Revolution In Russia

Throughout the history of the world, there have been many revolutions. Without them, the world would not be able to progress. But what is a revolution? Google defines it as ‘a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system’. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as ‘a sudden, extreme, or complete change in the way people live, work, etc.’. Despite the difference between these definitions, they both have the same gist; a revolution is a movement that changes a nation, whether for better or worse. In the case of Russia, the revolution affected both the government and economy of the country. The government changed from a monarchy to a democracy to a dictatorship. The economy shifted from capitalism to communism.

One of the very first causes of unrest in Russia was due mainly to the rise of Czar Nicholas into power in 1894. Due to the fact that Russia was far behind in industrial production compared to Western European nations, the Czar increased industrial production. However, this came change came at the expense of Russia’s urban poor; their population skyrocketed. As unrest among this population grew, they decided to express their concerns to the Czar. In January 1905, the people made their way to the Winter Palace where they asked for the Czar’s help. This resulted in the Czar’s generals to open fire on the people. That day when down in history as Bloody Sunday. Despite the Czar’s attempts to placate the peasant with the creation of the Dumas, a legislative branch of the government, his decision to partake in World War I caused an uproar among the people once again. Food and supplies were in short supply while the demand was higher than ever. Also, the Germans had more advanced weaponry, leaving Russia in a major disadvantage. The main thing going for them was the fact that they had more troops, thus prompting them to

The primary reason behind this decision as due to the food and supply shortages, as well as the refusal of troops to keep order. The immediate effect of Russia’s decision to surrender were mainly limited to the loss of land. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was finalized between Russia and the Central Powers soon after, its purpose to allow peace between the nations. Russia was forced to lose Poland, Finland, and Ukraine to the Central Powers. The loss of this land angered the Bolsheviks, a group of communist followers of Karl Marx’s ideals. The Bolsheviks captured the Romanovs and executed them on July 1918 in the town of