1905 Russian Revolution Research Paper

At the Second Congress of the Russian Democratic Labor Party, it was agreed upon that Russia was in need of a revolution as the workers and peasants of the country were becoming dissatisfied with the Czar and the government. The end goal of the revolution was to be socialism. However, Congress split into two parties: the Bolsheviks (the majority) and the Mensheviks (the minority). The main disagreements revolved around party membership, with the Mensheviks arguing for a broad-based membership resulting in greater support, and the Bolsheviks, who sought only workers dedicated to the cause. However, the parties abandoned their differences in order to support strikes and protests known as the Russian Revolutions of 1905. To appease these workers, …show more content…
Petersburg, renamed Petrograd. As a result, the Czar fled and a temporary government was put in place. The March Revolution caused the Bolsheviks to become even more determined to seize power, a feeling heightened by the return of Vladimir Lenin from exile in April. Led by Lenin, the Bolshevik Party seized control of Russia in November 1917, known as the October Revolution. The party’s slogan, “Peace, Land, Bread”, held great appeal to the citizens and peasants of Russia. The main goals of the party stressed the importance of power in the hands of the soviet, or the workers and peasants of the country, with the ultimate goal of Russia as a Communist state, or a class-free system that emphasized common ownership and free access to all goods and services according to need. In March of 1918, the capital of Russia was moved from Petrograd to Moscow, large estates were broken up and given to peasants, and control of factories were given to workers. Also, banks and Church property were taken under state control. The White Russians, or Anti- Communists, opposed these moves, and the Russian Civil War occurred in 1918. By 1922, the Bolshevik Red Army had defeated the White