Assignment: 2

History of the USSR: From Revolution to Disintegration (c. 1917 -1991)

Que.1(A): What were the major causes of the Russian Revolution?

“Is what you want? A miserable little bourgeois republic? In the name of the
great Soviet republic of labour we declare war to the death on such a
government!”
- Nikolai Bukharin (Constituent Assembly)
The Russian Revolution of 1917, was actually two revolutions, one in February,
and one in October of 1917. At the time, Russia used a different calendar than
we use today, so they call these revolutions the March Revolution and
November Revolution because their calendar was thirteen days ahead of what is
commonly used today. The November Revolution is also referred to as the
Bolshevik Revolution. Before the Russian Revolution, the country was ruled by
a king, called a czar (sometimes spelled tsar), named Nicholas II. There was
discontent in Russia because the government was corrupt and ineffective, there
was widespread poverty in the country, there was a scarcity of food, and the
Russians suffered massive losses in World War I.
As a result, in February of 1917 (The March Revolution), Czar Nicholas II was
forced to abdicate and power was given to a group of elected officials called the
Duma. The Duma ruled until October, when it was replaced by the events of the
November Revolution. Led by a man named Vladimir Lenin, a group of
Communists named the Bolsheviks took control of the Russian government in a
bloodless coup [a forced overthrow of the government in which no one was
killed] called the November (or Bolshevik) Revolution. The Bolsheviks gained
support from the peasants, urban workers, and soldiers by promising “peace,
land, and bread.” The Bolsheviks signed a peace agreement with Germany,
taking Russia out of WWI. After winning a civil war that lasted from 1917 to
1922, the Bolsheviks set about transforming Russia into the world’s first
Communist nation. They renamed Russia the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR), also known as the Soviet Union. A soviet was a local ruling
council elected by workers.
Causes of the Russian Revolution:
Autocratic rule and inefficiency of the Tsar
The government in Russia was autocratic without being efficient. The Tsar’s
administration was weak and corrupt. His autocracy had outlived the purpose.
The Russian Empire was ruled by the personal will of the tsar, who, according
to Warren Walsh ‘could override laws, reverse judicial or other decisions and
generally interfere with administration’. The spread of western ideas led to the
development of progressive ideas among the people. The demand for truly
representative body with adequate powers to satisfy the needs of the people was
a gathering force. Instead of fulfilling the demands of the people, Tsar Nicholas
II of Romanov dynasty, announced that he would preserve the principles of
autocracy as firmly and unwaveringly as his predecessor. He kept Constantine
Pobedonostev, the evil genius of Russia, in power. Another evil genius who
exercised great influence on the administration of the Tsar was Gregory
Rasputin. The government was run by the bureaucracy who was inflexible and
inefficient. It is true that Russia did come to have its first Parliament (Duma) in
1906. But it did not lead to the establishment of parliamentary institutions on
the English model. It did not have full authority over legislation and finance. It
had no control over the ministry. Even the budget was safeguarded from
parliamentary interference. Due to successive interference of the imperial
government in the elections, the Duma became a reactionary body. All kinds of
restrictions were placed on the individual freedom as well as the freedom of
press.
Another weakness of the autocracy was the personality of the last Russian Tsar
Nicholas II himself. Poorly educated, narrow in intellectual perspective, a bad
judge of people, isolated from the Russian society at large and in contact only
with the most narrow military and bureaucratic circles, intimidated by the ghost
of his imposing father and helpless under the destructive influence of his
endlessly unfortunate wife: Nicholas II was obviously inadequate to the
demands of his high position and this was an inadequacy for which no degree of
charm, of courtesy of delicacy of manner, could compensate.
(Russian political cartoon showing Rasputin, Czar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra)

Exploitation, poverty and discontentment of the peasants

For a long period, the Russian peasants remained in a state of near-slavery,
called serfdom. These serfs were owned by the land owners and they could as
well be traded by the owners. Although with the abolition of serfdom in 1861 by
Tsar Alexander II (father of Tsar Nicholas ), the peasants came to own small
amounts of land, but in return they had to pay back a huge sum to the
government. On many instances, the government paid loans to the peasants to
purchase lands. But the conditions of loans were very harsh, and the peasants in
most cases found it difficult to repay the loans. As a result, many peasants found
themselves a perennial debt trap. The peasants living in Central Russian faced
more hardships. The state of agriculture in the area was poor. Standard farming
techniques were deeply out of date and there was little hope for progress as the
peasants were illiterate and lacked capital. In the circumstances, most of the
peasants lived just above the subsistence level, and around 50 percent had a
member who had left the village to find other work, often in the towns. As the
central Russian population boomed, land became scarce. This way of life
contrasted sharply with those of rich landowners, who held 20 percent of the
land in large estates and were members of the Russian upper class. It should be
mentioned that the peasants living in western and southern parts of Russia were
a little better off. But they grossly resented the exploitative policy of the
landowners in collaboration with the government authority.
Poor working conditions, low wages and hazards of industrialization
At the beginning of the 20th century the Russian industrial employee worked on
average an 11 hours day (10 hours on Saturday). Conditions in the factories
were extremely harsh and little concern was shown for the workers' health and
safety. Attempts by workers to form trade unions were resisted by the factory
owners, and in 1903, a priest named Father George Gapon, formed the
Assembly of Russian Workers. Within a year it had over 9,000 members. 1904
was a bad year for Russian workers. Prices of essential goods rose so quickly
that real wages declined by 20 per cent. When four members of the Assembly of
Russian Workers were dismissed at the Putilov Iron Works, Gapon called for
industrial action. Over the next few days, over 110,000 workers in St.
Petersburg went out on strike.
Over 150,000 people signed the petition and on January 22, 1905, Gapon led a
large procession of workers to the Winter Palace in order to present the petition
to Nicholas II. When the procession of workers reached the Winter Palace, it
was attacked by the police and the Cossacks [Russian Soldiers]. Over 100
 workers were killed and some 300 wounded. The incident became known as
Bloody Sunday.
According to Sheila Fitz Patrick, the numbers of urban workers were quite
small as compared to the number of peasants, who left their villages for non-
agricultural seasonal work each year. Hence, despite the Marxist view point that
only an advanced modern working class under conditions of advanced industrial
capitalism is likely to be revolutionary, the Russian working class between the
periods from 1890 to 1914 was highly militant and revolutionary. Scholars like
Laura Engelstein, Diane Koenker, and Steven Smith etc. have tried to
highlight that the Russia workers were not merely ‘irrational, poorly educated
and incapable of independent participation in the political process. Engelstein
has argued that the workers were not simply ‘malleable’ i.e. manipulable and
manipulated by the radical intelligentsia and were in fact guiding their own
course and destiny. Smith suggests that it was the struggles of the workers in the
world of work, and the activities of work-based organizations, such as the
factory committees and trade unions, which were of central importance in
promoting revolutionary consciousness in 1917. However, the crisis in the
countryside and the problems created by the First World War also played a part,
along with agitation, in articulating revolutionary consciousness. It did not grow
in a purely spontaneous fashion. Martin Malia has stated the workers cannot be
seen as the “social base” of the Bolshevik Party but were its indispensable
springboard to power.
Similar revisions have also been made regarding our understanding of the role
played by the peasantry. Figes has argued that the peasantry far from being
simply ‘immured in the idiocy of rural life’ had the ability to organize
themselves, within the confines of a revitalized village commune, and on its
own initiative and with its own goal in mind, to revolutionise the countryside.
Allan Wildman has also spoken about the ‘peasants in uniform’ and stressed
that the peasants were not simply pawns manipulated at will by the Bolsheviks
but active agents with their own vision of land and peace and their own
collective power to attain such results. Teddy Uldricks had argued that popular
mobilization was a key process in a revolution that was confirmed by Russia in
1917. But instead of the elite mobilizing the masses, it was the masses that had
actually mobilized the elitist parties.
Dear Minister Kerensky,
The government is corrupt and ineffective. Us workers are being paid low wages, we have no
political power, and working in poor conditions. We want to work 8 hours a day, increased wages
and improved working conditions. What we are asking for is not absurd, when we tried to present
Nicholas the petition soldier and the police killed or injured 400 of us. Czar Nicholas II led us into
a war we cannot win because he lacks the military knowledge and skills. Czar Nicholas was being
influenced by Grigori Rasputin, although he was assassinated. We need a leader that will make us
strong, not lead us into a war we cannot win. Millions of Russian soldiers are dead or no longer
want to fight because Germany is too strong. Russia is going to starve, if we continue in this war.
So, I hope you will fix these problems and save Russia.
Sincerely, Russian worker

Spread of Socialism
As the industrialization of Russia began to make great progress there arose a
new generation of industrial workers who had to work hard in the crowded
towns under circumstances which made their lives an intolerable burden.
Naturally it was from this class that the message of socialism met with a heavy
response. In the 1890’s the teachings of Marx were popularized and spread by
radicals like the novelist Maxim Gorkey, and revolutionary socialism made
rapid progress among factory workers, winning over many of the intelligentsia,
to its cause. In 1895 was founded the Workmen’s Social Democratic Party with
a programme similar to that of the socialists in other countries. The peasantry
now led by middle-class radicals, emulated the example of the urban proletariat
and in 1901 organized a Social Revolutionary Party with a platform that
included the confiscation of the large estates of the nobility and their division
into small individual holdings. The party believed in terrorism as a weapon,
though they kept it for the present in reserve. Thus, there sets on foot a
revolutionary movement which aimed at reconstructing the social and political
systems of Russia on socialist principles.
Role of Lenin: In 1903 there was a split in the Social Democratic Party on the
questions of party discipline and tactics, and its radical section led by Vladimir
Ilyich Ulyanov popularly known as Lenin, seceded from the main body. This
section came to be known as Bolsheviks (men of majority) and the more
moderate wing of the party came to be known as Mensheviks (minority men).
The Bolshevik Government appointed Lenin as Prime Minister and Trotsky as
Minister of Foreign Affairs. This new government brought with it a slew of
complex issues. It was a time when the country was engulfed in hunger,
unemployment, and chaos as a result of the First World War. As a result, Lenin
favoured the common people's viewpoint, stating that the Russians desired
bread, farms, and peace. He declared that his goal was to establish true
democratic government for the people. He stated the following as his
government's main principles: Land for the peasants, food for the hungry, power
for the Soviets, peace with Germany, and the election of a Constitutional
Convention are all on the table. The Bolshevik government carried on with their
work based on these principles. They had to set up a central government and
rebuild Russia's socioeconomic system according to socialist principles. In light
of this, the Bolshevik government began peace negotiations with Germany right
away. As a result, on December 15, 1917, at Brest Litovsk, both parties signed
an armistice known as the Treaty of Brest Litovsk. By signing it, Russia exited
the war and handed over all of her western provinces, including Poland and the
Baltic provinces, to Germany. She had to give up a significant portion of her
Empire, losing 65 million people, 37 percent of her manufacturing industries, 75
percent of her coal, and 73 percent of her iron. Many historians have harshly
criticised the provisions of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, calling it the most
humiliating treaty in Russian history because it resulted in Russia losing almost
all of the territories she had acquired since Peter the Great's reign.
Following the establishment of peace, Lenin focused on the goals and objectives
that he had declared in front of his countrymen. In this regard, he took the
following steps: Lands were confiscated without compensation for the
landlords, according to his party's first principle. It was declared a national
property, and the tenants and peasants were given ownership. It was a watershed
moment in Russia's socioeconomic history. The poor farmers were ecstatic with
the Bolshevik government's decision. They were now Lenin's most ardent
supporters. Private factories, mills, and industries were seized in the same way,
with no compensation paid to the owners. All of this was under the strict control
of the state and labour management bodies. As a result, labour was regarded as
the most important factor in the manufacturing process. As a result, Lenin
became extremely popular among the working class, who gave his government
their full support.
The Greek Orthodox Church wielded significant power over the Russian people
in the religious sphere. Lenin confiscated the Church's property in 1918. The
clergymen's ability to educate children was taken away from them. The
Church's structures have been converted into museums and clubhouses. All
citizens have the right to practise their religion freely.
Other significant changes and reforms in the country's administration were also
implemented. All states under Russian dominance, such as Lithuania, Finland,
and others, were granted the right to self-determination under the Declaration of
Rights. As a result, Lenin established a new administrative system and
abolished all of Russia's traditional social and economic institutions. Despite the
fact that the Bolsheviks made several revolutionary changes to the country's
social and economic structure, landlords, businessmen, clergymen, and
capitalists did not accept these changes. They demonstrated against the seizure
of private property and the elimination of special privileges. The Bolshevik
government, on the other hand, broke the spirit of the old bourgeoisie through
their ruthless methods.
Foreign countries were concerned about Russia's situation because the
Bolshevik government had sparked a global social revolution. Lenin had also
renounced the foreign debts incurred by the previous regime. The Soviet
government was not recognised by the Western countries. As a result, the
Western Powers attempted to overthrow the Bolshevik government by
supporting various counter-revolutionary movements that took place between
1918 and 1922. Foreign forces, as well as anti-Bolshevists, launched a strong
attack on the Bolshevist government.
Meanwhile, in 1918, a constitution was enacted that established the political
structure of Soviet Russia. Laborers were recognised as participants in the
administration of the country by the constitution's fundamental principles. In
every city and village, the Soviets, also known as the Council of Working Men,
were established. The members of the provincial Soviets were chosen to form
the All-Russian Congress of Soviets. The All-Russian Congress of Soviets was
elected and given supreme power under the constitution. The election system
was based on universal franchise, with the franchise being granted to all
Russian citizens aged 18 and up who earned their living through productive
labour. After Russia reclaimed some of her previously ceded territories, a
federal system known as the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR) was
established in 1922, with each of the component republics having a constitution
similar to Russia's. An All Union Congress, a central executive, and a Council
of Commissars were formed to bring these republics together under a federal
government system. Under the leadership of Lenin, who was a virtual dictator,
the Bolsheviks had complete control of Russia's administrative powers.
Despite the fact that Lenin was successful in establishing a new administrative
system in Russia, he was still concerned about the country's deteriorating
economic situation. He was well aware that the economic policy needed to be
changed immediately in order to alleviate the public's dissatisfaction. In 1921,
he declared a New Economic Policy, which was a partial return to the capitalist
system (N.E.P.). It was a policy that sought to strike a balance between
socialism and capitalism. It ushered in numerous changes in the fields of
agriculture, industry, trade, and commerce, among others. The New Economic
Policy significantly improved the state of agriculture and industry.
Czar Nicholas II’s Military Woes (Russo-Japanese War & World War I)
Popular support for a country’s leader has always depended largely on their
success as a military leader. Czar Nicholas II experienced several
disappointments which turned the peasants and workers against him. The
Russo-Japanese War and World War I showed the Czar’s weakness and paved
the way for revolution. In the late 1800s, Russia and Japan were imperialist
powers. Both competed for control of Korea and Manchuria. The two nations
signed a series of agreements over the territories, but Russia broke them. In
retaliation, Japan attacked the Russians at Port Arthur, Manchuria, in February
1904. Though Russian soldiers and sailors went confidently to war, the Japanese
defeated them. News of repeated losses sparked unrest at home and led to revolt
in the midst of the war.
In 1914, Nicholas II made the fateful decision to drag Russia into World War I.
Russia was unprepared to handle the military and economic costs. Russia’s
weak generals and poorly equipped troops were no match for the German army.
Before a year had passed, more than 4 million Russian soldiers had been killed,
wounded or taken prisoner. German machine guns mowed down advancing
Russians by the thousands. Defeat followed defeat. As in the Russo-Japanese
War, Russia’s involvement in World War I revealed the weakness of czarist rule
and military leadership. The war was destroying the morale of Russian troops.
Soldiers mutinied, deserted, or ignored orders. On the home front, food and fuel
supplies were dwindling. Prices were wildly inflated. People from all classes
were clamouring for change and an end to the war. Neither Czar Nicholas nor
Czarina Alexandra proved capable of tackling these enormous problems.
People's dissatisfaction with the Duma
Most of the demands of the Russians were not addressed in the October
Manifesto like: (i) improvements in industrial conditions and pay (ii)
cancellation of redemption payments - there were annual payments to the
government by peasants in return for their freedom and some land, following
the abolition of serfdom in 1861: although peasants had received their legal
freedom, these compulsory payments had reduced over half of the rural
population to dire poverty (in) an amnesty for political prisoners. In order to
satisfy the discontented Russians, Tsar Nicholas introduced another Duma in
1906 which is called the First Duma. This time, the people made further
demands like: (i) confiscation of large estates (ii) a genuinely democratic
electoral system (iii) the right of the Duma to approve Tsar's ministers and (iv)
the right to strike and the abolition of death penalty. The first Dum, however,
failed to satisfy the general Russians.
Tsar Nicholas then went to introduce second, third and fourth Dumas in 1906,
1907 and 1911. The Duma of 1907 and 1911 were at least successful in certain
respects. Peter Stolypin, Prime Minister from 1906 to 1911, introduced certain
reforms to win over the peasants. Redemption payments were abolished and
peasants were allowed and as well encouraged to buy their own lands. Soon
after, nearly 2 million peasants did so by 1916 and another 3.5 million had
migrated to Siberia where they had their own farm lands. Many of the factories
came under the inspectors and the working conditions of the labourers improved
quite a bit. The industrial workers were given medical facilities and insurance
against accident. There were the facilities for schooling for the workers'
children. However, the reform program came to an almost halt when Stolypin
was assassinated in 1911, perhaps the only person who could put a check to any
sort of revolution in Russian and hence save the monarchy from any collapse. It
was widely suspected that Stolypin was shot by a member of the secret police at
the order of Nicholas.
The March Revolution (1917)
In March 1917, women textile workers in Petrograd led a citywide strike. Soon
afterward, riots flared up over shortages of bread and fuel. Nearly 200,000
workers swarmed the streets. At first the soldiers obeyed orders to shoot the
rioters but later sided with them. The soldiers fired at their commanding officers
and joined the rebellion. Large crowds gathered, shouting “Down with the
autocracy!” and “Down with the war!” The local protest exploded into a general
uprising- the March Revolution. It forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate his
throne. The czarist rule of the Romanovs, which spanned over three centuries,
had finally collapsed. The March Revolution succeeded in bringing down the
czar, yet it failed to set up a strong government to replace his regime. Leaders of
the Duma established a provisional government, or temporary government. The
provisional government kept the country in World War I and was too weak to
make the changes that peasants and workers demanded. Instead, power in the
cities grew in local councils of workers called Soviets. In many cities, including
Petrograd, the soviets had more influence than the provisional government. The
March Revolution of 1917 dethroned Nicholas II but failed to put a strong
government in his place.

The Russian failure in the World War I made revolution almost certain, causing
troops and police to mutiny so that there was no one left to defend the Tsarist
aristocracy. The war revealed the incompetent and corrupt organizations and the
shortage of equipment. By the autumn of 1917, it was clear that the main social
and economic problems that caused the strike and uprising earlier in March
1917 still existed. In the second half of September, there was a debate in
Petrograd between the Bolsheviks and the other parties (socialists and
Mensheviks). The voting figures clearly pointed towards a Bolshevik majority.
Leon Trotsky was elected as chairman of the governing body. Trotsky (1879-
1940) was a radical Marxist, amazing orator ad huge supporter of Lenin.
Outside Petrograd, the feelings of the population coincided with the Bolshevik
convictions. The people wanted to see the end of Kerensky's government, the
end to war and they wanted new land distribution. Trotsky and Lenin saw the
answer to all these desires in a Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917.
Que.1(B): How did the Russian Revolution change the geo-political
structure of the 20th century?
“We shall build socialism even on our impoverished base, we shall drag
ourselves along at a snail’s pace, but we shall build socialism.”
- Nikolai Bukharin(NEP)
If the French Revolution of 1789 defined European and world history in the
19th century, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917 did the same for the
20th century. Eric Hobsbawm, a historian, remarks, “The significance of the
Russian Revolution was not national but ecumenical. And its echoes were heard
through the world not just in the immediate post-Revolution and post-World
War eras, but right through the existence of the Soviet Union during the short
20th century – 1917-1989”. The Russian Revolution had a decisive impact on
the history of the twentieth century. The revolution and its consequences and
attitudes towards it being woven into the fabric of liberal capitalist self-
justification and into socialist ideas of all varieties, not least the shrill polemics
of radical groups which trace their lineage back to one form of Bolshevism or
another. The revolution that Lenin led marked one of the most radical turning
points in Russia’s history: it affected economics, social and political structure,
international relations, and most any other benchmark by which one might
measure a revolution. Although the new government would prove to be at least
as repressive as the one it replaced, the country’s new rulers were drawn largely
from the intellectual and working classes rather than from the aristocracy—
which meant a considerable change in direction for Russia.
The Russian Revolution radically altered Russia’s economic structure. It meant
an end of private property, and the change to ownership of all property by the
state. It also established the control of workers over industries. There was an
introduction of centralised economy keeping in mind the needs of the whole
country, especially the working people. Through a centralised economy they
sought to guarantee a much faster pace of economic development and the fruits
of that development to a vast majority of the people. Through it they sought to
prevent an anarchy in production, and also avoid wastage. The First Five Year
Plan, however was introduced much later but planning was an important
contribution of Russian Revolution to the world. The Decree of Land envisaged
the immediate abolition of landed estates(including crown, monastery, and
church lands) and their transfer to the peasantry for hereditary use. Small
private farms however still existed there.
The Russian Revolution also destroyed the roots of social inequality. It laid the
foundations of a classless society. The new social set-up was formed on the
basis of equality, justice and Communism. “Everyone according to his ability
and everyone according to his work” was the principle that was followed now. It
narrowed the gap between the salaries of the workers and the owners of the
factories. A step of tremendous significance was the publication of the
Declaration of the Rights of the People of Russia by the constitution. These
included, among others, the right to self-determination, an eight-hour working
day, and insurance against unemployment. It also guaranteed certain social
benefits to all citizens, such as free medical care, free and equal education for
all, equal access to culture and cultural advancement. All this was gradually
made available to the people as production and infrastructure for these
provisions were being simultaneously created.
The roles of Russian women have changed drastically because of the revolution.
The women were given more freedom and therefore were successful in
achieving independence followed by a higher standing in society. Before the
1917 revolution, women were treated to be beneath men in almost every aspect
in life. However, due to active women’s right movements, and more
opportunities the war gave them, women were finally able to declare their
independence and be appreciated as individuals. The Bolsheviks came to power
with the idea of liberation of women and transformation of the family. They
were able to equalize women’s legal status with men’s by reforming certain
laws such as the Code on Marriage, the Family, and Guardianship ratified in
October 1918 which allows both spouses were to retain the right to their own
property and earnings, grant children born outside wedlock the same rights as
those born within, and made divorce available upon request. Equality for
women was also envisaged in the constitution. There was a provision for six-
month maternity leave, crèches and public canteens at places of work. All this
was aimed at making possible greater participation of women in public life.
These measures had a great impact on capitalist societies. In order to meet the
challenges of the socialist society, they were also forced to grant certain welfare
schemes. In fact, the concept of a welfare state in the west was a direct response
to the Russian Revolution.
The Revolution also separated religion from politics. Religion was made a
purely private affair. No religious education was imparted in the educational
institutions and no public utility was given in the name of religion.
The Russian Revolution resulted in the establishment of a state of the working
people embodied in the notion of ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’. It was
recognized that the opponents of the revolution could still harm the interests of
the people. The Russian Revolution was in fact immediately followed by the
intervention of many other countries on the side of Russian nobility and
bourgeoisie against the revolution and workers of Russia. Therefore, it was
essential, for sometimes, to have a political system dominated by the working
class. But this state was much more democratic than the states of bourgeois
countries because it guaranteed the rule of the majority (i.e. workers) over a
minority which held civil liberties in the pre-revolutionary Russia. Thus,
bourgeois democracy was thus to be transformed into socialist democracy.
Geo-political changes: The Bolshevik revolution was by no means a specifically
"Russian" phenomenon. As Lenin was later to put it, Bolshevism had become
"World Bolshevism" by virtue of its revolutionary tactics, theory and program.
By indicating the "right road of escape from the horrors of war and
imperialism…Bolshevism can serve as a model of tactics for all." The
"proletariat, the soldiers and peasants lined up against the bourgeoisie." This
was the essence of the Russian Revolution. October was not a coup conducted
by a secretive and elitist band. Above all, the revolution was about the
mobilization of the mass of ordinary Russians—workers, soldiers and peasants
—in a struggle to change their world. That is to this day the most important
legacy of the Russian revolution. The greatest historian of the revolution, and
one of its most important participants, Leon Trotsky, described the significance
of revolution: “The most indubitable feature of a revolution is the direct
interference of the masses in historic events. In ordinary times the state, be it
monarchical or democratic, elevates itself above the nation, and history is made
by specialists in that line of business —kings, ministers, bureaucrats,
parliamentarians, journalists. But at those crucial moments when the old order
becomes no longer endurable to the masses, they break over the barriers
excluding them from the political arena, sweep aside their traditional
representatives, and create by their own interference the initial groundwork for a
new regime. Whether this is good or bad we leave to the judgment of moralists.
We ourselves will take the facts as they are given by the objective course of
development. The history of a revolution is for us first of all a history of the
forcible entrance of the masses into the realm of rulership over their own
destiny.” Passivity gave way to self-activity. As historian Marc Ferro put it,
"the citizens of the new Russia, having overthrown Tsardom, were in a state of
permanent mobilization." "All Russia," wrote Sukhanov, "was constantly
demonstrating in those days."
The Russian Revolution represented an important landmark in international
relations. The Bolsheviks abolished all the old secret treaties signed by the
autocracy and the Provisional Government with different countries. It was
increasingly being felt that the people should have the right to know what their
rulers are doing and the people of any country should have the right to influence
the foreign policy of their country through debate and intervention.
The Revolution marked the beginning of the decline of imperialism and the rise
of socialism. As the first successful socialist revolution the Russian Revolution
was bound to have repercussions for the future. The world as a whole was sure
to feel the onset of the completely new type of social and economic system. The
Communist International or Comintern, organized on the lines of First and
Second International, was the means of promoting revolutions on an
international scale. The revolution ended the domination and exploitation of the
peasants by the landlords. It made possible to uplift the material and cultural
standards of life of the working people. It helped to destroy the old exploitative
and oppressive state machine dominated by the minority of capitalists and
landlords and replaced it by a new type of state-dictatorship of the proletariat.
Lenin and Trotsky said that the goal of socialism in Russia would not be
realized without the success of the world proletariat in other countries, e.g.
without German Revolution. The Bolsheviks recognized the right to self-
determination including the right to succession of all the oppressed nationalities
inhabiting the boundaries of the Tsarist Empire and made them equal partners in
socialist construction and overcoming social and economic backwardness.
The Russian Revolution inspired all over the world, the struggles of the colonial
people and nations for independence from the Western imperialist countries.
The Indian National Movement, for example, was profoundly affected by the
November Revolution. It gathered momentum and a certain direction from the
Russian Revolution. The revolution acted as a catalytic agent who transformed
the national movements all over the world to assume a definite shape and thus
facilitated the early shattering of the stranglehold of the Western imperial power
over Asia and Africa, the two continents, where their imperial supremacy was
most widespread and most oppressive. By rendering active material and
political assistance in anti-imperialist struggles, the revolution had greatly
contributed in bringing the downfall of imperialism.
In conclusion, we can say that the Russian Revolution of 1917 was a movement
that endorsed equality, though more economically than politically. This
revolution was in part a ripple caused by the Industrial Revolution.
Industrialization sharply divided society into the owners and the workers, with
the latter comprising the majority of the population. This division influenced
Marx's principles of socialism, which in turn inspired the Russian Revolution.
In its effort to reject economic despotism, the revolution set hopes of equality
for all those in the world who felt disempowered by capitalism. Today, the
Western economy remains heavily capitalist; the fundamental ideas of the
Russian Revolution are still followed by those who believe that a redistribution
of economic power is necessary for the well-being of the working people. The
1917 Russian revolution was powerful in spreading socialist ideas and
astonishing in its scope of immediate impact, but ultimately it was a failed
attempt at a political and economic reform. The socialist ideals could not be
achieved in practice and the communist Soviet government was dissolved in
less than a century. Furthermore, in spite of the reactionary wave created by the
1917 revolution that extended until 1923, no other Marxist movement was
successful in achieving or keeping real power.

“ I don’t care what becomes of Russia. To hell with it……...All this is only the
road to a world revolution.”
~ Vladimir Lenin ~
Arihant Jain (2022/05/087) Section – ‘B’
Bachelor of Arts(History Honors)