• The Russian Revolution of 1917 was the most important event in the twentieth century.

• It ended the despotic monarchical rule of the emperor and established democracy.

• The revolution ended the power of aristocrats, capitalists, and landlords in social, economic, and agricultural fields.

• It established the dictatorship of the proletariat and peasants.

• The revolution gave concrete shape to the ideology of socialism for the first time in the world.

• Socialism is an ideology that promotes a new society, culture, and civilization.

• According to communists, the workers should monopolize all social authority as they are the creators of national wealth.

• At one time, almost half of Europe and Asia subscribed to socialism/communism.

• The disintegration of the USSR in 1991 marked the end of one state of communism.

Political Situation in Russia on the Eve of the Revolution

• The defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) shattered the myth of Russian supremacy and the greatness of its ruler.

• Following this defeat, people began to clamour for bread and rights, with growing discontent and desire for change between 1905 and 1917.

• The defeat by Japan awakened political consciousness, but defeat by Germany in World War I deeply shook Russia’s soul, causing widespread disturbance, discontent, and despondency.

• Czar Nicholas II (1894-1917) used repressive measures to silence the people.

• He was influenced by reactionaries Pobedonostser and Plehve, who opposed political freedom, supported Russification and aristocratic privileges.

• The Czarina, a German princess, supported despotism and was a devotee of Rasputin, who manipulated the Czar.

• The Czar faced two revolutions: 1905 and 1917; the latter ended the 300-year rule of the Romanov dynasty.

• Several political ideologies and parties existed:

  • Revolutionary socialists (Populists and Marxists) wanted to end the absolute rule of the Czar through revolution.

  • Supporters of liberalism favored a constitutional government.

• The revolutionary socialists split into the Social Democratic Party and the Revolutionary Socialists.

• In 1898, Marxist groups merged into the Social Democratic Party.

• The party split in 1903 at a London conference into:

  • Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, who sought to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat through a centralized, disciplined organization.

  • Mensheviks, who were more moderate.

• Liberals dominated local bodies called Zemstovs.

• Radical liberals formed the Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadet) in 1904, advocating constitutional government, personal freedom, and social reforms.

• Moderate liberals formed the Octoberist Party.

• Reactionaries supporting despotism organized as Genuine Russians.

• Trotsky joined the Bolsheviks in July 1917.

• Besides parties, the Zemstovs, Duma, and Soviets of workers participated in political activities.

• The Revolutionary Socialist Party was the most influential with wide public support.

• In the 1917 elections, it won a majority in the Constituent Assembly and dominated the All Russian Soviet Congress at Petrograd in June 1917.

• The Bolsheviks were initially marginal, supported mainly by workers in big cities like Petrograd and Moscow.

• The popular narrative of Bolshevik dominance for 1917–85 is not fully supported by facts.

• The March 1917 Revolution had already uprooted the despotism of the Czar and Romanovs before Bolshevik rise.

• The Kadet Party, Revolutionary Socialists, and Mensheviks were progressive, not reactionary, as often portrayed.

• The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 consisted of three revolutions:

  • 1905 Revolution laid the foundation.

  • March 1917 Revolution ended Czarism and changed history.

  • November 1917 Revolution emphasized economic freedom.

• The Russian Revolution is considered an apex in a series of revolutions including the American War of Independence (1776) and the French Revolution (1789).

• Policies of Glasnost and Perestroika have revealed new facts, leading historians to evaluate the Russian Revolution more objectively and methodically.