As a result of the World War I catastrophe the people of St Petersburg took to the streets and forced the tsar to abdicate. Lenin seized the opportunity to take power, and a bloody civil war followed.
Background
In 1914 Russia eagerly entered World War I against Germany and Austria-Hungary. That decision had catastrophic social and economic results for Russia.
State and society
By abdicating the throne, Tsar Nicholas II had made all the Russian people free overnight. There was of course joy and freedom in the air. At that time, all means of government were equally possible for Russia.
It was decided that the general elections would be held as soon as possible and the Constituent Assembly would then decide whichever form of government was best for Russia. Until then, power would be in the hands of the Provisional Government formed by the Duma.
After the October Revolution the entire system of state governing was revised according to Lenin’s theory. The Council of People’s Commissars was the executive power during the whole revolution.
8-12 March 1917
What was originally a peaceful Women’s Day demonstration in Petrograd grew into a general strike and mutiny. Tsar Nicholas II had no other choice but to abdicate
Background
A cold winter, World War I and the shortage of food brought people to the streets of Petrograd. Rumours about Grigory Rasputin and the Tsarina’s secret German connections led people to blame the Romanov family personally for all their sufferings.
February Revolution
The 8 March 1917 peaceful Women’s Day demonstration was ordered to be shot at and the army refused. First the Cossacks, then the regular army, and finally the army’s elite troops, the sailors of Kronstadt, changed sides.
Nicholas II was at the Mogilev garrison in Belarus. After a few days he decided to take his imperial train to the capital. The train was not even allowed to enter the capital by the revolutionaries. The tsar was cut off from the rest of the world in the middle of nowhere.
The Duma presented him an ultimatum to abdicate. Nine out of 10 of the tsar’s generals sent him telegrams in which they strongly recommended abdication. It is debated that the Duma and the Russian military elite might have made some sort of agreement prior to these events to get rid of the tsar.
Nicholas II abdicated
On 15 March 1917 Nicholas II abdicated. He also abdicated in the name of his son Alexey. His brother Mikhail also refused the throne. The 304 years of the Romanov dynasty had come to an end. The people of Russia felt liberated.
March-Oct 1917
Between the February Revolution and the October Revolution, Russia was governed by two concurrent governments: the liberal Provisional Government and the radical Petrograd Soviet.
Provisional Government
The deputies of the Duma elected the Provisional Government immediately after Nicholas II abdicated. Its role was to delegate power from the tsar to the Constituent Assembly, which was to be elected in the near future. It was led by Prince Georgy Lvov.
Petrograd Soviet
The Petrograd Soviet was the representative body of the workers and soldiers of Petrograd. It was led by Leon Trotsky and was opposed to the Provisional Government in every respect.
The Provisional Government had a better means to exercise power but the Petrograd Soviet actually had more support from the people.
Events
The Provisional Government proved to be incapable of governing and faced a series of crises.
In July 1917 new Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky managed to suppress the July Days uprising of the Soviets and Kronstadt sailors. Lenin and his conspirators had to go into hiding.
In August 1917 the Kornilov Affair counter-attack from the military supreme commander threatened Kerensky too. He turned to the Petrograd Soviet, which was now under the control of the Bolsheviks, for help and gave them arms.
Lenin decided it was time to take power by force.
7-8 Nov 1917
A silent bloodless coup led by the Bolsheviks in Petrograd at night. The outcome was the world’s first socialist state where Lenin’s ideas were tested on the Russian people
Background
After Kerensky had enabled the Bolsheviks to obtain over 40,000 rifles, Lenin called for a military uprising. The Bolsheviks established their garrison in the Smolny Palace, and Leon Trotsky began conducting the preparations.
October Revolution
The 7-8 November Revolution was actually a silent takeover of strategic points in Petrograd during the night. Hardly any military opposition was faced.
The next morning the battleship Aurora fired a few blank shots at the Winter Palace to threaten the Provisional Government. The Palace was taken over and the ministers imprisoned in Peter and Paul’s Castle. Kerensky managed to escape.
Soviet Congress
Lenin rushed to complete the coup before the next Soviet Congress that was scheduled to take place the next day.
The Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, who were the other two political parties in the Petrograd Soviet, said they wanted nothing to do with the unlawful siege of power.
To Lenin’s’ surprise, they walked away from the Congress leaving the Bolsheviks to form the new government alone.
1918-1921
The Russian Civil War saw more casualties than World War I. It was the bloodiest military conflict on Russian soil. The extremely brutal White Terror was opposed to the equally brutal Red Terror.
Background
The first step for the Bolsheviks after gaining power was to get out of World War I. In March 1918 the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty was signed. Ukraine, Finland, the Baltic states and Poland were lost.
Many anti-Bolshevik generals and Cossacks started gathering armies. This militarization was called the White Movement. They were confronted by the newly established Red Army.
Intervention
When World War I came to an end, Russia’s former allies joined their forces to finish the Bolshevik power. Altogether 200,000 foreign troops were brought to Russia.
The commander-in-chief of the Whites in Siberia was Admiral Alexander Kolchak. Commanders Denikin and Wrangel attacked from the south. In October 1919 General Yudenich tried to capture Petrograd, but the attack failed only 50 km away.
The Red Army was commanded by Leon Trotsky. Other notable generals were Antonov-Ovseyenko, Frunze, Tukhachevsky and Budyonny.
The lowest point for the Reds was June-October 1919 when 86% of the territory was in the hands of the Whites. The Reds were in charge of the industrial heartland and the unorganized Whites were unable to break through. The Allies slowly pulled back their forces by November 1920.
Results
Total casualties are estimated at 13 million people. They died on the battlefield, of disease, of War-Communism (confiscation of food at gunpoint) and hunger.
