The Russian Revolution: the Democratic and Socialist Movements - Research Paper Example

The Russian Revolution Introduction Among the most significant events that took place in the early twentieth century, and in the midst of the Great War was the Russian Revolution; an event which took so many European states by surprise that they failed to take any significant steps to stop it. With the occurrence of the Revolution, Russia was transformed from being an empire into what would later come to be known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), a state which was based in the Marxist ideology of communism. The formation of this new system of government within Russia would also lead to one of the bloodiest wars in history as a three year civil war ensued which saw the Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin solidify their power over the entire state.1 This revolution can be considered to be one of the most decisive events in Russian history as for the first time; the monarchy was overthrown as a result of the rise of the civil population against it. From its beginnings, Russia was a state which was based in the autocratic system where the tsar had absolute power over every one of its institutions. While in some instances this system of government had led to the suffering of the majority of the Russian population, who were for the most part serfs, it also led to the rise of the state as a great European power. This allowed the Russian empire to project its power not only into Europe but also deep into Asia, where most of the country’s landmass lies. The coming of the revolution, therefore, put an end to the tsarist system of government, but it did not end the autocracy that had been predominant in the state for centuries. Roots of the Revolution Although a number of scholars have observed that the revolution in Russia took place abruptly, they have found that its roots go back for almost a century. The century prior to the revolution was characterized by the increasingly repressive policies that were put in place by the various tsars as a means of protecting their power over the state. Studies of Russia before the revolution show that the monarchs had become increasingly aware of their waning power and the repressive steps that they undertook can be considered to have been reactionary.2 The century before the revolution had witnessed the assassination of two tsars and the reactionary characteristics of their successors who sought to crush all forms of dissention so that the vulnerability of their position could not be known. The last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, had been a witness to the assassination of his grandfather and the repressive state which his father had created as a response and it is most likely that he believed that only repressing dissent could secure his position. However, Nicholas II lived in a world which had completely changed and quite a number of Russians could no longer take the repression lying down. These individuals tended to take up arms and form resistance movements against the state, and their numbers continued to grow as the Russian government became ever more repressive. The widespread civil unrest that was caused by the tsar’s brutal repression forced him to make concessions to the opposition in order to be able to secure his position, but these concessions only provided temporary security for Nicholas II, since it loosened his hold on power. Among these concessions was his presiding over the creation of the first constitution that Russia had ever had in its history and with its coming to force, the tsar lost most of his autocratic powers over the states to his rivals. Aristocracy Becoming Alienated from the People The century before the revolution had seen most of the members of the Russian ruling class drifting away from their people as they became more involved with the aristocracies of Western Europe. This made them lose touch with the realities of life among their own people as they became insensitive to their needs, whether social, economic, or political. Most of the Russian aristocracy instead became involved in their own pleasures, extracting taxes from the populace to fund their increasingly lavish lifestyles and living in a manner which was completely alien to their people. The Russian aristocracy was immensely influenced by that of Western Europe and it adopted the characteristics of other European aristocracies despite the fact that their backgrounds were completely different.3 Most of the European states at the time were slowly but surely evolving into democracies and while most of the population was not well off, they were allowed participation in the domestic political processes. In this way, the aristocrats in the rest of Europe managed to secure themselves against any form of revolutions while at the same time ensuring that they maintained their wealth and status. This was not the case with the Russian aristocracy which, while living a lifestyle similar to that of Western European aristocracy, did not allow the common Russians to take an active part in the political process. In addition, because of their need to achieve the status of their European counterparts, the aristocracy mercilessly exploited the population in order to gain the wealth to fund their lifestyles; this despite the fact that Russia was a poor country.4 In addition, the Romanovs, who were the Russian ruling family, from the time of Peter the Great onwards had modeled themselves on European royal houses, intermarrying with them and absorbing their culture, thus alienating them from their own people. This lead to an increase in resentment towards them from the Russian population and undermined their legitimacy, culminating in the Russian Revolution of 1917. European Democratic and Socialist Influences The early twentieth century was a period where a large number of Russians had become exposed to the democratic ideals that were prevalent in Europe and they aspired to have the same in their country. The democratic and socialist movements that had taken root in Western Europe were very attractive for educated Russians and these formed their own parties based on these movements in a bid to agitate for more freedoms for their people.5 The fact that the Russian ruling class failed to realize the seriousness of these individuals accounts for the increase in repression that followed since there was no anticipation of the violence that would follow. The detachment that the Russian aristocracy had towards their people had completely alienated the latter since their aims and aspirations were no longer in line with each others’. While the Russian state focused more on foreign policy and completely ignored the domestic situation, the people on the ground suffered under the strain brought about through the payment of heavy taxes as well as the effort to make a living so that they could support themselves. Most of the population lived in a situation where they were hardly ever able to have enough to eat and the fact that the state continuously taxed them in order to indulge in its foreign adventures brought about a lot of resentment among the Russian people.6 The fact that most of these involvements in foreign affairs by the Russian state were not successful only piled on the sense of disillusionment that the Russian population had towards its ruling class. Examples of the Russian foreign policies that failed miserably was the Crimean war in the mid nineteenth century as well as the Russo-Japanese war in the early twentieth century; both events seeing Russia defeated and making concessions towards the victors. These events further damaged the image that the Russians had towards their leaders and it led to the beginning of the armed struggles that resulted in the revolution. Agitation for Civilian Participation in Government The beginning of the twentieth century saw a Russia which was ready for revolution and this was facilitated by the defeats that the state suffered both at home and internationally which led to its making concessions to its people. Caving down to pressure, Tsar Nicholas II had taken the initiative to introduce the first ever constitution for the Russian state and this had created an environment where individuals from all walks of life could have direct participation in politics.7 Thus, an unprecedented number of political parties were formed within Russia at the same time and this led to the agitation for more freedoms from the tsar. Many of the politicians at the time felt that Nicholas II was not leading the state in the right direction and that it was necessary for there to be more civilian participation in government in order to correct his mistakes; essentially the formation of a constitutional monarchy. When the tsar responded with even more repression towards his opponents, some of the political parties moved their operations to other countries where they could continue to agitate for their political objectives with more freedoms and beyond the reach of the tsarist government.8 Through their participation in the political arena both within and outside the country, the leaders of the Russian opposition were able to not only raise money for their operations, but they were also able to educate themselves on the contemporary political philosophies, and this helped them in the development of reasonable policies that they could pursue in attaining their goals. International Consequences of the Revolution When the revolution, led by the Bolsheviks under the leadership of Lenin took place, it led to some very serious international consequences. Among these was the fact that the now communist Russia withdrew from the Great War, into which it has been taken by Nicholas II in support of the allies. This led to a change in the balance of the forces and it made the allied powers rethink their strategy in order to insulate itself against the departure of Russia from the war.9 The withdrawal of Russia from the war resulted in the United States taking a more prominent position within it and this directly resulted in the end of the isolationist policy that had been a basic tenet of American foreign policy since its founding. The civil war that ensued in Russia led to allied nations sending a number of troops into its territory to ensure that the war did not spill beyond its borders. After the civil war, and the stabilization of the USSR, this state once again aspired to gain its global status as it strived towards the sponsoring of communist movements and revolutions as a means on projecting its influence. The power of the USSR was so massive that it was relied upon by the allies during the Second World War to help defeat Nazi Germany, which was one of the most powerful states in Europe at the time.10 The fact that the Russian Revolution proved successful made the Western nations develop the fear that similar revolutions would take place within their own territories. The result of this was that communism was increasingly viewed as a threat which had to be countered at all costs to ensure the sustenance of the systems of government that had developed in the West at the time. Conclusion As has been seen above, the Russian Revolution had its roots in the prior century which was characterized by the increasingly repressive policies that were put in place by the various tsars as a means of protecting their power over the state. In addition, the Russian ruling class drifted away from their people as they became more involved with the aristocracies of Western Europe. This resulted in their losing touch with the realities of life among their own people as they became insensitive to their needs. The democratic and socialist movements that had taken root in Western Europe in the early twentieth century proved to be attractive for educated Russians and these formed their own parties based on these movements in a bid to agitate for more freedoms for their people. The result was the formation of an unprecedented number of political parties within Russia at the same time and this led to the agitation for more freedoms from the state. The revolution resulted in communism being increasingly viewed as a threat which had to be countered at all costs to ensure the sustenance of the systems of government that had developed in the West at the time, hence the Cold War. Bibliography Davis, J. P. "Spies and Commissars: The Early Years of the Russian Revolution." Choice 50, no. 2 (10, 2012): 340. Dempster, Gregory M. "The Fiscal Background of the Russian Revolution." European Review of Economic History 10, no. 1 (04, 2006): 35-50. Dowling, Timothy C. "The Russian Revolution, 1917." The Journal of Military History 66, no. 2 (04, 2002): 592. Ezergailis, A. "The Russian Revolution, 1917-1945." Choice 49, no. 1 (09, 2011): 184. Kolonitskii, Boris. "Russian Historiography of the 1917 Revolution: New Challenges to Old Paradigms?" History and Memory 21, no. 2 (Fall, 2009): 34-59,178. Memos, Christos. "Anarchism and Council Communism on the Russian Revolution." Anarchist Studies 20, no. 2 (2012): 22-47. Miller, T. "Competing Voices from the Russian Revolution: Fighting Words." Choice 48, no. 12 (08, 2011): 2286. White, Elizabeth. "The Narodniks in the Russian Revolution. Russias Socialist-Revolutionaries in 1917-A Documentary History." Canadian Slavonic Papers 51, no. 2 (Jun, 2009): 370-372. Read More