Social Structure

The leader of the Russian empire was called the Tsar. The Tsar had absolute authority in politics, military and church matters. Another powerful social class was the one of the nobles who owned large properties , and controlled peasants . They were excluded from tax duties and were given high government and military positions. Following the Nobles, the clergy in the Russian Empire were the officials of the Russian Orthodox Church, who guided religious life and moral behavior. They were highly respected by the community and were influential to peasants. The urban middle class and merchants were small but growing, with wealth but limited political influence. Peasants made up the majority. They were working in small plots of land in poverty and  were  tied to landlords’ demands, while urban workers, concentrated in factories, faced long hours, low pay, and poor conditions. 

Economy

The economy of the Russian Empire was heavily supported by agricultural power and therefore peasants were crucial for economic stability . However industrialisation was particularly limited and slow, mainly concentrated in cities like Moscow. This should be attributed to the Tsar’s policy. The Tsar mainly focused on maintaining the social structure, ensuring that all authority was in his hands. The scarce presence of the middle class hardly made any investment in the creation of enterprises or factory construction possible, while at the same time most people were peasants working the land .Limited infrastructure, as well as inexperienced workforce made it hard for factories and modern businesses to grow, so the economy stayed mainly farming-based. Poverty was widespread in the countryside. Items such as meat and vegetable oil were rarely seen on the table of a typical peasant household. This system definitely did not promote economical or industrial development , but it gave more power to the Tsar .

Western Political Influence

Although the Russian Empire was heavily monitored it was exposed to Western political ideas through intellectuals, students, and exiles. Liberals studied democracy and civil rights from France and Britain, while Marxist and socialist ideas from Germany and France inspired revolutionaries. And while Capitalist ideas did indeed reach the Russian Empire, Marxism was far more appealing. The majority of the population was being exploited for the benefit of the few .People were exhausted and starved and sought equality. Marxism would sound like a dream . 

 Part 2: Russian Revolution 

i) February Revolution 1917

 In February of 1917, a combination of long term and short term causes led to the outrage of the Russian population with the imperial government. While in the middle of World War I , in which the Russian empire provided great military forces (12 to 15 million soldiers) to support the Alliance of Andante, the Russian population had to face challenges such as deep social inequality, economical problems and an autocratic government that gave no power or authority to the people. By February 1917, Russians were deeply discontent: the harsh winter and a collapsing transport system caused severe shortages of food and fuel, while huge losses in World War I left people dissatisfied and outraged by the Tsarist regime. In February 1917, mass protests in Petrograd over food shortages, war losses, and political repression forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate, leading to the creation of a Provisional Government (temporary government). 

ii) October Revolution 1917

The Russian Provisional Government failed to solve food and fuel shortages, due to the exhaustion of financial resources (as Russia participated in WWI), lack of transport (so grain couldn’t reach cities, and coal and fuel couldn’t get to factories), and peasants who refused to sell their goods in government set prices (making access to food barely possible) . Additionally, the Provisional Government was not able to reduce social inequalities as land redistribution was significantly delayed.  During this time, urban workers began to organize into working councils (soviets) wherein revolutionaries criticized the provisional government and its actions. Dissatisfied with the Provisional Government, which was led by the Socialist-Revolutionary, the far-left Bolsheviks planned a military coup in October 1917. Trotsky led the Petrograd Soviet to support the uprising on October 23. Minor conflicts resulted from the government's attempts to curb it by restricting Petrograd and closing newspapers. Tens of thousands of soldiers and Bolshevik sailors joined the rebellion the following day, and the Red Guards or Red Army (military force of the Bolshevics) started taking control of important government structures. They successfully seized power in Russia by seizing the Winter Palace early on October 26.

iii) Russian Civil War (1918-1920)

The Revolution was not welcomed by everyone, since an antisocialist army , the White Movement, formed in order to prevent the establishment of a far left political regime in Russia.  The White movement (or White Armies) was primarily supported by foreign forces such as Britain, France and Japan that probably viewed a marxist uprising superpower as a potential threat to the world of trade. After Several bloody battles, the Red Army led by Kolchak and Lenin had officially captured the entire Russian territory and therefore were in total control of the government. Their victory paved the way for the establishment of the first ever communist nation : the USSR. 

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