Main Causes of the Russian Revolution - Essay Example

MAIN CAUSES OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION By Name Course Instructor Institution City/State Date Main Causes Of the Russian Revolution Introduction In the early 20th century, Russia was evidently a huge empire, which stretched from the Pacific to Poland, and was home to more than 100 million people of various cultures, religions, and languages (Wood, 2004, p.6). Governing such a big empire was challenging, and issues inside Russia resulted in the 1917 revolution, which as a result, brushed off the old system. A number of fault lines have been acknowledged as long-term causes, whereas the short-term cause is undoubtedly the First World War. The Russian Revolution as mentioned by Chamberlin (2014, p.134) occurred in 1917, when the World War I was in its final phase. Russia was drawn from the war by the revolution and resulted in the formation of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which saw the customary monarchy of Russia replaced with the first Communist country in the world (SparkNotes, 2005, p.1). As indicated by SparkNotes (2005, p.1), the revolution took place in phases through two distinct coup d’état, in February as well as October. Vladimir Lenin’s led government would solidify its authority in 1920 subsequent to years of civil war. Even though the happenings of the Russian Revolution took place unexpectedly, the main causes are traceable from 19th century. The 1917 Russian Revolution entirely transformed the government as well as the viewpoint on life (Chamberlin, 2014, p.134). Although, the revolution happenings were directly caused by the growing World War I conflict, the consequence of the empire falling down and the revolt by people in Russia goes further than the war effort. So, the essay seeks to discuss the main causes of the Russian revolution. Discussion Before the revolution, as stated by Wood (2004, p.7), the Russian monarchy had started becoming more and more weak and gradually more knowledgeable of its own weakness; thus, resulting in more intolerance. So, Nicholas II who was a Tsar and the Russia leader before the revolution had individually seen revolutionary extremists murder his grandfather and, his father oppressive reaction to the murder by brutally tyrannising the people of Russia (SparkNotes, 2005, p.2). Akin to his father, when Nicholas II in 1894 became Tsar, he equally used inhuman measures so as to moderate opposition movements, which were turning out to be more and more widespread and courageous each year (Fernholz, 2001). Given that Nicholas’s freshly enforced cruelties had provoked more discord, after every occurrence he was compelled to make concessions. According to SparkNotes (2005, p.1), these concessions progressively continued until the grip of Nicholas II on power turned out to be extremely weak. While Nicholas II became weaker and vulnerable, Vladimir Lenin became the most prominent and powerful person in Russia. Even though this renowned leader who spearheaded the October Revolution was absent for Russia’s February Revolution, he nevertheless exerted incredible influence (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014). Only a few other revolutionaries in Russia had Lenin’s resoluteness as well as vision for the future of Russia. The main causes of revolution included peasant poverty, an increasing politicised workforce in the urban, Tsarist totalitarianism and under-representation, ineffective government, and isolated military (Wilde, 2014). In terms of peasant poverty, Wilde (2014) asserts that in 1916, almost 75% of Russian people were farmers living and farming in small villages. Therefore, the agriculture state in central Russia was exceedingly poor, given that farmers were utilizing out-dated techniques and had no hope of improvement because of the prevalent illiteracy as well as the lack of capital for investing. Furthermore, families were living slightly above the survival level, and more than half had sent a family member out of the village to look for well-paying jobs, mostly in the urban areas. When the population of central Russia grew, land turned out to be scarce. The southern and western areas of the big Russian Empire were to some extent not the same, with the majority of populations having large farms that were commercially productive. As a result, by 1917 a large number of peasants were dissatisfied, annoyed with heightened efforts to control them, and to individuals who gained from their land devoid of directly working on them. The shared mind-set of the peasants was resolutely in opposition to developments outside the town, and wanted independence. Another cause of Russia Revolution was the increasing urban workforce that was largely politicised; considering that Russia experienced the industrial revolution in the 1890s (Wilde, 2014). Even though the development brought about by industrial revolution was not progressive and rapid as in other European nations such as Britain, cities in Russia started expanding and a lot of peasants migrated to the cities so as to assume the new jobs. By the start of 20th century, millions of peasants had flocked the expanding as well as tightly packed urban areas, creating challenges such as overcrowded and poor housing, low salaries, as well as oppressed rights in their jobs. This as a result, made the workers to become political and protest against the government restrictions; thus, creating a productive ground for the exiled socialist revolutionaries (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014). In an attempt to counter the dissemination of anti-Tsarist philosophy, neutered trade unions were created by the government so as to assume the place of the expelled but influential equals. In 1917 revolution, socialist workers who were heavily politicised played a crucial part, even though there were scores of other beliefs as well as factions under the ‘socialism’ umbrella. Another cause of revolution was under-representation and Tsarist totalitarianism considering that Russia had been ruled by Tsar, a position held by the Romanov family for three centuries. The Romanov family ruled single-handedly, without any representative forms, such as the Duma, a legitimate, elected body instituted in 1905 (SparkNotes, 2005, p.2). Nicholas II, the Tsar had from time to time been blamed for lacking leadership personality. However, Wood (2004, p.6) established that this was not the case; the issue was the determination of Nicholas to rule with no ability or idea to run an autocracy appropriately. Ineffective government was another cause of the revolution, given that former Tsarist government was not only tyrannical, but also lacked good governance. Before the revolution, there were lots of opposing bodies, which were opposing government and judgment decisions that seemed completely illogical, arbitrary, or depended on patronage. Certainly, historians like such as Figes concur that Russia was poorly governed by the Tsar, since the majority of peasant villages had no contact with the imperial government, and local government failed to offer the needed solutions. Government was compelled to experience landed aristocracy, mostly in the zemstovs, but subsequent to peasant liberation, such landholders faded and afterward turned to the government, asking for reforms. This way the substratum of the timeworn tsarist government turned on the tsar. Additionally, the Tsar leaders disregarded the peasants’ opinion, and majority of the peasants had no connection with the regime; so, they had no worries with regards to the wiping out of the entire Tsarist government in 1917. Isolated Military also caused the revolution, such that the backward Russian military had brought together lots of soldiers who, after being treated coldheartedly and like foreigners, needed some piece of self-respect as well as improved conditions. The Bolsheviks, in 1917 seemed to provide what the isolated military needed (Wilde, 2014). Furthermore, the class of professional officers was as well isolated from the Tsar, and the officers had realised that the war was shifting, but the military remained stuck in the past. As a result, the professional officers searched for help from the Duma in attempt to force a solution. So, the revolution helped Russia to completely enter the age of industrialisation. Before 1917, Wilde (2014) points out that Russia an agricultural state that had limitedly experienced industrial development. By 1917, countries neighbouring Russia had completely entered the industrial age for over fifty years; thus, making noteworthy technological progresses like extensive electrification, that was yet to be realized by Russia. Subsequent to the revolution, new urban regions that were industrialised surfaced rapidly in Russia and turned out to be more and more crucial to the development of the country (SparkNotes, 2005, p.2). This as a result, made lots if population to migrate to the cities, and education started improving, and level of illiteracy has tremendously reduced. Besides that, the Russian Revolution as well had significant global implications; for instance, Russia was instantly withdrawn out of World War I by Lenin’s government, which consequently altered the forces’ balance for the remaining partakers. When Russia’s civil war ensued, a number of countries, such as U.S., sent militaries to Russia with anticipation of keeping the turmoil from diffusing beyond the boundaries of Russia. A number of decades later, the Soviet Union aggressively funded and helped Communist revolutions as well as movements across the globe with the intention of widening its influence sphere. Conclusion In conclusion, as argued in the essay the World War 1 placed an excruciating pressure on Russia's weak economy as well as government, leading to mass hunger and shortages. Besides that, the poor management as well as failures of the war turned the soldiers and the peasants against the Tsar. This resulted in February revolution, wherein the Tsar lost the power at the streets, to the militaries, and of the Duma, leading to his forceful resignation in 1917. So the main causes of Russia revolution as evidenced in the essay includes; ineffective government, World War 1, peasants’ poverty, isolated military, Tsarist totalitarianism as well as increased number of politicized urban workforce. References Chamberlin, W.H., 2014. The Russian Revolution, Volume I: 1917-1918: From the Overthrow of the Tsar to the Assumption of Power by the Bolsheviks. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014. Russian Revolution of 1917. [Online] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/513907/Russian-Revolution-of-1917 [Accessed 19 February 2015]. Fernholz, E.M., 2001. The Russian Revolution of 1917. [Online] Available at: http://academic.mu.edu/meissnerd/russian-rev.htm [Accessed 19 February 2015]. SparkNotes, 2005. The Russian Revolution. New York City: Sterling Publishing Company Incorporated. Wilde, R., 2014. Causes of the Russian Revolution. [Online] Available at: http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/russiaandukraine/a/Causes-Of-The-Russian-Revolution.htm [Accessed 19 February 2015]. Wood, A., 2004. The Origins of the Russian Revolution, 1861–1917. New York: Routledge. Read More