What are the impacts of the RUSSIAN revolution
Introduction
The Russian revolution was a very impactful event on Russia, both politically, economically, and socially. After the Russian revolution was over, the autocratic rule of Czar ended. Instead, Russia became a Republican country, changing it's name to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
The government is taken over Bolshevik Party, lead by V. I. Lenin. This party would be later known as the communist party. The government is not a true communism, as the people are still ruled strictly by the government. Instead, Russia would become a totalitarian country, with the laws strictly enforced through force. |
Short Term impacts
After the Russian revolution, there are a number of short term changes to the country. The most notable of which are:
After the previous ruler of Russia was killed, and his power removed, there were several parties that wanted to come to power. One of which was a party called the Bolsheviks, which was founded by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov. They considered themselves to be the leaders of the working class of Russia, and believed in their version of socialism, which states that a government should leads the working class of Russia. In other words, the Bolsheviks believed in a totalitarian country. This party took over Russia when the Tsar was killed. Since there was a change in power, with the power now in the hands of the Communist Party, there has been significant changes to how the government rules the society. There is also a change in the government structure, becoming from a "autocratic" government to a "totalitarian" government. Because there is a change of how the country is ruled, there are changes of the country socially. The farmlands and the factories, which are previously owned by a higher class person, was redistributed and given to the farmers and workers. Furthermore, the banks are also nationalised, and are controlled by the government. There was also the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. This treaty allowed Russia to pull out of World War I, but it required Russia to give up land to Germany. One of the reasons that the Bolsheviks bid their time to sign the treaty, because there were other parties in Russia that would rebel against them. Furthermore, they believed that the United States of America and the British would also be annoyed by the fact that they backed out of the war. |
Long Term impacts
After the Russian revolution, there are a number of long term changes to the country. The most notable of which are:
Shortly after the Bolsheviks came into power, there came another group that also wanted power over Russia, the White movement. Because the white movement was unsatisfied with the Bolsheviks in power, their military unit, the White army, fought to regain control from the Bolsheviks and their military unit, the Red army. The Russian civil war lasted from 1917 to 1934, when the Red army finally defeated the White army. In 1919, the Red army defeated the White forces of South Russia in Ukraine, and the army lead by Aleksandr Kolchak in Siberia. After that, in 1920, the Red army defeated the rest of the White army in Crimea. There were also minor skirmishes between the remains of the White army and the Red army, which were not settled until 1934. Over the course of the civil war, approximately fifteen million people died. After the revolution, the Tsar, Nicholas II was captured, along with his family, and held in prison near St. Petersburg. They were then transported to the Ural mountains, and finally moved to the city of Ekaterinburg in 1918. There, they were kept in a village house that was taken by the Bolsheviks. The White army that opposed the Bolsheviks closed in on the city of Ekaterinburg, wanting to set free the prisoners. On July the seventh, 1918, in fear that the white army would soon reach the house, the Bolsheviks herded the entire family into a room and executed them. The totalitarian government's hold over the people is reinforced through something that was called the Gulag. The Gulag was a government agency that administrated labour camps in Soviet Russia. The first camp was created in 1918, and were active until 1950. The people that occupy such labour camps range from petty criminals to political prisoners, where most of them were prosecuted for minor mistakes. Such camps were different from the concentration camps in Nazi Germany, as they were not "death inducing camps”. |