The Russian Revolution

After 100 Years

After one century after the Russian Revolution, we live in a new era of time, but we remember the historic Russian
Revolution. The Russian Revolution was one of the most important events in human history. Trotsky, Lenin, and Stalin all
had a role in the circumstances of that Revolution. Now, this following piece of prose analyzes the Russian Revolution from
its origins to the events of the 21st century as we near 2020.

“Freedom only for the members of the government, only for the members of the Party —
though they are quite numerous — is no freedom at all. Freedom is always the freedom of
dissenters. The essence of political freedom depends not on the fanatics of 'justice', but
rather on all the invigorating, beneficial, and detergent effects of dissenters. If 'freedom'
becomes 'privilege', the workings of political freedom are broken.”

-Rosa Luxemburg
As we approach the 100th year anniversary of the Russian Revolution, we show reflection and an
acknowledgment of that revolution as being one of the most important events in human history. It changed
the world and outlined issues that we debate to this very day which includes: class struggle, economics,
socialism, communism, oligarchy, government, and leadership. To start, many events must be known. First,
before the revolution (back in the 19th century), the Russian nation was in a hot mess. Serfs were
discriminated against despite them being emancipated (or granted voting rights). Anti-Semitism ran wild in
Czarist Russia. Pogroms or executions of Jewish people in Russia were common place in the 19th century
and early 20th century. Economic inequality was rampant and the czar had executed authoritarian control
of the Russian population in a brutal fashion. Czar Alexander III rejected even progressive reforms and
allowed autocratic rule. The philosophies of Marx and Engels were already global by 1900. Karl Marx
believed that only class struggle would defeat the capitalists and cause a revolutionary situation where the
workers would have economic and social equality in the world. Marx advocated communism or a classless
society where the monarchy and capitalist elites would be gone. In the midst of the Czar’s tyranny,
opposition groups existed. They were diverse from the moderates who wanted democratic reforms to the
socialists and the communists who desire revolutionary change in the Russian society. The Russian
Revolution was going to happen since tensions were growing since the 1800’s. With 4/5s of the population
living as peasants and the feudal nobility running the majority of the economic and political infrastructure
of Russia, a revolt was bound to happen. Cities like St. Petersburg and Moscow had many workers being
paid low for long work. The disastrous war against Japan in 1904 caused more turmoil.

Trotsky--elected president of the Petrograd soviet at age 26--described how the workers' council system
concentrated all the forces of the revolution. Trotsky and Lenin would be leaders of the Russian Revolution.
Lenin would sign an agreement with Germany to not be involved in World War I anymore. The workers of
Petrograd would protest injustice again. On International Women's Day in 1917, they left their jobs to
participate in spontaneous demonstrations against food shortages and against World War One, in what
became the first day of the revolution. This revolution spread into other locations of Russia.

The Bolsheviks or one revolutionary faction rebelled and caused the Czar to abdicate from his throne. Soon,
2 major factions of the Russian Revolution would develop. One was the moderate Provisional Government
with leaders like Prince Lvov and Alexander Kerensky. The other faction would be the Soviets who
represented peasants and other workers (i.e. the Bolsheviks). The Mensheviks were the moderates, but
they were found in both the Provisional government and the soviet councils. Even Stalin didn’t want soviet
councils to immediate take over, but Lenin did. Lenin's Theses was clear about what he wanted. Lenin
thought that the Provisional government was too moderate and desired a radical program. Now, it is time
to show the evolution of the historic Russian Revolution.
The Tyranny of the Czars

Before understanding about the history of the Russian Revolution, it is important to mention information
about the corruption, the tyranny, and the brutality of the Czars of Russia. Russian czars were arrogant and
were filled with extravagance. They wanted power and opposed opposition with a consistent ruthlessness.
Before the revolution, 4/5s of the population were peasants. The structure was made up of a feudal
nobility. There was massive economic inequality. The Czars used his nobles to dominate the Russian region.
Many Czars were overtly anti-Semitic. Many innocent Jewish people were victims for a long time via the
pogroms. In his "History of the Russian Revolution," Trotsky illustrated the corruption of the old order by
describing Tsar Nicholas II himself:

“This dim, equable and "well-bred" man was cruel--not with the active cruelty of Ivan the Terrible
or of Peter, in the pursuit of historic aims...but with the cowardly cruelty of the late born, frightened
at his own doom. At the very dawn of his reign Nicholas praised the Phanagoritsy regiment as "fine
fellows" for shooting down workers. He always "read with satisfaction" how they flogged with
whips the bob-haired girl-students, or cracked the heads of defenseless people during Jewish
pogroms...This "charmer," without will, without aim, without imagination, was more awful than all
the tyrants of ancient and modern history.”

In places like St. Petersburg, Moscow, and in other locations, workers experienced low wages, bad
conditions, and other struggles. People resisted the Czars during the 19th century too. Army officers
revolted in 1825. Alexander II was a more progressive Czar and created reforms. Still, he was assassinated
by revolutionaries who wanted more radical change. The Czars after Alexander II were reactionary
extremists. The Czars refused to enact radical change. Alexander III in 1881 refused to enact progressive
reforms in Russia. Alexander III was an autocrat. He labeled people who are dangerous who worshiped
outside of the Orthodox Church and didn’t speak Russian. He imposed censorship, monitored teachers,
expanded spy agencies, and used pogroms against Jewish people. Nicholas II came after him. He started his
reign in 1894. From 1863 to 1900, Russia also rapidly industrialized. More factories were built, a navy grew,
and industries expanded. Nicholas II expanded steel resources and he raised taxes. In 1900, Russia had the
fourth highest producer of steel (under the United States, Germany, and Great Britain). The Trans-Siberian
Railway was completed in 1916 which connected European Russia to Siberian Russia in the Pacific Ocean. In
the midst of this expansion, oppression against the peasants by the Czars continued.

The Revolutionary Movement Develops

The growth of industrialization in Russia during the 19th and early 20th centuries didn’t end oppression.
Many workers suffered bad working conditions, lax pay, and other issues. There was child labor and the
banning of labor unions too. So, discontent grew among the poor and working class in Russia. That is why
many workers legitimately organized strikes in order for change to come about. During this time, many
revolutionary movements develop in response to economic problems and the despotic actions of the Czars.
One revolutionary group was the Marxists in Russia. They followed the views of Karl Marx in terms of
economics and politics. Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” changed the world. Karl Marx (who was an
atheist) believed that workers must unite in overthrowing the capitalist rulers and instituted a “dictatorship
of the proletariat.” The proletariat means the workers of the world. By 1903, the anti-Czar movement
divided into 2 major factions in Russia. One faction was the moderate Mensheviks who wanted a broad
case of populist support of the revolution. This faction included socialists, social democrats, and moderates.
They wanted to form a more democratic government in Russia. The other faction was the Bolsheviks. They
were more radical than the Mensheviks. They wanted to sacrifice everything in order for the Tsarist system
to be eliminated and a workers’ state to be instituted. Major leaders of the Bolshevik movement were
Lenin (or Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov) and Trotsky. Lenin was a great organizer and a powerful speaker. By the
early 1900’s, he escaped into Europe to avoid arrest by the czarist regime. He still contacted other
Bolsheviks to fight against the Czar Empire. He would wait until he would return to Russia in safety (with
help from the German authorities). From 1904 to 1917, Russia experienced many events which inspired the
development of the Russian Revolution.
The Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War lasted from February 8, 1904 to September 1905. It represented a new era of
time. It was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan. Each side wanted to dominate
regions found in Manchuria and Korea. Their disagreements caused the war to exist. Most of the war took
place in the Liaodong Peninsula and Mukden in Southern Manchuria. The battles also transpired in
Southern Manchuria and the seas around Korea, Japan, and the Yellow Sea. Russia sought a warm-water
port on the Pacific Ocean for their navy and for maritime trade. Vladivostok was operational only during the
summer. Whereas Port Arthur, a naval base in Liaodong Province leased to Russia by China, was
operational all year. Since the end of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, negotiations between Russia and
Japan proved impractical.

After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan rapidly industrialized, embraced many Western ideas, and
wanted to maintain its sovereignty at the same time. Tsarist Russia expanded its territory to the East. It
conquered Central Asia, Afghanistan, and other local states. It stretched into parts of Poland and into the
Kamchatka Peninsula in the east. With its construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway to the port of
Vladivostok, Russia hoped to further consolidate its influence and presence in the region. In the incident of
1861, Russia had directly assaulted Japanese territory. Fearing Russian expansion, Japan regarded Korea
(and to a lesser extent Manchuria) as a protective buffer. By 1897, a Russian fleet was in the Port Arthur.
After three months, in 1898, China and Russia negotiated a convention by which China leased (to Russia)
Port Arthur, Talienwan and the surrounding waters. The two parties further agreed that the convention
could be extended by mutual agreement.

In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion happened. The Boxer Rebellions about Chinese people (in groups called the
Boxers) trying to get rid of Western imperialists from China. Russians, Japanese individuals, other
Europeans, and Americans united to end the Boxer Rebellion (in order to defeat the Chinese people fighting
for independence). Afterwards. these imperialist interests further controlled China. During the rebellion,
100,000 Russian soldiers were stationed in Manchuria. Russia didn’t vacate Manchuria immediately. The
 Japanese tried their best to negotiate with Russia about Korea and Manchuria. Meanwhile, Japan and
Britain had signed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1902. In that agreement, the British sought to restrict
naval competition by keeping the Russian Pacific seaports of Vladivostok and Port Arthur from their full use.
The alliance with the British meant, in part, that if any nation allied itself with Russia during any war against
Japan, then Britain would enter the war on Japan's side. Both Japan and Russia had competing negotiation
interests and goals. Russia was not interested in negotiation with Japan. Russia wanted to build up
militarily. By early January 1904, the Japanese government had realized that Russia was not interested in
settling the Manchurian or Korean issues. Russia refused to compromise, so on February 6, 1904, the
Japanese minister to Russia, Kurino Shinichiro was recalled and Japan severed diplomatic relations with
Russia. Nicholas II’s ego and autocratic personality prevented negotiations to prevent a war.

This picture describes the Japanese Here is a Japanese
attack of Port Arthur. infantryman from
the Russo-
Japanese war.
Here are men from the
Japanese Imperial Army
during the Russo-Japanese
war.

It is also true that Nicholas II wanted to promote Russia's prestige and he was a racist. He called the
Japanese people racist slurs. He had a false sense of security and underestimated the Japanese military
strength. Japan issued a declaration of war on February 8, 1904. However, three hours before Japan's
declaration of war was received by the Russian government, the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the
Russian Far East Fleet at Port Arthur. On the night of February 8, 1904, the Japanese fleet under Admiral
Tōgō Heihachirō opened the war with a surprise torpedo boat destroyer attack on the Russian ships at Port
Arthur. The attack heavily damaged the Tsesarevich and Retvizan, the heaviest battleships in Russia's far
Eastern theater, and the 6,600 ton cruiser Pallada. These attacks developed into the Battle of Port Arthur
the next morning. England worked with Japan to fight against Russia. The Russians experienced massive
defeats by the Japanese. The Russian fleet was blatantly annihilated.
Then, the Treaty of Portsmouth existed which ended the war. Both sides accepted the offer of Theodore
Roosevelt, the President of the United States, to mediate. Meetings were held in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, with Sergius Witte leading the Russian delegation and Baron Komura, a graduate of Harvard,
leading the Japanese delegation. The Treaty of Portsmouth was signed on September 5, 1905 at the
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery, Maine, while the delegates stayed in Portsmouth,
New Hampshire. Witte became Russian Prime Minister the same year. The effect in Japan was that it
caused Japanese imperial power to grow. The Japanese people wanted a stronger peace treaty in their
favor since they believed that the peace terms were too restrained. Russia suffered more economic
problems after the war. There was high inflation and revolutionary movements were growing. This
influenced the Russian Revolution of 1905. The revolts in Russia in 1905 ultimately influenced the Russian
Revolution in 1917.
Bloody Sunday (The Revolution of 1905)
The 1905 Revolution was the prelude to the 1917 Russian Revolution. The 1905 Revolution existed in
response to the tyranny of the Russian Empire. It lasted from January 22, 1905 to June 16, 1907. It
consisted of political and social unrest all over Russia, Poland, and Baltic area. The revolutionaries and their
allies were involved in worker strikes, peasant revolts, and there were military mutinies too. There were
many causes to the Revolution. According to Sidney Harcave, author of The Russian Revolution of 1905,
four problems in Russian society contributed to the revolution (they were the agrarian problem, the
nationality problem, the labor problem, and educated revolt against the czarist system). The peasants were
emancipated or had the right to vote. Yet, they earned very little. They couldn’t sell or mortgage their
allotted land. Yearly, thousands of nobles in debt mortgaged their estates to the noble banks or sold them
to municipalities, merchants, or peasants. During the time of the 1905 Revolution, the nobility sold off one
third of its land and mortgaged another third. The government wanted to make the peasants to be
conservative land holding class. The state passed laws to allow them to buy from the nobility and pay small
installments over many decades. The land was the allotment land. It couldn’t be owned by individual
peasants, but a community of them. Many peasants earned little resources and many peasants rebelled.
Some rebelled in the provinces of Kharkova and Poltava in 1902.

Many ethnic minorities opposed Russification, which led to discrimination and repression of them. Russia
was a multiethnic empire during the early 20th century. Back then, the Russian elites believed in the racist
lie that European civilization must be valued more than Asian or African culture. Many ethnic minorities
were restricted of voting and they couldn‘t serve in the Guard or the Navy. There was limited attendance of
these minorities in schools. Jewish people in Russia were only 6 percent of the population, but they lived in
the western borderlands mostly. Jewish people were forbidden to settle or acquire land outside the cities
and towns. Many of them were restricted in school access, denied the right to vote for municipal
councilors, and weren’t allowed to serve in the Navy or Guards. Jewish people, Polish people, and religious
minorities in Russia were oppressed by the Czar system. The Polish uprising of 1863 was about Polish
people fighting for their human rights.

The industrial working class didn’t like how the government did too little to protect them. The government
banned strikes and labor unions. The Russian government used laissez faire capitalist policies and it didn’t
work to help the poor. Industrialization grew the economy of Russia by the 1890’s with the help of minister
of finance Sergei White. His policies included heavy government expenditures for railroad building and
operations, subsidies and supporting services for private industrialists, high protective tariffs for Russian
industries (especially heavy industry), an increase in exports, currency stabilization, and encouragement of
foreign investments. His plan was successful and during the 1890's "Russian industrial growth averaged 8
percent per year. Railroad mileage grew from a very substantial base by 40 percent between 1892 and
1902." The problem was that poor working class people still experienced bad conditions. As one source has
mentioned,

“the turn of the century, discontent with the Tsar’s dictatorship was manifested not only through the
growth of political parties dedicated to the overthrow of the monarchy but also through industrial strikes
for better wages and working conditions, protests and riots among peasants, university demonstrations,
and the assassination of government officials, often done by Socialist Revolutionaries.”

More taxes imposed on the peasants to build industry forced many peasants to go into the cities. In 1900–
1903, the period of industrial depression caused many firm bankruptcies and a reduction in the
employment rate. Employees were restive: they would join legal organizations but turn the organizations
toward an end that the organizations' sponsors did not intend. Workers used legitimate means to organize
strikes or to draw support for striking workers outside these groups. Workers used strikes in 1902 in the
railroad shops in Vladikavkaz and Rostov-on-Don created such a response that by the next summer,
225,000 in various industries in southern Russia and Transcaucasia were on strike. These strikes were
illegal, but necessary.

The educated class fomented and spread revolutionary ideas after a relaxing of discipline in universities
which allowed a new consciousness to grow among students. Educated students didn’t want the czar
system. Many restrictions on universities ended. More students formed newspapers, journals, and
organizations to fight the views of the Czars. Many left wing students fought against repression measure to
try to change society.

The government knew of these problems and issued token responses. The minister of Interior Plehve
stated in 1903 that, after the agrarian problem, the most serious ones plaguing the country were those of
the Jewish people (as many Russian leaders were anti-Semites outright), the schools, and the workers, in
that order.Because the Russian economy was tied to European finances, the Western money markets
contraction in 1899–1900 plunged Russian industry into a deep and prolonged crisis which outlasted the
dip in European industrial production. This setback aggravated social unrest during the five years preceding
the revolution of 1905.

Many Russian progressive movements wanted more political democracy and limits to the Tsarist rule in
Russia. Russian progressives formed the Union of Zemstvo Constitutionalists in 1903 and the Union of
Liberation in 1904, which called for a constitutional monarchy. Russian socialists formed two major groups:
the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, following the Russian populist tradition, and the Marxist Russian Social
Democratic Labour Party. Rosa Luxemburg stated in The Mass Strike, when collective strike activity was met
with what is perceived as repression from an autocratic state, economic and political demands grew into
and reinforced each other. In 1904, liberals wanted reforms in the constitution. There was the Moscow City
Duma passed in 1904. That caused a resolution to demand the establishment of an elected national
legislature, full freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. Similar resolutions and appeals from other
city dumas and zemstvo councils followed. Tsar Nicholas II moved to fulfill many of the demands. He
appointed liberal Pyotr Dmitrievich Sviatopolk-Mirskii Minister of the Interior after the assassination of
Vyacheslav von Plehve. On December 25 [O.S. December 12] 1904, the Tsar issued a manifesto promising
the broadening of the Zemstvo and local municipal councils' authority, insurance for industrial workers, the
emancipation of Inorodtsy, and the abolition of censorship. However, the crucial demand of representative
national legislature was missing in the manifesto. Strikes happened in St. Petersburg in December 1904,
which lasted to January of 1905, which was the first step in the 1905 revolution. The December 1904 strike
was at the Putilov plant (a railway and artillery supplier) in St. Petersburg. Sympathy strikes in other parts of
the city raised the number of strikers to 150,000 workers in 382 factories. By January 21 [O.S. January 8]
1905, the city had no electricity and newspaper distribution was halted. All public areas were declared
closed.

The controversial Orthodox priest Georgy Gapon (who headed a police sponsored workers’ association) led
a group of large workers to the Winter Palace to deliver a petition to the Tsar on Sunday, January 22 [O.S.
January 9] 1905. The troops guarding the Palace were ordered to tell the demonstrators not to pass a
certain point. According to Sergei Witte, and at some point, troops opened fire on the demonstrators,
causing between 200 (according to Witte) and 1000 deaths. The event became known as Bloody Sunday,
and is considered by many scholars as the start of the active phase of the revolution. Soon, strikes existed
all over Russia. Polish socialists called for general strikes. In January of 1905, over 400,900 workers in
Poland were on strike. Students fought back too. his prompted the setting up of the short-lived Saint
Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Delegates, an admixture of Bolsheviks and Mensheviks headed by
Khrustalev-Nossar and despite the Iskra split would see the likes of Julius Martov and Georgi Plekhanov
spar with Lenin. Leon Trotsky, who felt a strong connection to the Bolsheviki, had not given up a
compromise but spearheaded strike action in over 200 factories.

One October 26, 1905, over 2 million workers were on strike and there were almost no active railways in all
of Russia. Armenians and the Tartars fought each other too. Poles, Finns, and the Baltic provinces wanted
autonomy not Russification, so they fought for their rights too in this Revolution. Muslim groups like the
First Congress of the Muslim Union took place in August of 1905 to fight for their freedom. Certain groups
took the opportunity to settle differences with each other rather than the government. Some nationalists
undertook anti-Jewish pogroms, possibly with government aid, and in total over 3,000 Jews were killed.
State repression continued. Nicholas II agreed on the State Duma of the Russia Empire in February 18,
1905. The October Manifesto, which advanced reform proposal, was written by Sergei Witte and Alexis
Obolenskii. It was presented to the Tsar on October 14, 1905. It closely followed the demands of the
Zemstvo Congress in September, granting basic civil rights, allowing the formation of political parties,
extending the franchise towards universal suffrage, and establishing the Duma as the central legislative
body. The Tsar waited and argued for three days, but finally signed the manifesto on October 30 [O.S.
October 17] 1905. The czar only signed the document to stop more bloodshed and he regretted signing it.
Many people supported the Manifesto. Many strikes in St. Petersburg ended. Liberals loved the October
Manifesto. Yet, socialists and revolutionaries denounced the elections and wanted an armed uprising to
end the Empire. Strikes continued. The Revolution ended by 1907. The Russian Constitution of 1906
existed. Nicholas wanted to limit the power of the Duma. Terrorism and strikes including executions of by
the state increased in the 1905 Revolution.
WWI
The Czar dissolved the Duma (or a legislative body) and World War I soon started. Nicholas II in
1914 made the decision to bring Russia into World War I. Russia had unprepared military and
economic problems. Its generals struggled to create a plan for military action. That is why the
German military executed many victories against the Russian armies during WWI. German machine
guns mowed down Russian troops in the thousands. Soon, more than 4 million Russian human
beings were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.
The czarist movement was not strong and the
military leadership experienced struggles all
over the war. In 1915, Nicholas moved his
headquarters to the war front. In that location,
he hoped to rally his troops to victory. His wife
or Czarina Alexandra ran the government
when he was away. She ignored the czar’s chief
advisors. Grigori Efimovich Rasputin was famous for his
charisma. The Russian nobility had many people who
were fans of him.

She followed the advice of the mysterious Rasputin. Rasputin called himself “a holy man.” He
claimed to have magical healing powers. Nicholas and Alexandra’s son was Alexis. He was suffering
from hemophilia (or a life threatening disease). Rasputin seems to lower the child’s symptoms.
Alexandra rewarded Rasputin by making him to have power to make key political decisions.
Rasputin didn’t want reform. In the morning of December 30th, 1916, a group of nobles killed him
since they didn’t like his role in the Russian government. Meanwhile in World War I, Russian troops
mutinied, deserted, or ignored orders. Food and fuel supplies were declining because of the war.
Prices were hugely inflated. People from many classes were clamoring for change and an end to the
war. Nicholas and Alexandra faced a serious crisis in Russia.
The Russian bourgeoisie was heavily dependent for investment and credit on the purse strings of
international capital as explained by Trotsky:

"The social character of the Russian bourgeoisie and its political physiognomy were determined
by the condition of origin and the structure of Russian industry. The extreme concentration of this
industry alone meant that between the capitalist leaders and the popular masses there was no
hierarchy of transitional layers. To this we must add that the proprietors of the principal industrial,
banking and transport enterprises were foreigners, who realised on their investment not only the
profits drawn from Russia, but also a political influence in foreign parliaments, and so not only did
not forward the struggle for Russian parliamentarianism, but often opposed it: it is sufficient to
recall the shameful role played by official France. Such are the elementary and irremovable causes of
the political isolation and anti-popular character of the Russian bourgeoisie. Whereas in the dawn of
its history it was too unripe to accomplish a Reformation, when the time came for leading a
revolution it was overripe." (Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution, vol. 1, page 32)
The March 1917 Revolution
The March Revolution started first in March of 1917. It happened when women textile workers in
Petrograd led a city wide strike. In the next five days, rebellions existed over shortages of bread and fuel.
Almost 200,000 workers came into the streets shouting, “Down with the autocracy!” and “down with the
war!” At first, the soldiers obeyed orders to shoot the rioters. Yet, they sided with them. Local protests
expanded into a huge uprising. The March Revolution caused Czar Nicholas II to abdicate or leave the
throne. The year later, Nicholas and his family would be executed by his opponents. For the record, I don’t
agree with Czar Nicholas II’s wife and children being executed. I do believe that Czar Nicholas II deserves life
in prison for his crimes against the Russian people though (while his wife and children being left alone to
live life peacefully). The March Revolution caused a provisional government to exist. A provisional
government is a temporary government. Alexander Kerensky headed it. A leader of the moderate-socialist
Trudoviks faction of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, Kerensky was a well-known person in Russia. He
continued fighting in WWI. He lost support among soldiers and civilians because of that action. Russia
suffered more because of the war. Angry peasants wanted land. Workers in the city became more radical
and socialist revolutionaries formed soviets. Soviets were local councils made up of workers, peasants, and
soldiers. In many cities, the soviets had more influences than the provisional government. The Germans
allowed Lenin on a train to return to Russia or in Petrograd in April of 1917. The Germans believed that
Lenin could go into Russia, cause more unrest, so the Russians would end their attack on Germany during
the war. The November Revolution of 1917 changed the world forever.
 This family would die in 1918. This portrait of them was taken place in 1913. This picture shows Grand Duchess
Maria, Tsarina Alexandra, Grand Dutchesses Olga and Tatiana, Czar Nicholas II, and Grand Dutchess Anastasia.
Tsarevich Alexi sits in front of his parents. The Bolsheviks in Russia murdered them in the early morning hours of
July 17, 1918.
The Provisional Government
There was the time of the Provisional Government between the February and October Revolutions. The
Provisional Government shared power with the Petrograd Soviet (Council) of Workers’ Deputies. Soviets or
workers’ council existed all over Russian cities for years. Socialist groups grew. Many Mensheviks and social
Revolutionaries ruled many councils. The Petrograd Soviet met in the Tauride Palace or the same building
where the new government was taking place. The Petrograd Soviet believed that Russia was not ready for
socialism. So, they wanted to pressure the “bourgeoisie” to rule and create democratic reforms in Russia.
These reforms included forming a republic not a Monarchy, have an elected assembly, abolition of religious
and ethnic discrimination, a democratic police and army, etc. They wanted to use pressure on the Duma
Committee to enact changes. They wanted to be a lobby democratic group. The Provisional government
agreed to take serious the opinions of the Soviet of Workers’ Deputies. Dual power was still forming. The
All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets (VTsIK) undermined the authority of the Provisional
Government but also of the moderate socialist leaders of the Soviet. Although the Soviet leadership initially
refused to participate in the "bourgeois" Provisional Government, Alexander Kerensky, a young and popular
lawyer and a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRP), agreed to join the new cabinet, and
became an increasingly central figure in the government, eventually taking leadership of the Provisional
Government.

Kerensky promoted freedom of speech, he freed political prisoners, and he continued the war effort.
Kerensky faced problems. The soldiers, the urban workers, and the peasants said that they have gained
nothing by the revolution. Other groups wanted to undermine Kerensky. WWI caused huge casualties for
Russia. Many people wanted to end the war. The Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, wanted him to be
overthrown. Lenin was in exile in neutral Switzerland. Later, the February Revolution legalized formerly
banned political parties. So, he saw this as a way to promote his Marxist revolution. He returned to Russia.
He arrived into Petrograd in April of 1917. The Bolsheviks increased their popularity steadily. Workers,
soldiers, and peasants went into radical politics.
The April Theses was a series of 10 directives. It was issued by the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. He
returned to Petrograd from his exile in Switzerland. He traveled from Germany and Finland to the Russia.
The April theses wanted to clarify points and to make the point clear that he wanted all power to the
soviets (or workers’ councils). The April Theses rejected the Provisional Government as too moderate. He
criticized liberals and social revolutionaries in the Provisional Government too. He wanted new communist
policies, so he didn’t want Bolsheviks to cooperate with the government. He wanted a proletarian
revolution against bourgeois institutions. So, he rejected the February Revolution and his words inspired
the July Days including the October Revolution in Russia. So, Lenin wanted the working class internationally
to enact revolution (not a “democratic dictatorship” of 2 revolutionary classes in Russia).

On June 18, 1917, the Provisional Government launched an attack against Germany that failed miserably.
Soon after, the government ordered soldiers to go to the front, reneging on a promise. The soldiers refused
to follow the new orders. The arrival of radical Kronstadt sailors – who had tried and executed many
officers, including one admiral – further fueled the growing revolutionary atmosphere. The sailors and
soldiers, along with Petrograd workers, took to the streets in violent protest, calling for "all power to the
Soviets." The revolt was not successful in July. Lenin fled to Finland. Trotsky and other Bolsheviks were
arrested.

The Fall 1917 Bolshevik Revolution

As the Russian Revolution continued, we see its strengths and imperfections. There are no justifications for
its errors too. Yet, we learn about the Russian Revolution as a means for us to promote revolutionary
change in our generation and in future generations too. The Bolsheviks continued to grow. In early
September, the Petrograd Soviet freed all jailed Bolsheviks and Trotsky became chairman of the Petrograd
Soviet. Growing numbers of socialists and lower-class Russians viewed the government less and less as a
force in support of their needs and interests. Russia was declared a Republic in September 14, 1917. The
Bolshevik Central Committee drafted a resolution, calling for the dissolution of the Provisional Government
in favor of the Petrograd Soviet. The resolution was passed 10–2 (Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev
prominently dissenting) and the October Revolution began. It was led by Lenin. On November 7, 1917,
Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin led his leftist revolutionaries in a revolt against the ineffective Provisional
Government (Russia was still using the Julian Calendar at the time, so period references show a 25 October
date). The October revolution ended the phase of the revolution instigated in February, replacing Russia's
short-lived provisional parliamentary government with government by soviets, local councils elected by
bodies of workers and peasants.

In the October Revolution, MRC directed armed workers and soldiers to capture key buildings in Petrograd.
The Winter Palace is attacked at 9:40 pm and captured at 2 am. Kerensky fled into Petrograd. There is the
opening of the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets. On November 8, Second Congress of Soviets convenes.
Mensheviks and right SR delegates walk out in protest against the previous day's events. Congress approves
transfer of state authority into its own hands and local power into the hands of local soviets of workers',
soldiers', and peasants' deputies, abolishes capital punishment, issues Decree on Peace and Decree on
Land, and approves the formation of an all-Bolshevik government, the Council of People's Commissars
(Sovnarkom), with Lenin as chairman. The fate of the Russian Revolution depended on the extension of
workers’ power beyond the borders of Soviet Russia. As Trotsky explained so clearly:

"...The completion of the socialist revolution within national limits is unthinkable. One of the basic reasons
for the crisis of bourgeois society is the fact that the productive forces created by it can no longer be
reconciled with the framework of the national state. From this follow, on the one hand, imperialist wars, on
the other, the utopia of a bourgeois United States of Europe. The socialist revolution begins on the national
arena, it unfolds on the international arena, and is completed on the world arena. Thus, the socialist
revolution becomes a permanent revolution in a newer and broader sense of the word: it attains
completion only in the final victory of the new society on our entire planet..." [The Permanent Revolution
(London: New Park Publications, 1971), p. 155]

Lenin allowed the Cheka (or a police force) to exist and the Cheka were involved in murder, torture, and
acted as a secret police. The Bolsheviks executed the tsar and his family on July 18, 1918. Liberal and
monarchist forces, loosely organized into the White Army, immediately went to war against the Bolsheviks'
Red Army, in a series of battles that would become known as the Russian Civil War.

The Red Terror was a campaign of mass killings, torture, and systematic oppression conducted by many of
the Bolsheviks (especially by the Cheka) after the beginning of the Russian Civil War in 1918. Soviet
historiography describes the Red Terror as having been officially announced in September 1918 by Yakov
Sverdlov and ending about October 1918. However, the term was frequently applied to political repression
during the whole period of the Civil War (1918–1922). The Cheka (the Bolshevik secret police) conducted
the mass repressions. Estimates for the total number of people killed in the Red Terror range from 10,000
to over one and a half million. Also, it is important to note that many Marxists and socialists opposed the
Red Terror like Lev Kamenev, Nikolai Bukharin, Karl Kautsky, and M. S. Olminsky. So, every Marxist and
every socialist should never be blamed for the atrocities of the Red Terror.
The Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War was one of the most important events of the 20th century. It lasted from November
1917 to October 1922. It was a brutal war and it was complex. The 2 major factions that fought in the War
were the Red Army and the White Army. The Red Army were made up of Bolsheviks while the White Army
was made up of a diverse amount of people (like pro-Tsarists, social democrats, other socialists,
monarchists, and other opponents of the Bolshevik order). Also, there were the rival militant socialists and
non-ideological Green armies who fought against both the Bolsheviks and the White Army. There was the
anarchist Black Army who fought the Bolsheviks and the White Army too. The war covered a wide spectrum
of lands from Ukraine to Siberia. 8 foreign nations intervened to ally with the White Army as a way to try to
defeat the Red Army. The Red Army defeated the White Armed Forces of South Russia in Ukraine and the
army led by Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak in Siberia in 1919. The remains of the White forces commanded by
Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel were beaten in Crimea and evacuated in late 1920. Lesser battles of the war
continued on the periphery for two more years, and minor skirmishes with the remnants of the White
forces in the Far East continued well into 1923. Armed national resistance in Central Asia was not
completely crushed until 1934. There were an estimated 7,000,000-12,000,000 casualties during the war,
mostly civilians. The Russian Civil War has been described by some as the greatest national catastrophe
that Europe had yet seen (before World War II). The Red Army was victorious. Also, new nations were
formed in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland as there were independence movements during
this time period. The Soviet Union would continue to exist for decades to come. The civil war started after
the defeat of the Russian Provisional Government.
After the October Revolution, the Red Guard was formed and the Cheka existed or the Bolshevik state
security group. Leon Trotsky formed the Red Army made up of peasants and other workers. He used
conscription since the army at first was very small. The problem was that Trotsky allowed the Red Army to
use hostages and shooting at people to make sure people complied in the Red Army. These same actions
were also done by the White Army officers too. 83% of the Red Army divisional and corps commanders
were ex-Tsarist soldiers. The war was ultimately a battle between pro-Bolshevik forces and anti-Bolshevik
forces. The war definitely was on when the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk existed and the political ban formed.
Anti-Bolshevik groups were diverse and were loosely confederated. They included landowners, republicans,
conservatives, middle-class citizens, reactionaries, pro-monarchists, liberals, army generals, non-Bolshevik
socialists who still had grievances and democratic reformists voluntarily united only in their opposition to
Bolshevik rule. This group formed the White Army via forced conscription and terror. Another problem with
the White Army was that it was supported by overt imperialists who wanted Russia to be a Western client
state. Many leaders of the White Army were Gen. Yudenich, Adm. Kolchak and Gen. Denikin. An Ukrainian
independence national movement existed. One leader of the Black Army was Nestor Makhno. Many Jewish
people and Ukrainian peasants were in the Black Army. They played a role in halting General Denikin’s
White Army offensive towards Moscow during 1919 while rejecting the White forces from Crimea. The
European part of the Russian war was fought on three main fronts which were the eastern, the southern,
and the northwestern front. There were three major periods of the war.

Most of the fighting in this first period was sporadic, involving only small groups amid a fluid and rapidly
shifting strategic scene. Among the antagonists were the Czechs, known as the Czechoslovak Legion or
"White Czechs", the Poles of the Polish 5th Rifle Division and the pro-Bolshevik Red Latvian riflemen. The
second period of the war lasted from January to November 1919. At first the White armies' advances from
the south (under Gen. Denikin), the east (under Adm. Kolchak) and the northwest (under Gen. Yudenich)
were successful, forcing the Red Army and its allies back on all three fronts. In July 1919 the Red Army
suffered another reverse after a mass defection of units in the Crimea to the anarchist Black Army under
Nestor Makhno, enabling anarchist forces to consolidate power in Ukraine. Leon Trotsky soon reformed the
Red Army, concluding the first of two military alliances with the anarchists. In June the Red Army first
checked Kolchak's advance. After a series of engagements, assisted by a Black Army offensive against White
supply lines, the Red Army defeated Denikin's and Yudenich's armies in October and November. The third
period of the war was the extended siege of the last White forces in the Crimea. Gen. Wrangel had
gathered the remnants of Denikin's armies, occupying much of the Crimea. An attempted invasion of
southern Ukraine was rebuffed by the anarchist Black Army under the command of Nestor Makhno.
Pursued into the Crimea by Makhno's troops, Wrangel went over to the defensive in the Crimea. After an
abortive move north against the Red Army, Wrangel's troops were forced south by Red Army and Black
Army forces; Wrangel and the remains of his army were evacuated to Constantinople in November 1920.
Also, Green Army was heavily made up of peasants who opposed both the Red and White Armies too
(there military forces in their peak was 40,000 people). They wanted an independent, autonomous power
base in their lands.
Lenin's New Economic Policy

After the Russian Civil War, revolutions continued to exist worldwide. Later, revolutions grew in China and
throughout Europe plus all over Africa. In March of 1921, the Kronstadt rebellion began when sailors in
Kronstadt revolted against the Bolshevik government, demanding that all socialists be allowed to publish
freely, that independent trade unions be given freedom of assembly and that peasants be allowed free
markets and not be subject to requisitioning. Lenin declared that the mutineers had been misled by the
Socialist Revolutionaries and foreign imperialists, calling for violent reprisals. Under Trotsky's leadership,
the Red Army put down the rebellion on March, 17, 1921, resulting in thousands of deaths and the
internment of survivors in labour camps. It was led by Stepan Petrichenko and consisting of Russian sailors,
soldiers, and civilians. The rebellion originated in Kronstadt, a naval fortress on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of
Finland that served as the base of the Russian Baltic Fleet and as a guardpost for the approaches to
Petrograd, 55 kilometres (34 mi) away. The rebellion was crushed by the Red Army after a 12-day military
campaign, resulting in several thousand deaths. The rebellion was one of the reasons for Vladimir Lenin's
and the Communist Party's decision to loosen its control of the Russian economy by implementing the New
Economic Policy (NEP).

The Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War changed the world forever. War and revolutions caused
many changes. The civil war devastated Russia for a time. Lenin and his Red Army won. Yet, the Russian
economy suffered because of the destruction of the war. Trade was stagnant. Industrial production
declined. Many people went into other countries in order to gained employed and many of these people
were skilled workers too. Lenin had to do something. Therefore, in March of 1921, Lenin put aside his plan
for a state-controlled economy at the moment. He created a small scale reform plan called the New
Economic Policy. This was called the NEP for short. The NEP allowed the peasants to sell their surplus crops
instead of turning them over to the government. The government still controlled major industries, banks,
and means of communication.

Yet, it let some small factories, businesses, and firms to operate under private ownership. The government
also encouraged foreign investment. The country slowly recovered in part because of the peace and new
policies. By 1928, Russian firms and factories were producing as much as they did before World War I.
Bolshevik leaders obviously didn’t agree with nationalism since Marxism is internationalist by nature. They
wanted party unity and loyalty. That is why they including Lenin organized the Soviet Union into many
republics that were self governing but under the control of the central government. In 1922, the land was
called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the USSR. The Bolsheviks now renamed themselves the
Communist Party. The Communist Party came from the literature of Karl Marx. Marx wanted communism
to be a classless society where workers seized power to overthrow the capitalist elitists. In 1924, the
Communists created a constitution based on socialist and democratic principles. It was very historic. The
Communist Party held power. Lenin ruled the USSR. It is important to promote workers’ power, which
Stalin didn’t really advocate, especially after Lenin passed away. Lenin rightfully rejected imperialism as
parasitic in his own words:

"...The fact that imperialism is parasitic or decaying capitalism is manifested first of all in the tendency to
decay, which is characteristic of every monopoly under the system of private ownership of the means of
production. The difference between the democratic-republican and the reactionary-monarchist imperialist
bourgeoisie is obliterated because they are both rotting alive…" [“Imperialism and the Split in Socialism,” in
Lenin Collected Works, Volume 23 (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1977), p. 106]
The Rise of Stalin

The rise of Stalin was antithetical to the aims of the Russian Revolution. Even Lenin and especially Trotsky
disagreed with Stalin’s authoritarian agenda. Lenin had a stroke in 1922. So, the power on who was to rule
the Communist party was debated by many factions. Leon Trotsky and Stalin wanted to have a big influence
in the Communist movement of Russia. Stalin, even back in the 1920’s, was known as impersonal, cruel,
and harsh. Stalin means “man of steel” in Russian, but Stalin was not his original name. In 1922, he was the
general secretary of the Communist Party. Stalin wanted more leadership power, but Lenin before he died
had questions about Stalin. Lenin viewed Stalin as not being able to handle power correctly. He was right.
Lenin's last advice to the party was to warn it against Stalin's "disloyal" and "intolerant" abuse of power and
to advocate his removal from the post of General Secretary. Lenin's last active days were spent organizing
his fight against the Stalin faction at the Congress. He wrote a letter to Trotsky asking him to take up the
defense of the Georgian comrades, and to the Georgian leaders warmly committing himself to their
cause. Trotsky wanted socialism to spread worldwide in an international revolution. Stalin wanted
socialism to spread in one country at a time.
 The top right images shows Western political and economic elites communicating with Stalin. Stalinism is
antithetical to independent, progressive freedom. It is no secret that Western capitalists have aided Stalinism to
fight the Nazis. Stalinism is not socialism. The picture on the top right shows Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
partner Averell Harriman sitting bwtween British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Russia’s Commissar
Josef Stalin in August 1942. They were in oppsoition to the Nazis (as they should since the Nazis were murderers
and evil people). Soviet Russian Goreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov is seated on the far right. Averell
Harriman was a member of the Skulls & Bones society. The Skulls and Bones are known for bizarre initiation
rituals and connections to the political and economic elite power structure of the Western world. Prescott Bush,
who was George W. Bush’ s grandfather was Bonesman too (along with George H.W. Bush and George W.
Bush). The image on the bottom right shows Stalin standing next to U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union W.
Averell Harriamn. They were atop Lenin’s Tomb during a Soviet military parade held in Moscow on August 12,
1945. Ironically, Lenin had reservations about Stalin before Lenin passed away.

In 1928, Stalin completely controlled the Communist Party. Trotsky was forced into exile by 1929 and Leon
Trotsky would be one of Stalin’s greatest critics. Trotsky also had a brief affair with the famous artist Frida
Kahlo. Leon Trotsky would be killed in Mexico City by a sharp object. Stalin would have authoritarian power
and soon to be a dictator (as in a totalitarian fashion). Totalitarianism is a form of government in which the
national government takes control of all aspects of both public and private life in a reactionary fashion.
Stalinist Russia took over the public and private aspects of Russian society. Russia under Stalin changed.
Stalin used a police state force to try to stop dissent. Stalin used the Great Purge in 1937 to execute his
opposition, even the original Bolshevik leaders who fought against the Tsarist empire.
 This image shows the destruction of the original Church of Christ the Saviour in Moscow in 1931. Soviet Russia
under Stalin was filled with religious persecution.

Many people were sent into labor camps too. Stalin allowed censorship, indoctrination of schools, religious
persecution, and other evils. Stalin executed the Five Year Plans in trying to grow the Soviet economy.
During that time, there was a growth of the production of industry and agriculture. The problem was that
food shortages existed. Also, Stalin tried to steal the collective farms from the peasants. People resisted in
fighting for voting rights. Between 5-10 million peasants were killed by the Stalinist regime, because the
peasants fought for economic rights. During that time, many women gained economic and educational
opportunities, which is good. Yet, many people’s civil liberties were violated in the reign of Stalin. Any
school or university that had people who disagreed with Stalin were in risk of imprisonment. Religious
persecution existed against Greek Orthodox people and Jewish people existed under Stalin. Stalinism
wanted to compete with the capitalist world in material resources instead of developing a key class analysis
to benefit the workers internationally in a progressive fashion.

Stalinism's problems were that it was too bureaucratic, didn't accept the spreading of democratic rights,
and misused its power which ultimately led to the Soviet Union's end in 1991.
The Lessons and Legacy of the Russian Revolution

In 2017, it will be 100 years since the Russian Revolution. In this centenary of the Russian
Revolution, we realize that it was a revolt against world capitalism. For long centuries, many
capitalists in many cases have enacted colonialism, imperialism, racism, sexism, xenophobia,
environmental degradation, and other evils in the world. Before the Russian Revolution, Russia
experienced brutal, tyrannical czars. Peasants were experiencing oppression, and anti-Semitic
pogroms against innocent Jewish people existed. Workers struggled to get jobs or decent wages in
urban centers. Revolutionaries existed to end the tyranny of the Czars. Also, Duma existed to
promote reform, but the status quo remained in many ways. Czar Nicholas II was blatantly corrupt
in his actions. Czar Nicholas II made the following mistakes: he refused to adequately address the
legitimate grievances of the workers and peasants (like poverty, hunger, and personal freedoms), his
Duma system wasn’t progressive, he advanced a disastrous war with Japan, he was involved in the
disastrous war with Germany including Austria-Hungary, etc. A revolution was bound to happen.

The provisional government was controlled by Kerensky and other moderates after the czar was
overthrown. Many moderates were the Mensheviks who didn’t want the soviets to have the
undisputed power in Russia. The soviets were very popular since local worker councils was all over
the country. Soviets included peasants and soldiers. Soviets allowed workers to have a direct
democratic voice, so they flourished. By October 24, 1917, more revolutionary people ended the
power of the Provisional Government to create the modern Soviet Union. That revolution was led
by the Petrograd Soviet’s Military Revolutionary Committee. The Bolsheviks (whose leaders
included Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky) succeeded in their goal of ending the reign of the Czars.
By the time of October, the majority of the Russian people supported the Bolsheviks. Lenin and
Trotsky wanted to enact a socialist order. They established the first socialist workers state in human
history in the midst of 150 million people of Russia back then. Workers’ control of factories grew.
Redistribution of wealth to peasants existed. Russian banks were nationalized. Lenin ended Russian
involvement in World War I via the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Yet, problems existed. The Russian
Civil War caused tons of people to die (the White Army was supported by 14 imperialist nations.
There were other factions in this bloody, complex war too) and that civil war harmed the Russian
economy for years. The rise of Stalin existed.

Many of the Cold War Occurrences

The construction of West On April of 1949, On December 1949, During the Korean War,
Berlin under the Marshall President Truman Stalin and Mao Zedong General Douglas
Plan caused the signed the North are united. MacArthur is shown here
rebuilding of Germany. Atlantic Treaty being the UN Command
Germany would be (causing NATO or the CIC. He observed the
unified by the 1990’s. North Atlantic Treaty bombing of Incheon from
Organization) in the the USS McKinley on
Oval Office. September of 1950.

The red color shows the Che Guevara is on U.S. combat troops are The fall of the Berlin Wall
maximum area of the the left and Fidel involved in the Battle of in 1989 changed the
Soviet Union after the Castro is on the right. Ia Drang, South Vietnam world forever and
Cuban Revolution of They, during 1961, on November of 1965. Eastern Europe soon
1959 and before the Sino- are the leaders of the The Vietnam War is ended USSR influence. 2
Soviet split of 1961. Cuban Revolution. definitely part of the Cold years later, the Cold War
War. would end.
Instead of forming a progressive, socialist system, Stalin re-imposed the state bureaucracy and
violated the many civil liberties of the people during his reign of terror and authoritarianism. That is
why many people erroneously believed that Stalin is representative of all forms of socialism, which
is a pernicious lie. From Stalin’s great Purge of Bolsheviks to his violations of the rights of other
people, Stalin is not representative of socialism at all. Under Stalin, the state bureaucracy grew
Russian industry and its military. Stalin was cold blooded and calculating in his actions. The heroic
Red Army did defeat the Nazis, which was a good thing. I will acknowledge that. During the Cold
War, The Soviet Union competed against the West for resources in the world. Stalin's insistence
that the USSR must "catch up and outstrip" the West economically or be conquered reflected how
Russia had become subject to the laws of capitalism through the necessity of military competition.
The new form of class rule imposed after the defeat of the Russian Revolution was state capitalism
ironically. Even the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was about socialists and other freedom
fighters trying to end Stalinism in Hungary. They were unsuccessful, but they inspired
many other human beings to advance liberty and freedom. That is why many people rose up
against Stalinism in satellites of the USSR in Eastern Europe by 1989. This caused the USSR to be
collapsed by the early 1990’s.

It has been over one quarter of a century since the end of the Soviet Union. Francis Fukuyama’s
“End of History” thesis believed that the end of the USSR represented the superiority of Western
capitalism and a beginning of a new Utopian age of freedom spreading worldwide. We know that to
be precisely wrong. The truth is that since over 25 years ago, we see the growth of income
inequality worldwide, we see the growth of terrorism, mass poverty, torture, and the increase of
right wing, xenophobic, and nationalist movements in Europe and in America (which contributed
to the Brexit vote and the extremist Donald Trump to be selected as President by the Electoral
College. Trump's cabinet members include ex-generals and outright extremists like Sessions).

While in 1970, 92 percent of 30-year-olds made more than their parents did at a similar age, only 51
percent did so in 2014. Millions of Americans are suffering from inadequate health care. For the
first time in more than two decades, overall life expectancy fell in 2015 due to the shocking rise in
mortality from suicide, drug abuse and other manifestations of social crisis. The rise of Trump is
paralleled by the growth in the political influence of the National Front in France, Pegida in
Germany, the Five Star Movement in Italy and the UK Independence Party, which led the
campaign for Brexit. In Germany, the ruling class is using the Christmas Market attack in Berlin to
escalate the anti-refugee campaign led by Alternative for Germany. Imperialist powers in our
generation lust for markets, trade routes, economic resources, and other resources while jingoistic
nationalism is utilized by the capitalist elite class in order to contain dissent and expand divisiveness
in various countries. We have reactionaries like Paul Ryan who are overt in their intention to end or
privatize progressive policies like Medicaid, Social Security, the right to an education, the minimum
wage, Medicare, etc. There has also been more young people express not only discontent with the
status quo, but are advocating workers' rights, anti-imperialism, and social justice.
Today, many reactionaries even criticized the right of the people to oppose the Czars during the
Russian Revolution. It is obvious that Stalin did a whole lot more mistakes than Lenin and Trotsky
(who were more sincere than Stalin in creating revolutionary change). While, we abhor imperialism
and capitalist exploitation, we should never be naive to think that the Russian Revolution was
perfect. Therefore, we must let the truth be known. The legacy of the Russian Revolution (with its
strengths and imperfections) is that human beings will continue to oppose tyranny by any legitimate
means necessary and we should promote not only economic justice, an end to oligarchy, and
opposition to the Czars, but democracy too. We know that free market capitalism doesn't
work, because history proves that unfettered capitalism damages the environment, harms
workers' rights, and strips the human rights of the people while enriching financial
oligarchs. That's real talk. True revolutionary change is fine, but any revolutionary action must be
bounded under integrity, justice, humane treatment, and legitimate morality. In other words, we
believe in condemning murder, abuse, violation of liberty, evil authoritarianism, and other evils. We
believe in cooperation, righteousness, and altruism. There is no true freedom without
democratic rights. Many socialists and freedom fighters for centuries and thousands of years have
given their lives for human liberation. The Russian Revolution impact our time too as we see the
wicked evil results of capitalist exploitation worldwide. We will continue to fight for the liberation
of the workers, the poor, the homeless, and humanity in general.

By Timothy

I will always believe in social justice and

human justice.