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Industrialization in Russia from 1917
industrial revolution in russia
economic changes of the russian revolution
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Recommended: Industrialization in Russia from 1917
The Russian Revolution
Here are some of the causes of the Russian Revolution in March 1917:
~Failures in the War
~The mutiny in the Army
~The Tsarina and Rasputin
~Food Shortages
~Strikes
PREFACE:
In 1904 The Tsar of Russia (Nicholas II) embarked on a war with Japan, hoping for a quick and glorious victory that would unite the country, decrease support for the Tsar's opponents and gain control over Korea and Manchuria. Unfortunately for the Tsar, the Japanese were well prepared, both industrially and military. The Japanese crushed the Russian army and destroyed most of it's fleet. Damaged both militarily and industrially, Russia had to sign a peace treaty. In 1905 the Tsar crushed the attempted revolution using the army that was loyal to him. In 1914, Russia entered the WWI, unprepared in any way it suffered countless losses and therefore all the problems that existed increased and new problems occurred.
1) FOOD SHORTAGES
Food shortages frustrated the people and soldiers more and more as prices were rising dramatically. Food shortages were a result of two main reasons. One was that Russia's population was around 130 million (and growing) at that time there fore a lot of food was needed to support such a large population, even though Russia was large enough to easily fit that amount of population, `most of it's farm land was unsuitable for farming`1, this shows that farm land often became overcrowded and farmers demanded more land. Russian farmers were `using ancient farming techniques`2 so one farmer had very little land and he used ancient farming techniques and so this dramatically minimized his productivity. `The population had increased by 50 per cent between 1860 and 1897 and was still gr...
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...ced to abdicate.
Once the public found out that there was no one to shoot at them, strikes increased as the people who were afraid of getting shot at joined the strikers. Now the Tsar had no support of the population or the Army and therefore was forced to abdicate on the 15th of March 1917.
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Bibliography:
AUTHOR TITLE OF BOOK/WEBSITE PLACE OF PUBLICATION DATE OF PUBLICATION PAGE/S
Downey Tony andNigel SmithFiehn TerryMacdonald HamishMurray JohnNigel KellyWilloughby Susan Russia and the USSR 1900-1995Oxford HistoryRussia and the USSR1905-1941Russia and the USSR;Empire of RevolutionModern World HistoryRussia and the USSR1905-1956Heinemann HistoryThe Russian RevolutionHeinemann Historywww.bbc.co.uk/education/modern/russia/russihtm.htm#q1 OXFORDLONDONLONDONLONDONOXFORDOXFORD 199619961994199619961995 p12p2,p6,p32p36,p37p78,p84
For centuries, autocratic and repressive tsarist regimes ruled the country and population under sever economic and social conditions; consequently, during the late 19th century and early 20th century, various movements were staging demonstrations to overthrow the oppressive government. Poor involvement in WWI also added to the rising discontent against Nicholas as Russian armies suffered terrible casualties and defeats because of a lack of food and equipment; in addition, the country was industrially backward compared to countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and the USA. It had failed to modernize, this was to do with the tsars lack of effort for reforms. The country was undergoing tremendous hardships as industrial and agricultural output dropped. Famine and poor morale could be found in all aspects of Russian life. Furthermore, the tsar committed a fatal mistake when he appointed himself supreme commander of the armed forces because he was responsible for the armies constant string of defeats.
Moss, W., 2014. A History of Russia Volume 2: Since 1855. 1st ed. London, England: Anthem Press London, pp.112-113.
... food making it into the cities and towns and the little food that was already there was now overly expensive due to inflation. There was trouble in the countryside, peasants had started demanding land in order to grow their own food to survive. The people in Russia were fed up with how things were going and were ready for a revolution.
In 1917, Russia was rocked by a series of revolutions, following the end of World War I. The country experienced great economic difficulties and famine, and the people became dissatisfied with the Tsarist rule. Tsar Nicholas II of the Romanov dynasty was abdicated, and on July 17th, he and his family, along with several servants were executed by the Bolsheviks.
The Russian Revolution took place during difficult time in Russia. These troubles began before World War I and lasted up until 1930's. Russia's population was made up of mostly poor, starving peasants. A small working and middle class began to rise to help industrialize Russia. But a corrupt government made it difficult for Russia to advance. This added to the turmoil. World War I placed a serious hurt on Russia. Although at first it raised national pride and enthusiasm, it quickly drained resources and poorly trained peasants quickly found themselves fighting with no weapons. This war sent over 2 million Russians to their death in 1915 alone. Turning points for the Russian revolution were the March Revolution, the November Revolution and Stalin coming to power.
I recollect as a child how I cherished the way my mom took care of me and made all my executive decisions. I recall getting excited about my weekly allowances and about her picking out my clothes for school. However, when I became a teenager I wanted my independence. I know longer wanted her to buy my clothing and I wanted to financially support myself by getting a job. I was so tired of her telling me what to do and how to do it that I revolted. At first it was difficult trying to establish independence in my mother's house, but after a while it seemed as if I had won the battle. Unbeknownst to me that battle would be short-lived and ultimately my mom won the war. Basically, I had constructed my own crazy revolution against my mother. You see a revolution is “a fundamental change in political organization; especially: the overthrow or renunciation of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed .Activity or movement designed to affect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation (Webster Dictionary).”One revolution that is said to have inspired communism was the Russian Revolutions of 1917.
The Russian revolution of February 1917 was a momentous event in the course of Russian history. The causes of the revolution were very critical and even today historians debate on what was the primary cause of the revolution. The revolution began in Petrograd as “a workers’ revolt” in response to bread shortages. It removed Russia from the war and brought about the transformation of the Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, replacing Russia’s monarchy with the world’s first Communist state. The revolution opened the door for Russia to fully enter the industrial age. Before 1917, Russia was a mostly agrarian nation. The Russian working class had been for many years fed up with the ways they had to live and work and it was only a matter of time before they had to take a stand. Peasants worked many hours for low wages and no land, which caused many families to lose their lives. Some would argue that World War I led to the intense downfall of Russia, while others believe that the main cause was the peasant unrest because of harsh living conditions. Although World War I cost Russia many resources and much land, the primary cause of the Russian Revolution was the peasant unrest due to living conditions because even before the war began in Russia there were outbreaks from peasants due to the lack of food and land that were only going to get worse with time.
In 1905 , Russia had a prerevolution that was put down of the Czar. Instead of learning from this prerevolution, Czar Nicholas II, made a very big mistake by in not introducing some reforms to correct the problems. So because of his actions, the situation grew worse. In 1917, the Russians were fighting in World War I. A good majority of the Russian people were weary and uncontent with the way the war was going and with the Czar's rule. This uncontent along with economic hardships caused riots and demonstrations to break out. The Czar called for the army to put down the revolution as they did in 1905. But the army joined the revolt and the Czar was kicked out of power soon afterwards. A temporary government was set up to decide on what kind of government Russia was gonna set up. Two political parties were set up. The Bolsheviks were one of the two. The leader of the Bolshevik party was a man named Lenin. Lenin was a firm believer of the theories and ideas of Karl Marx. So with his slogan of "Bread, Peace and Land", Lenin gained the support of the peasants and gained control of Russia and setup a communist state.
...eeded in putting communism on the political map of the world. Governments across Europe and Latin America emulated Stalin and instituted their own brands of communism within their respective countries. Yet, what was to be the permanent revolution, has infected and affected the world for almost an entire century. Every year since 1917 has seen people in revolt. Economics, austerity, and political corruption have been the common causes of popular uprisings across the world, and whether the revolutions have been peaceful or violent, the result has nearly always been a change in the political structure and the redrawing of boundary lines. The continued presence of Russian-backed revolutions combined with the cries of the European people for independence and security reflect the ongoing influence of the Russian Revolution on the whole of Europe and, possibly, the world.
In 1917, two revolutions were involved in Russia, which terminated centuries of imperial ruling. The Russian revolution was made up of two revolutions, which the first one was in February, and the second one was in October.These revolutions started political, and social changes that lead to the creation of the Soviet Union. By March of 1917, Russia who became civil turned into turmoil, which caused constant food shortages.This turned into a revolt against Czar.By the year of 1917 lots of Russian citizens lost faith in their leader Czar Nicholas II. The citizens lost faith in Czar’s leadership due to the governments corruption, Russia’s economy, and Czar constantly affecting the success of the Duma ( the Russian legislative assembly established by Czar Nicholas II in 1905) .This impacted Russia in a disastrous way, which caused Czar Nicholas II to be overthrown.A few months later after Czar was overthrown, the new provisional government was overthrown by Bolsheviks. The first appearance of the Russian Revolution was in February 1917, due to the destructive involvement in World War I. The military and imperial side of Russia, could not compare to the industrialized Germany at the time. The costly war also made Russia’s economy decline in a major way. Word count: 207
The Russian Revolution was a turning point in history because it tried to use communism as its main principal. “Communism is the riddle of history solved, and it knows itself to be this solution” (Marx Quotes: Quotes from Karl Marx and Frederick Engels). In a communist society, everyone in that society receives equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. In a communist nation, there would be a classless society, and everyone would be happy to share their wealth. The government would own all means of production, and the government would redistribute the wealth from the rich to the poor. The Russian revolution started due to the lack of food in Russia, and the huge difference between the rich and the poor. The Russian people were also mad that Czar Nicholas II was keeping Russia in war. Thousands of Russian soldiers were being killed every week. At the end of the war, around 1,700,000 soldiers died (WWI Casualty and Death Tables). At least 1,500,000 Russians and possibly up to more than 5 million Russians were wounded. (WWI -- Russia).
In examining the comparison of the 1905 events with the similar situation in 1917, it is vital to look at the backdrop circumstances in order to directly compare the revolutions. The combination of the social disruptions generated by the Russo-Japanese War effort caused unrest and several uprisings to take place in the period 1904-1905. In 1905 Russian armies suffered repeated defeats in the Russo-Japanese war leading to low morale, food shortages and bread prices soaring throughout Russia. Discontentment lay the foundation to political ferment amongst the Proletariat. The mobilisation of the working class accompanied the war effort, revitalizing the threat of a strike movement such like the one in 1905. The circumstances that Russian society found themselves in, in 1905 can be directly compared to the situation of 1914-1917.
The Nature of Tsarism and the Policies of Nicholas II as the Cause for the Revolution of February in Russia 1917
The need to modernise in Russia was a problem that the tsar had to face between the years, at the time in question, Russia was very backwards in the way that it farmed its lands, its economy was behind that of the rest of Europe, this meant that action had to be taken, in this area the tsar did have some successes.
Exploring the October revolution and the establishment of communism, Richard Pipes concludes that the origin of communism can be traced back to the distant past in Russia’s history. Pipes states that Russia had entered a period of crisis after the governments of the 19th century undertook a limited attempt at capitalisation, not trying to change the underlying patrimonial structures of Russian society. (Pipes, 1964)