Russian Revolution Dbq

The Russian Revolution of 1917 marked one of the most radical turning points in the country’s 1,300-year history and established the Soviet Union as a Communist state. Russia in the 19th century was a massive empire stretching from Poland to the Pacific. Ruling such a massive country was quite the undertaking, especially because the long-term problems within Russia were approaching the surface. In 1917, these problems finally produced a revolution, which completely wiped the old system away. The Russian Revolution was a rebellion executed by the Russian people against the Russian elite. It had many major outcomes affecting the future of the country. The unjust Russian society led the poor to revolt, but no one thought they could take down

Before the 1917 revolution, the Russian empire had been ruled by dictatorial czars for over three hundred years. The Russian society was extremely unequal; the czar and aristocracy lived in wealth and splendor just as any European elite, but most of the people lived in terrible poverty (Harbor 7). Many of those living in poverty worked in the country and were paid as laborers; however, they had to work long hours for low wages. For those living in the city, employment was more regular; nevertheless, circumstances and wages were still very harsh. The conditions of poverty and oppression in the country led many political groups to demonstrate far-reaching reforms (Harbor 8). For the rich, life was much different. They held twenty percent of the land in large estates and owned the majority of peasants (Wilde). Peasants were upset with their class and at odds with their owners, so they began to protest. The workers began to grow more politically-engaged and chafed against government restrictions on their protests (Wilde). The Bolshevik group of revolutionaries seized the power because they believed that a small revolutionary elite would lead workers and peasants to overthrow the czars and establish a communist

The first revolution ending in February, removed the czar from power and replaced him with a temporary government (Harbor 9). This was a huge victory for the Bolsheviks because the czars had ruled the country for over three hundred years. The second rebellion, in October, saw the Bolsheviks seize power from the interim government. Vladimir Lenin now headed the new government and he immediately pulled Russia out of World War I, changing the balance of forces for the remaining participants (SparkNotes Editors). The revolution opened the door for Russia to fully enter into the Industrial Age. After the turmoil, new urban-industrial regions appeared quickly in Russia and became increasingly important to the country’s development (SparkNotes Editors). The population was drawn to the cities in huge numbers and education went up immensely and in turn, illiteracy went down. The revolution started a range of social and cultural activism across the opening decade of the new Soviet State (Willimont). In the years immediately following the revolution, the new Soviet State fought a civil war against the White Guards and against the invasions from the Western powers who were determined that the new communist state would not last (Harbor 10). Leon Trotsky organized the revolutionary forces into the Red Army, which defeated the White Guards and pushed back against foreign invaders. The