Saturday, October 7, 2017

Russia, 1917

From History Extra:
The Russian Revolution of 1917 had an enormous impact on politics on a global scale for many 
decades. Nothing came close to it in importance – a fact recognised at the time and which continues to prove compelling a full century later. There were, of course, two revolutions that year. When people write about historic impact they are nearly always referring to the October Revolution, by which Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd and proclaimed the start of a new era in human affairs that would, they asserted, bring communism to the entire world. But the earlier revolution in February was acclaimed at the time as an event of momentous international significance because it brought the downfall of the Romanov monarchy. The Russian political system was widely reviled as the bastion of political reaction in Europe, and Nicholas II was dismissed as a butcher of the peoples in his empire. When he abdicated in March 1917 there were joyous celebrations not only in Russia but also in Paris and London. Crowds gathered to welcome the prospect of democracy. (Read more.)
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