1917: The Revolutions of Feb. and Oct.

Hi again. This past week I read a chapter about the revolutions that occurred in Russia during 1917 by Sheila Fitzpatrick. She talks about how both of the revolutions came about and what the results of them were. The February revolution started because the people were very unhappy with the existing government and rule of Nicolas II. The Fourth Duma was at the end of its term and asked the Emperor to continue while this so called crisis was happening. When they sent in this request, the Emperor himself was absent and visiting the Army headquarters. This outraged the people because when they needed something from Nicolas II, he wasn't even there. When he returned, he was sent to meet his family outside of Petrograd where he would remain under house arrest by the Provisional Government. Later the Provisional Government decided to execute him and his family. Now that Russia was no longer a monarchy the Provisional Government would take over. This then created another competitor for power, the Petrograd Soviet. These two powers form what is known as the 'duel power' which acted together and formed a good relationship for the most part. The Provisional Government was committed to the war effort which would later lead to there downfall. In the late spring when the people were tired of the war, increasing tension grew with the Provisional Government and they wanted the Petrograd Soviet to take over. Over the summer, the Provisional Government's Minister of War wanted the Army to launch one more major offensive against the Germans. Unfortunately, this was a total disaster and casualties were estimated around 200,000. This lead to more uprisings and mass demonstrations known as the July Days. These instances would later lead to another revolution. The revolution that occurred in October actually started in September with Lenin writing to the Bolshevik party about planning an insurrection. Lenin believed that the time had come for another revolution. I guess he was right. On Oct. 10, the Bolshevik leaders agreed that another revolution was necessary, although many thought that they could use thier positions in the Soviet and solve matters non-violently. On October 24 and 25, Lenin met his fellow Soviets in the headquarters of the Soviet. The Soviet started taking over by occupying the trains, setting up roadblocks in the city, and taking over the telegraph office. The only thing left was the Winter Palace where the Provisional Government members were. The Soviets had taken power.

This article proved to be very useful when trying to understand the year of 1917 in Russia and the revolutions that took place. This chapter by Sheila Fitzpatrick gave in depth details about how these unprisings and revolutions happened as well as the result of them. I strongly believe that anyone interested in learning more on this topic should read this. Although it may seem lengthy at times, there are very important details that she covers.