CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES Revolution in Russia and the Formation of the Soviet Union The Russian Revolution often refers to two events that took place in 1917. The first, known as the February Revolution, forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate and led to the formation of a provisional government. During the second event, commonly known as the October Revolution or Bolshevik Revolution, Vla- dimir Lenin’s Bolshevik Party seized power and began seven decades of one-party rule. Some scholars and Soviet critics have argued that the second event was actually a coup by Lenin and his supporters and not a true revolution. The Russian Empire in 1914. Date confusion—The February Revolution actually In the early 1900s, cracks were beginning to appear in the tsar’s control took place in early March. Because the Russian Em- over the Russian Empire. An attempted revolution in 1905, which saw pire followed the Julian Calendar, which is 13 days mass worker strikes and peasant revolts, shook the monarchy and forced behind the Gregorian Calendar, the events are referred Tsar Nicholas II to implement political reform, including the establishment to as the February Revolution. Likewise, the October of a parliament and a new constitution. Revolution actually took place in early November. Reform temporarily quieted the unrest, but the new policies proved inef- Soviet—The word means “council” in Russian. Soviets fective and the parliament, known as the State Duma, was largely unable were workers’ councils made up of various socialist to override the Tsar’s decrees. parties at the end of the Russian Empire. After seizing When World War I broke out in 1914, the tsar enthusiastically entered the control, Bolsheviks banned all other political parties. Russian Empire into the conflict to fight against Germany and the Austro- The soviets governed the republics that emerged from Hungarian Empire. The war proved popular in its first months throughout the Russian Civil War, thus the name “Soviet Union.” much of the empire, but enthusiasm soon gave way to unrest as the Im- perial Russian Army suffered heavy losses and humiliating retreats in a Bolsheviks—The radical socialist party that seized conflict against the better equipped and better trained armies of the in- control during the October Revolution. The Marxist dustrialized nations to the west. Russian Social Democratic Labor Party split in 1903, forming the Bolsheviks (derived from the word Protests and workers’ strikes broke out, especially in the capital, Petro- grad (known as St. Petersburg until it was renamed in 1914 to sound less “bolshinstvo,” meaning majority) and the more moder- German). The growing unrest and opposition to the war overwhelmed ate Mensheviks (minority). domestic politics as food shortages became common and the army suf- fered defeat after defeat against Germany and the Central Powers. On March 8, 1917, as loyalists began abandoning the embattled mon- arch, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, ending nearly 300 years of rule by the Romanov family. A provisional government entered a power-sharing agreement with workers’ councils, known as “soviets,” which had formed in cities throughout the country during the unrest. Updated: June 2017 February Revolution protests in Russia. Throughout the spring and summer of 1917, the workers councils, or soviets, and the provisional government jockeyed for power and influence over the empire. The more moderate parties of the provisional government, which largely represented the country’s middle class, struggled to find support among workers and peasants, Traditional Ukrainian Easter Eggs who tended to support the socialist parties that made up the soviets. In the soviets, radical socialist parties were gaining momentum. In the summer, the moderate Socialist Revolutionaries were the largest faction, followed by the moderate Mensheviks, and then the Bolsheviks—the most radical socialist party. Vladimir Lenin addresses a crowd during the October But by autumn, Bolsheviks were gaining support among soldiers and others who Revolution of 1917. were becoming increasingly frustrated with the ongoing economic crisis and the provisional government’s refusal to withdraw from the war. Brest-Litovsk Treaty—The treaty that ended hostilities between Russia and the Central In the early morning hours of November 7 (October 25 in the Julian Calendar), Powers. Russia was forced to surrender large Bolsheviks, supported by armed militia members, surrounded government build- parts of its former imperial territory, something ings in Petrograd and captured the Winter Palace, forcing members of the provi- Lenin called “dismemberment.” sional government to abandon their posts. Many of the of the provisional govern- Soviet Union—Established in 1922, the Union ment leaders were arrested. of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was ini- tially composed of four nominally independent A congress of soviets convened to vote on the actions of the Bolsheviks. Socialist republics: The Russian Soviet Federative So- Revolutionaries and Mensheviks refused to participate. Nevertheless, the Bolshe- cialist Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist viks set up a new Russian government with Lenin as its chairman and Leon Trot- Republic (SSR), the Byelorussian SSR, and sky as foreign minister. Believing they could consolidate power through a nation- the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Sovi- wide vote, the Bolsheviks held an election to choose members of a new Russian et Republic. By the end of World War II, the Constituent Assembly, but they came in second to the Socialist Revolutionaries, Soviet Union would consist of 15 republics. who gained a clear majority. Shortly after its first meeting in early 1918, Lenin or- dered the assembly dissolved and declared the soviets the sole leadership of the Petrograd—Known as St. Petersburg until country. Opposition parties were banned later that year. 1914, Petrograd was the capital of the Rus- sian Empire and the Russian Republic. The capital was moved to Moscow in 1918 to make it more difficult for foreign and White Army forces to reach the Bolshevik government. The Orthodox Church—The dominant reli- gion in the Russian Empire. When Bolsheviks seized control, they declared Russia a secular state. Religious persecution became wide- spread in the ensuing years and churches were burned in the frenzy. More resources for USEFUL LINKS educators are available CIA World Factbook: on the Henry M. Jackson School of International BBC Country Page: Studies website. National Geographic: Kyiv Post English News CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES When the tsar abdicated in March 1917, the Russian Empire was replaced by a quickly formed Russian Republic, which was only officially declared in September. Following the Bolshevik takeover in the autumn, the country was renamed the Rus- sian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Traditional Ukrainian Easter Eggs By early 1918 the new Bolshevik leadership was desperate to end Russia’s partici- pation in the disastrous world war. The Bolsheviks hastily signed a truce with Ger- many and the Central Powers, known as the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Although it stopped the bloodshed, Russia was forced to surrender huge swaths of the former empire’s territory, including Poland, the Baltics, Ukraine, and Georgia. By late spring unrest was again enveloping Russia and opposition to Bolshevik rule was growing. Moderates, liberals, army officers, and supporters of the monarchy began to organize, soliciting support from abroad. Violence began to break out as pockets of resistance to Bolshevik control took up arms. In July Russia’s new leaders, anxious to consolidate power and forever bury the House of Romanov, gathered Nicholas II and his family and shot them in the base- Was the October Revolution a revolution or a ment of the home where they were being held under house arrest. The execution- coup? Discuss the difference and ask stu- ers attempted to destroy their remains and buried them unceremoniously in a forest dents to debate whether the event classifies near Yekaterinburg. as a revolution. When Germany was defeated by the Allied Powers in November 1918, Bolshevik What caused the Russian Civil War? Discuss forces, known as the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, attempted to recapture the factors that led to years of violence territories lost during the war. The Red Army fanned out across Russia and its for- throughout the former Russian Empire. mer territories to try and wrest control from nationalists and the White Army, a loose alliance of monarchists, moderates, and others opposed to Bolshevik rule. Could the Soviet Union have avoided one- party rule? War raged until 1922, leading to the deaths of more than 7 million people, most of How were the Russian Revolutions viewed in them civilians. After the Red Army defeated the White Army and recaptured some the West? What was the legacy of the Octo- of the Russian Empire’s former territories, including Ukraine and Georgia, the war ber Revolution in the United States? ended. However, Bolsheviks were unable to gain control of Poland and the Baltics, which remained independent until World War II. At the end of the war, Lenin and the Bolshevik leadership signed a new constitution “October: Ten Days That Shook the World.” that cut up Russia’s territories into a federation of four nominally independent so- — 1928 Silent film by Soviet filmmaker Sergei cialist republics to be led by soviets represented exclusively by members of the Eisenstein. Communist Party. The Soviet Union was born. McMeekin, Sean. The Russian Revolution: A Foreign powers, including Britain and the United States, had attempted to intervene New History.” Basic Books, 2017. in the Russian Civil War on the side of the anti-Bolshevik White forces. Thus, rela- tions between the victorious Bolsheviks and Western powers were complicated from the start. Britain established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1924. The United States waited until 1933. More resources for USEFUL LINKS educators are available on the Henry M. Jackson CIA World Factbook: School of International BBC Country Page: Studies website.