- The Age of Social Change in 19th-century Europe produced three political streams — liberals (individual rights, elected government), radicals (universal suffrage, republic), and conservatives (order, tradition, monarchy).
- Socialism challenged private property; Marx and Engels argued capitalism exploits workers and called for a classless communist society through revolution.
- Russia in 1905 was a rigid autocracy under Tsar Nicholas II; the Bloody Sunday massacre sparked the 1905 Revolution and forced the Tsar to create a parliament (Duma).
- Russian socialists split into Bolsheviks (Lenin — tight, disciplined party) and Mensheviks (broader membership); WWI brought massive Russian casualties and food shortages, making the regime unpopular.
- The February Revolution 1917 toppled the Tsar; the October Revolution 1917 brought the Bolsheviks to power — the first socialist state in world history.
- Soviet power: Decree on Land (redistributed land), Decree on Peace (end WWI), nationalisation of industry, civil war survived with the Red Army.
- Stalin's collectivisation (1929 onwards) liquidated kulaks, forced peasants into collective farms, caused famines but also rapid industrialisation.
- Board weightage: ~5 marks/year — commonly a 5-mark source-based question or short-answer questions on the Russian Revolution, Lenin, or socialism.
1. Age of Social Change — Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives
The French Revolution of 1789 showed that social conditions could be changed by human action. It inspired political thinkers across Europe to debate how society should be organised. By the 19th century, three broad groups had emerged:
Liberals
- Believed in individual rights — freedom of thought, religion, and speech.
- Wanted elected parliamentary government and an end to royal autocracy.
- Supported a constitutional monarchy — a king bound by a constitution.
- Did NOT support universal suffrage; believed only property-owning men should vote.
- Valued a tolerant, secular society with guaranteed rights of private property.
Radicals
- Wanted a government based on majority — broader voting rights including the poor and women.
- Favoured a republic over a monarchy.
- Opposed concentration of property in a few hands but did not question private property itself.
- Were sometimes willing to use revolutionary methods to achieve change.
Conservatives
- Opposed rapid change; believed in tradition, order, and established institutions.
- Supported monarchy, the Church, and the existing social hierarchy.
- After the French Revolution even conservatives accepted that some change was inevitable, but insisted it must be slow and guided by tradition.
Liberals = rights but limited vote (property owners only) | Radicals = republic + broad vote (including poor) | Conservatives = tradition + slow change + monarchy.
2. Socialism in Europe — Ideas, Thinkers, and the Communist Manifesto
The Industrial Revolution created enormous wealth but also a large, poor working class (proletariat) living in miserable conditions. Socialists responded with a radical critique of capitalism.
Core socialist ideas
- Collective/social ownership of factories, mines, and resources — not private ownership by capitalists.
- Production organised for the common good, not private profit.
- Abolition of economic inequality and exploitation of workers.
Early socialists — Utopian socialists
- Robert Owen (England) — set up a cooperative community at New Lanark, Scotland; believed cooperative communities could abolish poverty.
- Louis Blanc (France) — wanted the government to set up workshops where workers could be employed.
- Charles Fourier (France) — envisioned cooperative communities called phalansteries.
- Called "utopian" because their visions were idealistic and lacked a practical strategy for revolution.
Marx and Engels — Scientific Socialism
- Karl Marx (1818–1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) gave socialism a scientific and historical basis.
- Key text: The Communist Manifesto (1848) — argued all history is the history of class struggle (master vs slave, lord vs serf, capitalist vs worker).
- Capitalism produces two classes: the bourgeoisie (who own the means of production) and the proletariat (wage workers who own only their labour).
- Workers are exploited — they produce more value than they receive in wages; this surplus becomes the capitalist's profit.
- Workers would eventually unite, overthrow capitalism in a revolution, and establish a socialist state leading to communism — a classless, stateless society.
- Famous slogan: "Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains."
The Second International
- By the 1870s socialist parties spread across Europe; in 1889 the Second International was formed — an association of socialist parties.
- They observed May Day (1 May) as International Labour Day to show working-class solidarity.
- By 1905 socialists held seats in parliaments in Germany, France, and elsewhere — a major political force.
3. Russia in 1905 — Autocracy, Society, and Bloody Sunday
Political system
- Russia was ruled by a Tsar with absolute power — a rigid autocracy.
- Tsar Nicholas II (ruled 1894–1917) believed in the divine right of kings and refused to limit his power.
- No elected parliament; political parties were banned or tightly controlled.
Russian society before 1905
- Nobility and Orthodox Church — owned vast estates and supported the Tsar.
- Peasants — about 85% of the population; freed from serfdom in 1861 but still poor, paid heavy taxes. Village life organised through the commune (mir).
- Industrial workers — growing rapidly; worked 10–12 hours a day in terrible conditions with low wages.
- Middle classes — educated professionals who wanted political rights and a constitution.
Political parties and opposition
- Social Democratic Workers' Party (founded 1898) — Marxist party; later split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.
- Socialist Revolutionaries — represented peasants; wanted redistribution of land.
- Liberals — represented middle classes; wanted a constitutional monarchy and civil rights.
Bloody Sunday and the 1905 Revolution
- Russia suffered heavy defeats in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05), exposing the Tsar's weakness.
- 22 January 1905 (Bloody Sunday) — Father Gapon led a peaceful procession of over 100,000 workers to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg to present a petition asking for better wages, shorter hours, and an assembly.
- Tsarist troops opened fire — hundreds killed and wounded. This shattered faith in the Tsar and triggered nationwide strikes, protests, and revolts — the Revolution of 1905.
- Peasants revolted; soldiers mutinied (the Battleship Potemkin mutiny is famous).
- Workers formed soviets (workers' councils) for the first time — the St Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Deputies appeared in 1905.
- Tsar was forced to issue the October Manifesto (1905) — promised civil liberties and created the Duma (parliament).
- But the Tsar dissolved the first two Dumas when they became too radical and changed electoral rules to favour wealthy conservatives.
4. Bolsheviks vs Mensheviks — Lenin and Party Organisation
The Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party split in 1903 at its London congress over how to organise the revolutionary party:
| Feature | Bolsheviks | Mensheviks |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | "Majority" (in Russian) | "Minority" (in Russian) |
| Leader | Vladimir Lenin | Julius Martov |
| Party type | Small, tight, disciplined — professional revolutionaries only | Broader membership, open to all sympathisers |
| Strategy | Immediate socialist revolution led by party on behalf of workers | First complete the bourgeois democratic revolution, then move to socialism |
| Alliance | Workers + peasants | Workers + middle-class liberals |
Lenin's key ideas
- The party must be the "vanguard of the proletariat" — a small group of dedicated revolutionaries who guide workers.
- Argued in his 1902 pamphlet "What Is To Be Done?" — only a disciplined vanguard party could deliver revolution, not spontaneous trade-union activity.
- Lenin argued Russia should skip the lengthy capitalist stage and move directly to socialism once the Tsar was overthrown.
5. WWI and Its Impact on Russia (1914–1917)
- Russia entered World War I (1914–1918) on the side of the Allies (Britain and France) against Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.
- Russian armies were large but poorly equipped — soldiers lacked rifles, boots, and food. By 1917 Russia had suffered over 7 million casualties (dead, wounded, and prisoners).
- The war caused massive economic strain: factories diverted to war production, food scarce in cities, prices soared, and real wages fell sharply.
- Tsar Nicholas II made the disastrous decision to personally command the armies at the front — linking himself directly to every military failure.
- In his absence, the mystic Rasputin gained enormous influence over the Tsarina (German-born Alexandra), discrediting the royal family further.
- Soldiers began deserting; workers went on strike; opposition to the regime spread across all classes.
- The capital was renamed Petrograd in 1914 (St Petersburg sounded too German); by early 1917 it was on the verge of revolution.
6. The February Revolution 1917 — Tsar Abdicates
- In February 1917 (by the old Russian Julian calendar — March in the Western Gregorian calendar), protests exploded in Petrograd.
- Triggered by a shortage of bread and fuel: women workers from textile factories went on strike on 23 February (International Women's Day) and were soon joined by hundreds of thousands.
- The Tsar ordered troops to fire on protesters — but this time most soldiers refused to shoot and many joined the crowds.
- By 27 February the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (Petrograd Soviet) was formed.
- Duma leaders and opposition politicians set up a Provisional Government to run the country.
- On 2 March 1917 Tsar Nicholas II abdicated — ending 300 years of Romanov dynasty rule.
- The Provisional Government was formed mainly of liberals and moderate socialists. Key figure: Alexander Kerensky (Minister of War, later Prime Minister).
- Dual Power situation: the Provisional Government held formal authority, but the Petrograd Soviet had real power — both had to cooperate but often clashed sharply.
- Critical mistake: the Provisional Government decided to continue WWI, which was deeply unpopular with exhausted soldiers and starving workers.
7. Lenin Returns — The April Theses (1917)
- Lenin had been in exile in Switzerland. In April 1917 the German government arranged to transport him in a sealed train across Germany to Russia — hoping Lenin would cause unrest and withdraw Russia from WWI.
- On arriving at the Finland Station in Petrograd (3 April 1917), Lenin announced his April Theses — a programme that shocked even many Bolsheviks with its radicalism.
- The April Theses had three core demands, famously summarised as "Peace, Land, Bread":
- Peace — immediate end to the war; withdraw from WWI at once.
- Land — transfer all land from landlords to peasants without compensation.
- Bread — state control of banks and large industry to ensure food supply for workers.
- Lenin also demanded "All power to the Soviets" — the Provisional Government must be replaced by rule of workers' and soldiers' councils.
- These slogans were enormously popular with soldiers, workers, and poor peasants desperate for change.
- Through the summer of 1917 Bolshevik support soared — they won a majority in the Petrograd Soviet in September 1917.
- An attempted Bolshevik uprising in July 1917 (the "July Days") failed; Lenin fled to Finland, but returned in October when conditions had changed decisively.
8. The October Revolution 1917 — Bolsheviks Seize Power
- By October 1917 the Provisional Government under Kerensky was isolated: it had continued the unpopular war, failed to distribute land, and lost mass support.
- Lenin returned secretly to Petrograd and persuaded the Bolshevik Central Committee to launch an armed uprising.
- Leon Trotsky (head of the Petrograd Soviet's Military Revolutionary Committee) organised the actual seizure of power.
- On the night of 24–25 October 1917, Bolshevik Red Guards and sympathetic soldiers occupied railway stations, the telephone exchange, post offices, and the State Bank.
- The cruiser Aurora fired a blank shot signalling the assault on the Winter Palace (where the Provisional Government was meeting).
- The Winter Palace fell with almost no resistance; Provisional Government members were arrested.
- Lenin announced to the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets that the Bolsheviks had taken power — creating the world's first socialist government.
- A new government was formed: the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom), with Lenin as Chairman.
The July Days attempt failed because the Bolsheviks lacked a majority. By October they held a majority in the Petrograd Soviet, the army was demoralised and pro-Bolshevik, and the Provisional Government was too weak to resist. Timing — and Trotsky's organisation — was decisive.
9. Establishing Soviet Power — Decrees and Early Policies
Within days of coming to power the Bolshevik government issued dramatic decrees:
- Decree on Peace (26 October 1917) — called on all warring nations to stop fighting immediately without annexations or indemnities.
- Decree on Land (26 October 1917) — all land owned by the Tsar, nobility, and Church declared national property; distributed to peasants through local soviets without compensation.
- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918) — Russia signed a separate peace with Germany, losing vast territories (Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic states) but ending its role in WWI.
- Nationalisation of industry — banks, large factories, and transport taken over by the state.
- Workers' control — factory committees given authority to supervise management.
- The Cheka (secret police) was set up to crush counterrevolutionary activity.
- Women given equal rights: right to vote, divorce, and own property.
- The country was renamed the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR); in 1922 it became the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).
- The capital was moved from Petrograd to Moscow (March 1918).
- The Constituent Assembly (elected November 1917) was dissolved in January 1918 when it refused to accept Bolshevik dominance — replaced by Soviet rule.
10. Civil War and Foreign Intervention (1918–1921)
- The Bolsheviks faced a fierce challenge in the Civil War (1918–1921).
- White Armies: forces loyal to the Tsar (monarchists), liberals, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, and foreign-backed troops fought to overthrow the Bolsheviks.
- Foreign intervention: Britain, France, the USA, and Japan sent troops to support the Whites, fearing a socialist state would inspire revolutions in their own countries.
- Trotsky built the Red Army — a professional fighting force with former Tsarist officers (under political commissars); it successfully defeated the Whites by 1920–21.
- During the Civil War the Bolsheviks adopted War Communism — forcible seizure of grain from peasants to feed the Red Army and city workers, causing massive resentment and famine.
- The royal family (Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, and their five children) was shot by Bolshevik guards in Yekaterinburg, 17 July 1918, to prevent rescue by the Whites.
- After winning the Civil War, Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921 — a partial return to market economics (peasants could sell surplus grain, small businesses could operate privately), which revived the shattered economy.
11. Stalin's Collectivisation and Industrialisation
- Lenin died in January 1924. After a power struggle, Joseph Stalin became the dominant leader of the USSR by 1928.
- Stalin ended the NEP and launched rapid industrialisation through Five Year Plans (first: 1928–1932) — steel mills, power stations, railways, and factories were built at breakneck speed. By 1940 Soviet industrial output had grown by over 400%.
- Collectivisation (from 1929): Stalin forced millions of peasants to give up individual farms and join large, state-run collective farms (kolkhozy) and state farms (sovkhozy). Goals: mechanise agriculture, supply food for urban workers, free labour for industry, and eliminate the kulaks (rich peasants) as a class.
- Kulaks who resisted were deported to Gulag labour camps, shot, or starved. Millions died.
- Collectivisation caused a catastrophic famine in 1932–33 (especially in Ukraine — the Holodomor), killing an estimated 5–7 million people.
- Despite the immense human cost, by the late 1930s the USSR had transformed from a predominantly agricultural society into a major industrial power — a process that had taken Western Europe over a century.
- Stalinist repression (Great Terror, 1936–38): Stalin used the NKVD (secret police) and show trials to eliminate all real and imagined opponents; millions sent to Gulags, hundreds of thousands executed.
- The USSR became a one-party authoritarian state, far removed from the democratic soviets envisioned in 1917.
12. Global Impact of the Russian Revolution
- The Russian Revolution was the most significant political event of the 20th century — it created the world's first socialist state and inspired workers and colonised peoples worldwide.
- Communist parties were founded across the world — China (1921), India (1920, founded by M.N. Roy), Germany, Britain, and many others. The Communist International (Comintern), set up by Lenin in 1919, coordinated these parties.
- In colonial countries like India, the Russian Revolution was deeply inspiring — it showed that an oppressed people could overthrow an empire. Indian leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru were influenced by Soviet socialism; India's Five Year Plans (from 1951) partly drew on the Soviet planning model.
- The revolution frightened capitalist governments — they granted workers concessions (shorter hours, better wages, welfare states) partly to prevent socialist revolutions at home. The welfare state in Europe owes something to the fear of revolution.
- The Cold War (1947–1991) was fundamentally shaped by the ideological contest between the USSR's socialism and American capitalism.
- The USSR was dissolved in 1991, but the revolution's legacy — welfare states, workers' rights, national liberation movements, and development planning — continues to shape the modern world.
Social: Russian society was deeply hierarchical. The nobility owned vast estates. Peasants (about 85% of the population) were freed from serfdom in 1861 but remained poor, burdened by redemption payments and heavy taxes. Village life was organised through the commune (mir). Industrial workers poured into growing cities but faced terrible conditions — 10–12 hour days, low wages, overcrowded slums. The Orthodox Church taught obedience to the Tsar.
Economic: Russia was industrialising rapidly by the 1890s (railways, textile mills, iron and steel). But this created sharp inequality — factory owners grew rich while workers remained poor. Russia was still largely agrarian; financially dependent on foreign investment (French, British). Peasants farmed tiny strips of land and had little surplus.
Political: Russia was an autocracy — the Tsar ruled absolutely with no parliament, no civil rights, and no freedom of expression. Political parties were banned. Tsar Nicholas II believed his power came from God. Political opposition was suppressed by the secret police (Okhrana). This created a pressure-cooker of discontent with no peaceful outlet.
- In most European countries, workers were mainly urban industrial factory workers with little connection to the countryside. In Russia, even industrial workers often retained ties to their villages and moved seasonally between factory and farm.
- Russia's working class had grown very rapidly in just 30–40 years, unlike Western Europe's gradual century-long industrialisation — Russian workers were more recently urbanised.
- Working conditions were harsher — 10–12 hour days, trade unions were illegal before 1905, and strikes were suppressed by force.
- There was a strong tradition of communal village organisation (the mir) that shaped how Russian workers thought about collective action and equality.
- Russian workers were more likely to live in large industrial barracks provided by factory owners — this concentrated them and made collective action easier.
- A much higher proportion of the population was still peasant compared to Britain, France, or Germany where urbanisation was far more advanced.
- Political rigidity: Nicholas II refused to share power or modernise the political system. The Duma was repeatedly dissolved when it challenged the Tsar. No legitimate channel for reform existed.
- Military disasters in WWI: Russia's catastrophic defeats destroyed the army's loyalty to the Tsar. Over 7 million casualties by 1917 demoralised the entire country.
- Economic breakdown: WWI caused severe food shortages and inflation in cities. Workers faced starvation while the court lived in luxury.
- Loss of elite support: Even the nobility and military commanders had lost faith in the Tsar, especially after the Rasputin scandal discredited the royal family.
- Mass protests: The February 1917 bread riots in Petrograd, joined by soldiers who refused to fire on crowds, made the regime's position untenable.
- Absence of effective leadership: The Tsar was at the military front; when he tried to return to Petrograd, his train was stopped by revolutionaries. Isolated and deserted, he abdicated on 2 March 1917.
Transformation: Stalin used Five Year Plans (from 1928) and collectivisation to industrialise at an unprecedented rate. The state took complete control of all industry and directed all investment centrally. The first three Five Year Plans prioritised heavy industry: steel, coal, electricity, machinery, and railways. Between 1929 and 1940 Soviet industrial output grew by over 400%. Agriculture was collectivised — small peasant farms merged into large kolkhozy, mechanising farming and freeing labour for industry. Education and technical training expanded massively; literacy rose from about 30% in 1917 to over 80% by 1939. By the late 1930s the USSR was the world's second-largest industrial economy.
Human cost: Millions of kulaks were deported, shot, or starved during collectivisation. The famine of 1932–33 (especially in Ukraine) killed an estimated 5–7 million people. Millions more were imprisoned in Gulag labour camps or executed during Stalin's political purges (1936–38). The transformation was achieved at a horrific price in human suffering.
- They supported a republic based on universal suffrage
- They believed in individual rights and a constitutional monarchy
- They favoured tradition, order, and established institutions
- They wanted collective ownership of factories
- Lenin and Trotsky
- Robert Owen and Louis Blanc
- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
- Alexander Kerensky and Julius Martov
- Marked the start of WWI for Russia
- Led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II
- Shattered faith in the Tsar and triggered a nationwide wave of strikes and revolts
- Resulted in the Bolsheviks taking power
- Supported the Tsar and opposed revolution
- Wanted a small, disciplined party of professional revolutionaries
- Believed Russia should first complete full capitalist development before seeking socialism
- Supported Russia's continued involvement in WWI
- The October Manifesto of 1905
- Lenin's April Theses (1917)
- Stalin's First Five Year Plan
- The Constituent Assembly elections
- The October Revolution led by the Bolsheviks
- The February Revolution — bread riots, soldiers refusing to fire on crowds, and loss of all support
- The Bolsheviks storming the Winter Palace
- Pressure from Lenin's April Theses
- All land would be nationalised and managed by state collective farms
- Land owned by nobles and the Church would be redistributed to peasants through soviets
- The NEP would allow peasants to sell surplus grain
- Kulaks would be deported and their land given to the state
- They believed Russia should continue fighting Germany in WWI
- They feared a socialist state would inspire workers' revolutions in their own countries
- They wanted to help restore democracy in Russia
- They had signed a treaty with the Provisional Government
- Rapid improvement in living standards for all peasants
- Massive famine (1932–33) killing millions, alongside rapid industrial growth
- A return to private farming and market economics
- The complete elimination of poverty by 1932
- Communist parties were founded across Europe and Asia
- Colonial nationalist movements were inspired by the revolution's example
- Capitalist governments gave welfare concessions to workers to prevent revolutions
- The USA immediately adopted a socialist planned economy
Main features of Socialism:
- Collective/social ownership of property, factories, and resources — not private ownership by capitalists.
- Production organised for the common good, not for profit.
- Abolition of economic inequality and class exploitation.
- Marx argued history was driven by class struggle; workers (proletariat) must overthrow capitalists (bourgeoisie) through revolution to establish a socialist and then communist society.
- Goal: a classless, stateless communist society — "from each according to ability, to each according to need."
How it differed from Liberalism: Liberals accepted private property and capitalism; they only wanted political rights (parliaments, constitutions, civil liberties) and limited, accountable government. Liberals believed reform within the existing economic system was sufficient. Socialists went much further — they wanted to restructure the entire economy, abolish private property, and end exploitation of labour. Liberals wanted reform; socialists wanted revolution and a completely new social order.
Why it triggered revolution: By 1905 Russia was under severe strain — military humiliation in the Russo-Japanese War, food shortages, economic inequality, and total political repression. Workers and peasants had no legal channel to express grievances. The peaceful march to the Winter Palace (led by Father Gapon, 22 January 1905) was seen as an appeal to the "Little Father" Tsar. When Tsarist troops opened fire on the unarmed crowd, killing hundreds, it shattered the traditional image of a caring Tsar and turned mass disappointment into mass anger.
Outcomes:
- Nationwide strikes, peasant revolts, and military mutinies (notably the Battleship Potemkin).
- Workers formed the first soviets (workers' councils) — the St Petersburg Soviet appeared in 1905.
- The Tsar was forced to issue the October Manifesto (1905): promised civil liberties and created the State Duma (elected parliament).
- However, the Tsar repeatedly dissolved the Duma and changed electoral rules to favour conservatives — the underlying crisis was not resolved, feeding directly into the 1917 revolutions.
Background: After the February Revolution the Provisional Government continued the unpopular war and failed to distribute land, rapidly losing mass support. Lenin's April Theses gave the Bolsheviks a sharp, popular programme ("Peace, Land, Bread"). By September 1917 the Bolsheviks held a majority in the Petrograd Soviet.
The Uprising (24–25 October 1917): Trotsky's Military Revolutionary Committee organised the Red Guards who occupied railway stations, telephone exchanges, post offices, and the State Bank overnight. The cruiser Aurora fired a blank, signalling the assault on the Winter Palace. The Provisional Government fell with almost no resistance; its ministers were arrested.
Establishing government: The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets approved Bolshevik rule. Lenin formed the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) with himself as Chairman. Within days the Decree on Peace and Decree on Land were issued — winning overwhelming support from soldiers and peasants. The world's first socialist state had been established.
Global impact: Communist parties were founded across Europe, Asia, and the Americas (China 1921, India 1920, etc.). The Comintern (1919) coordinated international communist movements. Capitalist governments granted workers better wages, shorter hours, and welfare benefits partly to prevent revolution at home — thus the Russian Revolution helped create the welfare state in Western Europe. Anti-colonial movements worldwide were inspired by the example of an oppressed people overthrowing an empire.
Impact on India: Indian nationalist leaders, especially Jawaharlal Nehru, were deeply inspired by the Russian Revolution and Soviet socialism. M.N. Roy founded the Communist Party of India in 1920. After independence, India's Five Year Plans (from 1951) were partly modelled on Soviet planning — the idea of a centrally planned economy driving rapid development. The revolution showed that a backward, agrarian society could transform rapidly through planned socialism, which resonated with Indian leaders seeking a shortcut to development.
(a) Where Lenin was returning from: Lenin was returning from political exile in Switzerland. He had been transported across Germany in a sealed train arranged by the German government, which hoped Lenin would cause unrest in Russia and force Russia to withdraw from WWI — removing Germany's eastern enemy.
(b) Three main demands (April Theses, 1917):
- Peace — immediate end to Russia's involvement in WWI without annexations or reparations.
- Land — immediate redistribution of all land belonging to landlords and the Church to peasants, without compensation.
- Bread — state control of banks and large industry to ensure adequate food supply for workers; "All power to the Soviets" — replace the Provisional Government with rule by workers' and soldiers' councils.
(c) Why they were popular: Russian soldiers had been fighting for three years and suffered over 7 million casualties — they desperately wanted peace. Peasants (85% of the population) had been waiting for land reform that the Provisional Government kept postponing. Workers in cities were suffering acute food shortages and falling real wages. Lenin's three demands offered simple, radical solutions to the three most urgent problems of ordinary Russians. The Provisional Government offered none of these — its decision to continue the war made it deeply unpopular — which is why Bolshevik support surged through 1917.
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