After the February Revolution placed the Provisional Government in power, the people were not getting the change they wanted soon enough. With the people beginning to turn on the Provisional Government, it allowed the Bolsheviks led by their leader Vladimir Lenin to rise to power under a communist dictatorship. The October Revolution was a successful attempt by an extremist group to seize power, but only because the desires of the people were not being met by the Provisional Government.
Lenin and the Bolsheviks saw the Provisional Government’s failures and took advantage of those failures by appealing to the Russian people. The Provisional Government decided to continue World War I against Germany in order to regain Russia’s nationalistic pride that was lost after their defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. However, the people of Russia did not want to fight any longer. Even the soldiers were beginning to lose interest. “When the Bolsheviks seized power following the October Revolution Lenin immediately pulled Russia out of the war.” (3). This decision by Lenin was a strategic plan because it was very popular with the Russian people. In order for the Bolsheviks to remain in power, they needed strong support from the people instead of the people supporting other opposition groups. The plan to pull out of the war gave the people everything they wanted. The soldiers came home and all the country’s supplies and foods were no longer sent to the war front meaning that the civilians were able to receive bread and food again. The Bolsheviks were also successful in seizing power because of their decision on civil liberties. The people were demanding civil liberties such as freedom of press and speech but Lenin was able to take those desires and use strong armed tactics against the people. He told the people that he will give them what they need rather than what they want, “peace, land, and bread” (2). Lenin’s stance on civil liberties showed the people of Russia what was needed for them to survive. The people were starving because of the war and Lenin was able to get them out of the war, “peace,” and he was able to feed them again, “bread.” Lenin’s stance on civil liberties also helped the Bolsheviks from having opposition groups speaking out against their cause (3). By placing fear into the Russian people, Lenin was able to rule without the thought of a Revolution brewing amongst the people. Another way the Bolsheviks were able to seize power was their way of how Russia should be governed, under a communist dictatorship (3). Under the communist dictatorship, Lenin was proposing the complete destruction of the upper class or the Bourgeoisie. Lenin was going to level the class pyramid and give “all power to the Soviets” (2). This was appealing to the people because they were not given the same rights and privileges as the Bourgeoisie because they were not as wealthy. However, under the communist dictatorship, the power lied with the people rather than the upper class. The people felt that under Lenin they would be seen as equals in relation to the upper class.
The October Revolution was a successful attempt by an extremist group to seize power but the group was able to seize power because they appealed to the desires of the people. The people wanted their desires and needs to be filled and Lenin saw the failures of the Provisional Government as the best opportunity to overthrow the government and instate a communistc government that appealed to the Russian people.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you Brad. In my post I said that Lenin and his government, in the beginning of the revolution, appealed to the needs of the people, but I did not make the connection between the old Provisional Government and Lenin’s new government. You made a good point in saying that Lenin’s examination of the failures of the Provisional Government was a method that he used to gain the support of the government. This method lead to the new dictator being able to successful take over. I disagree in that, Lenin’s stamping out civil liberties was not in an effort to give the people what they needed, but a measure taken to ensure he did not lose the power he had gained. He wanted to “excise like a diseased limb”(3) those who saw through the front he had built for the civilians to see, to his goal of become a dictator, which is not what the people wanted. Because those Russians feared being “excised” Lenin was able to establish a “fu-fledged dictatorship based on terror.” I too believe that, “The October Revolution was a successful attempt by an extremist group to seize power but the group was able to seize power because they appealed to the desires of the people” (Brad), but I believe that that he only appealed to the desires of the people in the beginning to gain their support, after which his goals changed.
ReplyDeleteBRAD Buddy!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and Alyson on the fact that Lenin seemed to be working for the desires of the people. And that by pointing out the failures of the Provisional Government in order to gain the support. But I believe that it was still a successful attempt by an extremist group because of the methods Lenin used and his desire to be the dictator. I agree with Alyson when she said that she believes that he only appealed to the people to gain support and after he gained the support he used his red army and cheka to forcefully take control.
(this is meant to be with the first part) After Lenin gained that initial support from the people he wasnt worried about their needs. He wanted to creat the single party state knowing he would never be elected by the people. This is why i feel it was an extremist take over because Lenin knew that he would never be fully supported by the people so he came up with ways to eliminate the opposition. In this idea i strongly agrre with your statement in saying that he gained dictatorship through terror.
ReplyDelete