The October Revolution was originally a representation of the people, but as more people began to want the same things, they united together. When the people began to unite, Lenin saw it as an opportunity to take control over the country. If Lenin had the support of the people, then he would have a better chance of taking over Russia. With the people already on the edge about WWI and the February Revolution, this was the perfect opportunity to get the people on his side.
Lenin made the promises that were needed to get the people "wrapped around his finger." He promised "Peace, Land, and Bread."(source 2) With this promise, Lenin convinced many citizens he was the best leader. He was promising if he was in a leadership position, then there would be peace brought through Russia(source 2). He was promising that if he in a leadership position, the land that was dominated by the rich would be taken from them and divided among the poor(source 2). He was promising that if he was in a leadership position, then he would provide a better production and supply of food throughout the country(source 2). With all these promises, Lenin was very appealing to the working, poor, starving citizens of Russia. But because the world was still dealing with the aftermath of WWI, the citizens could not have actually believed Lenin could provide these things to the people.
Lenin very much appealed to the worker of the time and because their wants and wishes were for fair leadership among the country; the decisions made throughout the country should not always be in favor of the rich. Lenin purposed, “Dictatorship of the Proletariat,” leadership of the working class (source 2). Lenin decided that because the working class looked vulnerable, vulnerable because the working class wanted better leadership in Russia and would do anything to get fair treatment; he was going to essentially trick them into turning completely against the leadership of the country and following him. Lenin’s goal was to have the support of the people but ultimately to have full control of the Russian Government.
Lenin made much advancement toward full support of the majority of the people. Lenin tried to prove that he would be the best leader by planning coups and showing that the Provisional Government needed him and the Bolsheviks(source 3). He used his actions toward removing the Provisional Government to cover his faulty promises. Lenin tried to make the Provisional Government look like “the bad guy.” Lenin was a mater mind at covering his tracks and making other people take the fall for his work.
The people united under Lenin because they wanted the same things. Maybe the people united under Lenin because he could be the spokesman, so if their plan back fired then Lenin would have to take the fall. Ultimately the October Revolution was a representation of the desires and aims of the people, just united under an extremist group to have a lead man to cover their tracks.
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I agree with the points that you made in your post. It really made me think about what truly started the October Revolution. When i would think about it i would just think that Lenin started it, but you pointed out that it was the people who started it. As you said they were hungry and they were sick of fighting with no weapons or resources. They began to abandon the war efforts and soldiers and people were overthrowing authority. So it was actually the rebellions of the people that spurred Lenin and his tactics. Its a really good point cause its easy to skip the part about the people and what was going on with them.
ReplyDeleteI must say you have taken a very optimistic approach to this situation. When you say that the October Revolution was a result of the interests of the people, I have no choice to grant you atleast a tiny bit of credibility. Yes, the people did want and ask for change. Nevertheless, without the strong armed tactics of Lenin, nothing would have ever resulted from these protests. No individual stepped up and decided to lead these people towards a better life untill Lenin stepped up to the plate. Without him, there would be no Octorber Revolution. In the case that he would have remained in exile, this conflict would have been renamed the "October Complains About A Bad Government That Never Resulted In Anything Significant."
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post and that the October Revolution was a successful attempt by an extremist group to seize power through the use of strong-armed tactics. I said that Lenin made the April Theses so he could get the support he needed from the people to gain power. He told the people what they wanted to hear so they would trust him and give him their support. Little did they know that Lenin was just trying to use them to try to gain power. I do agree with what Leanne said about it being easy to overlook that the people in a way did start the October Revolution and not just Lenin. Yea, people wanted the same thing and joined together as one and Lenin did want power. So Lenin just took advantage of the peoples' needs to try to get the power that he wanted.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that the October Revolution represented the desires of the people. I think the people's desires were actually the same as the Provisional Government's aims, but they did not realize it and were too impatient to wait for the aims to materialize. I think the problem was that, because such a huge number of the people were impoverished and uneducated, they did not realize the amount of time needed for a government to successfully establish itself and become effective, which is why they overthrew the Provisional Government. They thought that in doing so, they would instate a government that could actually do what they wanted. In reality, the government they had overthrown would have given them what they wanted, and the government that took the former's place would give them the exact opposite. By knocking down a potentially democratic government and allowing a totalitarian to take its place, the people dug their own grave. They themselves destroyed any hope for their needs and desires to be met.
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