Above: A 1905 American cartoon depicting the struggles of the Russian proletariat against the oppressive bureaucracy of the ruling Monarch. Little did the Russians know the rise of the Bolshevik regime would only create an even greater monster.
Part II: The March Revolution, The Dumas, and Lenin's Rise to Power
The March Revolution was not an entirely unique event in world history. In fact, the spark that ignited the March Revolution was exactly the same spark that ignited the French Revolution in 1789. So, what is this spark that I speak of? Bread. When a country starts to run dangerously low on bread, people have a historical record of reacting violently. Why is this? Because bread has always been the primary source for nutrition and sustenance among a nation's working class. When the bread runs out, they have nothing to eat. This was the same for the workers and peasants of Russia in the early 1900s. It was especially hard for peasants in Russia to produce enough food as a result of the brutality of their winter seasons. This places the people of Russia at a distinct disadvantage because they could only grow and harvest crops during the summer months. By March, the people had run dangerously low on wheat products, especially since most food sources were taken from the workers and given to the troops fighting along the war fronts. The soldiers, however, weren't faring along any better. They experienced heavy losses, brutal winters, food rations, and lost battles. Their spirits had faded just as much as their families had back home. When all the bread had gone, the people of Russia (peasants, industry workers, and soldiers) immediately quit their posts and began marching the streets of Petrograd in a full-on strike. Thus, the March Revolution began.
Just one day before the uprising, Czar Nicholas II boarded a train to monitor efforts on the war front. He had no idea what was about to happen at home. Over the next few days, the streets were full of Russia's proletariat. People carried signs that stated "Down with Monarchy!" Others bore the red flags of socialism. Any police that attempted to control the chaos were shot on sight. Eventually the police dropped their uniforms and either joined the masses or went into hiding. The same happened with soldiers who had not yet joined the movement. Most of them were absorbed into the flow of the crowds. Surprisingly, the Cossacks joined the movement against the police right from the beginning of the strike. Government offices were looted and the debris littered the streets. Despite the uprising of the Russian people, an aura of uncertainty remained. No one really knew what was going to happen next. They only knew things were about to change and that was good enough news for most of them. The crowds eventually moved their way towards the Tauride Palace where The Dumas were being held.
The Imperial Duma consisted of government officials who would meet to discuss reformations of the Russian State. They were similar to today's Representatives and Senators, only they were not officially elected by the people; they were appointed by the Czar. The establishment of the Duma was not a favorable decision by the Monarchy, but Nicholas II authorized their establishment under pressure of Russian officials in 1905. One of these Duma members, Alexander Kerensky, took charge of the Provisional Government that was to bring order to the Russian chaos. Through a series of meetings, the Duma identified two political parties with different ideas on how to structure the new Russian government. On the left was the Executive Committee of the Soviet who insisted on forming a republic, but would later be taken over by Bolsheviks. This would mean an absolute removal of the Czar and his dictatorial powers. On the right was the Temporary Committee of the Duma, consisted mostly of bourgeois. They insisted on setting up a constitutional monarchy, similar to English government under King George V. This would mean keeping the Czar on the throne, but removing his dictatorial powers; a figurehead, at best. Kerensky was a member of both committees and insisted no harm come to the Czar, his family, or the Imperial Ministers. Unfortunately for Kerensky, the masses of rioters wanted nothing to do with Imperial royalty and Nicholas II was forced to abdicate his throne on March 15. He was then placed under house arrest with his family in Tsarkoe Selo (a suburb of Petrograd). The Provisional Government failed to meet the general demands of the people, however. Kerensky and the rest of the Provisional Government Ministers intended to carry out the war against Germany as a result of bound agreements between Russia and her allies Great Britain and France. The people wanted the war to stop, but they didn't want to abandon Russia's allies either. Other Russians still felt loyalty to the Czar, even though they were unhappy with the present situation. In the meantime, Lenin (who was previously exiled to Siberia, then deserted Russia for Switzerland) made his way through Germany and back to Russia to promote his Marxist ideologies in an effort to reform the Russian government and establish a Socialist nation.
Sidenote: Lenin and the rest of his Bolshevik followers were staunch supporters of Marxist ideology, which is the core component of this blog post. The book Das Kapital by Karl Marx represents one of the most dangerous ideas in human history. Karl Marx presents his theory on "Dialectical Materialism," which is based partly on Charles Darwin's work: "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection." What Dialectical Materialism represents is all human beings are nothing more than materialized constructs of matter that have evolved over the course of millions of years. Like animals, we really weren't created by any supernatural being(s), nor should we be constrained within the "limitations" of morality (limitations meaning one should have to experience no guilt for causing the death and suffering of millions of people; the ends always justify the means). Every step in the development of our physical and intellectual abilities are a direct result of conflict with other consructs of matter that has been ongoing since the beginning of time. Some matter survives onward and others go extinct; such is the way of life. Dialectical Materialism also puts forth the belief that humans have no souls, which can neither be saved or ascended into any form of afterlife. This is intended to discredit any ideas about religion and morality in an attempt to qualify the belief in Atheism. Marx then takes this concept and applies it to society. Marx believes that some groups of people with old ideas should go extinct while people with new, progressive ideas should survive. Marx believes it is perfectly natural (Darwinistic) for the proletariat to rise against the bourgeois; to eradicate capitalism and set up a system of socialism governed entirely by the working class of that society. He also believes it is perfectly natural (Darwinistic) for all opponents of this ideology to be killed or made to suffer in an effort to preserve the social movement; such is the way of progress only achievable through conflict. Marx also believes that proletariat uprisings and the establishment of communism can only come from a slow indoctrination of the masses through education, propaganda, and hardship within a well-industrialized nation. This would mean infiltrating school systems with Marxist ideology, taking control of a nation's mass media, and allowing the contagiousness of these ideas to spread during difficult economic times (Despite the Marxist theories that denounce religion, Marxism, like a religion, is not backed by science and its strength depends entirely on the number of its faithful followers). Ideologically speaking, Communism is supposed to be a perfect system where there is no official government and everybody owns everything. In reality, however, Communism is more along the lines of turning an entire nation into one, great big ant colony with the centralized government acting as the ant colony queen. Everybody lives and sacrifices solely for the greater needs of the nation. Individualism and ownership is completely nullified and replaced with the morality of altruism (Sacrificing oneself for the good of others). Altruism, by its own definition and ideology, seems noble. In Communist reality, however, it means sacrificing one's life so that other members of a famished society can cannibalize your corpse (Yes, that's what I said. I'll touch more on that in Part 3). Lenin and his Bolshevik supporters understood the works of Karl Marx well and did exactly as Marx's theories suggested. During this critical moment in Russian history, the divided nation of inhabitants, the hopelessness of the working class, the economic disaster, the ongoing war, and the weak Provisional Government sewed the perfect environment for spreading Marxist ideals. The great social experiment of Marxism in Russia was about to begin.
Lenin made his way into Petrograd where he quickly began his work riling the masses of Russia and gaining a growing support of the Russian proletariat. He damned the Provisional Government as it was represented primarily by upper class members of the bourgeoise and would only oppress the people as if they were under Czar rule. The people ate it up. He made promises to the people, promised them land, promised them ownership, promised to end the war with Germany, and justified the decision to abandon Russia's allies. It is believed that Lenin's speeches and public ignition caused mass riots agaist the Provisional Government forces in Petrograd. These were known as "The July Days" where people rioted in anti-war protests and died in the streets at the hands of Provisional militants. Kerensky and the rest of the Provisional officials branded Lenin a German sympathizer and ordered for his arrest. Lenin escaped across the border to Finland where he continued to command his Bolshevik movements. Lenin and his primary followers, Stalin and Trotsky, organized efforts for a coup d'etat (sudden, illegal deposition of government), which would later happen in November. Kerensky received reports from his followers regarding this coup, but chose to take no action against it. Kerensky was preoccupied trying to achieve unity between the irreconcilable left and right winged committees along with helping Russian allies with the war effort. In the meantime, the war continued, the economy continued to decline, and the people grew exhausted; thick with hopelessness. The Bolshevik movement rapidly gained more support under these conditions. Revolutionary propaganda was published in the newspapers, which were edited exlusively by Stalin, and were widely read throughout the Russian population. On the morning of November 7, 1917 the Bolshevik's staged a coup d'etat that overthrew the Provisional Government. Kerensky fled Russia and escaped to England where he remained in exile. Eventually Kerensky moved to New York City where he later died. The Russian State was now at the hands of Lenin and his Bolshevik Lieutenants: Stalin and Trotsky. The Russian people finally got the change they've been fighting for. If they only knew...
- JSR
- JSR
Part III: The Life of the Soviets, the Spread of Communism, & Closing Arguments
Reference
Halliday, E. M., & Black, C. E. (1967). Russia in Revolution. American Heritage Publishing Co.
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