A turning point in contemporary history, the Russian Revolution rocked the basis of the Russian Empire and helped the Soviet Union to grow. The revolution was a multifarious and complicated phenomena not fit for a single cause or event. Rather, it was the result of decades of social, political, and financial strains that at last erupted in 1917.
Deep-seated unhappiness among the Russian people with the Romanov dynasty, which had governed Russia for more than three hundred years, drove the revolution. The government was generally thought to be corrupt and repressive, and the tsars had long been perceived as disconnected from the needs and ambitions of the common people.
Russia had undergone fast industrialization and urbanisation in the years preceding the revolution, which had produced a new class of industrial workers growingly dissatisfied with their meagre pay and circumstances. Simultaneously, the nobility was perceived as profiting off the labourers and peasants while the latter were trying to survive on meagre areas of land.
Beginning in February 1917, the revolution started with a wave of strikes and demonstrations in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) resulting from a mix of economic difficulty, food shortages, and war fatigue. The tsarist government answered with force, but the demonstrations only escalated in scope and intensity until Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate.
Following the abdication of the tsar, the temporary administration battled to handle urgent issues; Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik Party saw a chance to get hold of power. Following a victorious revolution in October 1917, Lenin declared the founding of the first socialist state in the world.
Domestically as much as outside, the Russian Revolution had broad ramifications. Within Russia, it resulted in the nationalising of industry, the redistribution of land from the aristocracy to the peasants, and the creation of a one-party government. Globally, it motivated socialist and communist movements as well as helped the Soviet Union to become a major superpower.
Europe and the world were profoundly changed by the Russian Revolution, which also shaped the path of contemporary history in still felt ways.
Inspired by political and social transformation, the revolution set off a tsunami of socialist and communist movements throughout Europe. The takeover of power by the Bolsheviks in Russia energised leftist parties and trade unions all around, so establishing socialist governments in Germany, Austria, and Hungary.
International relations were also profoundly affected by the revolution, which helped the Soviet Union to become a world superpower. Signed in 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signalled Russia’s departure from World War I and the start of a new period of Soviet expansionism.
As people started to doubt the legitimacy of imperial powers, the Russian Revolution encouraged anti-colonial and nationalist movements all around. From China to Africa to Latin America, the revolution’s focus on self-determination and national sovereignty spoke to oppressed peoples everywhere.
The Russian Revolution profoundly affected society and culture as well, helping to shape the growth of modern music, literature, and art. From constructivism to Surralism, the avant-garde groups of the early 20th century owed a tribute to Russia’s revolutionary energy.
Ultimately, the Russian Revolution was a transforming event that changed Europe and the globe, motivated political and social transformation, and left a legacy in world relations, culture, and society.