Communism in Russia

February Revolution

The First World War placed an unbearable strain on Russia's government and economy, resulting in mass shortages and hunger. In the meantime, the mismanagement and failures of the war turned the people and importantly, the soldiers against the Tsar, whose decision to take personal command of the army seemed to make him personally responsible for the defeats. In February 1917, the Tsar first lost control of the streets, then of the soldiers, and finally of the Duma, resulting in his forced abdication on 2 March 1917.^[3]

On 26 February 1917 citywide strikes spread throughout Petrograd. Dozens of demonstrators were killed by troops. The crowds grew hostile forcing the soldiers to decide which side they were on. As the situation became critical, soldiers refused orders from the Tsar.^[3] On 26 February 1917 the Army abandoned the Tsar; the soldiers mutinied and refused to put down the riots. By 27 February 1917 the workers were in control of the entire city.^[3]

October Revolution

On 24–25 October 1917 the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist Revolutionaries organized a revolution, occupying government buildings, telegraph stations, and other strategic points.^[4] On 24 October 1917, the Red Guards took over bridges and telephone exchanges.^[4] On 25 and 26 October 1917 the Red Guards took over banks, government buildings, and railways stations. The cruiser Aurora fired blank shots at the Winter Palace signalling the start of the revolution. That night (9:40 pm), the Red Guards took over the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government.^[4]

On 27 October 1917 Lenin proclaimed that all power now belonged to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies.^[4]

The Civil War

After Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin took over the Soviet Union, many people still opposed the communist party. This led to the Civil War between the White Army and Red Army. The White Army included the opposition party, as well as foreign troops from 14 western nations. The Red Army included the armed forces of the government and people that supported Vladimir Lenin, as well as the worker's councils. The Civil War resulted in the deaths of 10–30 million people.^[5]

The Cold War

The Cold War was a time of ideological, political, and economic conflict between the communist countries and the west. More specifically the USSR and the United States. The reasoning behind the war from the United States perspective is deeply rooted in being against communism, “To the United States and its allies, communism represented a threat to free trade, free elections, and individual freedoms. This threat was heightened by the increased number of nuclear weapons.”.^[15] The distinction between communism and the democratic west was marked by the split of Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. The USSR tried to block the western forces access to West Berlin resulting in the Berlin Airlife of 1948. The United States used aid as an effort of diplomacy actively working against communism. The USSR did not only spread communism throughout Europe, but also into nations such as Cuba. This was very concerning for the United States efforts to contain communism due to the close distance between Cuba and the US. Communism was also spreading in Vietnam. This led to a proxy war between the USSR and US, as the USSR backed the North Vietnam communist side and the US backed the South Vietnam forces. The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the reunification of Germany and is typically viewed as the ending of the Cold War. At this time, Mikhail Gorbachev was the president of the USSR. November 10th, 1989, “hundreds of Berliners climbed on top of the Berlin Wall at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, demanding in a peaceful protest that the wall be pulled down. When the Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union stepped back, letting East Germany’s communist government collapse and quickly accepting German unification.”.^[16] This was possible because of some of Gorbachev’s policies such as Glasnost (a policy of openness). Gorbachev’s hold on other Eastern European countries also began to loosen, and communism began to fall across the world. ^[17]