October Revolution in Russia

First, let's explain this paradox: the "October Revolution" that took place in November! In 1917, the Julian calendar is still in force in Russia, lagging behind the Gregorian by 13 days ... October 25, therefore, corresponds to November 7 according to the modern calendar.

The first revolution, called the February Revolution (February 27 according to the Julian calendar, March 12 according to ours), overthrew Tsar Nicholas II. Events overtook the Provisional Government, where the liberal bourgeois and moderate socialists coexisted. On the right, he was threatened by pro-tsarist generals, and on the left, by the Bolsheviks (from the word "majority"), the revolutionary wing of the Russian socialist
Democratic Party led by Lenin.

Seeing the impotence of the government, the Bolsheviks at the end of October decided to go over to the uprising. The Military Revolutionary Committee of the Council of Workers and Soldiers of Petrograd (in 1914 the German name of the capital - St. Petersburg - was Russified) controls the garrison, the Baltic Fleet, the workers' militia - the "Red Guard". On the 7th and on the night of November 8, these armed forces captured all the strategic points. The Winter Palace, where the government is located, is taken by storm after several hours of fighting. The ministers are arrested, with the exception of the head of the Provisional Government, Kerensky, who fled, disguised as a woman. The revolution is over.

It was legalized on November 8 by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, in which the Bolsheviks have a majority. The government was replaced by the Council of People's Commissars. The congress, responding to the demands of the people, primarily soldiers and peasants, adopted a whole series of decrees. The Decree on Peace proposes an immediate armistice (the peace itself will be concluded not without difficulty and under very difficult conditions at Brest-Litovsk on March 2, 1918). Decree on land: expropriation, without redemption, of the lands of large landowners and the church. Decree on Nationalities proclaiming the equality of the peoples of Russia and their right to self-determination.

Origins of the October Revolution

While Russia is modernizing (industrialization is successful, especially in the years immediately preceding the war), the social and political system remains backward. The country, still agrarian, is dominated by large landowners who cruelly exploit the peasants. The regime remains absolutist ("autocratic" to use the official lexicon). The failed revolution of 1905, when the first soviets appeared, forced the tsar to convene a parliament - the Duma, but it turned out to be unrepresentative, its powers were limited. Neither the parliamentary system, nor the universal suffrage question is raised.

With the entry into the war in 1914, the situation worsened: military defeats, heavy losses, supply difficulties. The government is accused of incompetence and corruption. The imperial couple is discredited by the influence of the adventurer Rasputin (who was killed at the end of 1916 by the aristocrat Prince Yusupov).

After the overthrow of the tsar in March 1917, the masses of the people, and above all the soldiers and peasants, expect peace and land (agrarian reform) from the Provisional Government, consisting of liberals and moderate socialists. But the Provisional Government is doing nothing in this direction. Under pressure from the allies, in July it tries to go over to the offensive at the front. The offensive failed, desertion is becoming massive.

The widespread emergence of councils of workers (in factories), soldiers (in military units) and peasants creates an atmosphere of dual power. As long as moderate socialists supporting the Provisional Government dominate the soviets, clashes are insignificant. But during October the Bolsheviks win a majority in the soviets.

From War Communism (1917-1921) to NEP (1921-1924)

The seizure of power on November 7, 1917 took place almost without resistance. But this revolution, which was considered doomed, frightened the European powers as soon as they began to carry out a program for the destruction of capitalism (nationalization of industry, trade, banks) and issued a call for peace, posing as the beginning of a world revolution. Lenin in 1919 creates the Third International, or Communist International, exposing the betrayal of the socialist parties, of which the Second International perished in 1914. Lenin considered these parties guilty of supporting the military policies of their own governments.

In 1919, the excluded ruling classes recovered and, after the armistice of 1918, turned to the allied governments for help. This is already a civil war, accompanied by foreign intervention (the British and French in the south of Russia, Japan in the Far East, etc.). It takes on a fierce character and leads to terror on both sides. Because of the civil war and famine, the Bolsheviks introduced a strict controlled economy: this is "war communism".

In 1921, thanks to the creation of the Red Army, organized by Trotsky, the internal and external situation improved. Western countries eventually recognize Soviet Russia.

The saved revolution turned out to be bloodless. Lenin recognizes that in order to restore the economy, space must be given to the private sector. It is created in trade and industry, but unfolds in a narrow space and under the control of the state. In agriculture, the authorities advocate the creation of cooperatives, but allow the development of the farms of strong peasants, "kulaks" who use hired labor.

This is the New Economic Policy (NEP).

The economic and monetary situation stabilizes starting from 1922-1923; in December 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was created, which united Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Transcaucasian republics. Production in 1927 reached approximately the level of 1913.

Stalin, five-year plans and the collectivization of agriculture

When Lenin died in 1924, Stalin, hitherto in the background, uses his position as general secretary of the party (which has adopted the name communist) to seize power. His main rival Trotsky was expelled from the party and expelled from the country in 1929. By order of Stalin, he would be killed in 1940 in Mexico.

The failure of the revolutions in Central Europe (in Germany, Austria, Hungary) deprives Russia of the prospect of support that could come from more developed countries.

Then Stalin began to develop the idea of ​​building socialism in one country, in the USSR. To do this, in 1927 he put forward an ambitious industrialization plan and approved the first 5-year plan (1928-1932). The plan provides for the complete nationalization of the economy, which means the end of the NEP and the destruction of the limited private sector that has developed so far.

In order to support this industrialization, in 1930 Stalin began the collectivization of agriculture. Peasants are called upon to unite in production cooperatives, collective farms, which will be provided with modern equipment (tractors, etc.), but the land and instruments of production in which will be socialized (with the exception of a small piece of land and a few heads of cattle). In the words "voluntary", collectivization was in fact carried out by violent methods. Those who resisted, the "kulaks", as well as a large number of middle peasants, were dispossessed in their mass and expelled. This leads to a severe crisis in the supply of food to the population.

However, the situation is gradually stabilizing. While, since 1929, crisis and depression have beset the capitalist countries, the USSR is proud of its advanced social policy. Namely: education and medical care are free, holiday homes are run by trade unions, pensions are established at the age of 60 for men and 55 for women, the working week is 40 hours. Unemployment disappears by 1930, just as it is breaking records in the United States and Germany.

It was then that Stalin, whose morbid suspicion reaches the point of psychosis, under the pretext of revolutionary vigilance, unleashes mass repressions, which primarily hit the cadres of the Communist Party. During the trials, where the victims are forced to blame themselves, most of the members of the "old guard" of the Bolsheviks were killed. Some were executed, others were sent to camps in the Far North and Siberia. From 1930 to 1953 (the date of Stalin's death), at least 786,098 people were sentenced to death and shot, from 2 to 2.5 million were sent to camps, where many of them died.30

Despite this, by 1939 the USSR had become a great economic and military power. He became a symbol of communism, the communist parties of other countries see the USSR as a revolutionary model.

The ruling classes use this symbol to intimidate the masses, and the fascist parties, which operate under the slogan of fighting communism, easily find support among the population.

To understand when there was a revolution in Russia, it is necessary to look back at the era. It was under the last emperor from the Romanov dynasty that the country was shaken by several social crises that caused the people to rise up against the authorities. Historians single out the revolution of 1905-1907, the February revolution and the October year.

Background of revolutions

Until 1905, the Russian Empire lived under the laws of an absolute monarchy. The king was the sole autocrat. The adoption of important state decisions depended only on him. In the 19th century, such a conservative order of things did not suit a very small stratum of society from intellectuals and marginals. These people were guided by the West, where the Great French Revolution had long since taken place as a good example. She destroyed the power of the Bourbons and gave the inhabitants of the country civil liberties.

Even before the first revolutions took place in Russia, society learned about what political terror is. Radical supporters of change took up arms and staged assassination attempts on top government officials in order to force the authorities to pay attention to their demands.

Tsar Alexander II ascended the throne during the Crimean War, which Russia lost due to systematic economic lagging behind the West. The bitter defeat forced the young monarch to embark on reforms. The main one was the abolition of serfdom in 1861. Zemstvo, judicial, administrative and other reforms followed.

However, the radicals and terrorists were still unhappy. Many of them demanded a constitutional monarchy or even the abolition of tsarist power. The Narodnaya Volya organized a dozen assassination attempts on Alexander II. In 1881 he was killed. Under his son, Alexander III, a reactionary campaign was launched. Terrorists and political activists were severely repressed. This calmed the situation for a while. But the first revolutions in Russia were still just around the corner.

Mistakes of Nicholas II

Alexander III died in 1894 in the Crimean residence, where he improved his failing health. The monarch was relatively young (he was only 49 years old), and his death came as a complete surprise to the country. Russia froze in anticipation. The eldest son of Alexander III, Nicholas II, was on the throne. His reign (when there was a revolution in Russia) from the very beginning was overshadowed by unpleasant events.

First, in one of his first public speeches, the tsar declared that the desire of the progressive public for change was "meaningless dreams." For this phrase, Nikolai was criticized by all his opponents - from liberals to socialists. The monarch even got it from the great writer Leo Tolstoy. The count ridiculed the emperor's absurd statement in his article, written under the impression of what he heard.

Secondly, during the coronation ceremony of Nicholas II in Moscow, an accident occurred. The city authorities organized a festive event for the peasants and the poor. They were promised free "presents" from the king. So thousands of people ended up on the Khodynka field. At some point, a stampede began, which killed hundreds of passers-by. Later, when there was a revolution in Russia, many called these events symbolic allusions to a future big trouble.

The Russian revolutions also had objective reasons. What were they? In 1904, Nicholas II got involved in the war against Japan. The conflict flared up over the influence of the two rival powers in the Far East. Inept preparation, extended communications, a capricious attitude towards the enemy - all this became the reason for the defeat of the Russian army in that war. In 1905, a peace treaty was signed. Russia gave Japan the southern part of Sakhalin Island, as well as lease rights to the strategically important South Manchurian Railway.

At the beginning of the war, there was a surge of patriotism and hostility to the next national enemies in the country. Now, after the defeat, the revolution of 1905-1907 broke out with unprecedented force. in Russia. People wanted fundamental changes in the life of the state. Discontent was especially felt among the workers and peasants, whose standard of living was extremely low.

Bloody Sunday

The main reason for the start of the civil confrontation was the tragic events in St. Petersburg. On January 22, 1905, a delegation of workers went to the Winter Palace with a petition to the tsar. The proletarians asked the monarch to improve their working conditions, increase salaries, etc. There were also political demands, the main of which was to convene a Constituent Assembly - a people's representation on the Western parliamentary model.

The police dispersed the procession. Firearms were used. According to various estimates, between 140 and 200 people died. The tragedy became known as Bloody Sunday. When the event became known throughout the country, mass strikes began in Russia. The dissatisfaction of the workers was fueled by professional revolutionaries and agitators of leftist convictions, who until then had carried out only underground work. The liberal opposition also became more active.

First Russian Revolution

Strikes and strikes had different intensity depending on the region of the empire. Revolution 1905-1907 in Russia, it raged especially strongly on the national outskirts of the state. For example, the Polish socialists managed to convince about 400,000 workers in the Kingdom of Poland not to go to work. Similar riots took place in the Baltic States and Georgia.

The radical political parties (Bolsheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries) decided that this was their last chance to seize power in the country with the help of an uprising of the masses. The agitators worked not only on peasants and workers, but also on ordinary soldiers. Thus began the armed uprisings in the army. The most famous episode in this series is the uprising on the battleship Potemkin.

In October 1905, the united St. Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Deputies began its work, which coordinated the actions of the strikers throughout the capital of the empire. The events of the revolution took on a most violent character in December. It led to battles on Presnya and other parts of the city.

October 17 Manifesto

In the autumn of 1905, Nicholas II realized that he had lost control of the situation. He could suppress numerous uprisings with the help of the army, but this would not help get rid of the deep contradictions between the government and society. The monarch began to discuss with those close to him measures to reach a compromise with the dissatisfied.

The result of his decision was the Manifesto of October 17, 1905. The development of the document was entrusted to a well-known official and diplomat Sergei Witte. Prior to that, he went to sign peace with the Japanese. Now Witte needed to have time to help his king as soon as possible. The situation was complicated by the fact that two million people were already on strike in October. Strikes covered almost all industries. Rail transport was paralyzed.

The October 17 Manifesto introduced several fundamental changes to the political system of the Russian Empire. Nicholas II had previously held sole power. Now he has transferred part of his legislative powers to a new body - the State Duma. It was supposed to be elected by popular vote and become a real representative body of power.

Also established such public principles as freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of assembly, as well as the inviolability of the person. These changes became an important part of the basic state laws of the Russian Empire. Thus, in fact, the first domestic constitution appeared.

Between revolutions

The publication of the Manifesto in 1905 (when there was a revolution in Russia) helped the authorities to take the situation under control. Most of the rebels calmed down. A temporary compromise was reached. The echo of the revolution was still heard in 1906, but now it was easier for the state repressive apparatus to cope with its most implacable opponents who refused to lay down their arms.

The so-called inter-revolutionary period began, when in 1906-1917. Russia was a constitutional monarchy. Now Nicholas had to reckon with the opinion of the State Duma, which could not accept his laws. The last Russian monarch was a conservative by nature. He did not believe in liberal ideas and believed that his sole power was given to him by God. Nikolai made concessions only because he no longer had a way out.

The first two convocations of the State Duma never completed their legal term. A natural period of reaction set in, when the monarchy took revenge. At this time, Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin became the main associate of Nicholas II. His government could not reach an agreement with the Duma on some key political issues. Because of this conflict, on June 3, 1907, Nicholas II dissolved the representative assembly and made changes to the electoral system. III and IV convocations in their composition were already less radical than the first two. A dialogue began between the Duma and the government.

World War I

The main reasons for the revolution in Russia were the sole power of the monarch, which prevented the country from developing. When the principle of autocracy remained in the past, the situation stabilized. Economic growth has begun. Agrarian helped the peasants to create their own small private farms. A new social class has emerged. The country developed and grew rich before our eyes.

So why did subsequent revolutions take place in Russia? In short, Nicholas made the mistake of getting involved in World War I in 1914. Several million men were mobilized. As in the case of the Japanese campaign, at first the country experienced a patriotic upsurge. When the bloodshed dragged on, and reports of defeats began to arrive from the front, society began to worry again. No one could say for sure how long the war would drag on. The revolution in Russia was approaching again.

February Revolution

In historiography, there is the term "Great Russian Revolution". Usually, this generalized name refers to the events of 1917, when two coup d'etat took place in the country at once. The First World War hit hard on the country's economy. The impoverishment of the population continued. In the winter of 1917 in Petrograd (renamed because of anti-German sentiment) mass demonstrations of workers and townspeople began, dissatisfied with the high prices for bread.

This is how the February Revolution took place in Russia. Events developed rapidly. Nicholas II at that time was at Headquarters in Mogilev, not far from the front. The tsar, having learned about the unrest in the capital, boarded a train to return to Tsarskoye Selo. However, he was late. In Petrograd, the disgruntled army went over to the side of the rebels. The city was under the control of the rebels. On March 2, delegates went to the king, persuading him to sign his abdication. So the February Revolution in Russia left the monarchy in the past.

Restless 1917

After the beginning of the revolution was laid, the Provisional Government was formed in Petrograd. It included politicians previously known from the State Duma. They were mostly liberals or moderate socialists. Alexander Kerensky became the head of the Provisional Government.

Anarchy in the country allowed other radical political forces, such as the Bolsheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, to become more active. The struggle for power began. Formally, the Provisional Government was supposed to exist until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, when the country could decide how to live on by a general vote. However, the First World War was still going on, and the ministers did not want to refuse to help their allies in the Entente. This led to a sharp drop in the popularity of the Provisional Government in the army, as well as among the workers and peasants.

In August 1917, General Lavr Kornilov tried to organize a coup d'état. He also opposed the Bolsheviks, regarding them as a radical left-wing threat to Russia. The army was already moving towards Petrograd. At this point, the Provisional Government and Lenin's supporters briefly united. Bolshevik agitators destroyed Kornilov's army from within. The rebellion failed. The provisional government survived, but not for long.

Bolshevik coup

Of all domestic revolutions, the Great October Socialist Revolution is best known. This is due to the fact that its date - November 7 (according to the new style) - has been a public holiday on the territory of the former Russian Empire for more than 70 years.

At the head of the next coup stood Vladimir Lenin and the leaders of the Bolshevik Party enlisted the support of the Petrograd garrison. On October 25, according to the old style, the armed detachments that supported the communists captured the key communication points in Petrograd - the telegraph, post office, and railway. The Provisional Government found itself isolated in the Winter Palace. After a short assault on the former royal residence, the ministers were arrested. The signal for the start of the decisive operation was a blank shot fired on the Aurora cruiser. Kerensky was not in the city, and later he managed to emigrate from Russia.

On the morning of October 26, the Bolsheviks were already the masters of Petrograd. Soon the first decrees of the new government appeared - the Decree on Peace and the Decree on Land. The provisional government was unpopular precisely because of its desire to continue the war with Kaiser's Germany, while the Russian army was tired of fighting and was demoralized.

The simple and understandable slogans of the Bolsheviks were popular with the people. The peasants finally waited for the destruction of the nobility and the deprivation of their landed property. The soldiers learned that the imperialist war was over. True, in Russia itself it was far from peace. The Civil War began. The Bolsheviks had to fight for another 4 years against their opponents (whites) throughout the country in order to establish control over the territory of the former Russian Empire. In 1922 the USSR was formed. The Great October Socialist Revolution was an event that heralded a new era in the history of not only Russia, but the whole world.

For the first time in contemporary history, radical communists came to power. October 1917 surprised and frightened Western bourgeois society. The Bolsheviks hoped that Russia would become a springboard for starting a world revolution and destroying capitalism. This did not happen.

The October Revolution of 1917 is the armed overthrow of the Provisional Government, the accession at the head of the state of the Bolshevik Party, which proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power.

The historical significance of the October Revolution of 1917 is enormous for the country as a whole, in addition to the change of power, there was also a change in the direction in which Russia was moving, the transition from capitalism to socialism began.

Causes of the October Revolution

The October Revolution had both subjective and objective causes. The objective reasons include the economic difficulties experienced by Russia due to participation in the First World War, human losses on the fronts, the urgent peasant question, difficult living conditions for workers, the illiteracy of the people and the mediocrity of the country's leadership.

The subjective reasons include the passivity of the population, the ideological throwing of the intelligentsia from anarchism to terrorism, the presence in Russia of a small but well-organized, disciplined group - the Bolshevik Party and the leadership of the great historical Personality - V. I. Lenin in it, as well as the absence of a person in the country the same scale.

October Revolution of 1917. Briefly, summary

This landmark event for the country took place on October 25 according to the old style or November 7 according to the new style. The reason was the slowness and inconsistency of the Provisional Government in resolving agrarian, labor, national issues after the February events, as well as Russia's continued participation in the world war. All this aggravated the nationwide crisis and strengthened the positions of the extreme left and nationalist parties.

The beginning of the October Revolution of 1917 was laid at the beginning of September 1917, when the Bolsheviks took the majority in the Soviets of Petrograd and prepared an armed uprising, timed to coincide with the opening of the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets.

On the night of October 25 (November 7), armed workers, sailors of the Baltic Fleet and soldiers of the Petrograd garrison, after firing from the Aurora cruiser, captured the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government. The bridges on the Neva, the Central Telegraph Office, the Nikolaevsky Station, the State Bank were immediately seized, military schools were blocked, etc.

At the then II All-Russian Congress of Soviets, the overthrow of the Provisional Government, the establishment and formation of a new government - the Council of People's Commissars was approved. This government body was supposed to work until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. It included V. Lenin (chairman); I. Teodorovich, A. Lunacharsky, N. Avilov, I. Stalin, V. Antonov. The Decrees on Peace and Land were adopted immediately.

Having suppressed the resistance of forces loyal to the Provisional Government in Petrograd and Moscow, the Bolsheviks were able to quickly establish dominance in the main industrial cities of Russia.

The main opponent - the party of the Cadets was outlawed.

Participants of the October Revolution of 1917

The initiator, ideologist and protagonist of the revolution was the Bolshevik Party RSDLP (b) (Russian Social Democratic Bolshevik Party), led by Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (party pseudonym Lenin) and Lev Davidovich Bronstein (Trotsky).

Slogans of the October Revolution of 1917:

"Power to the Soviets"

"Peace to the nations"

"Land to the Peasants"

"Factories for workers"

October Revolution. Effects. Results

The October Revolution of 1917, the consequences of which completely changed the course of history for Russia, is characterized by the following results:

• Complete change of the elite that ruled the country for 1000 years
• The Russian Empire turned into the Soviet Empire, which became one of the two countries (together with the United States) that led the world community
• The king was replaced by Stalin, who had more power and authority than any Russian emperor
• The ideology of Orthodoxy was replaced by communist
• An agrarian country has turned into a powerful industrial power
• Literacy has become universal
• The Soviet Union achieved the withdrawal of education and medical care from the system of commodity-money relations
• Lack of unemployment, almost complete equality of the population in income and opportunities, no division of people into poor and rich

The October Revolution of 1917 in Russia is the armed overthrow of the Provisional Government and the coming to power of the Bolshevik Party, which proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power, the beginning of the liquidation of capitalism and the transition to socialism. The slowness and inconsistency of the actions of the Provisional Government after the February bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1917 in solving labor, agrarian, national issues, Russia's continued participation in the First World War led to a deepening of the national crisis and created the prerequisites for the strengthening of extreme left parties in the center and nationalist parties in the outskirts countries. The Bolsheviks acted most vigorously, proclaiming a course for a socialist revolution in Russia, which they considered the beginning of a world revolution. They put forward popular slogans: "Peace to the peoples", "Land to the peasants", "Factories to the workers".

In the USSR, the official version of the October Revolution was the version of "two revolutions". According to this version, in February 1917, the bourgeois-democratic revolution began and ended in the coming months, and the October Revolution was the second, socialist revolution.

The second version was put forward by Leon Trotsky. Already abroad, he wrote a book on the united revolution of 1917, in which he defended the concept that the October Revolution and the decrees adopted by the Bolsheviks in the first months after coming to power were only the completion of the bourgeois democratic revolution, the realization of what the insurgent people fought for. in February.

The Bolsheviks put forward a version of the spontaneous growth of the "revolutionary situation". The very concept of a "revolutionary situation" and its main features were first scientifically defined and introduced into Russian historiography by Vladimir Lenin. He called the following three objective factors its main features: the crisis of the "tops", the crisis of the "bottoms", the extraordinary activity of the masses.

Lenin characterized the situation that developed after the formation of the Provisional Government as "dual power", and Trotsky as "dual anarchy": the socialists in the Soviets could rule, but did not want to, the "progressive bloc" in the government wanted to rule, but could not, being forced to rely on the Petrograd Council, with which he disagreed on all issues of domestic and foreign policy.

Some domestic and foreign researchers adhere to the version of the "German financing" of the October Revolution. It lies in the fact that the German government, interested in Russia's withdrawal from the war, purposefully organized the transfer from Switzerland to Russia of representatives of the radical faction of the RSDLP headed by Lenin in the so-called "sealed wagon" and financed the activities of the Bolsheviks aimed at undermining the combat capability of the Russian army and disorganization of the defense industry and transport.

To lead the armed uprising, a Politburo was created, which included Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Andrei Bubnov, Grigory Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev (the last two denied the need for an uprising). The direct leadership of the uprising was carried out by the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, which also included Left Social Revolutionaries.

Chronicle of the events of the October Revolution

On the afternoon of October 24 (November 6), the junkers tried to open the bridges across the Neva in order to cut off the workers' districts from the center. The Military Revolutionary Committee (VRK) sent detachments of the Red Guard and soldiers to the bridges, who took almost all the bridges under guard. By evening, the soldiers of the Keksholmsky regiment occupied the Central Telegraph Office, a detachment of sailors captured the Petrograd Telegraph Agency, and the soldiers of the Izmailovsky Regiment - the Baltic Station. The revolutionary units blocked the Pavlovsk, Nikolaev, Vladimir, Konstantinovskoye cadet schools.

On the evening of October 24, Lenin arrived at Smolny and directly took charge of the armed struggle.

At 1 h 25 min. On the night of October 24-25 (November 6-7), the Red Guards of the Vyborg region, soldiers of the Keksgolmsky regiment and revolutionary sailors occupied the Main Post Office.

At 2 am, the first company of the 6th reserve engineer battalion captured the Nikolaevsky (now Moscow) station. At the same time, a detachment of the Red Guard occupied the Central Power Plant.

On October 25 (November 7), at about 6 o'clock in the morning, the sailors of the naval guards' crew took possession of the State Bank.

At 7 o'clock in the morning, the soldiers of the Keksholm regiment occupied the Central Telephone Exchange. At 8 o'clock. the Red Guards of the Moscow and Narva regions captured the Varshavsky railway station.

At 2:35 p.m. An emergency meeting of the Petrograd Soviet was opened. The Soviet heard a report that the Provisional Government had been overthrown and state power had passed into the hands of an organ of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

On the afternoon of October 25 (November 7), revolutionary forces occupied the Mariinsky Palace, where the Pre-Parliament was located, and dissolved it; the sailors occupied the Military Port and the Main Admiralty, where the Naval Headquarters was arrested.

By 6 p.m. the revolutionary detachments began to move towards the Winter Palace.

On October 25 (November 7), at 21:45, on a signal from the Peter and Paul Fortress, a cannon shot from the cruiser Aurora thundered, and the assault on the Winter Palace began.

At 2 am on October 26 (November 8), armed workers, soldiers of the Petrograd garrison and sailors of the Baltic Fleet, led by Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, occupied the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government.

On October 25 (November 7), following the victory of the uprising in Petrograd, which was almost bloodless, an armed struggle began in Moscow. In Moscow, the revolutionary forces met with extremely fierce resistance, and stubborn battles were going on in the streets of the city. At the cost of great sacrifices (during the uprising, about 1,000 people were killed), on November 2 (15) Soviet power was established in Moscow.

On the evening of October 25 (November 7), 1917, the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies opened. The congress heard and adopted Lenin's appeal "To the Workers, Soldiers and Peasants", which announced the transfer of power to the Second Congress of Soviets, and in the localities - to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies.

On October 26 (November 8), 1917, the Decree on Peace and the Decree on Land were adopted. The congress formed the first Soviet government - the Council of People's Commissars, consisting of: Chairman Lenin; people's commissars: Lev Trotsky for foreign affairs, Joseph Stalin for nationalities, and others. Lev Kamenev was elected chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, and after his resignation, Yakov Sverdlov.

The Bolsheviks established control over the main industrial centers of Russia. The leaders of the Cadets Party were arrested, the opposition press was banned. In January 1918, the Constituent Assembly was dispersed, and by March of the same year, Soviet power was established in a large part of Russia. All banks and enterprises were nationalized, a separate truce was concluded with Germany. In July 1918, the first Soviet Constitution was adopted.

The history of the October Socialist Revolution is one of those topics that have attracted and continue to attract the most attention of foreign and Russian historiography, because it was precisely as a result of the victory of the October Revolution that the situation of all classes and sections of the population, their parties, radically changed. The Bolsheviks became the ruling party, leading the work to create a new state and social system.
On October 26, a decree on peace and land was adopted. Following the decree on peace, on land, the Soviet government adopted laws: on the introduction of workers' control over the production and distribution of products, on an 8-hour working day, and the "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia." The Declaration proclaimed that from now on in Russia there are no dominant nations and oppressed nations, all peoples receive equal rights to free development, to self-determination up to secession and the formation of an independent state.
The October Revolution marked the beginning of profound, all-encompassing social change throughout the world. The landlords' land was transferred free of charge into the hands of the working peasantry, and factories, factories, mines, railways - into the hands of the workers, making them public property.

Causes of the October Revolution

On August 1, 1914, the First World War began in Russia, which lasted until November 11, 1918, the cause of which was the struggle for spheres of influence in conditions when a single European market and legal mechanism had not been created.
Russia was on the defensive in this war. And although the patriotism and heroism of the soldiers and officers was great, there was neither a single will, nor serious plans for waging war, nor a sufficient supply of ammunition, uniforms and food. This instilled uncertainty in the army. She lost her soldiers and suffered defeats. The Minister of War was put on trial, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was removed from his post. Nicholas II himself became commander-in-chief. But the situation has not improved. Despite continuous economic growth (the production of coal and oil, the production of shells, guns and other types of weapons grew, huge reserves were accumulated in case of a prolonged war), the situation developed in such a way that during the war years Russia found itself without an authoritative government, without an authoritative prime minister. minister, and without an authoritative Headquarters. The officer corps was replenished with educated people, i.e. intelligentsia, which was subject to oppositional moods, and everyday participation in the war, which lacked the most necessary, gave food for doubts.
The growing centralization of economic management, carried out against the backdrop of a growing shortage of raw materials, fuel, transport, skilled labor, accompanied by a scale of speculation and abuse, led to the fact that the role of state regulation increased along with the growth of negative factors in the economy (History of the domestic state and law. Ch. 1: Textbook / Under the editorship of O. I. Chistyakov - Moscow: BEK Publishing House, 1998)

Queues appeared in the cities, standing in which was a psychological breakdown for hundreds of thousands of workers and workers.
The predominance of military production over civilian production and the rise in food prices led to a steady increase in prices for all consumer goods. At the same time, wages did not keep pace with rising prices. Discontent grew both in the rear and at the front. And it turned primarily against the monarch and his government.
Considering that from November 1916 to March 1917 three prime ministers, two ministers of internal affairs and two ministers of agriculture were replaced, then the expression of the convinced monarchist V. Shulgin about the situation that developed at that time in Russia is really true: “autocracy without autocrat” .
Among a number of prominent politicians, in semi-legal organizations and circles, a conspiracy was ripening, and plans were discussed to remove Nicholas II from power. It was supposed to seize the tsar's train between Mogilev and Petrograd and force the monarch to abdicate.
The October Revolution was a major step towards the transformation of a feudal state into a bourgeois one. October created a fundamentally new, Soviet state. The October Revolution was caused by a number of objective and subjective reasons. First of all, the class contradictions that aggravated in 1917 should be attributed to the objective ones:

• The contradictions inherent in bourgeois society are the antagonism between labor and capital. The Russian bourgeoisie, young and inexperienced, failed to see the danger of coming class friction and did not take sufficient measures in time to reduce the intensity of the class struggle as much as possible.
• Conflicts in the countryside, which developed even more acutely. The peasants, who for centuries dreamed of taking away the land from the landowners and driving them away themselves, were not satisfied with either the reform of 1861 or the Stolypin reform. They frankly longed to get all the land and get rid of old exploiters. In addition, from the very beginning of the 20th century, a new contradiction escalated in the countryside, connected with the differentiation of the peasantry itself. This stratification intensified after the Stolypin reform, which attempted to create a new class of owners in the countryside through the redistribution of peasant lands associated with the destruction of the community. Now, in addition to the landowner, the broad peasant masses also had a new enemy - the kulak, even more hated, since he came from his environment.
• National conflicts. The national movement, which was not very strong in the period 1905-1907, escalated after February and gradually increased towards the autumn of 1917.
• World War. The first chauvinistic frenzy that gripped certain sections of society at the beginning of the war soon dissipated, and by 1917 the overwhelming mass of the population, suffering from the many-sided hardships of the war, longed for the speediest conclusion of peace. First of all, this concerned, of course, the soldiers. The village is also tired of endless sacrifices. Only the upper class of the bourgeoisie, which made huge amounts of money on military supplies, stood up for the continuation of the war to a victorious end. But the war also had other consequences. First of all, it armed the vast masses of workers and peasants, taught them how to handle weapons and helped overcome the natural barrier that forbids a person to kill other people.
• The weakness of the Provisional Government and the entire state apparatus created by it. If immediately after February, the Provisional Government had some kind of authority, then the further, the more it lost it, being unable to solve the pressing problems of society, primarily questions about peace, bread, and land. Simultaneously with the decline in the authority of the Provisional Government, the influence and importance of the Soviets grew, promising to give the people everything they craved.

Along with objective factors, subjective factors were also important:

• Widespread popularity in the society of socialist ideas. Thus, by the beginning of the century, Marxism had become a kind of fashion among the Russian intelligentsia. He found a response in wider popular circles. Even in the Orthodox Church at the beginning of the 20th century, a movement of Christian socialism, albeit a small one, emerged.
• The existence in Russia of a party ready to lead the masses to revolution - the Bolshevik Party. This party is not the largest in number (the Socialist-Revolutionaries had more), however, it was the most organized and purposeful.
• The fact that the Bolsheviks had a strong leader, authoritative both in the party itself and among the people, who managed to become a real leader in a few months after February - V.I. Lenin.

As a result, the October armed uprising won victory in Petrograd with greater ease than the February Revolution, and almost without bloodshed, precisely as a result of a combination of all the factors mentioned above. Its result was the emergence of the Soviet state.

The legal side of the October Revolution of 1917

In the autumn of 1917, the political crisis intensified in the country. At the same time, the Bolsheviks were actively working to prepare the uprising. It started and went according to plan.
During the uprising in Petrograd, by October 25, 1917, all key points in the city were occupied by detachments of the Petrograd garrison and the Red Guard. By the evening of that day, the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies began its work, proclaiming itself the highest authority in Russia. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee, formed by the First Congress of Soviets in the summer of 1917, was re-elected.
The Second Congress of Soviets elected a new All-Russian Central Executive Committee and formed the Council of People's Commissars, which became the government of Russia. (World History: Textbook for High Schools / Edited by G.B. Polyak, A.N. Markova. - M .: Culture and Sport, UNITI, 1997) The Congress was of a constituent nature: it created the governing state bodies and adopted the first acts of constitutional, fundamental importance. The Decree on Peace proclaimed the principles of Russia's long-term foreign policy - peaceful coexistence and "proletarian internationalism", the right of nations to self-determination.
The Decree on Land was based on peasant mandates formulated by the soviets as early as August 1917. A variety of forms of land use were proclaimed (household, farm, communal, artel), confiscation of landowners' lands and estates, which were transferred to the disposal of volost land committees and county councils of peasant deputies. The right to private ownership of land was abolished. The use of hired labor and the lease of land were prohibited. Later, these provisions were enshrined in the Decree “On the Socialization of the Land” in January 1918. The Second Congress of Soviets also adopted two appeals: “To the Citizens of Russia” and “To the Workers, Soldiers and Peasants”, which spoke of the transfer of power to the Military Revolutionary Committee , the Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, and locally - local councils.

The practical implementation of the political and legal doctrine of “breaking” the old state was sanctioned by a number of acts: the November 1917 Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the SNK on the destruction of estates and civil ranks, the October resolution of the Second Congress of Soviets on the formation of revolutionary committees in the army, the January 1918 Decree of the SNK on separation of the church from the state, etc. First of all, it was supposed to liquidate the repressive and administrative bodies of the old state, preserving for some time its technical and statistical apparatus.
Many of the provisions formulated in the first decrees and declarations of the new government were calculated in their actions for a certain period - up to the convocation of the Constituent Assembly.

Peaceful development of the revolution in the conditions of dual power

With the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne, the legal system that had developed since 1906 ceased to exist. No other legal system regulating the activities of the state was created.
Now the fate of the country depended on political forces, the activity and responsibility of political leaders, their ability to control the behavior of the masses.
After the February Revolution, the main political parties operated in Russia: the Cadets, Octobrists, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. The policy of the Provisional Government was determined by the Cadets. They were supported by the Octobrists, Mensheviks and Right SRs. The Bolsheviks, at their VII (April 1917) conference, approved the course for preparing a socialist revolution.
In order to stabilize the situation and alleviate the food crisis, the interim government introduced a rationing system, raised purchase prices, and increased the import of meat, fish and other products. The bread apportionment, introduced back in 1916, was supplemented by a meat appropriation, and armed military detachments were sent to forcibly seize bread and meat from the peasants in the countryside.
The provisional government in the spring and summer of 1917 experienced three political crises: April, June and July. During these crises, mass demonstrations took place under the slogans: “All power to the Soviets!”, “Down with the ten capitalist ministers!”, “Down with the war!”. These slogans were put forward by the Bolshevik Party.
The July crisis of the Provisional Government began on July 4, 1917, when a 500,000-strong demonstration took place in Petrograd under Bolshevik slogans. During the demonstration, there were spontaneous skirmishes, as a result of which more than 400 people were killed and wounded. Petrograd was declared under martial law, the Pravda newspaper was closed, an order was issued for the arrest of V.I. Lenin and a number of other Bolsheviks. A second coalition government was formed (the first was formed on May 6 (18), 1917 as a result of the April crisis), headed by A.F. Kerensky, endowed with emergency powers. This meant the end of dual power.
In late July and early August 1917, the Sixth Congress of the Bolshevik Party was held semi-legally in Petrograd. Due to the fact that the dual power was over and the Soviets were powerless, the Bolsheviks temporarily removed the slogan "All power to the Soviets!". The congress proclaimed a course towards an armed seizure of power.
On September 1, 1917, Russia was proclaimed a republic, power passed to the Directory of five people under the leadership of A.F. Kerensky. At the end of September, the third coalition government was formed, headed by A.F. Kerensky.
The socio-economic and political crisis in the country continued to grow. Many industrial enterprises closed, unemployment rose, military spending and taxes increased, inflation raged, food was scarce, the poorest sections of the population faced the threat of starvation. In the countryside there were mass peasant uprisings, unauthorized seizure of landowners' lands.

October armed uprising

The Bolshevik Party, putting forward topical slogans, has achieved an increase in influence among the masses. Its ranks grew rapidly: if in February 1917 it numbered 24 thousand, in April - 80 thousand, in August - 240 thousand, then in October it numbered about 400 thousand people. In September 1917, the Bolshevization of the Soviets took place; The Petrograd Soviet was headed by the Bolshevik L.D. Trotsky (1879-1940), and the Moscow Soviet - the Bolshevik V.P. Nogin (1878-1924).
In the current conditions, V.I. Lenin (1870-1924) believed that the time was ripe for preparing and carrying out an armed uprising. This issue was discussed at meetings of the Central Committee of the RSDLP(b) on October 10 and 16, 1917. The Military Revolutionary Committee was created by the Petrograd Soviet, which turned into the headquarters for the preparation of the uprising. The armed uprising began on October 24, 1917. On October 24 and 25, revolutionary-minded soldiers and sailors, Red Guard workers seized the telegraph, bridges, railway stations, telephone exchange, and the headquarters building. The Provisional Government was arrested in the Winter Palace (except for Kerensky, who had previously left for reinforcements). The uprising from Smolny was led by V.I. Lenin.
On the evening of October 25 (November 7), 1917, the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies opened. The congress heard and adopted what V.I. Lenin's appeal "To the Workers, Soldiers and Peasants", which announced the transfer of power to the Second Congress of Soviets, and in the localities - to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. On the evening of October 26 (November 8), 1917, the Decree on Peace and the Decree on Land were adopted. The congress formed the first Soviet government - the Council of People's Commissars, consisting of: Chairman V.I. Lenin; people's commissars: for foreign affairs L.D. Trotsky, for nationalities I.V. Stalin (1879-1953) and others. L.B. was elected Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. Kamenev (1883-1936), and after his resignation Ya.M. Sverdlov (1885-1919).
On November 3, 1917, Soviet power was established in Moscow and the “triumphal procession” of Soviet power began throughout the country.
One of the main reasons for the rapid spread of the Bolshevik Soviets throughout the country was the fact that the October Revolution was carried out under the sign not so much of socialist as of general democratic tasks.
So, the result of the February Revolution of 1917 was the overthrow of the autocracy, the abdication of the tsar from the throne, the emergence of dual power in the country: the dictatorship of the big bourgeoisie in the person of the Provisional Government and the Council of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, representing the revolutionary democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry.
The victory of the February Revolution was a victory for all active sections of the population over the medieval autocracy, a breakthrough that brought Russia on a par with the advanced countries in terms of proclaiming democratic and political freedoms.
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first victorious revolution in Russia and turned Russia, thanks to the overthrow of tsarism, into one of the most democratic countries. Arising in March 1917. the dual power was a reflection of the fact that the era of imperialism and the world war unusually accelerated the course of the country's historical development, the transition to more radical transformations. The international significance of the February bourgeois-democratic revolution is also extremely great. Under its influence, the strike movement of the proletariat intensified in many belligerent countries.
The main event of this revolution for Russia itself was the need to carry out long overdue reforms on the basis of compromises and coalitions, the rejection of violence in politics.

By the end of 1916, a deep economic, political and social crisis had matured in Russia, which in February 1917 resulted in a revolution.
On February 18, a strike began at the Putilov factory; On February 25 the strike became general; On February 26, an armed uprising began; On February 27, a significant part of the army went over to the side of the revolution.
At the same time, the revolutionary workers elected the Petrograd Soviet, which was headed by the Menshevik N.S. Chkheidze (1864-1926) and Socialist-Revolutionary A.F. Kerensky (1881-1970). A Provisional Committee headed by M.V. was created in the State Duma. Rodzianko (1859-1924). This committee, in agreement with the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, formed the Provisional Government headed by Prince G.E. Lvov (1861-1925). It included the leader of the Cadets party P.N. Guchkov (1862-1936) (military and naval minister), Socialist-Revolutionary A.F. Kerensky (Minister of Justice), and others. Most of the ministerial posts were occupied by representatives of the Cadets. Emperor Nicholas II (1868-1918), under pressure from the revolutionary masses, abdicated on March 2 (15), 1917.
A characteristic feature of the February Revolution was the formation of dual power. On the one hand, the Provisional Bourgeois Government operated, and on the other hand, the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies (in July 1917 the Soviets ceded their power to the Provisional Government). The February revolution, having won in Petrograd, quickly spread throughout the country.
The year 1917 entered forever into the centuries-old annals of mankind as the date of the beginning of a new era - the era of transition from capitalism to socialism, the era of the struggle for the liberation of peoples from imperialism, for an end to wars between peoples, for the overthrow of the rule of capital, for socialism.