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How Far Did The Bolsheviks Improve The Lives Of The Russian People

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The Russian Revolution (1917-1924), despite the ambitious aims of the Lenin and the Bolshevik party, failed to completely improve the lives of the Russian people, nor liberate them from the oppression they faced in the old regime, following the Bolshevik takeover after the October Revolution (24 October 1917). Despite this, however, certain policies (such as the initial reforms in 1917) did help improve the lives of the people somewhat. The Bolsheviks were not very successful in liberating the Russian people throughout their time in power. A prominent example of their failure to do so was their closing of the Constituent Assembly. The elections for the Constituent Assembly resulted in the majority of votes going to the Socialist Revolutionaries (42%), …show more content…

Peter Oxley has estimated that of the 10 million deaths during the Civil War, 9,500,000 were due to famine and disease. Volkogonov has acknowledged the damaging effects of War Communism, stating that, “the Bolsheviks were incapable of giving the people anything but…hunger and terror”.Furthermore, in the Cheka (formed in December 1917) spread terror throughout Russia, which was particular poignant following Lenin’s order in February 1918, that all counter revolutionaries and individuals assisting counterrevolutionaries be arrested immediately. Thus, the Russian Revolution forced numerous individuals to live in impoverished conditions, and subjected them to terror in the form of the Cheka (who were given power of trial and execution in February 1918). Despite this, certain aspects of life in the new regime were positive following the Bolshevik takeover, and an examples of this are Lenin’s initial reforms. His Decree on Land (November 1917) abolished private ownership of land, and legalised the seizing of land by those who cultivate

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Russian Revolution In 1922, as a result of the Russian Revolution, a new political party emerged: the USSR or the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was the world’s first communist state. Communism was a new political and economic model that was supposed to get rid of class distinction. From the beginning, communism opposed capitalism and capitalist countries like the United States. The Russian Revolution united the socialists against the capitalists, with the USSR, a communist country, siding with the socialists.

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His agricultural reform successfully alternated the revolutionary beliefs of some of the peasants by passing a law to finally end redemption

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The Russian revolution resulted in the overthrow of the country’s monarchy and the establishment of the Soviet Union. It started off with many protests and strikes that forced Tsar Nicholas II out of power. As a result, a provisional government was put in place but it was weak and ineffective so the Bolsheviks took control and established a socialist government. The Bolshevik Revolution was caused by a combination of unstable and corrupt monarchies, unfair treatment of the populace, and a lagging industry, which eventually led to the creation of the USSR.

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The Red Terror: The Red Terror was a time period in Russia during the Russian civil war where secret police called Cheka would carry out mass executions on a daily basis. The Cheka were not a part of any form of lawful government or organization. They would execute and punish all citizens who were even suspected of opposing the Russian Revolution. As more member joined Cheka it began to gain an immense amount of power, until it was abolished in 1922 by the Bolsheviks (“Red Terror”). 11.

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Anyone who refused to cooperate were either shot or exiled as punishment. Millions of farmers were killed (“Joseph Stalin.”) and this farming method wasn’t able to produce enough food leading to famine which results in millions of other deaths across the Soviet Union (“Joseph Stalin –

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Millions of people in Russia during World War 1 were starving or killed. To make matters even worse, the Russian government was falling apart. Riots started to break out in Russia to end the war. Finally in 1918 the war ended which brought remorse to the people of Russia, however it did not last long. Right after World War 1 the October Revolution took place in Russia to allow the “Bolsheviks-the communists-to power over all other possible parties”(28).

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In The Odyssey there are many characters who could be defined as a hero. Odysseus is not one of these characters due to his loose morals leading him to be disloyal and have impulsive behavior. Throughout Odysseus’ journey home, he exhibits his loose morals as he is disloyal. Odysseus and Calypso make love one last time after receiving the news from Mt. Olympus that it is time for Odysseus to leave. Homer says, “And now, withdrawing into the cavern’s deep recesses, long in each other’s arms they lost themselves in love” (Homer 5.250-251).

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One man, Vladimir Lenin saw that Russia was spiraling downwards, having lost two battles in a row and having the highest death count out of all the European countries he saw that a change was needed. Lenin was the leader of the Bolsheviks who were a communist group that wanted to draw out of the war and over thrown Czar Nicholas II. Preaching peace, and food he wanted, ¨the offer of peace, the salvation of Petrograd, salvation from famine, and the transfer of land to the peasants who depended on them,¨ (Document 8). People were drawn into this and, ¨increasingly taken in by the propagandists of the united Socialist Party and their internationalis ideas,¨ (Document 9). This combined with high death rates, starvation, communist ideals started the overthrow of Russia and the end of the war.

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Since there was such a large peasant population it was easy for them to rebel and win. Many troops were just simply peasants in uniform and when the tsar order the soldiers to shoot the people rebelling they didn’t and the tsar had no power.(doc.2).These peasant were known as proletariats, the growing class of factory and railroad workers, miners, and urban wage earners.(doc.4).Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik party spread the works of Karl Marx to many factory workers with other socialist.(doc.4).Lenin was profoundly affected by his older brother Alexander’s 1887 execution for being involved in a plot to assassinate the tsar.(doc.5).The peasants tried to make a petition to overthrow the tsar’s reign but he refused to meet with them.(doc.1)This gave the peasants almost no choice but to revolt. Finally, in March the tsar is overthrown and within about a day there were no signs of the tsar because the peasants had burned or taken down everything that even made you think of him. Little did the Russians know that it was more difficult to construct a government than to destroy

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The Cheka later grew into a “terror organization” against the enemies of the Bolsheviks. Most citizens spoke out against them but they remained in power until 1922, or the end of the Civil

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After the passing of Lenin, Joseph Stalin took over and took control of the Soviets with an iron fist. He stopped any opposition to his rule and took part in mass arrests, imprisonment, forced labor, showing trials, and executions. (Doc. C) During 1937 and 1938, the secret police of Stalin (the NKVD) detained 1,548,366 victims of whom 681,692 were shot. (Doc. C)

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The Russian Revolution of 1917 marked the end of the Romanov dynasty and centuries of Russian Imperial rule. During the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks, led by leftist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin seized power and destroyed the tradition of czarist rule. Civil War broke out in Russia between the Red and White Armies. The Red Army fought for the Lenin’s Bolshevik government. The White Army represented a large group of monarchists, capitalists and supporters of democratic socialism.

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The Russian Revolution Many may argue that the Russian Revolution was a success or some may say that it was was an extreme failure. The Russian Revolution was a failure for various reasons. The Russian Revolution was a failure because Stalin was a monster, a leader who took advantage of many innocent people and killed them. He was a mass murderer. He used his loyal ones to his own advantage.

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While every revolution oftentimes shares the same cause, discontentment towards the government and the desire for change, not all revolutions end similarly. Having dictated the rise and fall of numerous nations, revolution continues to happen all around the world. Some may call it rebellion and mutiny, others may refer to it as patriotic, an improvement, maybe even a new era; but, one idea remains certain, progress cannot happen without change. Revolutions during 1917 created a turning point for Russia from an illiterate, backwards empire to an educated, industrial superpower. Although the transition of the Russian Empire to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic cost many lives and freedoms, the reasonable causes and socioeconomic progressions of this momentous revolution often go unheard under the din of the demonization of communism and socialism.

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Furthermore, they wanted to start revolution against decisions made by their tragic excuse of a czar, Nicholas II. These transactions proposed as the idea of a revolution gained followers and grew greatly in hopes to create change. These transactions were right because they opposed what the people needed, which was equal treatment and protection for not only people of higher authority, but yet for everyone. Once Lenin gained control of Russia as new czar, great changes were created. As proposed, Lenin followed through with his wanted changes and made them present in Russian society.

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