Title: 1917 - Bolshevik Revolution

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About: Under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia, in the process ending centuries of imperial rule, triggering a civil war and ultimately leading to the formation of the Soviet Union.

 

Russia in the early 20th century was one of the most impoverished countries in Europe. It's society was made up of an enormous peasantry and following it's late industrialization, a growing minority of poor workers.  The conditions were ripe for immense social and political changes.

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Unrest in Russia had been simmering for decades, and reforms had proved ineffective and unpopular.  However, it was the disastrous performance of the the Russian armed forces during the First World War that brought things to boiling point. As casualties mounted on the front, food and fuel shortages plagued Russia while inflation soared. The government was corrupt and the leadership of Tsar Nicholas ineffective. 

 

In February, clashes between striking workers and the army on the streets of Petrograd prompted the Duma to form a provisional government and forced the abdication of the Tsar. The provisional government had been assembled by a group of leaders from Russia’s bourgeois capitalist class. However, a powerful group led by Vladimir Lenin instead called for a Soviet government that would be ruled directly by councils of soldiers, peasants and workers.

 

 Following an armed insurrection by workers and soldiers in Petrograd, the Winter Palace was stormed and the provisional government overthrown, with all its authority transferred to the Soviets.

 

Lenin assumed power, becoming dictator of the world’s first communist state. However, the fighting was not over, as a bitter civil war broke out in Russia in late 1917 that would rage until the Soviets eventual success in 1923.

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Decade: 1910s

Year: 1917

Region: Europe

Country: Russia

Politics: Revolution

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Type: Historical Event

Impact: 10

Artist: Yulia Kozlova

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Group: Genesis

Number: 17/100

Price: 1 ETH

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