Was a 2nd revolution necessary in Russia in 1917?

Victor Kwan

European History P.3

Dr. Salomon

13 February 2003

Was a 2nd revolution necessary in Russia in 1917?

In 1914, Russia celebrated its three hundred year of Romanov rule. Tsar Nicolas II was in control of Russia even though Russia was an economically backward and peasant country. The army and the Duma were supporting the Tsar, but the intelligentsia was restless and displeased with the way the government was run. In the same year, Germany declared war against Russia, which consolidated even more support for the Tsar. Anti-government protest and strikes were abandoned as the people were swept in a rush of patriotism. In 1914, thirteen million were conscripted into the army. This patriotic feeling did not last long as the Russian armies plagued by inefficient management suffered major problems over lack of supplies and ammunitions. In 1915, the Russian army was on the verge of collapse; Tsar Nicolas II assumed personal command of the army leaving the Tsarina in command of the home front. The majority of the Russian disliked the tsarina because she was German and she was closely involved with the mysterious Rasputin. She and her supporters in court were known as the Pro-German faction; the Tsarina did not rule directly she took advise from Rasputin which made her even more unpopular with the people. The home front was in total chaos as there was a total collapse in the internal infrastructure of Russia. Widespread distrust of the Pro-German faction and economic failures produced a series of riots and strikes that were to come in 1917. In 1916, Rasputin was murdered by leading aristocrats; economic chaos on the home front and military disasters has spelt the end of the Tsarist regime. In 1917, there were major strikes initiated by the Putilov steel workers in Petrograd they were joined by women and children who were demanding bread from the government. Many of the garrison troops sympathized with the workers and joined the strikes instead of stopping the riots. The revolutionary situation in Russia was the consequence of the inefficiency of Tsarist rule and three years of endless defeats in war. Seeing the inefficiency of the Tsar the Duma sets up the Provisional Committee and the workers of the city, the Petrograd Soviets. They refused to disband when the Tsar ordered them to. Realizing the dire situation Russia is in, Tsar Nicolas II returned to Petrograd, on the way he was stopped by the army, who requested his resignation in presence of two members of the Duma. This event marked the end of autocracy in Russia.

Although the first revolution, March Revolution, did oust the Tsar from the pinnacle of government power, in reality it did not change the Russian situation at home or at the front. Alexander Kerensky at the helm of the Provisional government opted to continue the war and honor the alliance with the western countries. This was highly unpopular and proved to be the major weakness in Kerensky’s government. The Provisional government was not the only power in Petrograd; it had to share power with the Petrograd Soviets, which further undermined its authority as the rightful authority in Russia. They ...

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Although the first revolution, March Revolution, did oust the Tsar from the pinnacle of government power, in reality it did not change the Russian situation at home or at the front. Alexander Kerensky at the helm of the Provisional government opted to continue the war and honor the alliance with the western countries. This was highly unpopular and proved to be the major weakness in Kerensky’s government. The Provisional government was not the only power in Petrograd; it had to share power with the Petrograd Soviets, which further undermined its authority as the rightful authority in Russia. They lost further support when they alienated the peasants in their attempt to stop the peasants from taking land from the landlords. The Provisional government was also unable to distribute food to the masses in Petrograd as all the food-distributing facilities were controlled by the Soviets. This gave the Soviets the impression that they were the ones who were distributing food and goods which gained them tremendous support and popularity. In April 1917, the Germans provided a safe passage for Vladimir Lenin to Russia in a special sealed train knowing that the revolutionary would bring more unrest in an already troubled Russia. Lenin immediately announced his April Thesis in which he stated that he planned to give the citizens of Russia bread, land and peace in return for all power given to the Soviets. The promise for bread, land and peace assured the Soviets popular support from the huge majority of the population. The April Thesis gave the Russian population a chance to clearly see what the Soviets were offering them and further outlined the failure of the Provisional Government, which continued to support the war and its failure to solve the question of land ownership. Kerensky committed a critical error in ordering a new wave of offensive maneuvers against the Germans, which resulted in massive defeats and further desertions in the army. The majority of the Russian population became more and more convinced that the Soviets were the basis of a new Russian government whereas the Provisional Government did not appeal to the masses. In June, the Soviets convened the National Congress of Soviets, which started to challenge the actions of the Provisional Government. Although Lenin was a popular figure in Russia, the Bolsheviks, Lenin’s party, did not hold the majority of seats within the National Congress of Soviets. They were still a minority, although Lenin believed with enough revolutionary appeal they could win control on the Soviets. While the Provisional Government was in its constant downfall, the Bolsheviks were rising into power; they acquired more power from supporters of the Provisional Government by promising land to the peasants and peace with Germany hence attacking the Provisional Government at its weakest point. The Provisional Government was learning painfully that it could not both accommodate a war and a revolution at the same time. An attempted coup from the Right wing parties initiated by General Kurnilov further crippled the Provisional Government, as they could not summon the troops required to repel General Kurnilov and his rebels. Kerensky was forced to turn to the Bolsheviks to defend Petrograd. The defeat of General Kurnilov strengthened the Bolsheviks even more. It was now clear that the Provisional Government was a total failure and it was doomed as nothing could save it now from its administrative chaos and military disasters. It lost total support from the soldiers as all its military campaigns were failures, as a consequence it had virtually no military units who are loyal to it and it lost support from the peasants as it prevented the peasants from attaining land from their landlords, this led to the peasants not supplying food to the Provisional Government, the lack of food caused the Provisional Government to lose any support it had from the workers.

The Bolsheviks initiated a coup on the night of November 6th 1917. The Red Guards led by Leon Trotsky seized post office, telegram offices, bridges and the state bank. On November 7th 1917, most of Petrograd was in the hands of the Bolsheviks as they continued to seize more and more important targets. On the evening of that same day, the cruiser Aurora directed her cannon upon the winter palace and fired a shot signaling the assault against the Winter Palace. They stormed the Winter Palace encountering little resistance and arrested members of the Provisional Government. Kerensky managed to escape and went into exile in America. The Bolsheviks have taken over Petrograd and secured a communist Russia. Lenin had done what he had envisioned all power to Soviets.

Marx had argued that a society had to go through two revolutions to achieve Communism/Marxism; a liberal bourgeois one followed by an uprising of the urban proletariat against the bourgeoisie. This had indeed come true in Russia although at a faster rate than Marx had predicted. The second revolution was essential as to the communist revolution as the first revolution was only successful in persuading the Tsar to abdicate but was utterly incapable of administering the country. The second revolution ensured that the power would go to the urban proletariat. Hence the second revolution was necessary. Russia’s autocracy had impended the growth of a strong middle class, which existed in the western countries. The strong middle class would have a lot to lose if there came to be an urban proletariat uprising therefore they would be as radical in their actions and would rather opt for reform. The lack of the middle class prevented reform to take place in the Russian government thus allowing revolution to slowly grow and implode on the government at a time of instability.