Bolsheviks Revolution

Bolshevik Definition

Let's first look at what 'Bolshevik' actually means.

Bolshevik Revolution Summary

So now we know the origins of the Bolshevik party, let's look at a timeline of the key events of 1917.

Bolshevik Revolution 1917 Timeline

Below is a timeline of the Bolshevik revolution throughout the year 1917.

Leader of Bolshevik Revolution

Vladimir Lenin was the leading personality behind the Bolshevik Revolution, but he required assistance to successfully organise the takeover. Let's look at how Lenin and his party led the Bolshevik Revolution.

Lenin

Lenin had been the leader of the Bolshevik Party since the RSDWP started fracturing in 1903. He developed the ideology of Marxism-Leninism that he hoped would be a practical application of Marxist theory in Russia. However, due to his high profile as a revolutionary, he was rarely physically present in Russia, and so organised the Bolshevik party from abroad in Western Europe.

After the 1917 February Revolution, Lenin organised safe passage with Russia's invaders, Germany, and travelled to Sweden and then to Petrograd in April 1917. Lenin's 1917 April Theses established the Bolshevik position. He urged another revolution that would overthrow the Provisional Government (PG), form a Soviet-led government, end Russia's involvement in WWI, and redistribute land to the peasantry.

Fig. 2 - Lenin delivered a speech when he returned to Petrograd in April 1917. He later summarised the speech into a document which became known as the April Theses

Lenin fled to Finland after the July Days (1917) as new prime minister Alexandr Kerensky had claimed he was a German agent. Whilst in Finland, Lenin urged the Bolsheviks to stage a revolution, but failed to get support. He travelled back to Russia in October and eventually persuaded the party.

Trotsky immediately began preparing the Red Guard to revolt and staged the successful Bolshevik Revolution. The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets was held and established the new Soviet government, the Council of People's Commissars (a.k.a. the Sovnarkom), with Lenin elected as the chairman.

Trotsky

Trotsky played an integral role in the Bolshevik Revolution; however, he was only a recent convert to the Bolshevik cause. After the 1903 Second Congress of the RSDWP, Trotsky supported the Mensheviks against Lenin.

However, Trotsky left the Mensheviks after they agreed to collaborate with Liberal politicians after the 1905 Russian Revolution. He then developed a theory of “permanent revolution”.

Fig. 3 - Trotsky led the Soviet Government's military and helped the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War.

Trotsky was in New York at the beginning of 1917 but travelled to Petrograd after news of the February Revolution. He arrived in May and was soon arrested after the July Days protests. Whilst in jail, he joined the Bolshevik party and was elected to its Central Committee in August 1917. Trotsky was released in September, and the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies elected him chairman. This gave Trotsky de facto control of the Red Guard.

Trotsky led the Red Guard to support the Bolsheviks' rise to power during the Revolution. There was little resistance when the Red Guard arrived at the Winter Palace to depose the PG, but there followed a series of uprisings against the Soviet Government.

Causes of the Bolshevik Revolution

There were a series of causes for the Bolshevik Revolution, which, as we have examined, were capably taken advantage of by the Bolsheviks to secure their leadership of the country. Let's look at some long and short-term causes.

Long-term causes

There were three main long-term causes for the Bolshevik Revolution: the Tsarist autocracy, the failed Dumas, and Imperial Russia's involvement in warfare.

The Tsar

The Tsarist regime was by far the most deep-rooted cause of the Bolshevik Revolution. Socialism began to gain popularity throughout the 19^th century and was exacerbated by the arrival of the more radical Marxist groups who opposed Tsarism. Once Lenin had established Marxism-Leninism as a strategy to overthrow the Tsar and establish socialism, the Bolshevik cause grew in popularity, climaxing in the 1917 Revolution.

The Duma

After the 1905 Russian Revolution, Tsar Nicholas II allowed the creation of the Duma, the first elected and representative governmental body. However, he limited the Duma's power with his 1906 Fundamental Laws and allowed Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin to rig the third and fourth Duma elections to reduce socialist representation.

Although the Duma was supposed to change Russia into a constitutional monarchy, the Tsar still held autocratic power. The failure to establish democratic systems in Russia lent support to the Bolshevik's proposals of a dictatorship of the proletariat and the overthrow of the Tsar.

Warfare

After Tsar Nicholas II took power, he had plans for imperialist expansion. He provoked the unpopular Russo-Japanese War in 1904 which led to Russia's embarrassing defeat and the 1905 Russian Revolution. When the Tsar engaged Russia in the First World War, he gained more unpopularity as Russia's Imperial Army suffered the heaviest losses of any other belligerent country.

Fig. 4 - Tsar Nicholas II led Russia's Imperial Army in WWI despite not having adequate knowledge or experience

As the working class grew discontent with Russia's involvement, the Bolsheviks gained support due to their strong denouncement of WWI.

Short-term causes

The short-term causes began with the February Revolution in 1917 and can be summarised by the Provisional Government's poor leadership. Initially, they had the Petrograd Soviet's support. As the Petrograd Soviet consisted of Mensheviks and SRs, they believed that the bourgeois PG was necessary to develop industrialisation and capitalism before a second revolution could instate socialism. Let's look at how the Provisional Government dealt with the challenges of 1917, leading to further revolution.

First World War

Once the PG assumed leadership of Russia after the Tsar's abdication in March 1918, the first major issue to deal with was WWI. As the proletariat was at the centre of the Petrograd Soviet's concerns, they did not support the war and expected the PG to negotiate Russia's withdrawal. In May 1917, a telegram to the Allies was leaked that stated the PG's foreign minister Pavel Milyukov's intent to continue Russia's involvement in WWI. This sparked outrage in the Petrograd Soviet, who demanded socialist representation in the PG, and demonstrated the first of many incompetences of the PG.

July Days Protests

A group of workers took arms and began to lead protests against the PG in July, demanding that the Petrograd Soviet take control of the country instead. The workers were quoting Bolshevik slogans inspired by Lenin's April Theses. The protests were violent and getting out of control but demonstrated the increasing support for the Bolsheviks.

Kornilov Revolt

General Kornilov was a loyal Tsarist general of the Russian Army and began marching on Petrograd in August 1917. He defected against Prime Minister Kerensky and appeared to be preparing a coup d'état against the PG. Kerensky asked the Soviet to defend the PG, arming the Red Guard. It was a major embarrassment for the PG and showed their ineffective leadership.

Fig. 5 - Although General Kornilov was a volatile commander of the Russian Army, he was well respected and an effective leader. Kerensky appointed him in July 1917 and dismissed him the following month fearing a coup d'etat

In September 1917, the Bolsheviks gained a majority in the Petrograd Soviet and, with the Red Guard armed after the Kornilov revolt, paved the way for a swift Bolshevik Revolution in October. The PG barely resisted the armed Red Guard when they stormed the Winter Palace, and the Revolution itself was relatively bloodless. However, what followed saw significant bloodshed.

Effects of the Bolshevik Revolution

After the Bolsheviks seized power, there were many discontented parties. Other socialist groups protested the all-Bolshevik government, demanding a combination of socialist representation. Lenin eventually conceded to allow some Left SRs into the Sovnarkom in December 1917. However, they eventually resigned in March 1918 after Lenin's crushing concessions in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to withdraw Russia from WWI.

The Bolshevik consolidation of power after their Revolution took the form of the Russian Civil War. The White Army (any anti-Bolshevik groups such as Tsarists or other socialists) fought against the Bolshevik's newly formed Red Army throughout Russia. The Bolsheviks initiated the Red Terror to persecute any domestic political dissent from anti-Bolshevik individuals.

Following the Russian Civil War, Lenin issued his 1921 Decree Against Factionalism, which prohibited defection from the Bolshevik party line – this outlawed all political opposition and placed the Bolsheviks, now the Russian Communist Party, as the sole leaders of Russia.