THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND STALINISM

During the XIX century Russia was a feudal dictartoship , the people were unhappy
and hopeless , until through rebellions, a small group of revolutionaries overthrew
the czars and then Russia went into a stage of anarchy and turmoil .

Revolution of 1905 :
In 1905, the dissatisfaction and the misery in Russia were widespread . On January
22 in the same year , a workers' massacre took place in St Peterbusrg that met
massively there , they asked for reforms to the czar . This massacre is know as the
“Winter Palace Massacre” or “Bloody Sunday” . It produce a wave of manifestations
and strikes in 122 cities during 2 months . The workers organized in soviets or
assemblies in the whole country . In September the strikes were generalized and
they forced the czar to approve the reforms . But when the protest decreased , the
reforms stopped .
After the revolution , clearly two groups were differing :
The Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks .
The Bolsheviks : led by Vladimir Lenin and they were majority . They supported the
idea of the revolution stimulated by the workers and peasants . They want a fast
evolution of the countries , from the capitalism to the socialism .
The Mensheviks : They were minority . The supported the idea of the revolution
stimulated by the middle class .

Revolutions of 1917

February :
On 23rd February 1917 , the International Women's Day Festival in St. Petersburg
turned into a city-wide demonstration, as exasperated women workers left factories
to protest against food shortages. The czar tried to suppress them, but the soldiers
refused to shoot them.
The Duma condemned the czarist regime, they asked to Nicholas II the restoration
of a popular government. Nicholas II dissolved the Duma.
The principal public buildings were taken by rebels and even the personal guard of
the czar gets revolted.
Moscow was in hands of the revolutionaries.
When the czar and his advisers thought in a possible way to stop the revolution, it
was too late, the people want a republic.
The Duma constituted an Executive provisional committee, and for the other hand
the soviets constitute in parallel.
The czar tried to react at this situation but he did not count with military support,
so he decline the 15 March 1917. He gave the throne to his brother, the duke
Michael, but he declined too. The Romanov era was over in Russia.
Soon, a Provisional Government was established composed by liberals and
socialists, and in the head of the government was the prince Georgii Lvov, he
continued with the monarchy. People as an answer continued with the strikes and
the Duma changes Lvov for Kerensky.

The Provisional Government:

They tried to establish in Russia a constitutional and democratic regime. But they
had a problem, they were governing with the soviets, that had actually more power
that the government .It produced a dual power so was inevitable the confrontation
between the Bolsheviks and the government.
In July, the problems between them stopped with the victory of the government.
Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks run away to Finland and then Swiss.
Kerensky was the prime minister of Russia.
October:
In the night of October 24, the Bolsheviks took possession of all the strategic places
from St. Petersburg, and the following day they took possession of the Winter
Palace, seat of the government.
Kerensky and his ministers run away and the Bolsheviks were authorized to
organize a Commissioners’ Council , they would be in charge of the new
government and Lenin would be the president.
The new regime announced important changes for the country. The local power was
given to the soviets.
In 8th December, were elections for the Constituent Assembly, but the
Commissioners’ Council split the Assembly . In July Russia was in a Civil War.

Civil War:
Was a confrontation between the White Army (anti-Bolsheviks) that was support by
England, France, and United State . And the Red Army (Bolsheviks) was organized
by Trotsky.
The whites, at some point controlled a considerable territory of Russia and the reds
where around Moscow and St.Petersburg. But the Bolsheviks won because they
impose a brutal and militarized dictatorship to the party and to the people in
Russia. Besides, the Opposition was squashed mercilessly.
When the civil war was over, in 1921, the Russian system was transformed in a
Totalitarian State with a unique party, governed by the Commissioners’ Council and
with the central committee of the Communist Party.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

In December of 1922, the soviets’ congress, decided to constitute de Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, would be conformed by Russia, Ukrainian, Byelorussia
and the republics of central Asia.
The USSR will be the centre of the international communism leader by Vladimir
Lenin.
Prior his death, Lenin warned against Stalin’s powers, he wrote:
”Comrade Stalin has concentrated an enormous power in his hands and I am not
sure that he always knows how to use that power with sufficient caution...”
In 1924 Lenin died, his testament was suppressed by Stalin as he took power

Stalinism
Stalinism was the "theory and practice of communism" by Joseph Stalin, leader of
the Soviet Union after Lenin’s death.
When Stalin reach to the power, consolidated his power through the expulsion of
his old co workers and Trotsky.
He was convinced that will be impossible a revolution in the whole world, how
Trotsky said. So his thesis was “socialism in one country”, it means impose the
socialism but in URRS only, so the country would be powerful and then the thesis of
the revolotution in the whole world would work.
With that aim, he created an economical programme known as “Five Year Plan”,
which converted the nation in an economic potency.
Stalin governed as a dictator for almost 30 years. He dominated with the help of
the secret police.
In 1934, his assistant, Serguei Kirov, was killed. So he conformed the “Moscow
judges” that all the possible opponents to his government will be killed.
His government was cruel and the country was involved in the World Ward II, and
the beginning of the Cold War.
He died in Moscow in 1953, because of a cerebral haemorrhage.