RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Russian revolution, a violent disruption that 
took place in Russia in 1917 which overthrew
the rule of the Tsar.

Time period

 A series of events that took place during 1917 where the two revolutions in February and October which ultimately led to the end of the rule of the Tsar and the rise of the Bolsheviks.

CAUSES 

There were several reasons for the unrest of the people of Russia. To name a few,

1. The patricians treated the peasants with cruelty.

2. There were long lasting food shortages.

3. The city workers experienced poor working conditions.

4. Many riots took place in order to fulfill the demands of the 

    soldiers.

5. The common people were not too happy with the Tsar.

THE  1917 FEBRUARY REVOLUTION

23rd February 1917, the international

women's day festival was being 

celebrated in st.Petersburg,it changed 

into a widespread demonstration as 

infuriated women workers joined

by other women to protest against 

the food shortages and the growing 

prices of basic amenities. The men 

also joined the women protesters.

Thousands of protesters marched 

peacefully in st.Petersburg.
Without any provocation from
the crowd the police opened 
fire on the protesters and the irate mob,in retaliation caused a lot of damage to public property.

The soldiers opened fire but they were outnumbered. On March 10th the strike spread among all the Petrograd's workers. The city came to a standstill,workers from nearby factories joined the protesters and destroyed a lot of government buildings and police stations.

On March 11th troops of the Petrograd army were called to retaliate against the protesters. the police opened fire killing many protesters but this did not deteriorate the protesters from their goal,soon the troops began to lessen. On the same day Nicholas II dissolved the Duma successfully.

The revolution was successful. The soldiers later on formed committees that elected deputies to the Petrograd soviet.

The Tsar Nicholas II abandoned his throne and handed over his power to his brother Michael. Since Michael was not elected by the Duma he did not accept the leadership. The next day Michael resigned from power.                                                         

LENIN'S RETURN 

Vladimir Illyich Lenin was the leader 

of the Bolsheviks. During the February

revolution Lenin was in exile, but after 

it ended all political exiles were allowed 

to be back in the country, Lenin was back

home.

Lenin reached on April 3rd 1917. Thousands of workers and soldiers greeted him at the station. They held red waving flags 

and cheered for him. Lenin addressed the crowd atop a car, he congratulated the people for a successful revolution. In a later

speech he condemned the provisional government and called 

for a new revolution. He said that the provisional government 

had not benefitted the people with regards to the basic amenities.

Lenin worked tirelessly the following months and soon many people joined him and wanted "Peace,Land and Bread".

THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION

By September 1917 Lenin was sure that the Russians were ready for another revolution however,the other Bolshevik leaders were

not convinced. Lenin had a meeting with other Bolshevik

leaders and persuaded them 

for another revolution.

On October 25th 1917

the revolution began.

The troops loyal to 

the Bolsheviks started

to take control of 

strategic locations

in the city.

Except for the Winter Palace where the provisional government were held. At 0900 that day Alexander Kerensky left the Winter Palace never to return to Russia. The Bolsheviks were the leaders of Russia. The October revolution was achieved with the bare minimum of bloodshed.

THE CIVIL WAR

Lenin's promises and planning proved to be detrimental. After Russia backed out of the WWI millions of Russian soldiers returned home. They wanted their jobs back. They were tired and famished. There was no abundance of food

 because the farmers could only grow

 food for themselves

 and not have enough 

resources to grow more.

Their lives worsened.

the Russian's broke out in a civil war. It was the whites and the reds. The reds did not want the whites to free the Tsar and his family which would lead them to the monarchy in Russia. On the night of July 16,1918 the Tsar's family was taken to the basement and shot.

The civil war was barbarous and destructive. The reds won but millions of people had lost their lives. The civil war changed the face of Russia. Russia was now ruled by a fiendish regime untill the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.    

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.local-life.com/st-petersburg/articles/1917-russian-revolution

http://www.history.com/topics/russian-revolution

http://history1900s.about.com/od/Russian-Revolution/a/Prelude-Russian-Revolution.htm