Bolshevik Criticisms of Tsarist Russia

Bolshevik Criticisms of Tsarist Russia

At the beginning of the 19th century, Russia functioned under an

autocratic monarchical system. The monarch at this time was Tsar

Nicholas II, who lacked the leadership skills of his father and was

unintelligent although some historians believe that he was a

"conscientious hard worker". He had autocratic power over the country

and he had the final word on all matters. Around this time, Marxism

was growing across Europe. This has been largely accredited to the

increase in heavy industry in this period. The Bolshevik party

practiced a particular brand of Marxism. They believed that Russia

wasn't ready for a proletarian revolution yet and that a small group

of dedicated revolutionaries - the Bolsheviks - would have to lead the

workers in revolution.

Russia was an autocratic state at the turn of the century. This didn't

please the Bolsheviks as they believed that the proletariat should

rule themselves and that everyone should be provided for according to

need not ability. The fact that a few people owned most of the land in

Russia went against this Marxist principle and disgusted the

Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks didn't believe in the state and the

strongly hierarchical system they lived in. They believed that the

purpose of the "state" and all hierarchical systems was to allow one

class to oppress another - in this case the bourgeoisie oppressing the

proletariat. Marx called this the "superstructure".

Tsar Nicholas II in particular was also intensely disliked by the

Bolsheviks. He was conservative even for a tsar and opposed reform

constantly. He used the secret police, the Okhrana, to suppres...

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...eve that, even at the time of

the October Revolution, most peasants were not against the tsar. This

is why the Bolsheviks believed that they had to lead the revolution.

The Bolsheviks had many criticisms of tsarist Russia, mainly concerned

with the structure of society and their involvement in the war. All of

these criticisms can be traced back to their belief in Marxism. By

understanding the principles of Marxism, such as internationalism, we

can understand the rationale behind their criticisms, such as their

anti-war stance. However, by studying Marxism, we can see that the

Bolsheviks believed in the inevitability of the proletarian

revolution. This means that they weren't as concerned as it might be

thought about current conditions as they knew that the revolution

would happen sometime, it was just a case of when.