Bolshevik RevolutionI jacked this timeline from wikipedia, just to cite my sources fairly. All dates are from the Julian calendar: 1861- Emancipation of the [serfs].
1883 - First Russian Marxist group formed.
1894 - Start of reign of Nicholas II
1900 - Foundation of Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR)
1903 - Beginning of split between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.
1904-5 - Russo-Japanese War
1905 - Russian Revolution of [1905].
1906 - First State Duma. Prime Minister - Petr Stolypin. Agrarian reforms begin. There are 2 more State Dumas before:
1911 - Stolypin assassinated
1912 - Fourth State Duma, until 1917. Bolshevik - Menshevik split final
1914 - Germany declares war on Russia
1915 - Serious defeats, Nicholas II declares himself Commander in Chief.
1916 - Gregory Rasputin killed In 1917, there were two revolutions. The first displaced the last Tsar, Nicholas II and put into power a provisional government. This revolution, which took place in the beginning of the year, was led by the people because they were freakin' starving. The second revolution took place in the fall, and it was the Bolshevik Revolution. Under Vladimir Lenin’s leadership, the Bolsheviks in Petrograd took up the slogans "Bread, Land, Peace" and "All power to the Soviets." The current Prime Minister, Alexander Kerensky, feared a military coup from within the provisional government and began searching for support from anywhere he could, including the Bolsheviks. He made the mistake of freeing prominent Bolsheviks from prison, among them Leon Trotsky. Kerensky also killed or imprisoned most the upper echelon of army officers in an attempt to protect himself. During one day in November (or October, if you're Julian) the Bolsheviks troops, known as the [Red Guards], took power. They seized post and telegraph offices, electric works, railroad stations, and the state bank. They announced at the All Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies that the Bolsheviks were now in power, that Russia had left the war (although this was not official until a month later, at Brest-Litovsk). Oh yeah, in case you forgot, there was a World War going on. They also decreed several other socialist agenda points: - No compensation was to be given to landowners whose lands were confiscated, and all the nobilities' properties were confiscated.
- All private ownership of land was abolished (in the sense that rich peasants, industrialists, churches and monasteries could no longer consider land, livestock or buildings as theirs by law.)
- A resolution was put forward that defended "soldier’s rights" and enforced "complete democratization of the army."
- It was decreed that necessary means were to be taken to supply bread to the cities and articles of necessity to the villages.
- All local power would be transferred to workers’ and peasants’ councils – the soviets – which were to have the responsibility of enforcing "revolutionary order."
- Anti-Jewish pogroms or incidents were declared illegal.
- All nationalities that had been under tsarist rule were to enjoy the freedom of self-determination.
- Rather than the old Bolshevik position that all land should be socialized, Lenin announced [Peasant Proprietorship].
- They promised that the Soviet government would conduct all negotiations in the light of day before the people.
- They promised to publish all of the secret treaties to which Russia had been a party.
- It was decreed that all newspapers hostile to the revolution would be closed – because, it was said, newspapers were under the control of wealthy persons who should be prevented from "poisoning and confusing" the minds of the masses.
- Also, an eight-hour work-day was decreed.
A few days later, Kerensky returned to Petrograd with a small army to try and retake the government, but his forces were defeated soundly 10 miles away from the city. Although they had agreed on electing a Constituent Assembly to act as the basis for the new government, Lenin postphoned the election, then the convening of this assembly. When it did eventually meet, it was dispersed by Soviet militias and Lenin explained this away by saying that "the people" would have eventually realized the assembly was against them. Actually, it was against the Bolsheviks, because "the people" had elected only a quarter of the assembly to be Bolsheviks. When the Eastern Orthodox Church declared its non-support of them, the Bolsheviks declared the separation of church and state. They didn't take rejection well. After the revolution, there were many groups that did not agree with the Bolsheviks' rule. These groups were very diverse and included monarchists, conservatives, liberals, socialists, and anarchists. They were referred to collectively as the "Whites" while the Bolsheviks were called the "Reds". A civil war broke out between these two groups, and the Whites looked like they would win at first. They had international backing from countries like the USA and the UK, and they controlled a larger portion of the country than the Reds. The Germans were also supporting the Whites by advancing slowly towards Petrograd, despite the Brest- Litovsk treaty. However, the Reds controlled the main cities in the central area and did not lose them. Another key to their victory was that the majority of the Red Guards felt they were fighting for Communism, for a cause which would change the world. Their enemies had no such uniting ideal, and primarily just didn't want the Bolsheviks. Some effects of the Bolshevik Revolution: - Russia became Communist. Yay.
- They reinstated the death penalty. Some Bolsheviks felt it was a hold-over from tsar-ist times (ah, the good old days... last year). However Lenin had favored it, asking how you can have a revolution without shooting people.
- The New Economic Policy. Capitalism, Lenin said, must come to the revolution's aid so that he could destroy it later.
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