Written by: Aashrab Khanal - 22001, Grade XII
Posted on: 29 October, 2021
For almost three centuries the Romanov dynasty ruled Russia. The Romanovs lost power in Russia in February of 1917 when a revolution resulted in the dissolution of the monarchy. The Russian Revolution brought further chaos and violence in Russia and gave rise to the Bolsheviks who established the Soviet Union.
Many historians believe that the shortcomings of the 1905 revolution led to the revolutions of 1917. In 1917, Russia was directly involved in the First World War, fighting against Germany on the Eastern front. The war was devastating for the Russian people which led to a massive economic downturn. The food shortages and increased work time increased the workers' hatred towards the government. This led to the February revolution and the provisional government was formed which failed to improve the degrading situation and did not put an end to the war. During this time, the Russian General Lavr Kornilov attempted a coup against the provisional government headed by Alexander Kerensky. Kerensky successfully thwarted the coup with the help of Bolshevik assistance. But this led to the Bolsheviks gaining more power in Russia. All the jailed Bolsheviks were freed from jails and a takeover of the government was being planned. With the promise of bread, peace and land, the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government.
An election was held to appreciate Marx’s view that a communist nation should have democratic characteristics. The results of the election indicated that the Bolsheviks had lost to the more popular Socialist Revolutionary Party. Since no one cares about Marx’s principles, the Bolsheviks did not accept the results which led to the Russian Civil War lasting till 1923. The revolution led to the establishment of the USSR and further revolutions in countries such as China and Vietnam.
Source:[Wikipedia (“Russian Revolution”) viewed in 2021]
