Leadership was present in both 1905 and 1917 to a large extent, because most events of these times were a direct result of the decisions made by leaders. There is evidence to prove that leadership is present to a large extent in the tsar’s decisions. He made many bad decisions which were important because they lead to his downfall, for example the bad choice of leading his people to war twice and getting many of them killed, and ignoring the Wars’ impact on the lower classes. (Source 2) Leadership was also present in 1917 when Lenin and Trotsky took over the dual government, and control of the country. Their leadership was apparent when they took over the running of the country from the dual government. Leadership was definitely present to a large extent in 1905 and 1917.
Organization was present to a strong extent with the organization of 200, 00 people for the Bloody Sunday march in 1905, and also in March 1917 with the organization of revolutionary propaganda in the war, but is evident to the strongest extent in the November 1917 revolution. When looking at source 3 it is evident that the extent of organization demonstrated was huge. It would have taken a lot of organizing, mainly by Trotsky and Lenin, to take over this many key places in such a short time.
International influence is another characteristic that Russia experienced during its revolutionary periods to a very strong extent in each case. Nicholas wanted to extend Russia’s boundaries to include Constantinople, Manchuria and Korea, places that the Japanese also wanted to conquer. On the 8th of February 1904 the Japanese attacked, and Nicholas committed Russia to war. This war lasted until May the next year. This War resulted in about 90,000 casualties, inflation and shortages of food and materials. Due to this strong international influence the people were discontent, leading to the first revolution in 1905. In 1914, World War I broke out, and Russia was almost immediately involved. The international influence of World War I was probably the single most important factor in the March 1917 revolution. The Russian soldiers were ill-equipped; many of them were killed so the tsar conscripted peasants to fight. The First World War had the same effects of high prices and low quantity as the Russo-Japanese War, but to a much larger extent. The tsar left the country for the battlefield and could see the poor condition of the soldiers, (source 4), and was informed of the conditions back in Petrograd, but did nothing. This led to Nicholas being forced to abdicate; the March 1917 revolution. International influence was also significant in the November 1917 revolution because the Germans (still at war with Russia) provided Lenin with money and a sealed train to get to Finland, then Petrograd in the hope he would make trouble for the government. If it were not for this international influence of Germany, Lenin would no have been in the Russian country to take leadership of it, so this was very significant.
To a large extent, violence and terror were present in all three revolutions in Russia. In 1905 Father Gapon of the Russian Orthodox Church led a peaceful group of approximately 200,000 people marching on the winter palace of the tsar with a petition for him for better working conditions. Source 5 explains what happened to them. This is important to a very large extent, as it was the spark of the 1905 revolution. After this, peasants and workers carried out strikes and riots, and officials were murdered; for example Grand Duke Sergie by Marie Spirodonova. Other evidence of violence and terror in 1905 was the battleship Potempkin, and the policies of frequent instant hangings for criminals by Stolypin. (Stolypin’s necktie.) In March 1917 the Russians exercised terror on the tsar, as they held him captive in a train outside of Petrograd until he abdicated. In November the same year, the Bolsheviks organized the terrorizing event of an armed takeover of Russia, and stayed in power by using violence and terror to counter opposition. (Source 6)
All the characteristics played very important parts in the key events of the revolutions. While all the characteristics of revolution were all strongly linked to the key events of these times, the five factors were all present to a stronger extent in the November 1917 revolution. It was the biggest and most significant of the three, ideology, leadership, organization international influence and violence and terror played bigger parts in the revolution. The Russian revolutions are a major part of history, and they may not have occurred without the influence of these five characteristics of revolution being present to a strong extent.
