Freemanpedia

The Russian Revolution is the name given to the revolutions that drastically changed not just the course of Russian history, but World History. The February Revolution saw the overthrow of the Absolute Monarchy of the Tsar (the Romanovs had ruled since 1613!). The Tsardom was replaced by a Provisional Government that was, in turn, overthrown a few months later by the Bolsheviks. Led by Vladimir Lenin, this second revolution laid the foundation for what would become the Soviet Union (USSR).

Causes of 1917 revolutions

• Defeat in war with Japan in 1905 (Russo-Japanese War)
• Landless peasantry
• Incompetence of Tsar Nicholas II
• Military defeats and high casualties in World War I

Rise of communism

• Bolshevik Revolution and civil war
• Vladimir Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP)
• Lenin’s successor—Joseph Stalin