Russian Revolution: The Russian Revolution occurred in November 1917 (October on the Russian calendar), when Bolshevik forces

took over the government offices in petrograd. However this was not the first of such unrests in Russia, and would not be the last, as social unrest and tension had been building for generations. The revolutions consequences were farreaching, not least being that the Communist Party remained in power until 1991. The Tsarist autocratic regime had been the established form of government since 1613, and had ruled the lower classes through fear and oppression. Throughout the 19th Century Russia went through cycles of repression and reform, as feelings of resentment grew due the harsh conditions. This meant that there was a base of social discontent that, with the help of more organised resistance in future years, would lead to the Russian Revolution. Before the revolution, Czar Nicholas II ruled Russia, and it was in part due to his weak leadership that the Revolution was successful. Nicholas clung to autocracy despite changing times, and as Western and Liberalist ideas began to spread through the country, he and his ministers had to concede to demands as unrest grew. Two main groups that believed in a worker-run government to replace Czarist rule were the Social Democrats and the Social Revolutionaries. The Social Revolutionaries were formed in 1898 by Lenin and believed in Marxism, and were a main cause of the Revolution because it was a division of this political group, the Bolsheviks, that organised the workers to revolt in Petrograd that November. The social unrest these groups were able to mix into a revolution was mainly due to poor working conditions, low wages, and the hazards of industrialisation, which was a main cause mainly for workers in big cities such as Petrograd. These conditions had not improved when Russia was defeated in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The consequent drain on resources and the Treaty of Portsmouth, meant that food was even scarcer, and the Tsarist government had become even more unpopular, especially among peasants who, though not usually concerned with politics, were especially affected when there was no food. This social unrest lead to the tragedy of Bloody Sunday, where the massacre of some 200,000 unarmed protesters in a march organised by George Gapon took place outside the palace in Petrograd. Conditions got even worse after the devastation of World War One, which resulted in high casualties, economic ruin, and widespread hunger throughout Russia. The terrible situation in Russia lead to the March revolution in 1917, in which soldiers who were brought in for crowd control ultimately joined labour activists who called Down with the autocracy!, and was the lead up towards the Russian Revolution in November that very same year. The consequences of the Russian Revolution in November 1917, was firstly that the government was immediately taken over by the Bolshevik Party, led by Lenin. This would later be known as the Communist Party, which would have a strict reign later in Russias future. As the Bolsheviks had promised, a consequence of their successful revolution was that farmland was distributed among farmers, and the control of factories were given to workers. Banks were nationalised, and a National Council was assembled to run the economy. As the Bolsheviks gained control, they saw no reason to continue to participate in the war, and so pulled out of WWI. However they had to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and so had to concede much land to Germany. Bloody consequences of Communist control over Russian however were yet to come. Once the Bolsheviks took power, the Czarist rule was ended, and Nicholas was forced to abdicate his throne. However Tsarist forces were still fighting against the Bolsheviks, and in fear of them being rescued and used as a rallying point, Nicholas II and his five children were executed. The Bolsheviks did not have a clean takeover however, and thus Civil War ensued between the Bolshevik (reds) and anti-Bolshevik (whites) forces. The resultant fighting swept Russia from 1918 to 1920, and around 15 million died in the conflict and the resultant famine. A further consequence of the lack of control was that the Russian economy fell into shambles; industrial production dropped, trade all but ceased, and skilled workers fled the country in search for security and better conditions. The remaining people of Russia were further brutalised by Lenins methods of control. For example the Gulag, a vast and brutal network of prison camps for both criminals and political prisoners, was used to silence any opposition to Communist rule. This was the beginning of the ruthless

Communist control, under leaders such as Stalin, which would control the country and treat with brutality any opposition for years to come. The Russian Revolution is a major part of Russias history, and the causes and consequences of this event are farreaching. Russia has a history of social unrest and autocratic control, and the November revolution in 1917 is one of many that shaped Russia today.