The revolution came about seemingly spontaneously when people of the Russian capital rallied against the and showed their unhappiness against the food supply shortages in the city. Various political reformists started to coordinate their activities as the protests grew. In February the protests turned violent as large numbers of city residents rioted and clashed with police and soldiers, followed by the total strike. Eventually, even the bulk of the soldiers garrisoned in Petrograd joined the protests, and they occupied most of the important places in the city. This had led to the abdication of Czar in a nearly bloodless transition of power.
Effective political power subsequently was exercised by two new bodies, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies and a Provisional Government formed by the provisional committee of the Duma. The Petrograd Soviet easily could have assumed complete power in the capital, but it failed to do so. The great majority of its members, believing that revolutionary Russia must wage a war of defense against German imperialism, did not want to risk disorganizing the war effort. It was not until April 16, with the return from Switzerland of their exiled leader, Vladimir Lenin, that the Bolsheviks put forward a demand for immediate seizure of land by the peasantry, establishment of workers' control in industry, an end to the war, and transfer of "all power to the Soviets."
In the Petrograd Soviet, the majority was composed of Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. The Mensheviks envisioned a period of capitalist development and complete political democracy as the essential prerequisite for a socialist order; in the main, they supported continuation of the war. Most of the leading Socialist Revolutionaries, a peasant party with vague socialist aspirations, also advocated continuation of the war. Under the leadership of the moderate majority, the Petrograd Soviet recognized the newly established Provisional Government as the legal authority in Russia.
The Provisional Government disbanded the czarist police, repealed all limitations on freedom of opinion, press, and association, and put an end to all laws discriminating against national or religious groups. The Duma, from which it derived, could give no support, for that body was not genuinely representative of the masses. Unable to command, the government could not appeal to a war-weary, impatient people. It did not have real power and was actually like a figurehead.
It had a policy of postponing for future determination by a constituent assembly the solution of such pressing problems as economic disorganization, the continued food crisis, industrial reforms, redistribution of land to peasants, and the growth of counterrevolutionary forces. The government, instead, devoted most of its energy to a continuation of the war. The second cause, a logical consequence of the first, was the growing conviction of the workers and peasants that their problems could be solved only by the soviets, a conviction that was decisively molded by Bolshevik propaganda following the April arrival in Petrograd of Lenin. The wait continued to cause people to be hungry and unhappy. Peace still did not prevail and they continued the war which made life for the people even harder and harsher.
The February Revolution did not bring about progress of any kind; it just brought the country into chaos and to a situation similar or perhaps even worse than before the revolution. No progress was observed economically, politically or socially as the people had hoped. The people remained unhappy with their lives, the government and the fact that the war is still on.
The October revolution was started when Vladimir Lenin led his leftist revolutionaries in a nearly bloodless revolt against the ineffective Provisional Government (Russia was still using the at the time, so period references show an date). The October Revolution ended the phase of the revolution started in February, replacing Russia's short-lived provisional government with a one. Although many Bolsheviks (such as ) supported a , the 'reform from above' model gained definitive power when Lenin died and gained control. Trotsky and his supporters, as well as a number of other democratically-minded communists, were persecuted and eventually imprisoned or killed.
The decisions of the new formed government, Congress of Soviets, on peace and land evoked widespread support for the new government, and they were decisive in assuring victory to the Bolsheviks in other cities and in the provinces. In November the Council of People's Commissars also proclaimed the right of self-determination, including voluntary separation from Russia of the nationalities forcibly included in the czarist empire, but made it clear that it hoped that the "toiling masses" of the various nationalities would decide to remain with Russia. It also nationalized all banks and proclaimed the workers' control of production. Industry was nationalized gradually. The freely elected constituent assembly, which convened in Petrograd in January 1918, and in which the Bolsheviks were only a small minority, was dispersed with armed force by the newly formed government. But on the other hand, if you look at country's progress as a whole, the people still suffered a lot as there was corruption then. Wrong facts and statistics were also given and the government spent a large amount of money on industrial spending. Civil war occurred after the revolution and this caused the people to suffer too as they rationed food and if the people disagreed, violence was used. Therefore people were unhappy about the arrangements and did not support the government as much as before.
After the October Revolution, there was definitely economical progress after all the effort the government made on the industry but progress on politics was not evident as corruption was happening and it made people unhappy when their properties were ‘snatched’ away. Lives were also disrupted by civil war. There were social progress, there was peace because the War with Germany was stopped but that was it. Progress on other aspects like human rights was not evident. Not all the progress the people had hoped for came true.
In the Russian October Revolution, we could see progress in its economic and perhaps even in its social aspect though it was lacking on political progress. Yet, we know that revolutions need not necessarily mean that having one would lead to progress as we can see from the Russian’s February Revolution. No progress was achieved, economic, politics or social, there was nothing improved even though the people had managed to end the autocracy, their country was still in the same state and remained stagnant with a temporary government which postponed solving the problems and continued the war which actually caused the country more harm than progress. Progress is obtained through many factors, and revolution is a big stepping stone which we actually can do without, though sometimes it proves to be vital. Other factors can also lead to progress, factors like having a government with a good plan for the future or a capable leader. Therefore, I conclude that a revolution does not necessarily lead to progress; it can also lead the country to nowhere.
Done By: Anthea(2006)
