Rodrigo A. Taipe IB History Mr.

Reed December 20, 2011 Russian Revolutions of 1917

The March and November Revolutions were the product of a broken bond between the Tsar and the Russian people. Governmental corruption and inefficiency were rampant. The Tsars reactionary policies, including the occasional dissolution of the Duma, or Russian parliament, the chief Fruit of the 1905 Revolution, had spread dissatisfaction to even moderate elements (Britannica). Moreover, the Russian people after WWI were skeptical about their leaders, and the form of government. The Tsar had failed to remove the discontent of the peasants and the workers (The Corner). Therefore, losing the support he could have had from the majority population group in Russia and leading to a revolution. The March revolution overthrew the imperial government, and the November Revolution placed the Bolsheviks in power. This period of time within a year allowed many similarities between the two revolutions. On the other hand, various clear differences set them apart.

Essentially, both revolutions began with attempting to diminish the power of the Duma. At first, there contained fundamental laws, which No sooner had the 1905 Revolution died out than Nicholas 11 thought of withdrawing the liberal concessions from the people (The Corner). The people wanted the right to vote, and parties were trying to oppress groups to vote for them. Methods of gathering public support included initiating riots, creating problems within the system, etc. Anon, both dealt with the

continuance of popular opposition in the government. The largest population in Russia consisted of the peasants, workers, and non-Russia National Minorities. All of these groups grew a discontent of the governments distribution of land and money. Additionally, these groups wanted more of a say in laws and reforms. Thus parties such as the Zemstvo were created on the countryside. Furthermore, key occurrences evidently exemplified the causes of the revolutions. Both revolutions were fuelled by the lack of food, connecting back to the workers, and the government acted as if they were antiwar. After misleading the Russia public, the military was back out to war, breaking the trust of the people. Additionally, the government wasnt doing a good job of handling the war, just displaying the recurring state of Russia being in need of repair. Moreover, those in power gave it up without a fight. For example, the Tsar abdicated, and the PG surrendered. Finally, a revolution in November was bound to arise because of Lenins desperate attempt to cause one in April.

On the other hand, there were many underlying differences that blatantly separated the two revolutions. On account of length of the revolutions themselves, the November Revolution was less bloody and did not last as long as the March Revolution. A main reason the March Revolution was so bloody was because of ongoing resentment at the cruel treatment of peasants by patricians, poor working conditions experienced by city workers in the fledgling industrial economy and a growing sense of political and social awareness of the lower orders in general (St. Petersburg-Life). The March Revolution was fought with actually ammunition in firearms, whereas in November, merely blanks were shot. Moreover, as mentioned, workers and soldiers led the March

revolution, unlike in the November Revolution where revolutionaries led them. The March Revolution ended autocracy, due to a need in change of government. After Lenins return however, the November Revolution reinitiated autocracy but in another form: communism (Bolsheviks regime). A reason why the November Revolution was more successful then the March was because of planning and organization. The March Revolution was not planned, thus there was utterly no order, however the planned November Revolution was on point and planned. Novembers revolution had complete order and control over firearms and where to strike.

The Revolutions proved to be a product of poor leadership and decisions that dissatisfied the majority of the people in Russia. The Tsar did not appease the workers and peasants, who were the greatest in numbers and abdicated after misleading his people. Whether similar or different, all various causes exemplified the result of poor leadership and direction. Ergo, Russia obviously did not learn its lesson the first time in March, and was only bound to make the same mistake again.

Works Cited "Russian Revolution of 1917." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 24 Dec. 2010 http://www.thecorner.org/hist/russia/revo1917.htm http://www.st-petersburg-life.com/st-petersburg/1917-russian-revolution