What Sparked the Russian Revolution?

The Russian Revolution took place during difficult time in Russia. These troubles began before World War I and lasted up until 1930's. Russia's population was made up of mostly poor, starving peasants. A small working and middle class began to rise to help industrialize Russia. But a corrupt government made it difficult for Russia to advance. This added to the turmoil. World War I placed a serious hurt on Russia. Although at first it raised national pride and enthusiasm, it quickly drained resources and poorly trained peasants quickly found themselves fighting with no weapons. This war sent over 2 million Russians to their death in 1915 alone. Turning points for the Russian revolution were the March Revolution, the November Revolution and Stalin coming to power.

By March 1917, disasters on the battlefield, combined with food and fuel shortages on the front, brought the monarchy to collapse. In St. Petersburg workers were going on strike. Marchers, mostly women were shouting, "Bread! Bread! Bread!" Troops refused to fire on demonstrators, leaving the government helpless. Duma politicians setup a temporary government/ Middle class liberals prepared a constitution for a new Russian republic. At the same time they continued the war with Germany. That decision proved fatal. Most Russians were fed up with the war and returned home, leaving the front. Peasants wanted land and people wanted food. Cities set up soviets, council of workers and soldiers, which worked dramatically within the government. Before long a radical social group took charge called the Bolsheviks emerged. Their leader was V.I. Lenin.

During the November revolution the Bolsheviks decided to further the revolution. They stormed Moscow and took it as their capital. With this newly acquired city they gained land, which was split amongst the peasants. Workers were given control of factories and mines. For a period of time there was bliss in the country. But battles still waged on between the reds and whites, and civil wars grew. Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all broke free but nationalists in Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Central Asia were eventually subdued. Allie forces placed a hurt on Russia as well. They joined the white that wanted to continue the war against Germany. Although they didn't succeed the allies left a hurt on Russian nationalist who were roused and continued battles against Russia.
In 1920 Joseph Stalin came to power as general secretary of the party. He used his position to build a loyal following who owed their jobs to him. Once Stalin came to power he established his 5-year plan, His plans included turning the Soviet Union into a modern industrial power. It was also aimed at building heavy industry, improving transportation, and increasing farm output. He also established a command economy where government officials made all basic economic decisions. The government pushed workers to meet his goal of the five-year plan. The government gave bonuses to those who met the demands, and punishing those who didn't. However he produced mixed results.

The Russian revolution did not bring much change to the society. And the few changes that did occur only affected a small majority of the people. The people soon found themselves back where they started. Poor, hungry and over worked. The only relief would come in the Bolshevik revolution. If not for World war I, Russia would not have been placed in such a predicament and political turmoil.