Russian Revolution | World War I

The Russian Revolt was a political and social revolution that began during the First World War in the former Russian Empire. The Russian Revolution was an arrangement of two processes that started in 1917 with the fall of the House of Romanov and ended in 1923 with the Bolshevik formation of the Soviet Union at the finish of the Russian Civil War. As a result, (1) The imperial administration was overthrown, and (2) the Bolsheviks were installed in power. The first insurrection, which began in February 1917, was centered in and around Petrograd, now Saint Petersburg, the then-capital. The Russian Army had mutinied after suffering heavy military losses during the battle. As a result, lawmakers of Russia's Duma, or parliament, took control of the country and formed the Russian Provisional Government. The interests of significant entrepreneurs, as well as the Russian nobility and aristocracy, controlled this government.

The Army's command feared they lacked the resources to put down the revolution, prompting the Russian Empire's monarch, Nicholas II, to abdicate his throne. The new Provisional Government was first allowed to rule by grassroots community assemblies known as Soviets, which soldiers and urban industrial proletariats controlled. Still, they insisted on a prerogative to influence the government and control numerous militias. The Provisional Government managed the official Authority during this time, while a network of Soviets led by socialists commanded the support of the lower classes and, increasingly, the left-leaning urban middle class.

Mutinies, protests, and strikes were common during this turbulent period. Many socialist political organizations, including the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin, were fighting for power daily in the Duma and the Soviets. He fought for an immediate end to Russia's involvement in the war and land for peasants, and nourishment for city workers. When the Interim Government decided to keep fighting Germany, the Bolsheviks and other socialist factions used the widespread contempt for the war effort as motivation to push the revolution forward. The Bolsheviks organized workers' militias into the Red Guards, which later became the Red Army, over which they had significant Authority.

The situation reached a pinnacle with the October Revolution in 1917 when a Bolshevik-led armed insurgency led by workers and soldiers in Petrograd ousted the Provisional Government and handed over complete power to the Soviets. They quickly moved the country's capital to Moscow. The Bolsheviks had formed a federal government as the ultimate governing party to rebuild the previous empire into the world's first socialist state and practice soviet democracy on a national and international scale. When the Bolshevik leaders engaged the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany in March 1918, they kept their commitment to halt Russia's participation in the First World War. To help safeguard the new state, the Bolsheviks founded the Cheka. This secret police served as a revolutionary security agency, weeding out, executing, or punishing those thought to be adversaries of the people in movements inspired by the French Revolution.

Civil war broke out soon after between the "Reds" (Bolsheviks), "Whites" (counter-revolutionaries), independence groups, and various socialist faction's hostile to the Bolsheviks. It lasted several years, during which time the Bolsheviks defeated the Whites and all other socialists. They renamed themselves the Communist Party after their victory. They also established Soviet power in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Ukraine, which had recently gained independence. Finally, in 1922, the unified these jurisdictions under the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). While many significant historical events took place in Moscow and Petrograd, there were also essential developments in cities throughout the empire, among national minorities, and in rural areas, where peasants seized over and redistributed land.

The Revolt of 1905 was a significant contributor to the Revolutions of 1917. Bloody Sunday's atrocities sparked widespread protests and army revolts. During the confusion, the St. Petersburg Soviet, a workers' council, was formed. While the 1905 Revolution was eventually repressed, and the leaders of the St. Petersburg Soviet were imprisoned, it provided the framework for the Petrograd Soviet and other revolutionary activities in the years leading up to 1917. The 1905 Revolution also resulted in establishing a Duma (parliament), which eventually became the Provisional Government in February 1917.

The Romanov family and Tsar Nicholas II faced increasing criticism for Russia's dismal performance in 1914-1915. On the Eastern Front of First World War, a brief wave of patriotic nationalism faded in the face of defeats and stormy conditions. In 1915, the Tsar made matters worse by seizing personal command of the Imperial Russian Army, a task considerably beyond his abilities. As a result, he was now held personally accountable for Russia's continued losses and defeats. Tsarina Alexandra was also German-born, which raised suspicions of conspiracy, amplified by tales about her friendship with the eccentric mystic Grigori Rasputin, who was allowed to govern. At the same time, the Tsar led the war. Rasputin's influence resulted in poor ministry appointments and corruption, aggravating Russia's situation.

Russia was cut off from a vital trade route to the Mediterranean Sea after the Ottoman Empire united the Central Powers in October 1914, worsening the economic crisis and ammunition shortages. Meanwhile, Germany was able to generate large quantities of weapons while fighting on two main battlefronts simultaneously.

The war's conditions led to a severe loss of morale among the Russian Army and the broader populace of Russia. Due to a lack of food due to the disruption of agriculture, this was most noticeable in the cities. Food scarcity had become a big issue in Russia, although the cause was not due to a failure of the harvests, which had not been significantly impacted during the conflict. The indirect explanation was that the government produced millions of ruble notes to fund the war, and by 1917, inflation had driven prices up to four times what they were in 1914. As a result, farmers were faced with a rising expense of living but little gain in income. As a result, people began hoarding the grain and returning to subsistence farming. As a result, the cities were often running out of food. At the same time, rising prices prompted factory workers to demand more excellent salaries. Revolutionary propaganda, helped partly by German money, resulted in massive strikes in January and February 1916. As a result, there was an upsurge in official criticism and an increase in worker engagement in revolutionary groups.

Because of the early enthusiasm of the war, the Tsarist authorities created a range of political groups. Liberal parties also had a larger platform to air their grievances. A Central War Industries Committee was formed in July 1915,, with ten workers' representatives, under a famous Octobrist, Alexander Guchkov. Despite their leaders' concerns from overseas, the Petrograd Mensheviks consented to join. All of this activity fueled political ambitions. In September 1915, a group of Octobrists and Kadets in the Duma requested a responsible government, which the Tsar turned down.

All of these circumstances had contributed to a dramatic loss of confidence in the system, which had grown throughout the war, even within the ruling class. Early in 1916, Guchkov considered a possible coup with senior army officers and the Central War Industries Committee members to force the Tsar's abdication. A small group of nobles murdered Rasputin in December. Finally, in January 1917, Prince Lvov asked the Tsar's cousin, Grand Duke Nicholas, if he would usurp the throne from his nephew, Tsar Nicholas II. None of these events was directly responsible for the February Revolution, but they do assist in explaining why the monarchy only lasted a few days after it began.

However, exiled Socialist-Revolutionary leaders, many of whom lived in Switzerland, had watched with dismay as worldwide socialist solidarity crumbled. The Social Democrats in France and Germany had voted in favour of their governments' war operations. In Paris, Georgi Plekhanov had taken a stridently anti-German stance. In contrast, Alexander Parvus believed that supporting the German war effort was the best way to ensure a revolution in Russia. Whereas Julius Martov, a prominent Menshevik who had moved to the left of his organization, sought an end to the war and a solution based on national self-determination, with no annexations or indemnities, the Mensheviks overwhelmingly held that Russia had the right to defend herself against Germany.

Martov's opinions predominated in a statement drafted by Leon Trotsky, then a Menshevik, at a convention in Zimmerwald in September 1915, which 35 Socialist leaders attended. Inevitably, Vladimir Lenin, with the help of Zinoviev and Radek, fought back. The Zimmerwald Left was born out of these viewpoints. Both the defense of Russia and the plea for peace were rejected by Lenin. Since the autumn of 1914, he has argued that the defeat of the Tsarist Monarchy is the lesser evil from the position of the working class and the laboring masses; the war must be crooked into a civil war of proletarian soldiers against their governments, and if a joint victory emerges from this in Russia, then their duty will be to wage a revolutionary war for the freedom of the general public throughout Europe.

Economic and Social Changes

Many peasants believed that land should belong to people who worked as a fundamental property notion. Peasant life and culture were continually developing at the same time. The physical migration of increasing numbers of peasant peasants to and from industrial and urban contexts and the entry of city culture into the village via material products, the press, and word of mouth all aided change.

Overcrowding with often deplorable sanitary conditions, long hours at work, the constant risk of injury and death due to poor safety and hygienic conditions, harsh discipline that included not only rules and fines, but also foremen's fists, and inadequate wages made worse after 1914 by steep wartime cost-of-living increases At the same time, the advantages of urban industrial life could be just as damaging to social and political stability as the disadvantages. Many people encouraged me to expect more from life. Many workers gained self-esteem and confidence due to learning new abilities, raising their expectations and desires. Workers in cities were exposed to material commodities that they had never seen in the countryside. Most crucially, city dwellers were exposed to fresh perspectives on the social and political order.

The sociological reasons for the Russian Revolution can be traced back to the Tsarist regime's decades of mistreatment of the lower classes and Nicholas' failings in World War I. Even though rural agricultural peasants were freed from serfdom in 1861, they nevertheless despised paying the state redemption payments and demanded communal tender of the land they worked. The failure of Sergei Witte's land reforms in the early twentieth century exacerbated the problem. To acquire control of the land they farmed, peasant uprisings and revolts became more common. Russia was primarily made up of poor farming peasants with significant land ownership disparities, with only 1.5 percent of the population holding 25 percent of the land.

Russia's fast industrialisation led to overcrowding and bad working conditions for urban industrial workers. Between 1890 and 1910, the population of Saint Petersburg, the capital, grew from 1,033,600 to 1,905,600, with Moscow following suit. This resulted in the emergence of a new 'proletariat,' which was far more prone than the peasantry to protest and strike because of its concentration in cities. According to a 1904 survey, each apartment in Saint Petersburg housed an average of 16 people, with six individuals in each room. There was also no running water, and heaps of human waste jeopardized the workers' health. The terrible conditions exacerbated the problem, with the number of strikes and public disorder incidents steadily growing in the years leading up to World War I. In addition, Russia's employees were densely concentrated due to late industrialization. By 1914, 40 percent of Russian workers worked in factories employing 1,000 or more people. 42% worked in organizations with 100–1,000 employees, while 18% worked in businesses with 1–100 employees. The instability was exacerbated by World War I. Conscription in Russia resulted in the conscription of civilians who did not want to fight. Many other labour riots and strikes erupted due to the enormous demand for factory-produced military supplies and labourers. Conscription drove skilled employees out of the cities, forcing untrained peasants to fill the void. When famine struck due to the inadequate railway system, workers fled the cities in droves in search of food. Finally, the soldiers began to turn against the Tsar due to a lack of equipment and protection from the elements. This was primarily because as the war proceeded, many of the Tsar's faithful officers were murdered, and they were replaced with disgruntled conscripts from the big towns who had little devotion to the Tsar.

Political Issues

Many people in the country have reason to be unhappy with the current regime. Nicholas II was a staunch conservative who upheld a solid authoritarian regime. Individuals and society were required to exhibit self-control, communal dedication, social hierarchy reverence, and a sense of patriotism. Religious faith served as a source of consolation and reassurance in the face of challenging circumstances and a method of political Authority exercised through the clergy. Perhaps more than any other modern king, Nicholas II equated the ruler's role as a saintly and infallible father to his subjects with his fate and the future of his dynasty.

This view of the Romanov monarchy blinded him to the situation of his homeland. Nicholas claimed that the Russian people were committed to him with unwavering loyalty because he believed that Divine Right bestowed his right to rule. Because of this steadfast belief, Nicholas was unwilling to enable progressive measures that could have reduced the Russian people's suffering. Even after the 1905 Revolution prompted the Tsar to issue decrees restricting civil rights and democratic representation, he worked to restrict these liberties further to protect the crown's ultimate control.

Despite the persecution, the people had a great yearning for democratic participation in government choices. Russian thinkers have advocated for Enlightenment values such as individual dignity and democratic representation since the Age of Enlightenment. Liberals in Russia were the most vocal proponents of these values, although populists, Marxists, and anarchists also professed to favour democratic reforms. Long before the tumult of World War I, a strong opposition movement had begun to oppose the Romanov monarchy publicly.

Discontent with Russian autocracy culminated in the massive national upheaval that followed the Tsar's Army shooting hundreds of unarmed protestors on Bloody Sunday in January 1905. Workers staged a debilitating general strike in response to the murders, prompting Nicholas to issue the October Declaration, which established a democratically elected parliament. The Tsar adopted the 1906 Fundamental State Laws a year later, but he later removed the first two Dumas for being obstructive. Unmet democratic expectations spurred revolutionary thoughts and violent outbursts against the monarchy.

One of the Tsar's primary motivations for going to war in 1914 was to reclaim Russia's reputation during the disastrous Russo-Japanese War. Nicholas also hoped to strengthen national unity by fighting a shared and long-standing foe. The Russian Empire was an amalgamation of ethnic groups that had shown significant signs of disintegration in the years guiding up to First World War. Nicholas believed that sharing the peril and tribulations of a foreign conflict would help to alleviate societal unrest over poverty, injustice, and terrible working conditions. Unfortunately, rather than restoring Russia's political and military position, World War I resulted in the slaughter of Russian troops and military setbacks that severely weakened the monarchy and Russian society.

World War I

The declaration of war in August 1914 temporarily put an end to widespread social and political unrest by focusing hostilities against a shared external foe, but this patriotic unity did not endure long. As the war carried on indefinitely, combat fatigue began to take its toll. Although many ordinary Russians participated in anti-German demonstrations in the early weeks of the war, hatred for the Kaiser and a desire to defend their land and lives did not always convert into support for the Tsar or the government.

The 1914 Fight of Tannenberg, Russia's first major battle of the war, was a disaster, with over 30,000 Russian forces killed or wounded 90,000 prisoners, while Germany lost only 12,000 fatalities. However, by the end of the year, Austro-Hungarian soldiers allied with Germany had been forced deep into Galicia. Nicholas took direct command of the Army in the autumn of 1915, personally directing Russia's primary theatre of battle while putting his ambitious but inept wife Alexandra in control of the administration. Reports of Imperial government corruption and inefficiency began to surface, and Grigori Rasputin's growing influence in the Imperial family was universally despised.

When Germany moved its attack concentration to the Eastern Front in 1915, things took a crucial turn for the worse. During the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive campaign, the superior German Army, which was better commanded, better trained, and provisioned, was highly effective against the ill-equipped Russian forces, forcing the Russians out of Galicia and Russian Poland. As a result, Russia had lost between 1,600,000 and 1,800,000 soldiers by the end of October 1916, with 2,000,000 prisoners of war and 1,000,000 missings, totaling approximately 5,000,000 men.

The massive losses played a significant role in the mutinies and revolts that erupted. Reports of hostile fraternization began to circulate in 1916. Soldiers went without food, shoes, ammunition, and sometimes firearms. Morale was already low due to widespread discontent, which was exacerbated by a string of military defeats.

Petrograd workers initiated a series of strikes and demonstrations in early February. Workers at Putilov, Petrograd's largest industrial plant, went on strike on 7 March. The next day, for International Women's Day, a series of meetings and rallies were arranged, which eventually transformed into economic and political gatherings. Demonstrations to demand bread were organized, and they were backed by the industrial workforce, who saw them as a justification to keep the strikes going. Over 50,000 workers went on strike when the women workers marched to surrounding factories. Almost every industrial firm in Petrograd and numerous commercial and service enterprises had been shut down by 10 March. In the streets and at public meetings, students, white-collar workers, and teachers joined the workers.

The Tsar turned to the troops to put down the riots. In the capital, at least 180,000 men were available, but most were either inexperienced or injured. Historian Ian Beckett estimates that roughly 12,000 people were trustworthy, but even these were hesitant to attack the crowd because they included many women. As a result, troops revolted when the Tsar ordered the Army to use force to control the rioting on 11 March. Even though few officers actively participated in the rioting, many were shot or fled; the garrison's ability to hold back the protests was all but nullified; Tsarist symbols were quickly torn down around the town; and governmental Authority in the capital collapsed, aided by the detail that Nicholas had postponed the Duma that morning, leaving it without legal authority to act. The Duma responded by forming a Temporary Committee to restore law and order, as advocated by the liberal bloc; in the meantime, the socialist parties organized the Petrograd Soviet to represent workers and soldiers. The following day, the remaining loyal units swapped sides.

The Tsar redirected the royal train back to Petrograd after a group of revolutionaries stopped it at Malaya Vishera on 14 March. When the Tsar landed in Pskov, Army Chief Nikolai Ruzsky and Duma MPs Alexander Guchkov and Vasily Shulgin proposed abdicating the throne in unison. On 15 March, he did so on behalf of himself and then on behalf of his son, the Tsarevich, after seeking guidance. Nicholas chose his brother, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, as his successor. But, seeing that he would have little support as king, the Grand Duke denied the crown on 16 March, claiming that he would accept it only if democratic action agreed. Nicholas, no longer Tsar and referred to as "Nicholas Romanov" by the sentries, was reunited with his family at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo six days later. However, the Provisional Government placed him and his family under house arrest.

The initial consequence of the February Revolution in Petrograd was a broad sense of joy and enthusiasm. A provisional government was announced on 16 March. The centre-left was well-represented, and the administration was first led by Prince Georgy Yevgenievich Lvov, a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a liberal nobleman (KD). The Petrograd Soviet, or workers' council, had been created four days prior by the socialists. The Interim Government and the Petrograd Soviet fought for control of Russia.

The Provisional Government's adequate power was challenged by the Petrograd Soviet Council of Workers' Deputies. This organisation claimed to represent the desire of workers and soldiers and could, in reality, mobilize and manage these groups during the early months of the revolution. Workers' councils, founded in several Russian cities after the 1905 Revolution, served as a model for the Soviets. Striking workers elected deputies to represent them in February 1917, and socialist organizers began forming a citywide council to bring these deputies together with socialist party representatives. On 27 February, socialist Duma lawmakers, primarily Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries, led the charge in forming a citywide council. The Petrograd Soviets gathered in the Tauride Palace, which was also the new government's formation site.

The leaders of the Petrograd Soviet trusted that they were representing specific groups of people rather than the entire country. They also argued that Russia was not socialism-ready. They saw their job as being restricted to forcing Russia's hesitant "bourgeoisie" to rule and implement broad democratic reforms. They gathered in the same building as the Provisional Administration, not to vie for state power with the Duma Committee, but to best apply pressure on the new government, to operate as a famous democratic lobby.

From the start, the relationship between these two powerful nations was complicated, influencing the politics of 1917. The Provisional Government representatives agreed to consider the views of the Soviet Workers' Deputies. Still, they were also resolved to avoid any meddling that might result in an unacceptably dual power scenario. In truth, this dual power was being created. Still, it was the consequence of events beyond the control of the leaders of these two institutions, particularly the ongoing social movement taking place on the streets of Russia's towns, factories, stores, barracks, villages, and in the countryside.

A succession of political crises in the connection between the people and the government and between the Provisional Government and the Soviets culminated in forming a broad movement with national leadership. The All-Russian Supreme Executive Committee of Soviets undercut the Provisional Government's Authority and that of the Soviets' moderate socialist leaders. Despite the Soviet leadership's initial refusal to participate in the "bourgeois" Provisional Government, Alexander Kerensky, a young, famous lawyer and member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRP), agreed to join the new cabinet and quickly rose to become a central figure in the government, eventually taking over as its leader. Kerensky advocated freedom of speech as Minister of War. Then-Prime Minister released hundreds of political prisoners and continued the war effort, even planning a new offensive that was no more successful than the previous ones.

The Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, proved to be the most bothersome for Kerensky and finally deposed him. Lenin had been living in exile in unbiassed Switzerland and saw the potential for his Marxist revolution due to the democratization of politics following the February Revolution, which legalized previously prohibited political groups. Although a return to Russia had become a possibility, logistical difficulties arose due to the conflict. German officials eventually arranged for Lenin to pass through their territory, expecting that his efforts would weaken Russia or lead to Russia's withdrawal from the war if the Bolsheviks gained control. However, Lenin and his companions had to agree to travel to Russia in a sealed train because Germany would not risk fomenting Germany's revolution. Finally, in April 1917, he arrived in Petrograd after crossing through the battle lines.

Lenin drafted the April Theses, which detailed core Bolshevik policies, while on his journey to Russia. These included the Soviets seizing control, as seen by the phrase "all power to the Soviets," and criticizing and prohibiting cooperation with the Provisional Government's liberals and social revolutionaries. However, many Bolsheviks, like Lev Kamenev, backed the Provisional Government.

The Bolsheviks' popularity grew steadily after Lenin's arrival. Public unhappiness with the Provisional Government and the war, particularly among workers, soldiers, and peasants, led these groups to radical parties throughout the spring. Despite increased popular support for the Bolsheviks, bolstered by slogans such as all Authority to the Soviets, the party had very little real power in the moderate-dominated Petrograd Soviet. Indeed, historians such as Sheila Fitzpatrick argue that Lenin's exhortations for the Soviet Council to take control were meant to incite outrage among the Provisional Government's conservative policies and the Soviets themselves, who were seen as subservient to the conservative government. According to some historians, Lenin and his supporters were unprepared for how their growing popularity, particularly among powerful workers and military organizations, would translate into real power in the summer of 1917.

The Provisional Government launched an attack on Germany on 18 June, which failed horribly. Soon later, the government reneged on a commitment and forced soldiers to proceed to the front. The soldiers were adamant about not obeying the new instructions. The entrance of radical Kronstadt sailors, who had tried and performed numerous commanders, including one admiral, added to the revolution's growing momentum. In a violent protest, sailors and soldiers and Petrograd workers came to the streets, chanting "all power to the Soviets." However, Lenin and the Bolshevik leaders rejected the uprising, which died within a few days. Following this, Lenin escaped to Finland under danger of arrest, while Trotsky was jailed alongside other important Bolsheviks. The anti-war, radical Bolsheviks' popularity grew during the July Days. Still, their lack of preparation at the time of the uprising was an embarrassing error that cost them favour among its key core groups: soldiers and workers.

The failure of the Bolsheviks in the July Days was only temporary. The Bolsheviks had seen a massive increase in membership. Whereas the Bolsheviks had just 24,000 members in February 1917, by September 1917, the Bolsheviks had grown to 200,000 members. Previously, the Bolsheviks were in the minority in Russia's two major cities, St. Petersburg and Moscow, behind the Mensheviks and the Socialist-Revolutionaries; however, by September, the Bolsheviks had gained control of both cities. Furthermore, the Moscow Regional Bureau of the Party, which the Bolsheviks controlled, also had jurisdiction over the Party organizations in the 13 provinces surrounding Moscow. These 13 provinces accounted for 37% of Russia's population and 20% of the Bolshevik faction's membership.

General Lavr Kornilov, the newly appointed Supreme Commander of Russian military forces, was led to believe in August that the Petrograd government had already been overrun by radicals or was at grave risk of becoming so. In response, he dispatched troops to Petrograd to restore order. Kerensky had to enlist the help of the Bolsheviks to keep his job. He also enlisted the support of the Petrograd Soviet, which dispatched armed Red Guards to protect the revolution. The Bolsheviks' influence over railroad and telegraph employees proved crucial in preventing military movement during the Kornilov Affair, which ultimately failed. Kornilov surrendered and was removed from his position after his coup failed. The Bolsheviks' role in foiling the coup attempt bolstered their position even more.

In early September, the Petrograd Soviet released all imprisoned Bolsheviks, and Trotsky was elected head of the Petrograd Soviet. However, a growing number of socialists and lower-class Russians saw the government as a barrier to their demands and interests. The Bolsheviks benefited from growing frustration and were even disgusted with other parties, such as the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, who stubbornly refused to break with the idea of national unity across all classes, as the only major organized opposition party that had refused to compromise with the Provisional Government.

Lenin continued to head his party in Finland, producing newspaper articles and policy decrees while working on State and Revolution. By October, he'd returned to Petrograd, knowing that the city's growing radicalism posed a little legal risk and offered him a second chance for revolution. Recognizing the Bolsheviks' power, Lenin began pressing for the Bolsheviks to destroy the Kerensky administration immediately. Lenin believed that power should be taken in both St. Petersburg and Moscow simultaneously, noting that it didn't matter which city rose first, but speculating that Moscow might rise first. The Bolshevik Central Committee conscripted a resolution calling for the Provisional Government to be dissolved and the Petrograd Soviet to take its place. The solution was carried 10–2, with famous Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev endorsing the October Revolution.

The Bolshevik party organized the October Revolution, which took place in tsarist Russia on the night of Wednesday 7 November 1917, according to the modern Gregorian calendar, and on the night of Wednesday 25 October conferring to the Julian calendar of the time. Lenin played no direct role in the revolution and was forced to flee for his safety. The insurgency was organized by the Bolshevik party's Revolutionary Military Committee, which Leon Trotsky led. However, when the Bolshevik party obtained a majority in the soviets in 1917, Lenin played a critical role in the debate over a revolutionary insurgency among the party's leadership. The phrase 'All power to the Soviets' was endorsed by an ally in the Revolutionary-Socialist Party's left-wing, which had widespread support among peasants opposed to Russia's engagement in the war.

The White Army, made up of liberal and monarchist forces, went to war against the Bolsheviks' Red Army right away in a series of conflicts that became known as the Russian Civil War. This was not the case in 1917. Early in 1918, domestic anti-Bolshevik troops clashed with the embryonic Red Army, igniting the Civil War. In the autumn of 1918, the Allies needed to prevent the Germans from accessing Russian supplies. They dispatched troops to assist the "Whites" with guns, ammunition, and logistical support from major Western countries, but the effort was not well-coordinated. Germany didn't take part in the civil war because it had already surrendered to the Allies.

A right-wing faction of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, SR, dominated the provisional government's second and third coalitions. By avoiding elections to the State Duma, this non-elected interim government dealt with the revolutionary scenario and growing anti-war sentiment. The political groups backing the recently dissolved temporary government, on the other hand, were forced to move quickly to hold early elections as a result of the October revolution. Everything transpired so fast that the left SR fraction did not have time to reach out and be represented in the SR party's ballots, which was part of the provisional government's coalition. This non-elected government was in favour of continuing the war on the side of the allies. The State Duma elections on 25 November 1917 did not reflect the actual political situation among peasants, even if we don't know what would have happened if the anti-war left SR fraction was given a fair chance to oppose the party leaders. The Bolshevik party earned 25% of the vote in the elections, while the Socialist-Revolutionaries received 58 percent. The left-wing SR probably had a fair chance of gaining more than 25% of the vote and legitimizing the October revolution, but we can only speculate.

Lenin did not believe, as Karl Marx did, that a socialist revolution required a developed capitalist economy and could not take place in a semi-capitalist society such as Russia. Russia was backwards with a working-class population of more than 4-5 percent of the people, but not that far back.

Though Lenin was the frontrunner of the Bolshevik Party, it has been suggested that because Lenin was not there during the actual taking of the Winter Palace, the revolution was conducted by Trotsky's organization and direction, driven on by the motivation Lenin instilled inside his party. In addition, right-wing critics have long claimed that German intelligence's financial and logistical help through their primary agent, Alexander Parvus, was also a key component. However, historians disagree because there is little evidence to back that assertion.

Although Soviet membership was initially free, many members of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, anarchists, and other leftists used the Soviets to create resistance to the Bolsheviks. The Russian Constituent Assembly elections were held on 25 November 1917. The Bolsheviks received 25% of the vote. When it became evident that the Bolsheviks had no support outside of Saint Petersburg and Moscow, they simply prevented non-Bolsheviks from joining the Soviets. As a result, the Bolsheviks dissolved the Constituent Assembly in January 1918.

The Russian Civil War, which began immediately after the October Revolution in 1918 and lasted through 1918, claimed the lives of millions of individuals regardless of their political beliefs. The war was primarily fought between the Red Army (Reds), which consisted of the majority of the uprising led by the Bolshevik minority, and the "Whites," which included military officials and cossacks, the "bourgeoisie," and political sets reaching from the far right to the Socialist Revolutionaries, who opposed the Bolsheviks' drastic restructuring after the Provisional Government collapsed, to the Soviétique. Added nations such as the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and Japan backed the Whites, but the Reds had internal support and were far more effective. Thus, despite the Allied nations supplying significant military aid to the loosely organized anti-Bolshevik troops, they were ultimately defeated due to external involvement.

The Bolsheviks took power in Petrograd first, then spread their rule throughout Russia. Finally, four years after the war began, they arrived at Vladivostok on the east Siberian Russian coast, an occupation that has concluded all severe military campaigns. When General Anatoly Pepelyayev capitulated in 1923, the last area controlled by the White Army, the Ayano-Maysky District, was given to the north of the Krai, including Vladivostok up.

Near the end of the war, several revolts, including the Kronstadt Rebellion, were launched against the Bolsheviks and their Army. This was a naval uprising orchestrated by Soviet Baltic sailors, former Red Army soldiers, and Kronstadt residents. Farmers were subjected to divisive Bolshevik economic policies, notably Communist expropriation of grain supplies, which prompted this armed insurrection. This resulted in widespread dissatisfaction. When delegates from the Kronstadt sailors arrived in Petrograd for talks, they made 15 demands. The majority of them were related to the Russian right to freedom. The government strongly condemned the uprisings, describing the demands as a harbinger of the Social Revolutionaries. This political party was popular among Soviets before Lenin but refused to work with the Bolshevik Army. Before approaching Kronstadt, the government retaliated with armed repression of the revolts, inflicting ten thousand casualties. The rebellions were promptly put down, and many of the insurgents fled to seek political asylum.

Nestor Makhno headed the Black Army, a Ukrainian anarchist force that collaborated with the Bolsheviks three times during the Civil War, each with one of the sides breaking the relationship. When the Makhnovists refused to join the Red Army, a Bolshevik force led by Mikhail Frunze annihilated the Makhnovist cause. Furthermore, the so-called "Green Army" had a minor role in the conflict, primarily in Ukraine.

Revolutionary Tribunals

Revolutionary tribunals were established to combat counter-revolutionary forces during the Revolution and the Civil War. It is estimated that about 200 courts investigated upwards of 200,000 cases during the Civil War's peak. These tribunals distinguished themselves from the Cheka as a more moderate force operating under the name of revolutionary justice rather than as a force that used strict brute force as the former did. On the other hand, these courts had their own set of inefficiencies, such as responding to cases in a couple of months and not having a clear definition of counter-revolution determined issue by subject. The People's Commissar of Justice's "Decree on Revolutionary Tribunals" stipulates in article 2 that the Revolutionary Tribunal shall be led by the circumstances of the case and the dictates of the revolutionary conscience in determining the penalty. Where the Russian Provisional Government failed, revolutionary tribunals ultimately established that justice existed in Russian society. This contributed to the political transformation of the October Revolution and the Civil War that followed.

On 16 July 1918, the Bolsheviks killed the Tsar and his family. In early March, Nicholas and his family were placed under house arrest in the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, 24 kilometers south of Petrograd, by the Provisional Government. However, they relocated the Romanovs to Tobolsk in the Urals in August 1917 to shelter them from the growing tide of Revolt. After the Bolsheviks took control in October 1917, the conditions of their detention became harsher, and there was the consideration of putting Nicholas on trial. The impending civil war prompted the Bolsheviks to relocate the family to Yekaterinburg in April and May 1918.

Nicholas, Alexandra, their children, their physician, and numerous servants were carried to the basement and shot early 16 July. The command came directly from Lenin and Yakov Sverdlov in Moscow, according to Edvard Radzinsky and Dmitrii Volkogonov. Although there is no clear evidence, it has long been assumed that the command originated from the top. It's possible that the execution was carried out on the initiative of local Bolshevik leaders or a pre-approved alternative in Moscow if White soldiers approached Yekaterinburg. Lenin's guard personally carried the telegram ordering the killing, and he was told to delete the evidence, according to Radzinsky.

Many examples of symbolism, both physical and non-physical, occurred during the Russian Revolution. The introduction of the iconic mallet and reaping hook as a symbol of the October Revolution in 1917, ultimately becoming the certified symbol of the USSR in 1924, is possibly the most notable example of communist symbolism during this period. Despite the Bolsheviks' lack of political experience, their portrayal of the revolution as both a political and symbolic order led to the description of Communism as a messianic faith, formally known as communist messianism. In addition, iconographic approaches were used to depict significant revolutionary individuals such as Lenin, linking them to religious figures despite religion being forbidden in the USSR and religious groups such as the Russian Orthodox Church were repressed.

The revolution eventually led to the construction of the future Soviet Union as an ideocracy; nevertheless, establishing such a state was an intellectual paradox because Marx's notions of how a socialist state should be formed were based on natural rather than artificially incited formation. According to Leon Trotsky, the aim of socialism in Russia will not be fulfilled unless the world revolution succeeds. The Russian Revolution flickered a groundbreaking wave that lasted until 1923. Still, despite early prospects of victory in the German Revolution of 1918–19, the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic, and other Marxist movements at the time, none of them succeeded in holding power in their hands. Various Marxist groupings and parties have differing perspectives on communist history on this subject. Later, Joseph Stalin dismissed this notion, claiming that socialism could only exist in a single country.

The ambiguity surrounding Stalin's position on the issue stems from the fact that, following Lenin's death in 1924, he successfully used Lenin's argument that socialism's success requires the support of workers from other countries to defeat his rivals within the party by accusing them of betraying Lenin and, as a result, the ideals of the October Revolution.