BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

          This section will focus on what may possibly be the most important event to take place in the 20th century.  The Russian Revolution was the beginning of a movement and a change that affected the entire world, and eventually brought about America's worst enemy until that time in history.        

          In this course, we have looked at how communities form, the rules that govern them, and the development of government.  We have studied the ideas of the Enlightenment and have gone on to look at the French Revolution and how a mass of people found the power to overturn a king.  Then we moved into the Industrial Revolution and saw how the Industrial Revolution began to change economics, society and further spurred the need for colonialism.  It also spurred the ideals of Socialism and Communism because of how factory workers were being treated unfairly and making the owners of the factories rich.  Socialism and Communism were meant for countries that were very industrialized and had a large group of proletariat.  These countries would have been England, America and Germany. 

          Something very strange happened instead.  A Socialist Revolution tore the country of Russia apart.  Russia was a country of peasants who worked on farms in the countryside.  There were some factories and large cities, but not to the extent of Western European countries.  But this is where the first Communist country in the world developed.  Under the powers of a vicious and violent secret police force, the communist nation, which was supposed to make all people equal, never did so in 70 years of power.  The end product of Communism is supposed to be the elimination of government, but in Russia, government only got stronger and more powerful.  The history of the 20th century was defined and remembered by something called the Cold War ~ a conflict that took place between Communist Russia (the Soviet Union) and the United States....

         There was a story once written about a woman who was sick for the majority of life.  She fought her illness daily, struggling to have a single day without any pain.  She became so used to being sick that when she woke up one day and was cured -- she mistook that feeling of wellness for a different type of illness.  She had been sick for so long that she forgot what being healthy felt like.   This is similar to what took place in Russia from the years 1905 to 1917--this was the "Russian Revolution."  The spirit of what we are really looking at is a series of three revolutions in Russia.  Each was compounded by the nation being at war and the peasants in the countryside being treated poorly by the aristocracy and ruling class.  Russia had a Tsar (you may also see it spelled Czar) named Nicholas II.  He was the same as a King or an Emperor in Western Europe.  The Russian Revolution brought an end to monarchy in Russia and, just as in the French Revolution, the Tsar and family was executed by the revolutionaries.  One very important hallmark of the Russian Revolution was that for the first time in history, a revolution was led by "professional revolutionaries."  These were men who had dedicated their lives to intellectualism and revolution.  They lived for power and worked on a full-time basis to organize and lead revolution.  Remember as you go through this section ... socialism / communism was never meant for a country like Russia.  Russia was a nation of mainly peasants who worked in the countryside on farms.  Only a small proletariat existed....

Leading up to the Russian Revolution:

        The first step towards the Russian Revolution of 1917 that resulted in the communist state being born was the Revolution of 1905.  Nobody was happy with the Tsar (Czar) in Russia.  The Tsar (Czar), Nicholas II, was disliked by all classes of society.  The wealthy class who owned land and owned factories wanted the government to be more democratic and to have a constitutional government.  The working class who slaved away in the few factories that Russia had and the many miners were upset with their poverty and the working conditions that they suffered through every day.  The workers were also often hungry and had to send their children to work in order to have enough money to feed them.  These complaints should sound familiar with the complaints of many that we have discussed since the birth of the Industrial Revolution.  The peasants, who were the poorest in the country, were also very upset because they wanted for the Tsar (Czar) to make land available to them to own and work.  This is called land reform. 

           The crowning point of the 1905 Revolution was an event called "Bloody Sunday."  This is when 200,000 workers were protesting in the capital city of Russia (back then the capitol city was St. Petersburg -- today it is Moscow).  The crowd of protestors were shot at by guards and police, killing 100.  As word of this massacre spread throughout Russia, it radicalized the Russian people who were seeking change.  It also gave life to the 'professional revolutionaries' which rocked the world, in particular Russia, in the next decade.   

           The 1905 Revolution saw mutinies amongst soldiers and sailors in Russia, but a positive step that was taken was the development of the Russian Duma.  The Duma was an attempt at what Congress in the United States or Parliament in France and Britain look like.  The Duma was a legislative body, (a legislative body is in charge of making laws), and it was developed to represent all people of Russia.  Each social class was supposed to have equal representation.  The Duma was supposed to buffer some of the power of the Tsar (Czar).  The Duma did not really work out the way that the people intended, and Nicholas II was able to get around a lot of what he promised to do for the people after 1905 Revolution.  Think about this -- if the Tsar (Czar) is the most powerful man in Russia, then why would he even agree to develop a Duma?  Do you think he did it because he really cared about the people and their welfare, or was he worried that if did not do it the Revolution of 1905 would continue to grow out of control?  Remember what happened in the French Revolution: it proved that the people of the country did have the power to overturn a monarch.  Tsar Nicholas II wanted to hold on tight to his power, and by looking as though he was sharing his power with the Duma -- it got the people of Russia off of his case.

           Nicholas II also had to be careful because without the support of the army and navy, there would be no one to impose his will.  He lost an embarrassing war to Japan in 1905.  This was a sad loss for a massive country like Russia against a small country like Japan.  Remember this war though -- you will see war take another large toll on Russia as we look deeper into the Russian Revolution.

The Russian Revolution(s):

          Many adults in America know that there was a Russian Revolution.  Some may even know that it took place in the year 1917.  But do those adults know there were actually TWO revolutions in Russia in 1917?!?!?!  You may hear people refer to the Russian Revolution of 1917 -- but which one are they talking about?  The Russian Revolution of 1917 that happened in spring-time or in the fall?  That is right--we have the March Revolution and then another in October. 

         The Revolution in 1905 had done little to help the plight of the Russian people.  Those who owned land were unhappy with not having a say in the government.  The growing class of industrial workers were unhappy with their poverty and working conditions and the mass majority of the Russian population -- the peasants -- were angry about not having any land and essentially being treated like slaves in their own country.  The Russian army was made up mainly of peasants who had been conscripted into the army.  A problem with Russia at this time was that it was an empire that was different from many others.  When we think of the British Empire in history, we think of their colonies all over the world in places like Canada, Australia, India, and such.  Remember the phrase, "the sun never sets on the British Empire."  Russia's Empire did not look the same.  The empire was not made up of far off lands that took months to sail to by ship.  Rather, the Russians controlled a massive land empire that stretched from Eastern Europe all the way to the Pacific Ocean. 

          The trouble that Russia faced with its vast land empire was that it made up people of all different nationalities who did not necessarily even consider themselves to be "Russian."  Yet, many of these people were forced into the army and commanded by Slavic Russian men.  Another problem with Russia leading up to the 1917 Revolutions was the outbreak of World War I.  You will spend all of Learning Period 4 working on World War I.  In World War I, Austria declared war on a small country called Serbia.  The majority of the people who lived in Serbia were Slavic in ethnicity, which is what the Russians in the Eastern part of the country (the left-side on the map above) were.  Just so you know, the left side of Russia is European looking and the right side of Russia is Asian.  Because of the close ethnicity of the Russian people to the Serbians, the two countries had an agreement that Russia would be like a big brother to Serbia.  So when war was declared on Serbia by Austria, Russia began mobilizing its military, which was the largest land army on the face of the earth.  The problem was that Germany was friends with Austria, so when Russia began mobilizing its army, Germany declared war on Russia to help protect their Austrian friends. 

           World War I devastated the Russian Tsar (Czar) and helped fuel the two revolutions of 1917.  Because Russia was a country of peasants and was only beginning to industrialize, they had more men in the army than they had guns and rifles.  Peasants bore the brunt of the fighting, even when they did not have weapons to fight with.  The Russian commanders just sent massive waves of soldiers across the battlefields.  Oftentimes soldiers would team up: one would carry a rifle while two or three ran behind him.  When the soldier in front went down from death or injury, the one behind would then pick up the weapon and keep charging the enemy positions.  Can you imagine that???  Because of these situations, and the fact that most of the peasant soldiers did not associate themselves as being Russian, or care about the Tsar (Czar) and his wars, there was a high desertion rate (this means soldiers who run away from the army).  There already was not enough food in Russia, and the war diverted even more resources from the people to help fuel the war effort.  Because Russia was not modernized (many people refer to it as being backwards at this time in history), there are not good communications, railroads or regular roads for travel.  All of these factors further hurt the army and enrage the country about fighting in World War I.  Eventually in 1915, Nicholas II took charge of the army, and this was a disaster. 

         3.  VI Lenin is one of the "professional revolutionaries" that we mentioned early in this section.  Lenin was a revolutionary who had spent his entire adult life reading radical publications and idolizing the work of Karl Marx.  Lenin was not a peasant though.  Nor was Lenin a factory worker.  So why then did he care so much about Socialism / Communism and why did he lead a revolution to "make all people equal" and promising the Russians "Peace, Land and Bread."? Remember from earlier sections -- Karl Marx also was not a peasant or a factory worker.  By trade, Lenin was a lawyer.  He was well-educated and well-read.  When he gave speeches to crowds of people, it was not his voice and speech that roused people, but rather the words that he spoke that riled people up.    

         4.  Lenin and the Germans.  When the Provisional Government came about after the Spring Revolution, Lenin was in Switzerland.  Russia was at war in World War 1 against the Austrians and the Germans.  It was the Germans who provided a safe way for Lenin to get back to Russia.  Since the Germans were at war with Russia, and the Germans knew that Lenin was a powerful revolutionary, they thought maybe Lenin could topple the Provisional Government and help replace it with a government that would pull Russia out of World War One.  With Russia out of World War 1, Germany could then focus on defeating the other allies of France, England (the British) and the Americans.  It was quite a clever plan by the Germans -- and it worked!!!

        5.  Lenin gained support amongst the people of Russia by his slogan of promising them, "Peace, Land and Bread."  By "peace" he meant getting out of World War I.  Lenin knew that gaining support of the people and the soldiers would rest on this.  He sent his comrade, Leon Trotsky to negotiate the Brest-Litovsk Treaty which was really bad for the Russians in terms of how much land they lost -- but that did not matter. Lenin and his communist comrades believed that since communism was not really meant for Russia, that this would simply be the catalyst for world-wide communist revolution and the over-throw of capitalism (the type of economy the United States has).  By "land" -- Lenin meant land reform -- or, changing how people are given and have land.  The peasants thought that this meant to take land away from the rich and began dividing it out to the poor peasants, like Robin Hood.  Eventually all land in Russia came under the control of the government.  By "bread," Lenin meant that the workers in the cities had to have food.  Lenin knew that a hungry country was a dangerous country for its leaders.

Conclusion:

          It took three years for the Bolsheviks to take total control of Russia.  As with many revolutions, civil war often follows.  This happened in America too.  People within a country can usually agree on big goals when they revolt.  It is once there is a chance to re-shape government that the details of the and who gets what benefits from what start to get in the way.  Civil War gripped Russia.  The war was between the "Reds" and the "Whites."  Lenin led the Reds and the Whites were those opposed to Communism.  Included on the side of the Whites were outside countries -- including the United States.  The US actually sent soldiers who fought the Russians.  The main reason why is because if the Bolsheviks were over-turned, then maybe Russia would get back into World War 1.  America and her allies feared that if Russia was not in the war, making the Germans be divided to fight on both sides of its borders -- then the Germans may over-power the allies. 

          The "Reds," or the Bolsheviks won the civil war in 1921.  Russia was no longer known as Russia -- until the year 1991.  The Bolsheviks referred to their country as the Soviet Union (USSR for short, which stands for United Soviet Socialist Republics).  The USSR then transformed itself into one of the greatest industrial powers ever on the face of the earth.  The potential power and the influence of the Soviet Union grew to be one of the most dominant forces of 20th century history.

          The world revolution that Lenin and his comrades sought never occurred.  The places on earth that were most fit for Communism, based on the writings and theories of Karl Marx never experienced the revolutions that he had hoped for.  The industrialized nations of France, Germany, the United States and Britain (England) never saw the same turn of events as did Russia.  Remember, Russia was not an industrialized nation when the Bolsheviks took power, it was still a land of peasants.  And in Russia, where communism did take hold and was supposed to develop into a system where everyone was equal, and there was no need for government -- that never happened.  The people of the Soviet Union (formerly Russia) lived behind an Iron Curtain and suffered through violent secret police who would take people away in the middle of the night and force people to gulags and work camps in the middle of Siberia.  Lenin and those who followed his lead, "had a strong streak of cruelty.  He condemned people to death by the thousands without remorse, though also without pleasure ... he used his unlimited powers to exorcise his fears by ordering mass executions of real or imagined enemies” (Pipes, The Russian Revolution).  The Bolsheviks promised Utopia, or a sense of heaven on earth with their form of communism.  The search for this utopia, however, landed the Russian people in the pit of hell on earth for 70 years.  No rights, no liberties, no freedoms.  That is what the promise of Karl Marx brought to the peasants, soldiers and factory workers who pursued these ends.

Reading Selections:

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