The Impact of the Russian Revolution
In 1917, the February and October Revolutions formed a new basis of society, economy, and government in formerly tsarist Russia. A Council of People’s Commissars replaced the tsar and private ownership was abolished. Following these revolutions, the country emerged as a world power under the control of Vladimir Lenin, a revolutionary Bolshevik leader who capitalized on the peasants’ dissatisfaction to unite the state under a new regime.
In the months preceding the October revolution, Russia was stretched thin on the Russo-Turkish front, because Turkey had recently gained the help of Germany, who supplied the Turks with weapons and supplies. Japan, Great Britain, and the United States all threatened to intervene.
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“Various organizations were assuming governmental powers.” Illegal arrests were common, as well as looting, robbery, and general destruction of property. Mobs formed and advocated the attack of governmental officials, and cleavages formed between social groups and religions. The army, “a peasant army,” suffered from mass desertions. Without soldiers, Russia grew weaker in its wartime efforts, and the Russian provinces knew this. The local powers, seizing the government’s failure, became “more militant for land and peace.” Prince Lvov stepped down in May, and his successor, Kerensky, a pro-socialist, took …show more content…
One of which was its atrocious working conditions, which forced them to “resort to illegal actions and linkage with the revolutionary parties.” Another was the class’ unification in a “relatively small number of industrial centers, including St. Petersburg and Moscow,” which “enhanced the workers’ ability to have an impact politically if they were organized.” While these features were important, “equally or even more significant” were the development of the working class’ values and identity, which increased literary, led to the formation of study circles, and the organization of strikes and demonstrations, which continued to fuel the