Effects Of The Russian Revolution
The 1917 Russian Revolution is a significant event in the Russian history, which saw the country that was Russia change through the overthrowing of Tsar Nicholas II and his monarchy family, to transforming the country into a communist state under named the Soviet Union. The war started after the country faced embarrassing defeat during the World War I, leading to the loss of its prestige in all sectors and the deaths of numerous soldiers. With the country putting all the blame on the then leader Tsar, it went through a revolution that brought about several positive and negative effects.
The revolution resulted in economic development. During the revolution, Russia experienced a phase of economic deterioration characterized by population increase, which strained the economy and resources in the country, failure of crops and inability of taxes to caution the country from various problems thus, resulting in massive poverty and famine among its population. The state also suffered from a heightened increase in corruption that led to the decline of the economy, low wages for employees and poor working conditions that led to workers’ strike further worsening the country’s economic development. Consequently, the communist leader Vladimir Lenin instituted a strategy to caution the people and the country from economic ruin by establishing the New Economic Policy. The policy aimed at consolidating capital through taxation of food to aid in the improvement of the economy. As a result, the businesses that had closed down due to bankruptcy revitalized while farmers got a regulated and profitable market to sell their products leading to them increasing the production of various food products.
The revolution led to social benefits. The overhaul of the leadership of Tsar Nicholas II and his monarchy family and the entry of V. Lenin led to a series of social reforms that reflected the communist ideologies the country adopted. First, he altered the outlook of education and literature in the country by introducing free education accessible to all children, thereby eradicating the independence enjoyed by various universities. The education curriculum inculcated communist ideologies into its every day’s teachings while getting rid of multiple subjects such as humanities, considered in contravention of the new doctrine. According to Lenin, classrooms could habituate children’s mind and conduct into individuals that observed communism hence, becoming new citizens. Second, Lenin altered the role of women in society. According to him, women would be crucial in ensuring the success of the revolution. Hence, he sought to improve their status and rights in the society by making it possible for them to file for divorce, enjoy maternity leave, vote, access education and vie for elective positions. The move saw the significant rise in women involvement in the revolution in capacities of soldiers and workers.
The Russian Revolution gave birth to communism. Communism is a Karl Marx’s theory dictating that all possessions of a country should become communal property instead of individual ownership. Additionally, it also proclaims that persons should receive salaries based on their abilities. After the revolution, Lenin together with the Bolsheviks successfully altered the capitalist system in Russia, making it a new country with distinct ideologies. Consequently, they oversaw the nationalization of all financial institutions, the seizure of churches, private accounts and defaulted on all foreign debt. The practice of this form of ideology created fear and suspicion among other superpowers such as the United States, leading to the commencement of the Cold War.
The revolution initiated the country into a totalitarian rule. The abolition of the monarchy and the authority of Tsar Nicholas II brought a reprieve to the Russian citizens from the control and leadership of a ruthless leader who instilled fear and suffering among the people so that they could conform. However, the wave of peace and freedom did not last long as the communist leadership, soon after transforming the Soviet Union into a superpower began employing totalitarian rule whereby they instituted terror to get their way, as well as, eliminating any opposition towards communism or their leadership. Additionally, the controlling of all aspects of life by the government also served to control and take freedom away from the citizens, bringing them back to their prior experience and making it more terrible for decades until the abolishing of communism.
In conclusion, the onset of the Russian Revolution saw the bloody Civil War whose outcome resulted in the obliteration of previous Russia into the first Communist country worldwide. The move gave immense hope to the citizens of a lasting change that would bring about peace, stability and the nation’s former glory. The communist leadership indeed achieved this by altering the economic status of the country into a progressive and thriving economy that could support the population, while eliciting social benefits that made education accessible and empowered women. Nevertheless, the communist ideologies led to the spread of communism that incited suspicion from other countries and inception of the Cold War, while imposing terror on the citizens through the totalitarian rule.
