Was the October revolution a popular uprising or a coup d(TM)tat?

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Was the October revolution a popular uprising or a coup d’état?

There is one debate between historians about the October revolution in Russia in 1917, and this is whether it was a popular uprising or a coup d’état.  A popular revolution is one that is supported, and sometimes led by the majority of the population of that country.  A coup d’état is a quick seizure of government by a small group of people, often by using violence.  It is not supported by the majority of the population, and force is used.

One view of the October revolution is the Revisionist view.  They ‘wrote in the 1970’s and were nicknamed the cold warriors’.  This was because they thought that the hostile accounts of the October revolution were part of cold war tactics and that they may be biased, as they were influenced by the Vietnam War and were critical of American policies and ideas.  Their views focus mainly on the role that Lenin played in the October revolution, and some historians with a revisionist view thought that the lower ranks of the Bolshevik party played a large part in pushing the revolution forward.  They have suggested that Lenin did not hold as much power over the Bolshevik party as many believe he did.  Sheila Patrick said that it was the soldiers, workers and peasants that created the conditions in which the Bolshevik revolt could operate.  This suggests that the Revisionists thought that the October revolution was a popular revolution, as the majority of the population created the conditions in which the revolution could happen, by creating committees and soviets before the Bolsheviks came along.

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The traditional Soviet view of the October revolution claimed that it was a popular uprising lead and carried out by the working class, and in which the peasants followed. This view states that it was the workers that created the soviets, and it was this view that stated that the soviets “acted as the power-bases through which the revolution was accomplished”.  This view credits Lenin by saying that he was the leader who wanted to liberate the Russian people from the Provisional Government and take Russia out of the First World War.  It also gives credit to the entire Bolshevik ...

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