Analyze the impact that Russian Revolution had in

political, economical and sociological environment of the

country.
The Russian revolution took place in 1917 but needed almost forty years of preparation in
order to succeed and give birth to the first communist government in the world. Several factors
led to the revolution including political, economic and sociological.
In 1881 Alexander III "The Peacemaker" seizes power and becomes the czar. He decides to
end the reforms started by his father and as an autocratic ruler oppresses the Russian and nonRussian people by establishing secret police agents to monitor schools giving written reports on
what is taught to the students. Any non Russian living in Russia is treated harshly and
especially Jews who are targeted by government backed pogroms. He dies in 1894 and is
succeeded by Nicholas II in the same year who continuous his fathers autocratic ways.
Rapid industrialization reaches Russia in mid-1800 and through 1900 the number of factories
in the country is doubled. Also, in the late 1800s a plan to boost steel production is born and is at
its peak in 1891 when the future czar Nicholas inaugurates the construction of the Trans Siberian Railway, the longest continuous railway on the earth. By 1916 Russia had an
uninterrupted line from the Urals to Vladivostok. These rapid changes brought harsh working
conditions and minimal wages to the people creating the perfect ground to spawn a revolution.
During that time more and more working people started following the Marxist idea, they felt
that they (proletariats) should be in political control of their country thus creating the Bolsheviks.
The Bolsheviks where a small committed Marxist group who favored the revolution and also
welcomed any who would share their beliefs and wanted to join spreading their influence in the
factories. Sitting at the Bolsheviks leadership was Lenin.
After the loss in the Russo- Japanese war Russian people are in losing faith to the government
former Russian lands are captured by the Japanese. More unrest is caused after the Bloody
Sunday revolution of 1905 when a lot of people died in the hands of the military when they
amassed in front of the palace demanding reforms. The czar is forced to submit to the peoples
request and the first Duma is created in 1906. The final strike to the government was the losses
Russia sustained in the First World War causing the people to lose all faith to their current
leadership.
The revolution of March forces the czar to step down and pass temporary control to Duma who
loses control in November 1917 to the Bolsheviks. With Lenin in charge lands are given to the
peasants and factories are put under the control of their workers. When Lenin dies Stalin replaces
him as a dictator.

When the communist party took power through the revolution Lenin gave the
people factories and land and in 1921 he launches a new communist policy
with some subtle capitalism which in seven years makes Russia productive
again. Lenin also renamed the country to U.S.S.R because he created selfgoverning republics in one national government. The people are relieved and
free of the stress of dictatorship. When Stalin succeeds him he asserts total
control of everything creating a dictatorship again and creating a totalitarian
government resembling the one that was before the revolution. The way of
governance has some similarities with the czar dictatorship but Stalin took it
to another level. The secret police strikes terror to the peoples lives, he
attempts to shape peoples minds and beliefs through indoctrination,
propaganda and censorship. Again minorities, but religious and ethnic are
treated harshly and are branded enemies of the state much like what
Alexander III did with the non-Russians in the past. He leaves a blood trail of
13 million dead branded Stalins enemies in the Great Purge. The
government has control of every aspect of anybodys life living in Russia from
economical to education and food ratios. Stalin created a strong Soviet Union
but at a great cost. Human life was meaningless as opposed to the state and
the irony in this is that he was not consider a dictator but as the Communist
Party Leader. That means that he is the leader of the party that won the
revolution against the czar in 1917, the party that fought the dictator, which
fought for the peoples working rights, that same party was now responsible
for the creation of an even worst dictatorship than the czars.

Rosefielde, Stephen (1996). "Stalinism in Post-Communist Perspective: New Evidence on

Killings, Forced Labour and Economic Growth in the 1930s
Westwood, J. N. (1964). A History of Russian Railways. London: George Allen and Unwin LTD.
Felshtinsky, Yuri (2010). Lenin and His Comrades: The Bolsheviks Take Over Russia 1917
1924. Enigma Books.