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What Changed After October?

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Numerous changes were brought in by the Bolsheviks immediately after the October Revolution. The most important ones included, banks and industries that came to be nationalized; the land was declared as social property, thereby allowing peasants to seize the property from the nobility. In the urban areas, houses were partitioned according to the requirements of the family. Also, old aristocratic titles were banned and new uniforms were designed for the army and officials.

History of October Revolution 

October Revolution was the second and the last major part of the Russian revolution of 1917; which is also referred to as the Bolshevik Revolution. This was led by Trotsky who was able to garner the support of the Petrograd Garrison and Kronstadt sailors. The revolution was led by the Bolsheviks who occupied the government buildings on 25th October, and the following day Winter Palace was captured. Bolsheviks later came to become the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

The main purposes of the October Revolution were that Russia was one of the most impoverished countries in Europe and there was a huge population of landless agricultural laborers. There was a rise in poor and exploited industrial workers. 

October Revolution

 

What is Bolshevik Revolution?

October Revolution is also known as Bolshevik Revolution, which was the second and last major phase of the Russian revolution of 1917, where the Bolshevik Party seized the power in Russia, inaugurating the Soviet regime. The increasing governmental corruption, the reactionary policies of Tsar Nicolas II, as well the catastrophic Russian losses in World War I, did contribute to the widespread dissatisfaction and economic hardships.

What Changed After October?

Firstly, the Bolsheviks were completely against the idea of private property. Most of the banks and industries were nationalized by November 1917, which means that the government took over the ownership and management of the same. The land was declared as social property and peasants were allowed to seize the land of the nobility. In the cities, Bolsheviks enforced the partition of large houses according to the requirements of the family. To assert these new changes, new uniforms were designed for the army and officials, following a clothing competition organized in 1918- when the Soviet hat was chosen to be.

The Bolsheviks Party was renamed the Russian Communist Party. In 1917 November, Bolsheviks conducted the elections for Constituent Assembly, but they failed to gain the support of the majority. In January 1918, the Assembly dismissed the Bolsheviks’ measures and Lenin dismissed the Assembly. In March 1918, despite opposition from political allies, the Bolsheviks made peace with Germany at Brest Litovsk. Years followed, the Bolsheviks became the only party to participate in elections to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which became the Parliament of the country. Russia became a one-party state.

The Trade unions were kept under party control. Secret Police punished those who criticized the Bolsheviks. Many of the young writers and artists rallied to the Party because it stood for socialism and for change. After October 1917, this led to experiments in the arts and architecture. Discouragement was felt because censorship was encouraged by Party.

The Civil War

The Russian army started to break up when the Bolsheviks ordered land redistribution. Soldiers, who were mostly peasants, wished to go home for redistribution and deserted quickly. Non-Bolshevik socialists, liberals, and supporters of autocracy condemned the Bolshevik uprising. The Bolshevik uprising was condemned by the non-bolshevik socialists, liberals, and supporters of autocracy. Their leaders moved to South Russia and organized troops to fight the Bolsheviks, referred to as “reds”.

During 1918 and 1919, the “greens” (Socialist Revolutionaries) and whites (pro-Tsarists) controlled most of the Russian empire. They were mostly backed by the American, French, British and Japanese troops- all those forces worried about the growth of socialism. As these troops and Bolsheviks fought the civil war, banditry, looting, and famine became common. The supporters of private property among “white” took some major steps with peasants who had seized the land; which led to the loss of popular support for non-bolsheviks.

By 1920, the Bolsheviks controlled most of the former Russian empire. Cooperation between non-Russian nationalities and Muslim jadidists was important. In Khiva, in Central Asia, Bolshevik colonists brutally killed local nationalists in name of defending socialism. In such a situation, many got confused about what the Bolshevik government stood for. To remedy this, most non-Russian nationalities were given political autonomy in the Soviet Union- the state Bolsheviks created from the Russian empire in December 1922. But since it was combined with unpopular policies of Bolsheviks- like harsh discouragement of nomadism- attempts at winning of different nationalities were only partially successful.

Making a Socialist Society

During the time of civil war, Bolsheviks kept industries and banks nationalized. They permitted peasants to cultivate the land that was socialized and confiscated land to demonstrate the meaning of collective work. A process of centralized planning was introduced. Officials tried to access how the economy would work and set targets for a five-year period and made the Five Year Plans. The government had fixed all prices to promote industrial growth during the first two “Plans”.

Centralized planning led to the process of economic growth. Industrial production had stood up and new factory cities came into being. However, the rapid construction did lead to poor working conditions. Workers had to live hard lives and the result was 550 stoppages of work in the first year alone. The living conditions were bad as well, with no proper housing and toilet facilities. An extended schooling system developed and some arrangements were made for factory workers and peasants to enter universities. Cheap public health care was provided. Model living quarters were set up for workers. The effect of these changes was kind of uneven since government resources were limited in nature.

Stalinism and Collectivisation

The period of the early Planned Economy was linked to the disasters of the collectivization of agriculture. The towns in Soviet Russia were facing an acute problem with grain supplies by 1927-28. The government had fixed prices at which grains must be sold, but the peasants refused to sell grains to government buyers at these prices assigned.

Stalin, who headed the party after the death of Lenin, had introduced some stern emergency measures. His belief was that rich peasants and traders in the countryside were in the hope of higher prices, speculations needed to be stopped and supplies confiscated. In the year 1928, Party members toured the grain-producing areas, supervising enforced grain collectors and raiding the “kulaks”. As the shortages continued, the decision was taken for collective farms. After 1917, lands were given over to peasants.

For the development of modern farms on industrial lines with machinery, it was necessary the elimination of kulaks, take away lands from peasants and establish state-controlled large farms. What followed was Stalin’s Collectivisation program. In 1929, Party forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms called kolkhoz. The bulk of land and machinery was transferred to the ownership of collective farms. Enraged peasants did resist the authorities and destroyed their livestock. Those who resisted collectivization were severely punished; many were deported and excited. For a variety of reasons, they did not want to work in collective farms; the Stalin government did allow some independent cultivation but treated those unsympathetically.

Despite the process of collectivization, production did not increase immediately. In fact, the bad harvests of 1930-1933 led to the most devastating famines in Soviet history when over 4 million people died. Within the party, many criticized the Planned Economy and the consequences of collectivization. Accusations continued throughout the country and by 1939, over 2 million were in prisons or labor camps, a large number of who were forced to make false confessions under torture and executed them. 

FAQs on October Revolution

Question 1: What is October Revolution?

Answer:

October Revolution was the second and last major part of the Russian Revolution of 1917. It is also known as Bolshevik Revolution. Trotsky led the Military Revolution Committee and was able to garner the support of the Petrograd Garrison and Kronstadt sailors.

Question 2: Who won the October Revolution?

Answer:

Members of the Bolshevik political party seized power in the capital of Russia, Petrograd. This ultimately led to the victory of Bolsheviks in the Russian civil war that followed.

Question 3: What were the major changes of the October Revolution?

Answer:

The main changes which were brought about by the Bolsheviks immediately were banks and industries were nationalized, and land was declared as social property, thereby allowing peasants to seize it from the nobility. In urban areas, houses were partitioned based on family requirements.

Question 4: Who was the ruler of Russia during the October Revolution?

Answer:

In January 1917, Tsar Nicholas II ruled Russia while Bolshevik Vladimir Lenin lived in exile.

Question 5: What were the causes of the October Revolution?

Answer:

It included laborer strikes, worker unrest, and military revolts.

Question 6:  What were the effects of the October Revolution?

Answer:

The October Revolution led to a great impact on Russian, European, and world history. It led to the establishment of a communist system, which for decades was seen by many European as an alternative to fascism, but also parliamentary democracy and a liberal market economy.



Last Updated : 17 Mar, 2023
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