Czar Nicholas II and his unpopular, domineering and foreign wife Alexandra inspired little love of the Russian people. After the Revolution of 1905, in which the navy revolted and the people protested the disastrous war with Japan, Nicholas promised some reforms including the opening up of debates and giving more power to the Russian Parliament, known as the Duma. Nicholas II viewed himself as the representative of a true and traditional Russia. World War One opened up space for those unhappy with the Czar’s rule. With soldiers away at the front and the government focusing on the war, those advocating for change began meeting more openly and imagining a post-war Russia without the Czar or with the Czar having limited power. Still, Nicholas defended his rule. He even took direct control of the war effort, moving to the front and dictating strategy. This move made the Czar even more responsible for the events transpiring at the war front and taking blame for the failures.

The Germans realized the revolutionary potential of Vladimir Lenin and transported him on an enclosed train from his exile in Switzerland to the Russian center of power where they released him. Soon, Lenin was advocating for a revolutionary change. The people were protesting by the hundreds of thousands across Russia. The Czar possessed almost 200,000 troops, whom he ordered to put down the riots, but only about 12,000 were trained and considerably reliable. Even worse, these troops refused to attack the crowds, which included larger numbers of women. Following the mutiny, Nicholas realized he had lost power and abdicated in favor of his brother, Mikhail.

Figure 11: Lenin’s Mugshot, 1895

In the first phase of the revolution, known as the February 1917 Revolution, a moderate government took power from the Czar, placing him and his family under arrest in the Ural Mountains, where they were eventually killed. The new government pursued a moderate course of action. At the same time, workers councils known as soviets, were set up to oversee factories and cities. Despite attempts at working together, the continued problems at the front, the refusal of the moderate government to leave the war, the continued activity of other political groups such as Lenin’s Bolsheviks, and grain shortages undercut the popular enthusiasm for the war.

The power, prestige, and popularity of Lenin and the Bolshevik Party continued to grow. The use of simple slogans such as “bread, land, and peace” appealed to the urban workers, peasants, and soldiers. The second phase of the revolution witnessed Lenin seizing power. In a revolution dramatized by the later Soviet films, the party took control of the Winter Palace and the government.

Figure 12: Sailors Storming the Winter Palace

Almost immediately, Lenin signed a treaty with Germany, giving Germany large amounts of Russian territory in exchange for immediate peace. As a result of the revolution, two million Russians fled abroad. People also resisted the incoming government and fought back. For example, the peasants rebelled in Ukraine. The disparate collection of anti-Bolshevik forces, known as the Whites, took control of Central Asia, Siberia, the Caucasus Mountains, and other Russian territory, effectively surrounding the Bolsheviks. Countries such as Finland, Lithuania,Latvia, and Estonia declared their independence. The Allies of World War One armed this resistance and the fighting intensified. In Bolshevik territory, the Czar and his family was killed. Lenin established a secret police force to clamp down on any resistance to his rule. Each side committed massacres on the other.

Figure 13: Street children during the Russian Civil War

Despite the mobilization of more than five million men, each of the different White armies were defeated by the Bolshevik who then found themselves in another war with Poland. The fighting finally stopped in 1921 with the Bolsheviks in charge but facing a starving population and striking workers.

To deal with the outbreaks of famine, more extreme efforts were needed. Aid also came in from places such as the United States-under the oversight of future President Hoover-to ensure the people of Russia did not starve. Nevertheless, the famine which lasted from 1921 to 1923 killed between five and ten million Soviets. In order to increase production, Lenin argued that the country was not yet ready for communism and a step back was needed, but retained communism as an ultimate goal. Thus, Lenin implemented his New Economic Policy in order to feed the starving people and prevent hoarding. Under this policy, the state maintained control over the centralized economy and heavy industries, but peasants could use the land as if they owned it and sell their products at market prices. The kulaks, with slightly more land or cattle than their neighbors, did quite well under this policy and production dramatically increased. Small traders and merchants, referred to as NEP men, also prospered as they sold the food in markets and in cities.. Thus, the Russian economy witnessed the implementation of capitalism and mass starvation was averted by Lenin and the Bolsheviks remained in power.

By 1922, the situation had stabilized. Lenin used the efforts of qualified administrators and officials–such as Trotsky, Stalin, Zinoviev, and Kamenev–to increase the power of the Soviet state. However, in May, Lenin suffered a stroke leading to a debate over who would take over the leadership of the Soviet state.

Figure 14: A Doctored Photo of Lenin with Stalin

World War One and the Russian Revolution brought drastic changes to European society. For the first time, a Marxist-inspired state was established. Still, workers from throughout Europe continued to kill each other by the millions with little large scale agitation or attempts to change the political system. World War One also ended Europeans’ blind faith in a sense of their own superiority and progress. Looking back at the war, many Europeans wondered how the killing and destruction brought by the war was possible and how the events-such as the industrial revolution-allowed for the possibilities for Europeans to kill each other on an unforeseen scale. Many vowed never to return to such senseless fighting.