The first major event in the rise of communism was the Russian revolution of 1917. The country was traditionally considered slower to evolve than the rest of Europe, according to Minton Goldman of The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
Early 20th century Russia was in transition between an agrarian and industrialized society as farming families moved toward cities. As peasants migrated toward these urbanized areas and came in contact with the rising number of professionals such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, the desire for material growth grew in Russia and set up the framework for a revolution.
Soviet Union History and the February Revolution
The February Revolution that started in 1917 began the string of events that would lead to the rise of Communism and create the defining characteristic of the Soviet Union. History shows this action began with very little planning or leadership, which, as Sheila Fitzpatrick writes in The Russian Revolution, shows how disillusioned the people had become with their government.
Petrograd workers, bread line protesters and women working in factories all became demonstrators who walked from factory to factory, calling on the common worker to join their cause. Within two days almost every industrial effort in Petrograd had been forced to close. Liberal and Socialist politicians in
Liberals and Socialists in local representative assemblies called for Czar Nicholas II to abdicate in order to quell the protesters and prevent a revolution. Low-ranking officers in the police agencies joined the protesters instead of working to shut them down. By the time the military was deployed to end the riots, they were outnumbered by the protesting workers and were unable to retain civil control.
Soviet Union History and the March Revolution
Less than a month after the crowds of workers and protesters began marching through Petrograd, the czar returned from the war front. He abdicated the throne hoping it would unite Russia. Nicholas’ brother refused the crown, saying he would only accept the throne if the people elected him. A provisional government awarded power to the Social Revolutionary Party.
With the fall of the Russian regime, a new government “for the people” was waiting to take power under the helm of Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, writes Richard Malone in Analyzing the Russian Revolution. On November 7, 1917, Lenin led his left-wing troops against the provisional government, and replaced it with elected councils of workers and peasants. The country was then split into the Bolshevik “red” army and monarchists and liberals in the “white” army.
Soviet Union History and the Cold War
Relations between the United States (and the rest of the Western world) with the Soviet Union is historically defined by the communism of the USSR. In The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Minton Goldman writes that disagreement between the configuration of post-war Europe led to the beginnings of the Cold War.
Economic competition between the two halves of the world was a struggle to prove the superiority of either capitalism or communism. The economic rivalry led to military tension and a feeling amongst the each nature that their own political system was morally superior.
The former Soviet Union introduced the world to communism as more than a political theory and gave rise to an era of communism. As Soviet Russia's influence grew, so did the influence of communism around the world. Even after the collapse of the USSR, communism survived. Communist economies still exist today; for example, in Cuba and China. China's communist economy is especially influential as it is a growing stake in the global economy.
Sources:
- Goldman, Minton The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Dushkin Publishing Group, 1986.
- Fitzpatrick, Sheila The Russian Revolution. Oxford University Press, 2001.
- Malone, Richard. Analyzing The Russian Revolution. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
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