The Russian Revolution And Counter Revolutions Essay

The Russian Revolution And Counter Revolutions Essay, Research Paper The Russian revolution and counter revolutions By Matt Clare The revolutions at the turn of the century in Russia consisted of two counter-revolutions; revolutions that sent the country through sweeping and bloody changes from one absolute ruler to another. All that changed where the players. The Russian revolution and counter revolutions where the composite of Russian history. The revolutions would not be possible if it where not for the effect of three hundred years of czarist on Russian people. The czar was considered to be the unquestioned and absolute ruler who drew their authority from god. Power was based on how many serfs and peasants one owned. The majority of the population was severely repressed,

and faced with terrible economic social and living conditions; conditions that were far worse then most Western European nations. No peasant would want to live under such conditions by choice. There were several attempts at over throwing the czarist government during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but it was not until 1917 that the people succeeded in their goals. “I shall maintain the principle of autocracy just as firmly and unflinchingly as it was preserved by my unforgettable dead father.” Declared Nicolas II, the Czar of Russia from 1896 to 1917. An absolute ruler, Nicholas II had continued the tradition of the divine-right kings held by the Romanovs for many generations. The peasants worshiped the czar but the relation between serf and czar would be strained

from the outset. As was tradition at coronations, the Emperor would leave presents for the peasants outside Moscow. The people madly rushed to grab the gifts, and they trampled thousands in the ensuing bedlam. No other monarch in Europe claimed such power or stood so high above his subjects as Nicholas II. Nicolas wielded his autocratic power through his bureaucracy of advisors, which contained the most knowledgeable and skilled members of Russian high society. Like the Czar, the bureaucracy, or Chinovniki, stood above the people. The Chinovniki seemed to be more concerned with their own power then the people who had in-trusted them with it. No one in power felt that public opinion was of any consequence and did not need to be followed. Russia did not hold opinion polls, just

revolts. In 1905 the constant student riots, labour strikes assassinations came to a head. The people of Russia where concerned about the loss of the Russo-Japanese War, the spread of the communist ideas of Karl Marx, combined with a general resentment held towards the czar over Russia’s poor state and high taxation. The Russian people attempted to deliver this message to the czar in a petition signed by 135,000 i people. On a seemingly peaceful and unarmed group (some were armed with icons of the czar) numbering more then 200,000 I marched from the outskirts of St. Petersburg to protest in front of the winter palace and deliver their message. The march had been anticipated. Nicholas had left the palace with a few of his generals in charge of the secret police. The police where

told to prevent the protesters from reaching the palace. The police did so by firing upon the marchers. Soon after the blood shed a new constitution and an elected advisory assembly where created to appease the public and prevent further uprisings, but neither were ever put in to power. With Russia doing poorly in the WWI and morale at an all time low the Russian military forces brought about the first revolution of 1917. The March Revolution led to the abdication of Nicholas and the installation of a provisional government. The leader of this government was Alexander Kerensky. Kerensky was only thirty five, but beleaved he was destine to be Russia’s greatest leader, the public thought otherwise and he was eventually forced from power. (He later immigrated to the United