the russian revolution!

Before the Revolution

Social Structure
At the beginning of 1917, Russia was growing rapidly and the population was heavily diversified, consisting of many different cultures, religions and languages. A large percentage of the population consisted of peasants, with the nobility and clergy making up only 1-2% of the total, and an almost complete absence of a middle class. Non-russians were made to adopt Russian customs and speak Russian, and it was only the Russians who got the important jobs in the government, despite almost 50% of the population being non-Russian.

Lifestyle
Peasants - Practised backward forms of farming like subsistence farming with few tools. There was not enough land to go around and most suffered debt problems. Many years ago, they were once serfs owned by the nobility. After emancipation, they were given plots of land by the nobility and forced to pay for them. Most could not afford it and went further into debt, stemming a lot of discontent as the farmers felt that the land truly belonged to those who worked it.
Urban workers - Received basic education and most were literate and receptive to revolutionary ideas. They had extremel low wages and working conditions were poor, with many deaeths resulting from accidents and work-related health problems. Living conditions were appalling and overcrowding was a huge problem.
National Minorities - Were discriminated against as the Russians were favoured for better-paying jobs. They led oppressed lives and wished for equality and an end to the policy of 'Russification' (everything in Russia had to be Russian, no different languages/cultures etc were tolerated).

Political Structure
Russia was an autocracy, with the monarchy having absolute power and the tsars were thought to be appointed by God Himself. There was an imperial council that was responsible to the tsar alone, and there was no parliament. It was a rigid and oppressive hierachy marked by inefficiency due to its inflexibility. Corruption was rampant, and the council was practically impenetrable for the ordinary folks, who found that their interests were not being served fairly. Opposition was not tolerated and the government has a secret police network which was used to sort out rebels. Political critics who spoke out against the government were sent to exile or imprisoned.

Religious Structure
The Russian Orthodox Church had developed its own traditions and customs, and placed special emphasis on mysticism. Holy men were held in high regard, of which included Grigory Rasputin, a man who would later change the fate of Russia. It also supported the tsar's divine right to rule over Russia absolutely.

The Monarchy
Tsar Nicholas II was not prepared to assume the throne after the sudden death of his father. He was uninterested in the job and indecisive, disorganized and weak. He was unwilling to make any move towards a constitutional monarchy as he believed he possessed the divine right to rule, and could be vicious towards any opposition of his regime.

The Revolutionaries
Karl Marx's idea of Communism appealed to many people, especially the discontented. A new revolutionary party called the Social Democrats was formed on the basis of Communism and claimed that they would give the peasants, the urban workers, the middle class and the minorities the equality and political power that they deserved.

And so, this was the backdrop to which the seeds of the revolution were planted into.