Preview

Causes of the Bolshevik Revolution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
940 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Causes of the Bolshevik Revolution
There was a variety of causes that allowed the Bolsheviks to take control in October 1917, such as not allowing any of their members to join the provisional government, or the fact that the were lead by Lenin and Trotsky, two of the most intelligent men in Russia at the time. But the main factor that gave the Bolsheviks the most powerful argument against both the Tsarist System and the Provisional Government was the fact that the Russian people were crying out for an end to the war, and this is what the Bolsheviks promised - peace.
One of the key factors that lead to the successful Bolshevik revolution was the mutiny of Commander Kornilov with his small army with plans to take them to Petrograd, remove the Preliminary Government from power, and set up a military dictatorship. Kerensky - the effective "Prime Minister" - had no army of his own within Petrograd or any nearby areas as they were all fighting at the front. As a result the Provisional Government had no choice but to give weapons to the Bolsheviks to protect the Provisional Government. This worked hugely in favour of the Bolsheviks as now they had weapons, only the Tsar would have been stupid enough to order them to give the weapons back. This is a direct result of the stress of the war on the people of Russia, even the Commanders of the army. If the Provisional Government had pulled out of the war and made piece with the Kaiser then Kornilov wouldn't ever have caused a mutiny, leading to the arming of the Bolsheviks.
Another key factor that lead to the revolution would be the Provisional Government's failure to deal with the land problem. This is a key factor in my opinion because this was one of the mistakes that the Tsar made. This was a vicious cycle, the peasants wanted more land so they decided to steal the land from other land owners and upper-class men. Because of this more people started to dessert the army, either to protect their own land, or to make sure they got some of the land before it
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Why do some historians believe the Provisional Government was doomed from the beginning?
    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Why do some historians believe the Provisional Government was doomed from the beginning?

    Historians may believe the Provisional Government was doomed because of a major problem with the provisional government which was the Dual Authority. The Provisional Government was made up of members of the old Duma that had refused to disband at the Tsars command. This meant that they were basically the same men that the Tsar had appointed before the revolution, so nothing had changed in that regard. Consequently, they had no goodwill from the public backing them up, so they would be judged purely on what the public could see happening. Furthermore, the Government had to share power with the Petrograd Soviet. This illegitimate relationship lessened the power of the Provisional Government existentially. Incidentally, it should be mentioned that the two factions were not necessarily hostile towards one another from the start, with some members being members of both groups at the same time. This combination of convenience however, could not last for long.Without a shred of a doubt, one of the biggest problems with the Provisional Government was the continuation of the war. The war was a lost cause by this stage and the Provisional Government would have wanted to pull out if it were a logical possibility, but in order to keep Russia afloat they needed to keep up the fight for the money that they were receiving from Britain and France. The loans that Russia had taken out from these countries while under the Tsarist regime had left Russia financially destroyed. The injections of money and supplies that the allies were providing Russia with because of their involvement in the war was the only thing keeping Russia stable. If Russia could have started to engage in peace talks, as suggested by Josef Stalin, then the Provisional Government could concentrate on sorting out the social and economic problems properly, but because of the desperate need for the war credits, this was not a viable solution. The effect of this choice to keep fighting is somewhat akin to watching a…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Was The Most Successful Russian Rulers From 1856-1964
    • 1370 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Who Was The Most Successful Russian Rulers From 1856-1964

    The reforms and policies made during the last Tsarist years were not in the interests of the people but were made simply to maintain the power of the Tsar and his nobles. Most people would argue that during the years 1917-1964 there was more political freedom and less repression than in the Tsarist years. The provisional government did not meet the needs of the Russian people. They were an unstable and temporary government, and many people on the furthest parts of the Russian empire did not know about their existence. This provided them with many issues, such as trying to enforce democracy onto people they did not understand what democracy actually was. Many historians believe that at this point the people of Russia did not know themselves what form of government they wanted and due to the lack of education they did not know what form was best for them. In October 1917 came the Bolshevik revolutions. With their leader, Lenin, the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government and came into power. The leadership of Lenin was met with great approval from the people. Lenin promised political freedom unknown to them under the Tsars and Provisional government. In his rule…

    • 1370 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Chesapeake Bay Colonies Dbq Essay
    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Chesapeake Bay Colonies Dbq Essay

    In the 1600s, colonists from England decided to leave their homeland to travel to America or “the New World.” The two regions the colonists mostly settled in were the New England area and the Chesapeake area. Although New England and the Chesapeake region were both settled largely by the people of English origin, by 1700 the regions evolved into two distinct societies. This difference occurred because the New England colonies was based off of escaping religious persecution while the Chesapeake colonies was based off of profiting of natural resources.…

    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How far do you agree that the most important cause of the February 1917 revolution was the Great War
    • 1065 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How far do you agree that the most important cause of the February 1917 revolution was the Great War

    The February Revolution of 1917 brought the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty to an end. I believe that the immediate cause of the February Revolution of 1917 was the collapse of the Tsarist regime under the gigantic strain of World War I. The underlying cause was the backward economic condition of the country, which made it unable to sustain the war effort against powerful, industrialized Germany. All the other contributing factors only had a slight impact, I believe that they were not as important as the Great War.…

    • 1065 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    How Did the Bolsheviks Survive the Early Days?
    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages

    How Did the Bolsheviks Survive the Early Days?

    A key factor that allowed Lenin and his party to dominate Russia was how the power was distributed throughout the government. The Bolsheviks created a system that took the form of a ‘pyramid of power’ this meant that the decisions and power sifted through all the political parties involved in the government finally leading up to the central committee; which was subjugated by the Bolsheviks. This meant that no matter what anyone else wanted if the Bolsheviks didn’t want to pass or agree with something, they didn’t have to; resulting in an extremely de facto government. The reason the Bolsheviks created this system how it was, is down to Lenin’s avid disbelief in democracy, Lenin favoured his ideal of democratic centralism, which invariable meant that he was in command and this ‘pyramid of power’ system suited Lenin’s desires. The fact that nobody else had such control of the government would have made it difficult for any change as they couldn’t get any alternative in the public domain as the Bolshevik system wouldn’t allow it, therefore any opposition that did exist wouldn’t be able to express their opinions and so the Bolsheviks were in a pretty secure position, thus able to survive the early days.…

    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How far was the Provisional Government responsible for its own downfall
    • 875 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How far was the Provisional Government responsible for its own downfall

    A major factor which led to the downfall of the provisional government was First World War. Russia had already lost territory in Poland and morale; this was predominantly down to low members within the army. Additionally Russia owed large amounts of money in foreign loans, and the British and French agreed to continue lending money as long as Russia continued fighting therefore also influencing the provisional government to continue with war. The agreement for Russia to continue fighting in the war brought the provisional government into conflict/disagreement with the Soviet for they believed the only way to bring Russia out of depression was to remove itself form the war. This meant that they would not support the continuation of the war for any other reason, for instance gaining land or money from their defeated opponents. This led the provisional government to plan an offensive on the Eastern Front in order to win support from home and abroad. The June offensive was introduced and made against the Austro-Hungarian army, the failure of the June offensive lead to mass numbers of Russian troops deserting from the front. This was a major collapse for the authority of the provisional government and resulted to July days which led to a series of riots and demonstrations in Petrograd (St…

    • 875 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why was the Bolshevik take over in Octo
    • 883 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why was the Bolshevik take over in Octo

    A revolution earlier on in 1917 would have been near impossible; the Bolsheviks lacked support. The party was in the minority within the Petrograd Soviet, leaving them at a political disadvantage instantly. In addition to this, the Bolsheviks gathered only 25% of the votes during the elections in March. As a result, the Bolsheviks could not even think about attempting to takeover; they lacked political support and influence.…

    • 883 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To what extent was Lenin crucial to the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917?
    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages

    To what extent was Lenin crucial to the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917?

    On 24th October 1917 the Lenin and the Bolsheviks led a revolution in Russia. The Bolshevik Red Guards led a revolution against the Provisional Government by seizing control of stations, telephone exchanges, post offices, the national bank and the Winter Palace in Petrograd. Now Lenin set about creating the world’s first communist state. Although he was a strong influence, he was not solely responsible for the outbreak of revolution. There are other important causes of the Bolshevik seizure of power, such as the weakness of the Provisional government and Kerensky’s mistakes. Also other important factor was the actions of Trotsky and the timing and luck of the Bolsheviks. However, Lenin was, to a large extent, crucial to the Bolshevik seizure of power because he presented his April thesis, which gave the people of Russia an awakening to the communist aim.…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Far Was Lenin Responsible For The Bolsheviks Growing Hold On Power In The Years 1917
    • 836 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Far Was Lenin Responsible For The Bolsheviks Growing Hold On Power In The Years 1917

    In 1917, the Bolsheviks gained power of Russia and were able to hold onto this growing power until 1924 and later. There are several factors that could be considered to be the reason as to why they were able to seize control. It could be said that Lenin was a significant factor due to his pragmatism and his use of terror, however it also could be said that other members of the Bolshevik party such as Leon Trotsky were responsible and perhaps even the Civil War for the Bolsheviks’ hold on power.…

    • 836 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fall of the Romanov Dynasty
    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

    The revolution of 1917 was the culmination of a number of factors coming together and causing the volatile mix of reasons to come together and boil over. The people of Russia where fed up with the horrible conditions they had to put up with and decided to do something about it. Some factor I will discuss include the industrialization,…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did Joseph Stalin Cause The Russian Revolution
    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Did Joseph Stalin Cause The Russian Revolution

    Based on events in history, the main cause of the Russian Revolution was the state that the government was in and the conditions the working class was in. The Czar gave up his throne and the government began to be corrupt along with the build up of repression from the working class, who suffered for many years before, about to burst. These events set the basis for the revolution and grew with the circumstance of instability throughout the government and Dumas. Even before and after the abdication of the czar Dumas have formed and dissolved adding to the instability of the government as a whole. We see this here, “These disorders… Forced the government to promise the establishment of a consultive Duma, or assembly, elected by limited franchise.” (“Russian Revolution”) Along with this workers rioted for their working conditions and rations, soon enough the military refuse to break up the protesters and rioters involved. It now turned chaotic and violent. A peaceful protest gone bad was the influence for most of the violence because it was a weak spot to the government. The revolution caused an outcome of twelve years in suffering from a transaction of a different political standing. Negotiations came forth and at ended with Germany cutting in.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Russian Revolution Causes
    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Russian Revolution Causes

    The Russian Revolution was one of the most important revolutions in history. Just like the French people, Russians got tired of being treated unfairly by the Higher classes, and so decided to revolt against them. However unlike the French, they could not be satisfied, or entertained for long by a single revolution, reason why they did many revolts. Each time retreating at its middle, until they finally were annoyed and determined enough to overthrow the Government and change their lives as they knew it. Even so, that wasn’t the only cause of the Russian Revolution, along the many revolts came various relevant causes and events, but only few of them stood out, with such importance to today’s history of the causes for the Russian…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Bolshevik Takeover
    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Bolshevik Takeover

    In March of 1917 in Russia, The Tsar, Nicholas II had little choice. The Great War (as it was known as at that time) had turned into a disaster, conditions at home were horrible, and the Menshevik government had forced Nicholas to abdicate He did this for himself and his son and gave the power to his brother. His brother gave up the power the next day because the country was in such disarray. After that, the Provisional Government took power. By November of 1917 in Russia, the Provisional Government was in complete collapse. In the meantime, the Bolshevik party, which was helped by German money, had built up an efficient party organisation, had a brilliant propaganda machine, and a powerful private army know as the Red Guards.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Causes Of The Decembrist Revolution In Russia
    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Causes Of The Decembrist Revolution In Russia

    The late Tsarist period of Russia lasted between 1825 to 1917 from the reign of Nicholas I in 1825 to the last Tsar Nicholas II in 1917. Russia did not have the same origins as the rest of Europe. Russia developed different social, religious and intellectual traditions in comparison to Western Europe. The Tsar did not share his power, Russia was an autocracy in almost its purest form. The Tsar had the final word, he made all the decisions and formed all the policy in Russia. In the period of Russian history that is covered, strong critics of the Tsarist regime didn't attack the notion of autocracy, but instead criticized the corruption and inefficiency of the Tsar's officials and landlords... The collapse of Tsardom in 1917 had many causes…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Causes Of The Revolutionary Revolution
    • 89 Words
    • 1 Page

    Causes Of The Revolutionary Revolution

    I believe there was two main fears those colonists who, choose to stay out the revolution had. One being, as you pointed being the fear of chaos. The chaos that would take place, as more protests took place and the tensions between the sides started to rise. The other would the fear of the potential punishment the British would levy onto the Colonists if a war in sued and they lost. This would ultimately go back to the fear of death, as the punishment could have been that sever.…

    • 89 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics