Analyze the Impact That Russian Revolution Had in Political, Economical and Sociological Environment of the Country

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 non-Russian 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 father’s 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 1800’s 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 self-governing 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 people’s lives, he attempts to shape people’s 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 Stalin’s enemies in the “Great Purge”.  The government has control of every aspect of anybody’s 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 czar’s.