The+Russian+Revolution

by Jabari, Macire, Taylor, Sairwaah, Moussa, Lashé, Joharah, Sydney, LeAnn, Emmett and Kaiya Grades 5 and 6

During the 1800’s and the early 1900’s, citizens of Russia wanted change. Most people didn’t have the essentials of a decent life. The tsar’s family had too much power and wealth. The Russian people thought it was unfair. They wanted a better system: a democratic government with a constitution, equal rights and a living wage. Some people wanted slow reform and others wanted revolution. Some fought for a classless society. In 1917 the Russian Revolution began. It destroyed the tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. Most of the citizens of Russia never got the kind of constitution, freedom or prosperity that they desired and deserved.

The Romanovs were a family of tsars who had too much control, and many Russians rebelled against them. Alexander II was more for democracy than other tsars, and he showed this by freeing the serfs in 1861. When the serfs were emancipated it did not change their lifestyle for the better. They got a taste of freedom, but they didn’t have prosperity. Alexander II died, and his son, Alexander III became tsar. Alexander the III was ruthless. He was a strong willed leader and he suppressed rebellion. He died suddenly and his son Nicholas II became tsar, even though he didn’t want to. Nicholas II was indecisive, childish and easily controlled. His wife was bossy, and she was influenced by the spiritual adviser named Rasputin. Nicholas II was like a puppet, controlled by his surrounding advisers. Since Nicholas II was not a strong leader, when important events happened, he would ignore the problems. From Alexander II to Nicholas II, the Romanov family played a role in giving the people of Russia a reason to start a revolution.

The Russian people were upset at the tsars because they had luxurious lives, and the people had nothing. The citizens of Russia wanted a constitution and better living conditions. Some people wanted slow reform by changing the government through nonviolent protests and strikes. The revolutionaries wanted fast change, with violence if needed. Karl Marx gave the revolutionaries the idea of communism by writing a book called the Communist Manifesto. Communism was about people not being poor or rich, and upholding a classless society. The government was supposed to control everything.

The revolution was made up of a series of important events that built up to a boiling point for the people of Russia. The events that made up the Revolution had a great impact on Russia and the rest of the world. One of the events was the revolutionaries split up into the Bolsheviks and Menshaviks in 1903. The Menshaviks were more reformers than the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks were all-out revolutionaries led by Lenin. Trotsky tried to bring together the Bolsheviks and Menshaviks, but he didn’t succeed. In 1905 there was an event called Bloody Sunday when a priest named Father Gapon asked for a peaceful march for better working conditions and human rights. The march took place on January 22 in St Petersburg. Unfortunately, it was not so peaceful. Once Father Gapon and the other marchers got to the Winter Palace, the soldiers took it as a threat, let fire and slaughtered many people. Even when the people were killed, the tsar ignored it. But the tsar’s adviser didn’t want people to riot. He told the tsar that it would be a good idea to add some laws for freedom so there wouldn’t be chaos. Those rules were written in the October Manifesto. The rules gave civil freedom to the people. It gave people the right to be part of the local government called the Duma. It also said no laws could be established without the Duma. The people were still disappointed because the October Manifesto did not establish a constitution. They knew that without a constitution the tsar could spend Russia’s money on wars that they thought didn’t need to be fought.

World War I and the war between Russia and Japan were also boiling points that contributed to the Revolution because they affected Russia’s economy. The Russian/Japanese war started when Nicholas II wanted to build train tracks across Manchuria. He signed a treaty with Manchuria saying he wouldn’t use their land for a military base. But he lied. Japan wanted to control Manchuria also so they attacked the Russian troops and started a war with Russia. The Russian people became outraged because the war used up money, resources, energy and lives. The other war that helped start the Revolution was World War I. The problems caused by World War I were similar to the problems caused by the Russian/Japanese War. Food was rationed, the economy broke down and a great many Russian soldiers were killed. The wars destroyed the economy, families, communities and soldiers. After these wars, Russians were fed up, and that gave them more reason to start a revolution.

On March 8, 1917, a three day protest broke out. It was called the February Revolution. The protest started when women were waiting outside a bakery for bread, and the bakery announced there was no more bread. So the women marched in protest. Factory workers joined the protest for fair conditions. The police came to try to stop the march but they didn’t succeed, so the tsar sent soldiers. Then the soldiers joined forces with the Russian people in the protest, and gave them weapons. Since the Duma thought Russia needed more order, they decided to create a provisional government. The tsar ended up losing power because he lost his army, and the provisional government took over. So the tsar abdicated shortly after the February Revolution because he knew he was going to get over-run. In October, Alexander Kerensky became head of the provisional government. Kerensky asked the Bolsheviks to protect Petrograd from the Whites. The Whites were a group of people who were against revolutionaries. The Bolsheviks were called Reds. They occupied all the major public areas, to protect them from the Whites. Then they found out they were in a powerful position, so they took over Petrograd, and later they seized control of all of Russia. The February Revolution ignited the whole Russian Revolution, and it only took three days. These three days helped destroy three hundred years of tsarist rule.

In 1918, Nicholas II and his family were assassinated because the Bolsheviks thought if they were still alive the Whites would try to put the Romanovs back in power. Then the Reds and the Whites started a civil war in Russia. The war was bloody and gruesome. The Reds won the war and gained even more power. Their leader, Lenin, was a strong communist dictator who had taken control of the government from Kerensky. The Russian people thought Lenin was going to be a better leader than the tsars, but he was a tyrant. In 1922 the Russian government formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Two years later 1924, Lenin died. Stalin and Trotsky tried to take over his position as a dictator of the USSR. Trotsky didn’t succeed, but Stalin did in 1927. Stalin became a ruthless, blood-hungry tyrant.

The Russian Revolution had a powerful impact on Russia and the world. The Revolution was based on the Russian people wanting a living wage, a constitution, human rights and freedom. When the Russian Revolution was over, the citizens had a communist autocracy, and not a democratic government. The people of Russia didn’t get their rights, their prosperity or their freedom. The Revolution also affected the world because the Soviet Union was the first communist country. The USSR started recruiting other countries to become communist, and that caused the Cold War.