Analysis of the Global-Scaled Impact of the Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution had many impacts on the world around it. When the United States entered the conflict, many things started to change. The Revolution was now beginning to become something larger. From there on, it helped contribute to World War ll. The effects of the Russian Revolution and World War ll will never be forgotten.

The Revolution started on March 8, 1917 and ended on June 16, 1923. It was the ending of the imperial rule that had been inhabiting Russia. It led to many conflicts in both the social and political life. People started to question the state of their country and what they thought was right or wrong. They questioned how their country should be run and by who it should be run. They were either ready for a change or clinging on to the past. Many people consider it to be one of the most influential events to occur in the country.

One of the things that contributed to the Revolution was the ending of serfdom. Serfdom was the practice of forcing peasants or the lower class to work on the upper class and land owning peoples' houses/farms. In the article Russian Revolution, the author goes on to talk about how serfdom made “Much of Western Europe view Russia as an underdeveloped, backwards society” This may have been because serfdom was abolished in most European countries by around the middle ages. When serfdom was finally abolished, the peasant class was free of all obligations they had to landowners. With their new found freedom, they went on to organise in groups and talk about the problems within Russia.

Another one of the reasons the Revolution was caused was due to the royalty that ruled over Russia. Czar Nicholas, the ruler of Russia at the time, had left to go lead the army currently fighting in the war. That left the country under the control of Czarina Alexandra, Czar Nicholas’ wife, and her chief commander Grigory Rasputin. With her power, Alexandra quickly began firing Russian officials. This gave Rasputin plenty of time to start gaining more power over Russia.

Many of the nobles were not happy with Rasputin and the things he was doing to their country. On December 30, 1916, these same nobles went on to murder Grigory Rasputin and his rule over Russia. By this time many of the Russian people were already tired of their failed government. They had given up hope on their Czar and Czarina. They were tired and hungry and fed up with the government. Their solution was simple really, start a revolution. Although, at the time they didn’t know the impact it would have on the world, they would soon find out.

Major Events During the Revolution

One of the main events to happen during the revolution was the February Revolution. It was known as the February revolution due to the fact the calendar in Russian was thirteen days behind than the normal calendar. It was also known as the event that started the Russian Revolution. During the February Revolution, many of the industrial workers went on strike because of the lack of bread. This strike consisted of them taking to the streets of Petrograd and starting a march. Despite clashing with the police they refused to move out of the streets until they had been heard. Finally, on March 11, the Petrograd garrison was called out to put an end to the uprising. They had permission to open fire and ended up killing a total of 1,382 people. This act effectively led to the event being called the February Revolution.

Another important event to be noted was the October Revolution. During this time the Bolsheviks came to power and finally took over the government. During the February Revolution the Bolsheviks weren’t able to take over due to the fact that their party had not been strong enough. When Vladimir Lenin took over the party, the Bolsheviks decided it was their time to shine. They took action by finally going and taking over the current Russian government. At this time many of the Russian people didn’t really care about what was happening in office, they just wanted Russia to be at peace. This was one of the many reasons the Bolsheviks were so successful in overtaking the government.

There were many people involved in the Revolution. Some of these people include Czar Nicholas, the Bolsheviks, Vladimir Lenin, and the Duma. There were also people from other countries involved in the revolution. Although, America was the main one to be involved. There were also many people involved in the war. Germany and Japan were teh main forces in that. All of these people had a very important and specific role in the revolution and in the war.

As previously mentioned, Czar Nicholas was away at the front of the war leading the army. When he finally came back he discovered the poor state that was his country. The Duma, or the group of people that had been established in the first Revolution, were not very happy about the fact that Czar Nicholas was back. He repeatedly tried to dissolve the Duma and take control over his country, but that never happened. Eventually, the Duma took over the Russian throne and ended centuries of the Russian Romanov rule. They quickly set up a provisional government for Russia and started talking about plans. Czar Nicholas was not at all happy about this outcome.

While Russia was in a grave peril, Vladimir Lenin decided it was the perfect time to stir things up in the country. He was also one of the main people in the Revolution and he eventually became leader. He took over a party called the Bolsheviks. These were all people who wanted an end to the provisional government. In the article the Russian Revolution the author tells you about how the bolsheviks started “a nearly bloodless coup d’etat against the Duma’s provisional government.” This overthrow led to a civil war breaking out in Russia. Two parties formed also known as the Red and White armies. The White army represented Lenin and his party’s goals. Most of the Russian people supported the White party. This may have been due to the fact that the Bolsheviks had promised them so much. The Red army represented the ones who opposed Lenin's views and liked the way the country was at the time. Most of the people were not in the Red party for fear of upsetting the White party and their people. Eventually, the White party won and the party's goal of making Russia a communist country came true.

In between the years of 1918 and 1920 America decided it was their time to step into the conflict going on in Russia. As they entered the problem, they split into two groups just like the Russians had. In the article The Impact of the Russian Revolution on the U.S. Tom Cream, the author, writes that “The pro-Bolshevik left wing of the Socialist Party had the support of the overwhelming majority of the membership. But the bureaucratic manoeuvres by the party’s right wing prevented the left from taking over in 1919” Many people wanted to support one side of the war even though others wanted to support a different side. This led to many struggles within the American troops. Tensions ran high and many people fought against one another during the war. Even though they entered the conflict as one, they were still divided on how they felt about the matter.

The Involvement of America

America's entrance was one of the most important things to happen in the war. After many weeks of watching the Revolution from afar they decided they needed to help out. They were also in contact with the allied powers talking about how and what they could do to help out. Europe decided that it did not want to enter the Revolution and they left it all up to the Americans. This may have been because of the Revolution that has recently happened in France. It also could have been because they were keeping an eye out on Germany and were preparing for the things that were bound to unleash outside of that country.

The main thing that made their decision was all the violence happening in Russia. They saw that it was slowly starting to become more and more like the French Revolution. Russia was becoming too violent and there was too much anarchy happening. To prevent another horrible war from happening the Americans finally stepped in and took place on the battlefield. Many of the Russian people were thankful although there were some that were not. They believed that this was a matter to be dealt with inside of their own country, They also did not want Americans to upturn the already unstable balance that was their government. There were also some Americans that believed it would have been best for them to stay out of the war. They didn;t want their country to become anything like Russian and they wanted to be selfish.

In 1919 there was also a significant amount of battles between the two parties. Some of the major battles were the Seattle general strike and the nation strike of the nation's steel workers. In the article The Impact of the Russian Revolution on the U.S. Tom Cream writes “The defeat of the steel strike opened the door to serious state repression including the notorious Palmer Raids when 6,000 communists were rounded up by the government and hundreds deported” These battles were significant in the war because they helped turn the tide of the civil war in favor of one party or another party.

The Revolution and America's involvement was one of the biggest reasons for World War ll starting. During the Revolution other countries tensions were already high. People didn’t trust anybody outside of their own country. Conflicts started arising and everybody was on edge. There was also the fact that Germany was starting to become more and more violent. Along with Germany, Japan was also becoming more violent. Meanwhile in Russia, the civil war was starting to become more and more like the French Revolution. People were scared of the anarchy and violence that had happened in the French Revolution. They knew that there was bound to be a full blown war. They started stocking up on food as much as they could. Many of the countries were ready for the war to start.

Due to all the fighting and the civil war going on in Russia, this led for many countries to be able to plan for what would happen if a world war were to happen. Other countries also took after the violence happening in Russia and started to put their plans into action. Germany was one of the main countries to plan ahead. They were also the first country to put their plans of violence into action. They believed that the German race was superior to all and that they deserve to be treated as such. They also believed that the root of all problems were caused by the jewish race. They began to be more aggressive and violent towards the jewish people and eventually started killing them.

March 10, 1933 the first concentration camp was started in the town of Dachau effectively naming the camp Dachau. It was also started just a mer five weeks after Hitler became chancellor of Germany. In the camp, jewish people had to live in very poor conditions. They were put through hours and hours of hard work with little food to eat. They also had to deal with the harsh treatment of the Germans.

There would also be many concentration camps to come after that one. The largest one and most remembered being Aushewits, but there were so many others. Thousands of Jewish people were killed in all of them. So many people suffered from lack of nutrition. They also suffered from over exhaustion. They were worked way too hard and not given enough shelter or clothing. Their families would severely be affected by this. No Jewish people in the camps would ever forget the trauma they had gone through and what others had gone through.

On September 1, 1939, Germany decided that it was time to invade Poland. This officially started the beginning of World War ll. Just a few days after other countries decided to take action. On September 3, 1939 Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. The only way for them to help the country was to declare War on Germany. They believed that Poland was in the right and that Germany was in the wrong. They wanted the Polish to win and continue their lives in peace. This only upset the Germans more and made them more angry. They believed that they deserved the Polish land and that they were in the right. German people also believed that they were entitled to everything they ever wanted and Poland was one of them.

Japan was also preparing for the war. They also had similar beliefs to the Germans. They believed that the Japanese race should control all of Asia. This led them to becoming hostile towards other Asian countries and any other countries that supported them. They came up with a plan to invade China and take over their country. Obviously, China was not very happy about this and fought back. Many battles were fought in China and many deaths were caused because of it. China's army was quite a bit larger than Japans, so Japan started to struggle.

America was also on the victim list for Japan. Japanese people were scared that Americans were going to come in and infiltrate their country. So, they bombed America. This is otherwise known as the bombing of Pearl Harbor which happened on December 7, 1941. After the bombing America's decision to enter the war was final. They also bomb SouthEast Asia. Their reasoning for this being they needed resources and these were the only countries they could get them from. After the bombing, the two countries cut off Japan completely from their resources. This only made Japan more angry at the countries.

America was not one to just sit back and let themselves get bombed. They fought back with Japan and infiltrated their country. Many American men were encouraged to join the War starting so they could fight for their country. After many secrets and lies America bombed Japan. They bombed the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. This caused several thousands of people to die on spot. Those who didn’t die in the city they died from radiation poisoning. They gave the Japanese people a couple days to surrender before they bombed them again. When the Japanese didn’t surrender, America took up their promise and bombed another Japanese city. This being the city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Like the bombing of Hiroshima, thousands of people died in the city and those who didn’t died a horrible death from radiation.

After the bombing, Japan was in a state of perile. They realized they needed to quickly either figure out a plan of attack or they needed to surrender. They choose the second option. On September 2, 1945 Japan surrendered to America. This day can also be known as V-J Day and the end of World War ll.

After many battles and many deaths, World War ll finally came to an end. Many countries had suffered greatly because of this war. The lives of several innocent people were lost all because of one person. Many young people would never get to see their families again or their adulthood. Germany no longer had the trust of any other country. They also no longer had the trust of the Jewish people or any of the people that supported the Jewish people. Japan was also on very thin ice when it came to countries such as America and China. They were still being limited on natural supplies. This would change the way many of the other countries interacted with each other.

Russia After the War and Conclusions

After the war, Russia was also in an interesting state. Half of the country did not trust the other half of the country. Afterall, they had just fought each other in a civil war. Everyone had different ideas as to how they wanted the country to be run. It also didn’t help that Russia was going through a government change that upset many people. They had liked the government the way it was and thought it should stay the same. They did not want a communist country.

The introduction to communism was a very rough thing for the country. The new government changed the entire way Russia was being run. They made new rules and laws for the citizens. They changed work environments and how factories worked. This completely shaped the way the economy was. It causes major changes in production values and economic values. Some of these economic changes were actually good for the country. They were able to make more money for the country and its people. This upset many of the anti communist people. They liked the fact that the country was making more money, but didn’t like the change. They were still stuck in their ways of how the old country was run even though they hadn’t liked the previous czar. Many of the anti-communists and the government clashed causing many problems and tensions to arise from it.

Eventually, the country would settle down into its new ways. The anti-communists would come to accept the fact that they had no chance of having the old country back. Tensions would calm down and people would go back to getting along with one another. Everyone would help to work towards a better country and a better economic state. The country would flourish more than it had.

In conclusion, the Russian Revolution made many changes to the world. It also had many changes to the country itself. Empires were destroyed after thousands of years. A new government took power and changed the country from an imperial government to a communist government. People didn’t trust their families let alone their government. It took months for the country to calm down. The Revolution also led to one of the most influential wars. World War ll. It changed the outlook on Germany and Japan. Jewish people now lived in fear of the Germans. They had suffered so many losses and didn’t want to go through it again. After a while people were just trying to live their lives regularly. Although, nobody will ever forget the Revolution and the War that followed.