during the first revolution of February 1917 (March in the Gregorian calendar, the Julian calendar was in use in Russia at the time). In the second revolution, during October, the provisional government was removed and replaced by a Bolshevik government.
The early twentieth century Russia was a country of striking contrasts. Eighty percent of the population was made up of peasants who lived a life not very different from that of their ancestors from the Middle Ages. At the other end of the social spectrum were writers, artists, composers, scientists perfectly familiar with Western lifestyles. A vigorous capitalist economy coexist with a regime of political censorship and arbitrary interference of police. As a result of the 1905 Revolution in Russia there was a constitution and a parliament, called the State Duma.
State Duma or Imperial Duma was the legislative assembly from the late Russian Empire, which held its meetings in Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg. It was convened four times between 1906 and fall of the empire in 1917. State Duma wanted to be the lower house of Parliament while the State Council of Imperial Russia it’s upper house. Although no law could be made without the consent of the State Duma, the Duma could not pass laws without the approval of the State Council dominated by nobles (half of which were appointed directly by the tsar) the Tsar himself retained a veto. The laws stipulated that ministers could not be appointed by, and were not responsible to, the Duma, thus denying responsible government at the executive level. Furthermore, the Tsar had the power to dismiss the Duma and announce new elections whenever he wished; article 87 allowed him to pass temporary (emergency) laws by decrees. All these powers and prerogatives assured that, in practice, the Government of Russia continued to be a non-official Absolute Monarchy.
The main political parties of Russia in the early twentieth century were Constitutional Democratic Party, Octobrist Party, Socialist Revolutionary Party and the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party.
Constitutional Democratic Party, have a liberal orientation and was founded in 1905. Among his honorary members was also the Prince Georgy Lvov Evghenievici - the first prime minister of post-imperial Russia from 23 March to 21 July 1917. Party members were called Kadets, from the abbreviation K-D of the party name in Russian. Kadets believed in changes produced by the parliamentary method. They were in favor of a government that emanates from a democratically elected parliament. This type of government would have in the lead the tsar, (which would have been a constitutional monarch, having a role for protocol) and the parliament, which would be responsible for drawing up a democratic constitution. Kadets were supporting private ownership of land, private agriculture and industrialization. At first, Kadets supported the war against the Central Powers but in 1915 they changed their options.
Octobrist party was a non-revolutionary Russian political party of the center, previously called the Union of October 17th. The party’s program was based on moderate constitutionalism calling for the implementation of the October 1905 Proclamation of Tsar Nicholas II. Founded in late October 1905 the party was led in 1906 by industrialist Alexander Guchkov who received support from the liberal lower nobility, businessmen and some bureaucrats.
Socialist Revolutionary Party, had a democratic socialist program and have the support of the Russian peasantry. Their policy can be described broadly as being one leftist, although more moderate than the Bolsheviks. Their intention was to broaden the concept to include all the people in society who wanted to see the Tsarist system destroyed. The Russian Revolution of February 1917 brought them a more important political role, one member of the party, Alexander Fedorovich Kerensky entering into the Liberal government, and ultimately reaching the head of the Provisional Government. In 1917, the party was divided into two factions: those supporting the Provisional Government and those who were supporting the Bolsheviks. In the elections for the Constituent Assembly after the October Revolution they have achieved about 40% of the votes compared to only 25% of the Bolsheviks who dissolved the Assembly immediately afterwards.
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was a Marxist revolutionary political party founded in 1898 in Minsk with the aim to unite the various revolutionary organizations of socialist orientation in a single party. RSDLP program was based on the theories of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, despite the fact that Russia was a predominantly agricultural country, while Marxism believes that the true revolutionary potential it had the workers in the industry. On November 17, 1903 the party was split into two factions: the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov also known with pseudonym Lenin and Mensheviks led by Julius Martov. Bolshevik word derives from the Russian word "Bolshinstvo" which means majority, while the Menshevik word comes from the word "Menshinstvo" meaning minority. In reality the Mensheviks were more numerous than the Bolsheviks, but the names are due to vote for determining the composition of the editorial body of the party organ Iskra (The Spark), when the Bolsheviks won with one vote more. Both factions believe that Russia is not developed enough to reach the point where socialism would have been possible. That is why, both factions believed that the revolution should overthrow the tsarist regime would be a bourgeois-democratic one. The Bolsheviks believed that the proletariat in alliance with the peasantry must lead the revolution, aimed as a dictatorship of the proletariat. On the other hand, the Mensheviks had a vision of a bourgeois democratic revolution from where they can had access to ministerial chairs in a democratic coalition government. Menshevism was finally declared illegal after the Kronstadt Rebellion of 1921.
Although Tsar Nicholas II wanted to take over command of the troops on the ground, this was done by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. Russians are defeated by the Germans in August and September at Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes losing over 200,000 soldiers and being taken out of East Prussia. Instead they succeed against the Austrians occupying most of Galicia. In 1915 the Germans are determined to take out Russia from the war and start a large offensive in April. To avoid encirclement, Nikolai Nikolaevich ordered the withdrawal from Poland and Galicia. During the "Great withdrawal" over 500,000 Russian soldiers died and more than 1 million were taken prisoners. Tsar Nicholas II convened the Duma in July, contrary the advice of tsarina. Duma deputies liberals and conservatives have rallied against the Tsar, asking him to veto the appointment of ministers and a parliamentary government. Czar suspend Duma’s works and went to the front where he took over direct command of the armed forces. Germany failed to take out Russia from the war and stopped the offensive in September.
In 1916 Russia looked that was out from the shortage of weapons, but inflation was increasingly felt. Brusilov Offensive in the summer of 1916 brought the Austrians on the brink of disaster with over 600,000 dead, while Russians losses amounted to more than 1.4 million deaths. While the Tsar was on the frontline, the country's affairs were handled by Tsarina Alexandra. Candidates for leading posts were judged by her solely on the criterion of loyalty to the throne. Ministers who do not passed this test were quickly dismissed. Alexandra was advised by the "mad monk" Rasputin, a Siberian peasant with powers of a healer that is not known how he managed to stop the bleeding and pain to the heir of the throne, Alexei, suffering from hemophilia. Rasputin came to win political influence just after the Tsar was leaving for the front, using it to extort money from the entourage of the tsarina and to live in an uninterrupted alcoholic orgy. To try to get closer to the Duma, Nicholas appointed Aleksandr Protopopov interior minister on the
In early March, in Petrograd broke out several strikes and demonstrations. Tsar left for the front on 7 March being convinced that the situation will remain under control. On March 8, the demonstrations which were held on the occasion of International Women's Day were gradually turned into economic and political demonstrations. The next day over 200,000 workers took to the streets to protest. Tsar asked by a telegram the military commander of the town to restore order by force. On the morning of March 11 the city was occupied by soldiers, and things seemed to be back to normal.
The killing of 40 civilians in Znamensk Square the same day led to rebellion from Petrograd garrison. These 160,000 soldiers were crowded into spaces which in peacetime were housing only 20,000 people. Soldiers killed officers, occupied public buildings and looted shops. Tsar tried to send troops to Petrograd and dissolved the Duma. Duma refused to dissolve, creating a Provisional Committee on March 13. The Tsar took a train to Petrograd, but was stopped by disloyal troops 170 kilometers from the capital. Advised by generals and ministers who had remained loyal to him, he abdicated on March 15, and for the next 5 months was placed in custody at his home in Pushkin.
On March 13 was formed the Petrograd Soviet, at the Mensheviks initiative. The Soviet was made up of randomly chosen representatives of factories and military units. At the beginning from the 3000 Soviet deputies, more than 2,000 were soldiers. Soviet authority has passed soon to the Executive Committee (Ispolkom). This body was not elected by soviet, but was made up of representatives appointed by the socialist parties, which were each entitled to three seats. Thus artificially increased the representation of the Bolshevik Party, which had few followers among the workers and virtually none among soldiers.
Provisional Committee had to negotiate with the Soviet in order to form a government. Negotiations took place on the night of 14 to March 15, resulting in a platform with 8 points, of which the principal were: amnesty for all political prisoners, including terrorists; preparation of the elections for a Constituent Assembly designated by universal suffrage; abolition of police institutions; new elections to self-government bodies; guarantees for military units which had taken part in the revolution that will retain its weapons and will not be sent to the front. Following this agreement, the Provisional Committee adopted the new name of Provisional Government. The head of government has been put Prince Evghenievici Georgy Lvov, a member of the the Kadets. It started a competition between the Provisional Government and the Soviet.
Lenin was not in Russia when World War I started, but in Austria. He left for Switzerland where he spent the next 2 and a half years. He was the only socialist in Europe who was not supporting his own country in war. In exchange for financial benefits, he was giving to the Germans reports about the situation in Russia that his colleagues were sending him into exile. Lenin hoped that the "imperialist war" to turn into a civil war. He found out about the Russian Revolution one week later, and was immediately decided to return to Russia. He promised to Germans that he will pull out Russia from the war if it will be helped to take power. Lenin was supposed to be part of a group of Russians who will be handed over to Russia in exchange for a group of Germans. He started his journey from the Zurich train station on April 9, and then was boarded to Sweden, and in the evening of April 16 he reached Petrograd.
Lenin read to his supporters the April Theses, proposing: the exit from war, passing to the immediate next stage of the revolution, the cessation of any support to the Provisional Government, passing all power into the hands of the soviets, dissolving the army and its replacement by popular militia, confiscation of large landed estates and the nationalization of land, Soviet control over production and distribution, creation of an International. In the first three months after his return to Russia, Lenin tried several times to overthrow the Provisional Government, first in late April.
War Minister Alexander Kerensky decided that Russia would begin an offensive in mid-June, although acts of indiscipline had increased lately in Russian army. The offensive failed in a few weeks and the Russian army disintegrated. At the news that they will be sent to the the 1st Machine-gun Regiment Petrograd rebelled on July 16. The Bolsheviks joined the revolt too, being determined to force the Soviets to take over all power. The Bolsheviks gathered in front of the Tauride palace - the new headquarters of Soviet. At Lenin’s order they had to occupy the building, but he hesitated and lost the right time. Details were given in the press about the connections between Bolsheviks and Germans and soldiers evacuated the square outside the Tauride palace. Several Bolsheviks, including Leon Trotsky were arrested. Lenin fled to Finland in disguise. Following the failed coup attempt, Lvov resigned and Kerensky became prime minister at only 36 years.
The event which allowed the Bolsheviks to recover from the disaster of July was the Kornilov affair. Kerensky appointed Kornilov after the July coup as commander in chief, hoping to stop the German offensive and restore discipline among Russian soldiers. While Kornilov's popularity was growing more and more, Kerensky feared that he will attempt to remove him. In September Kerensky dismissed Kornilov, accusing him of treason. Kornilov asked Cossacks and Chechens who were subordinated to him to advance to Petrograd. Kerensky freed and armed the Bolsheviks preparing them for defending the city. Kornilov was abandoned by his troops, and finally arrested. After this event the Bolsheviks were much stronger. After he was released on bail, Trotsky took over the presidency of the Petrograd Soviet.
Lenin imposed on October 23, to the Party's Central Committee, meeting in an incomplete form (12 of 21 members) the plan of an armed uprising, without specifying a precise date on which it was to take place. Of the 12 present members of Central Committee, ten voted for Lenin's proposal and two against it (Kámeniev and Zinoviev), which makes the decision to be adopted by a minority of the plenum. The Bolsheviks had to take power before the Congress of Soviets that was established on November 7.
After the occupation by the Germans of Estonian archipelago in the mid-October, the Petrograd was also directly threatened. On October 22 has been created "The Revolutionary Defense Committee", which was tasked to initiate measures to protect the city. It was later renamed the Military Revolutionary Committee. On 4 November "Military Revolutionary Committee" led by Trotsky took command of the Petrograd garrison. On November 6, Kerensky ordered the closure of Bolshevik newspapers and the arrest of Bolshevik commissars.
On the night of 6 to 7 November Bolsheviks began to occupy key points in the city. There has been offered no resistance and was not fired any shot. Kerensky and his ministers remained isolated in the Winter Palace. He ran at 9 am with a car borrowed from the American Embassy. Ministers refused to surrender, and at 9 pm The cruiser Aurora and then the guns of the fortress Peter and Paul started shooting at the Winter Palace. Ministers handed over the building after midnight. Hours before the Congress of Soviets was opened, where the Bolsheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries controlled two thirds of the seats. It was made a list of the members of the new government called the Council of People's Commissars. It was to be an interim government to serve until the meeting of the Constituent Assembly, set for November 25.
The Second Congress of Soviets consisted of 670 elected delegates; 300 were Bolshevik and nearly a hundred were Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, who also supported the overthrow of the Alexander Kerensky Government. When the fall of the Winter Palace was announced, the Congress adopted a decree transferring power to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies, thus ratifying the Revolution.
The following day, 8 November, the Congress elected a Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) with Lenin as leader as the basis of a new Soviet Government, pending the convocation of a Constituent Assembly, and passed the Decree on Peace and the Decree on Land. This new government was also officially called "provisional" until the Assembly was dissolved. The Council of People's Commissars now began to arrest the leaders of opposition parties. Dozens of Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadet) leaders and members of the Constituent Assembly were imprisoned in The Peter and Paul Fortress. These were to be followed by the arrests of Socialist Revolutionary Party and Menshevik leaders.
The elections to the Russian Constituent Assembly were held on 25 November 1917, generally reckoned as the first truly free election in Russian history. The Bolsheviks, believed that it would consolidate their power and prove that they had a clear popular mandate to govern. Instead, the election yielded a clear victory for the Socialist Revolutionary Party, who polled almost double the votes of the Bolsheviks. The Assembly was dissolved the next day, leaving the All-Russian Congress of Soviets as the governing body of Russia.
The main consequences of the 1917 Russian revolution are the replacing of the tsarist regime with a provisional government and then with a Bolshevik one. Russia came out the next year from the war against the Central Powers and entered into a civil war between the Bolsheviks and the White Movement.