Russian Revolution

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Russian Revolution of 1917, two revolutions, the first of which, in February (March, New Style), overthrew the imperial government and the second of which, in October (November), placed the Bolsheviks in power. 

Russian Revolution= March Revolution + October Revolution 

Overview: 

By 1917 the bond between the Czar and most of the Russian people had been broken. Governmental corruption and inefficiency were rampant. The Czar’s reactionary policies, including the occasional dissolution of the Duma, or Russian parliament, the chief fruit of the 1905 revolution, had spread dissatisfaction even to moderate elements. The Russian Empire’s many ethnic minorities grew increasingly restive under Russian domination. 

Major Causes: 

· Inefficiency and wrong decisions taken during World War 1 

· Losses suffered by Russian army in World War 1 

· Economy was disrupted due to huge expenses in World War 1 

· Huge Russian casualties in World War 1 

· Rampant corruption in Government 

Emergence of Bolshevik: 

By September the Bolsheviks and their allies, the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, had overtaken the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks and held majorities. 

On October 24–25 (November 6–7) the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist Revolutionaries staged a nearly bloodless coup, occupying government buildings, telegraph stations, and other strategic points. Kerensky’s attempt to organize resistance proved futile, and he fled the country. 

Bolshevik Revolution, 1917: 

In the aftermath of the February Revolution, power was shared between the weak provisional government and the Petrograd Soviet. 

Then, on November 6 and 7, 1917 (or October 24 and 25 on the Julian calendar, which is why this event is also referred to as the October Revolution), leftist revolutionaries led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin launched a nearly bloodless coup against the provisional government. The Bolsheviks and their allies occupied government buildings and other strategic locations in Petrograd, and soon formed a new government with Lenin as its head. 

Emergence of Lenin: 

Lenin became the virtual dictator of the first Marxist state in the world. His government made peace with Germany, nationalized industry and distributed land, but beginning in 1918 had to fight a devastating civil war against anti-Bolshevik White Army forces. In 1920, the anti-Bolsheviks were defeated, and in 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established.