Russian October Revolution
...ed their protests from general individual strikes into one individual strike that brought the government to its knees. Soviets soon sprang up all over the country, nourished by the revolutionary fever, and linked up into a single, powerful “All-Russian Congress of Soviets.” With the support of the people, the Duma, a parliament with no real law making powers, appointed by the tsar for that very reason, actually had a real decision to make for the first time in their history. They could lead the revolution or be swept away by it. They decided on the latter option, for twelve of its members disobeyed the tsar and formed a provisional government, which demanded that the tsar should abdicate. The tsar still 500 kilometers away at the front, decided he would return to Petrograd to regain control of the situation, yet he was informed by his generals that they no longer supported him. The tsar had no choice but to abdicate. This March revolution, that drove the tsar from power, was executed by the Russian working class, with the belief that this was a revolution that would bring workers right persuaded them to transfer power to the Provisional Government. Great expectations were met with cruel disappointments. The Provisional Government failed to decree an eight-hour day despite demands by the nationally organized Soviet. The Provisional Government did nothing to redistribute the land and condemned the peasants who nevertheless seized it. The provisional government had also promised to rule until an election was held by the people to elect a constituent assembly. Yet the provisional government kept postponing elections for the promised Constituent Assembly. But perhaps worst of all the Provisional Government could not declare a peace. This was a major factor, that would lead to their downfall. Meanwhile there were rivals to power. In Petrograd, the council of workers, peasants and soldiers, called the Petrograd Soviet. They were Marxists, workers, trade unionists, who believed in Marxists ideas of a communist government. Carl Marx, a German philosopher, author of “Communist Manifesto,” predicted the overthrow of existing political and economic institutions by the working class. The soviet which included Bolshevik revolutionary communists wanted the workers to bind together in order to defend their rights. The Bolshevik party was led by Vladimir Lenin a Marxist Revolutionary. Lenin was in exile in Switzerland for a previous attempt of a revolution had made him a wanted man. But upon hearing of the March revolution, Lenin thought the time had come for him to return to Russia to start a revolution. Meanwhile the soviet declared Order No.1 stating that the Russian Army should not take orders from officers but from committees elected by each regiment. This was done in order to weaken the government's control of the army. This lack of control by the provisional government was added by the fact that the government wanted to continue to fight in the eastern front, while popular opinion favored an end to the war. The German's conscious that a revolution in Russia and the overthrow of the Provisional government, would bring an end to the war in the eastern front, so they could concentrate all their troops on the western front. For this reason the Germans provided Lenin with a sealed train that would not be inspected by police or customs officers, so Lenin could return to Russia. Most Russian Marxists were saying that the revolution where the working class would take control would come after a long period of time. Lenin could not wait that long. On April 1917, Lenin arrived at Finland Station in Petrograd. During his time in exile he had been planning a revolution on paper and knew exactly what to do. This moment in History, is considered one of the decisive moments in the History of the Twentieth Century, for things would never be the same again in the world, Lenin would start a revolution whose consequences would affect the whole world for many years to come. “In a speech to a meeting of Bolshevik leaders, he outlined a set of new policies for them to follow- the April theses.” He stated that there must be an immediate end to the war. Soldiers in the trenches must be convinced to desert. There must be no cooperation with the provisional government, for all power should go to the soviets. Industry must be put under worker's control, land must be nationalized and so should the banks. Many Bolshevik leaders believed that Lenin was being unrealistic, yet Lenin announced that “Peace, Bread and Land!” was what the people wanted. It was also what the provisional government could not or would not give them. If they could convince the people that they would give them what they wanted, then the masses would support the soviets and the Bolsheviks. “All power to the Soviets” was the new battle cry devised by Lenin for the people. When everything seemed to be going well, some things fell apart, for a major offensive in the war, led to miserable retreat. Then many mutinous soldiers, joined with workers on the streets of Petrograd announcing “All power to the Soviets!” Unfortunately this happened before the Bolsheviks were powerful enough and the government restored order to the streets with troops. With this excuse the government labeled the Bolsheviks as traitors and Lenin yet again had to go into exile this time to Finland. In September of 1917 the commander of the Russian Army, decided it was time to take over the country and restore order. He marched into Petrograd in order to take over the Provisional government. The provisional government's army could not match those of the Russian commander, so he turned for help towards the Red Guards, controlled by the Bolsheviks. Since the Russian Army refused to fight against the red guard, the uprising was controlled. This looked very good towards the Bolsheviks, for it was their army that stopped the uprising. By October 1917 the provisional government was doomed. It had tried to continue in the war and failed. It had tried to stop peasants from taking over their land and that led to anger from the peasants. Without the peasants support, the government could not provide food for the workers in the cities and this lost them the support of the workers. It was not a surprise that the Bolsheviks had little opposition in taking over the country. Lenin now believed that the time was right for them to finally seize power. He made his way back to Russia and devised a plan with the other Bolsheviks in order to take over. During the night of November 6, the Red Guards, led by Leon Trotsky, Lenin's right hand man, the Bolsheviks took over railways stations, bridges, banks and many other government buildings. On the evening of November 7 they stormed the Winter palace, meeting very little opposition. They took over and Kerensky, the leader of the provisional government, fled into exile. The Bolsheviks had taken over Russia and a new government was set up. Lenin considered the new government as “the Vanguard of the working people.” He said “Soviet power is a new type of state without a bureaucracy, without police, without a regular army, a state in which [wealthy class] democracy has been replaced with a new democracy, a democracy which brings to fore the vanguard of the working people, gives them legislative and executive authority, makes them responsible for military defense and creates state machinery that can re-educate the masses.” The ministers of the new government, called “commissars” to signal a new type of government official. ...