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Analyze the causes and results until the end of 1917, of the first revolution in Russia. Thesis: The first revolution in Russia, in 1917, was largely the consequence of uprisings amongst the Russians in Petrography in demand for the symbolic “peace, bread, and land”, and the failing grasp of the Czar to quell these movements or afford amends to their causes.
The revolution itself was unsuccessful in providing the people a meaner of establishing a representative and responsible government, and instead was a “revolution from above” creating a further fracture twine the public and the government, and inspiring the very revolutionary zeal that would lead to the second, October Revolution. POP #1: Primarily, the people of Petrography were discontent with the standard of living in the capital, let alone the rest of the country.
Food was rare and famine was widespread, war wrought havoc on the southern front of the nation, and drained the rest of its resources and people, and land was becoming a dispute for the 80% of the country that lived as serfs, emancipated, yet downtrodden. Source #1 Showers, Victoria. Life During the Russian Revolution. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1998. -23. Print. -The Russian winter of 1916-1917 was very severe, causing higher demand for food and fuel. Labor strikes increased in intensity, and affected important infrastructure like railroads and shipyards. -Food prices increased approximately 50% during the winter months. – Many in the public were distraught at Russian’s involvement in the war, which drained the country of money and lives Source #2 Wood, Anthony. The Russian Revolution. Second deed. Essex: Longhand Group
The Petrography Soviet, Provisional Government, ND Bolshevik movement all vied for power in the new battlefield of Russian politics. The Serenely regime, the final candidate to steer the nation before the second revolution, was itself weak and unable to fully assert its control on state affairs. Nonetheless, the provisional government was able to make beneficial social reforms, necessary to Russian society which had confined too rigid social structure. Source #1 Showers, Victoria. Life During the Russian Revolution. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1998. 8-23. Print. -The provisional government made a tremendous error by refusing o act upon taking power, instead waiting for the legitimate government to appear. This made them unwilling and unable to deal with important matters. The government, under Serenely, failed to provide to the people the “peace, bread, and land” that had been promised, which instead became a motto for the Bolshevik party, under Lenin, who promised the same. -Many factions were still undecided on the issue of war; liberals, moderates, and conservatives wanted to continue the war, while Immensities, Bolsheviks, and Social Revolutionaries demented its cessation. – The provisional government, choosing to maintain the war, lost a lot of popularity tit the Russian public, especially the supporters of the Left-wing parties. -Many soldiers themselves had little loyalty to the provisional government themselves, on some days marching for them and on other days against. Source #2 Wood, Anthony. The Russian Revolution. Second deed. Essex: Longhand Group, 1986. 26-29. Print. The Petrography Soviet had lacked the confidence it needed to take the reins of the February Revolution, and was forced to cede more power to the provisional government then intended -The provisional government made the crucial decision to stay in the war, yet wait for the election of a Constituent Assembly, and so the war effort itself delayed the process of the Constituent Assembly, hence delaying by extension any true administrating by the Cadet government under Prince Love. – During the July Days, approximately 500,000 Bolshevik supporters took to the streets, and were afterwards condemned and arrested by the provisional government. However, this served to actually strengthen the drive behind the party, and demonstrated the weakness of Sereneness regime, which was unable to arrest and major figures. Source #3 Shapiro, Leonard.
The Russian Revolutions of 1917. New York: Basic Books Inc. , 1984. Print. -The government was surprised when uprisings amongst the peasants increased and was completely incapable of handling them. – Unions were allowed under the new Serenely government -Work days were limited to 8 hours -Universal suffrage was granted -These social and democratic reforms were crucial in establishing popular support for Sereneness government, since so many people supported the Bolsheviks and the Soviets -Religious freedoms of all minorities were guaranteed, a move that greatly helped Jews in Russia. -Capital punishment was banned, although many government officials opposed it. These are the few examples of the changes that were able to be dad under the provisional government. Conclusion: Ultimately, the February Revolution of Russia was a critical event in history, shaping European and global politics for the 20th century. The common causes of revolution throughout history; hunger, economic disparity, and political instability, proved themselves again capable of tearing down the fabric of an empire hundreds of years old. War tore the nation apart through the resource shortages it entailed and the lives it consumed. Starvation drove the masses of Petrography to arise against an absolutist government to demand basic human needs.
Power intoxicated statesmen and generals to grasp onto the dying vestiges of a crumbling legacy in their attempts to crush the flames of hope in the revolutionary movements. Unfortunately, the revolution itself failed in creating a democratic replacement to the Czar, instead creating a power vacuum that that was gradually dominated by the Bolsheviks. The Soviet state that was created by the successors of the October Bolshevik Revolution ultimately decayed into a state as corrupt, and even more tyrannical, than that which it was meant to replace. As a result, the long-lasting outcome of the February Revolution was to remove an autocratic regime, only to later supplant it with another one.