Short response 6 - Essay Example

Russian Revolution Russian revolution that began in 1917 was inevitable because the present government that held power at that time was incompetent and unable to lead the Russian people. The people were suffering from lack of basic necessities since they did not have homes, were disease afflicted and did not have food. In addition, the nation has sustained the greatest number of causalities in the World War and it was in a very unstable condition (Hunt 791). Nicholas, the Russian leader failed to lead the people who had lost trust in him anyway.

After the revolts broke out, he left power unceremoniously thus leaving Russia vulnerable. According to Hunt (792), it was during this time that almost every revolutionary group wanted to take leadership reigns of the nation. One such group was the Bolsheviks band led by Lenin, who finally came to power.The revolution was a success because it occurred at the right time when Russia people needed change. This was after the World War when everyone including soldiers as well as civilians were tired of the suffering.

According to Hunt (791), the revolution that followed this event in Russia was not just war but ended up being a civil war. This war was for power and domination between the Bolshevik party and the Provisional Government. Daniel (398) notes that the Bolsheviks revolution succeeded against incredible odds because of their disregard for any form of rational calculation previously done. Lenin saw a chance for the Bolshevik party to ascend to power and he took it. Together with other party leaders Lenin risked everything to gather enough force against the provisional government which was not ready to hand over power as it did everything to resist the takeover.

Other party leaders including Zinoviev and Kamenev wished for a less radical and organized way of getting power. Lenin was keen to seize power once and for all and that is why he made vehement demands on the Bolshevik party to take the opportunity of the Provisional Government’s weakness and fight it with all their might (Daniels 399). He went ahead and chose Marxists ideologies of communism to govern Russia. According to Daniels (400), many of the decisions that Lenin made were widely influenced and pressured by his lieutenants from Bolshevik party.

However, Lenin had his own convictions and as Hunt points out, he had devoted all his life to seeing socialism thrive and that is exactly what he did when he gained power.Lenin much feared for a counter revolution in his party leadership and that is why he accommodated other revolutionists. On the other hand, he proceeded to establish a single party state despite the fact that by doing so, he was disregarding the beliefs of a reformer and a true revolutionist. His actions only proved that he was an opportunist who used all means available to him to achieve his goals.

He used the Germans, to come back to Russia because he knew what the situation would be. Therefore, the revolutionary success was inevitable from the word go and Lenin was aware of this fact and that is why he came back with the intension of taking power. It was obvious that the current governance system would eventually break down because of mounting pressure resulting from the effects of the World War.Works CitedDaniels, Robert. The Leader Decides. 376-400. Print.Hunt, Lynn. Making of the West, Volume II: Since 1500: Peoples and Cultures, Volume 2.

New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. Print.