In 1917, two revolutions were happened in Russia which had ended centuries

of imperial rule and setting a political and social change that would lead to the
formation of the Soviet Union. In March, growing civil unrest, food shortages,
starting of open revolution, forcing the abdication of Nicholas II, the last
Russian czar which caused the radical Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, to
overthrown the newly installed provisional government.

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION: BACKGROUND

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION CAN BE DEVIDED INTO TWO PHASES.
1. THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION IN 1917 (MARCH 8-12)
2. THE BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION IN (1917-1920)
By 1917, most Russians had lost faith in the leadership ability of Czar
Nicholas II. Government corruption was huge, the Russian economy remained
backward, and Nicholas repeatedly dissolved the Duma (the Russian
parliament), when it opposed his will. However, the immediate cause of the
February Revolutionthe first phase of the Russian Revolution of 1917was
Russias disastrous involvement in World War I (1914-18)

FEBRUARY REVOLUTION: 1917

The February Revolution began on March 8, 1917 (or February 23 on the
Julian calendar), when activists clamoring for bread took to the streets in the
Russian capital of Petrograd (now called St. Petersburg). Supported by huge
crowds of striking industrial workers, the protesters clashed with police but
refused to leave the streets. On March 10, the strike spread among all of
Petrograds workers, and they destroyed police stations. Several factories
elected deputies to the Petrograd Soviet, or council, of workers committees,
following the model devised during the 1905 revolution. In some encounters,
regiments opened fire, killing activists, but the protesters kept to the streets.
On that day, Nicholas again dissolved the Duma. On March 12, the revolution
triumphed. The imperial government was forced to resign, and the Duma

formed a provisional government .March 15, Czar Nicholas II abdicated the

throne in favor of his brother Michael.

BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION: 1917: After the February

Revolution, power was shared between the weak provisional government and
the Petrograd Soviet. Then, November 6 and 7, 1917 leftist revolutionaries
led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin launched a bloodless coup
dtat against the provisional government. The Bolsheviks and their allies
occupied government buildings and other strategic locations in Petrograd, and
soon formed a new government with Lenin as its head. Lenin became the
dictator of the first Marxist state in the world. His government made peace with
Germany, but in 1918 had to fight a civil war against anti-Bolshevik White
Army forces. In 1920, the anti-Bolsheviks were defeated, and in 1922 the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established.
CAUSE S OF REVOULUTION:
1. Autocratic Rule of the Czars: Czar Alexander II brought some reforms
in Russia and became famous among all. But after him Czar Alexander
III and Czar Nicholas II became despotic. During their reign the political
organisations like- Duma had lost their political powers. The Czarist
autocracy flamed the fire of unrest among the labourers, peasants,
intellectuals and students of Russia.

2. The Policy of Russification:

Czar Alexander III was not only a despotic ruler but he also followed the
policy of Russification of all the systems. His son Czar Nicholas II also
followed his policy. He declared One Czar, One Church, One Russia.
According to this Policy, of the Czarist rule, only the Catholic religion and
the Russian language were introduced in Russia.Even in Poland,

Lithuania and Finland and other non- Russian regions which were under
the Russian domination, the Russian language was introduced. On the
other hands, the students of these regions were not allowed to read in
the Russian Schools and Colleges. This Russification Policy of Czar
Nicholas II created an environment of unrest in the whole of Russia.

3. The Social System:

The Russian Society was divided into two classes before the Revolution.
They were the rich and the poor. The nobles, feudal lords and the rich
belonged to the rich class. The peasants, labourers and serfs belonged
to the poor class. These societies were imbalanced.Czar Alexander II
emancipated the Serfdom. The feudal lords were annoyed as they had
lost their lands. The Liberated Serfs became depressed as they could
not get lands beyond their hope. The labourers and workers became
unable to live their lives as they got very low wages. The slaves became
unhappy as they had got very low salary.The political parties became
unhappy as they were debarred from all the privileges. The people of all
sections of the society were fading of with the Czarist rule.

4. The Rise of Nihilism:

The rise of Nihilism influenced the Russian Revolution of 1917. The
preachers of Nihilism came forward to destroy the prevailing rule,
society and religious faith and to create a new world. Its chief aim was
the downfall of Czardom in Russia. They influenced the people through
their organisations to destroy the prevailing system of Russia. This
created a suitable environment for the Russian Revolution.

5. Influence of Industrial Revolution:

The Industrial Revolution helped to flame the fire of Revolution in
Russia. In the construction of Trans-Siberia and Trans-Caspian, in
railways, many workers of Russia were engaged. After the construction
of these two railways, many factories were established in Russia with
several Labour Organisations. In course of time, consciousness

increased among the labourers and they dreamt to free Russia from the
clutches of Czardom.

6. Poor communication:
There were many nationalities, languages and a religion (the only unity)
was the Romanov dynasty. Russia was vast 125 million people spread
across Europe and Asia. This made government difficult, especially
because of poor communications bad roads and few railways.