Change—Revolutions Russian (Bolshevik) Revolution THEMATIC ESSAY REVIEW

Part II THEMATIC ESSAY QUESTION Directions: Write a well-organized essay that includes and introduction, several paragraphs addressing the task below and a conclusion. Theme: Change—Revolutions Throughout history, revolutions have developed in response to a variety of conditions. These revolutions have often resulted in significant political, economic and social change. Task: Select two revolutions and for each Describe the historical circumstances leading to this revolution Describe the historical circumstances leading to this revolution Discuss the political, economic, and/or social effects of this revolution Discuss the political, economic, and/or social effects of this revolution You many use any revolution from your study of global history. Some suggestions you may wish to consider are: Neolithic Revolution, French Revolution, Haitian Revolution, Industrial Revolution, Russian Revolution, Mexican Revolution, Chinese Cultural Revolution and the Green Revolution in Agriculture. You are not limited to these suggestions.

Bolshevik Revolution 1917 Russia (Eastern Europe)

historical circumstances

BEFORE The Russian Empire was ruled by an absolute monarchs called czars

BEFORE The country struggled because of its lack of industry and unfair social class system. Most of the people were either peasants or workers in the cities. Both groups were very poor.

BEFORE Czar Nicholas II got the country involved in World War I when he jumped in on the side of Serbia verses Austria-Hungary and Germany. The country was not prepared to fight this industrial war.

BEFORE Russia suffered humiliating defeats against the Germans. Nicholas took direct control and all of the countries resources were sent to the troops. People were struggling to survive on the homefront.

BEFORE In the spring of 1917, Nicholas was removed from power and new, temporary, democratic government took his place. But it kept fighting the war and the people continued to starve.

BEFORE In October of 1917, Russian communists, inspired by the writings of Karl Marx overthrew the new government in a coup d’etat. Led by Vladimir Lenin, the Bolsheviks promised the Russian people “bread, land and peace” if they let them rule.

AFTER To prevent the czar from returning to power, the Bolsheviks executed the entire royal family. The Bolsheviks were also threatened by other groups, including other communists, who wanted to take over the country.

AFTER They made good on the promises made to the people. They ended Russia’s involvement in World War I by signing a treaty with the Germans. They rerouted food to the cities. And they nationalized—meaning put under government control—land owned by the Russian nobility.

AFTER The country then had a bitter civil war as the Bolsheviks fought to maintain control of the country. They established a communist dictatorship, making any other political parties illegal.

impact on history

POLITICAL The Soviet Union, as the country the Bolsheviks established came to be called, became the first communist country in the world. They supported communist revolutionaries in other countries, trying to incite other revolts. Communism was feared in Western countries.

ECONOMIC The Soviet Union tried to force rapid industrialization. They did this through government orchestrated programs called five-year plans. They also established a command economy, where the government ran all the businesses and decided what factories produced. Both of these limited the Soviet economy’s growth and the country struggled.

SOCIAL The social classes of before the revolution were abolished and everyone was equal under law. But the government sought to control people to make the communist state Marx wrote about. The government controlled the media and limited peoples rights in order to make the society they wanted.

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