This day marks the 105th anniversary of the October Revolution, one of the greatest uprising in world history. When workers, peasants, women and students united and overthrew the status quo to establish a Socialist state!
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| Lenin proclaims Soviet power in Smolny Palace, Petrograd, 1917. |
Background
The Russian Empire, ruled by Tsar Nicholas II stretched from the Baltic to the Pacific, inhabited by 126 million people, from 194 ethnic groups. It was a country in which workers and peasants lived in poverty and hardship - while Russia's elite - its imperial family and aristocracy - lived lives of gilded luxury. The Tsar did allow the creation of a State Duma, or National Assembly. But its power was limited, and the people's pains were still ignored.
World War I
The Russian Empire was plunged into a fresh crisis... by world war. World War I was a disaster for Tsarist Russia. At War, the country suffered a series of devastating defeats, while at home there were food shortages and economic chaos. The Tsar & his family enjoyed luxuries while ignoring these problems. He was the army's Commander-in-chief, and he was also standing in the way of government reform.
Popular Uprising was started by women. The first sign of revolution was started by women.
On 23rd February 1917, thousands of women took to the streets of the Russian capital, Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), and protest over bread shortages. (February 23rd in the Julian Calendar is March 8 in New Calendar, which is Women's day)
The next day they were joined on the streets by workers and students, carrying placards that read 'Down with the Tsar!'
Troops, ordered to put down the disorder, mutinied, and joined the protestors instead.
The Compromise
There was chaos & the government had lost control of the capital. The Tsar was pressurized by his ministers that order could only be restored if he gave up power. So Tsar Nicholas agreed to abdicate. Members of the State Duma, which is the National assembly, had formed a Provisional Government. But in reality, they were Politicians detached from the needs & pains of the people, liberals who wanted to appease all sides. So, even though the Tsar abdicated, people's lives didn't change at all, the new Provincial Government was busy doing bureaucracy.
The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks were a Revolutionary Marxist faction founded by Vladimir Lenin that split off from the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. They were serious revolutionaries who were not satisfied with symbolic change/reform.
The key members of the party were Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev, Nikolai Podvoisky, etc.
Workers Unite!
The Peasants & Workers united under the banner of the Bolsheviks. But it was not only Peasants & Workers, but also Women and Students who joined the movement. They were joined by part of the army who were sympathetic to the Bolshevik cause, known as the Red Guard. They demanded the redistribution of land from rich landowners to peasants; and the transfer of power from the 'bourgeoise' Provisional Government to Workers' Councils, aka Soviets. People from all walks of life supported and participated in the movement, especially marginalized and oppressed people.
Storming the Winter Palace
On the night of October 24, 1917, Bolshevik Red Guards began to take control of key points in the Russian capital railway stations, telegraph offices, and government buildings.
On October 25, 1917, thousands of workers, peasants, women & soldiers stormed into the Winter Palace, the seat of the Provisional Government, effectively ending the Russian Empire and establishing the Russian SFSR, later known as the USSR.
What did they achieve?
The land was Redistributed from rich landowners to Peasants.
• Control of Factories was given to Workers, via Workers' Councils, aka Soviets.
• Equal Rights for Women in all spheres. (Including Universal Abortion & Childcare)
• Universal Education & Free Healthcare for all.
• Free food & housing for the poor & the needy.
• All Private banks were nationalized.
• Labour Laws & Protections, including 8 hour working day.
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen”.
- Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
About one hundred years later, the October Revolution still stands as a seminal event in world history. It stands as a beacon of inspiration for all those who seek a world free of exploitation & oppression.
"Workers of the world, unite!"
Sources & Further Readings:
- "Ten Days That Shook the World", by John Reed
- "The October revolution: the masses take power", YouTube video by Channel - In defence of Marxism
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