Russian Revolution 1917: Bolsheviks Seize Power

The February Revolution of 1917: The Fall of Tsarism

On February 23, 1917, a large demonstration took place in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), followed by a general strike and riots in the barracks. Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, and a republic was proclaimed. It was headed by a provisional government, which promised to convene constituent elections to make Russia a parliamentary democracy. The new government, dominated by bourgeois parties (Kadets and Socialist Revolutionaries), initiated a series of political and social reforms. However, they also decided to remain committed to their allies in the war. This made it difficult to improve the living conditions of the population and implement the planned agrarian reform.

Popular discontent grew, and the Soviets, who wanted to withdraw from the war, began to demand the impeachment of the government. The forces that had joined to end the Tsar's government began to separate, and a duality of power emerged that challenged the provisional government and the Soviets.

The October Revolution Brings the Bolsheviks to Power

By then, most Soviets supported the Bolsheviks. Their leader, Vladimir Lenin, returned to Russia from exile and published his new ideas in the April Theses. He wanted to establish a government of Soviet workers and peasants and sign a peace treaty with Germany. He advocated distributing land among peasants, giving workers control of factories, nationalizing banks, and recognizing the nationalities of the Russian Empire.

The Bolsheviks, with the support of the Soviets, created their own armed militia, the Red Guard, and prepared for an insurrection on October 25, 1917. The rebels occupied Petrograd, took the Winter Palace, and overthrew the provisional government. The revolution quickly spread to Moscow and the industrial regions.

The Second Congress of the Soviets of all Russia, which met in Petrograd, proclaimed a worker's government led by Lenin, which included Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. In November 1917, elections were held for the Constituent Assembly, convened by the provisional government. The Bolsheviks obtained only 25% of the seats, although they obtained a majority in cities and industrial regions. Fearing that the groups that opposed the revolution could take over the Duma, Lenin dissolved the Assembly and put an end to political pluralism in the new Soviet Russia.

The First Revolutionary Measures and the Civil War

The new government decreed the first revolutionary measures: land was expropriated to distribute it among the peasants, and the workers' committees received control of the factories. In the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany (1918), Russia accepted territorial losses in exchange for peace.

In early 1918, those who supported the return of Tsarism (landowners, army officers, and privileged groups) or the maintenance of a liberal political system (the bourgeoisie) took up arms against the Soviet government. With the help of French, British, Japanese, and American troops, the White Army faced the Red Army, organized by Trotsky and the Bolsheviks.

The Aftermath of the Civil War

The Soviet civil war lasted three years and brought great misery to the people, who suffered food shortages and a large number of casualties. In 1921, the Red Army won the war. The conflict had contributed significantly to the tightening of the Soviet regime.