The Russian Revolution
Discover the Russian Revolution — the 1917 upheaval that overthrew the Tsar, brought the Bolsheviks to power, and created the world's first communist state.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was actually two revolutions. The February Revolution (March by the Western calendar) overthrew Tsar Nicholas II and established a provisional government. The October Revolution (November) brought Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks to power, creating the world's first communist state and reshaping global politics for the rest of the century.
The revolution's roots lay in Russia's deep structural problems: autocratic rule that refused meaningful reform, enormous inequality between a tiny aristocratic elite and a vast impoverished peasantry, and rapid but uneven industrialization that created a volatile urban working class. World War I proved to be the catalyst — military disasters, food shortages, and war-weariness destroyed what remained of the tsarist regime's legitimacy.
Lenin's Bolsheviks promised 'peace, land, and bread' — immediate withdrawal from the war, redistribution of land to the peasants, and worker control of factories. After seizing power, they signed a devastating peace treaty with Germany, nationalized industry, and fought a brutal civil war (1918–1921) against a coalition of anti-Bolshevik forces. The Bolshevik victory established the Soviet Union and demonstrated that Marxist revolution was possible — inspiring communist movements worldwide while terrifying capitalist governments.