Bolshevik Rule

Paper Summary:

This paper is an in-depth analysis of the causes of the Bolshevik Revolution. The author discusses the harsh economic conditions of the times, the rule of Czar Nicholas, the oppression of the lower class, and the influences of Karl Marx on the intelligentsia who wanted reform. The paper looks at the numerous riots that took place, the effects of World War I, and the crumbling of the Romanov dynasty.

From the Paper:

"The causes of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 were many. The revolution was the culmination of a long period of repression and unrest. The Tsar weaknesses in his character and reactionary policies and his failure to understand his people: From the time of Peter I (Peter the Great), the czardom increasingly became an autocratic bureaucracy that imposed its will on the people by force, with wanton disregard for human life and liberty. The last Tsar Nicholas II (1894-1917) was a loyal family man but he had serious defects of character. He was easily influenced by his wife (German), he ignored his ministers and he failed to understand the problems of his people (he was too remote from them). He was a reactionary and an indecisive autocrat. Moreover the Czarist monarchy dramatically demonstrated the weaknesses to which a hereditary system is prone. A male heir to the throne was necessary to assure the continuation of the dynasty. The son of the Czar and Empress, Alexis, was a frail boy who suffered from the crippling hereditary disease of hemophilia."

More papers on Bolshevik Rule:

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• Book Review # 53859 : "The Great Terror: A Reassessment"

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