In January 1918, the Worker-Peasant Red Army was created under Lenin and his government, The Council of People’s Commissar. Instead of using a draft, the Red Army started with peasant and worker volunteers, who were people Lenin felt were best to … Continue reading →
Week 3 Posts
Comrades' Corner, Week 3 Posts
Furious For Food
by afoutz •
One of the most humane rights and biological necessities is to be able to eat. Sadly however, after World War I had begun this basic right was incredibly hard to come by for the Russian peasantry. At the beginning of the war it was thought that as a largely agrarian empire it would have no […]
Red Star, Week 3 Posts
Peace At Any Price
by oliva2015 •
In 1917 the new Russian Revolutionary Government knew that it could never stabilize Russia while still in the midst of WWI. Russia had to seek peace with Germany and the other Central Powers before the struggle to build a new stable government could begin. The new Bolshevik government signed the Treaty of Brest Litovsk after […]
Comrades' Corner, Week 3 Posts
When the Tsar is away, the Monk will play
by jslattery •
At the outbreak of the Great War, Russia had the world’s largest army at almost one and a half million soldiers. With reserves activated and fully mobilized, this number expanded to five million. At first, the Russians made large, quick gains by striking first into East Prussia (modern day Kaliningrad Oblast) and Galicia. By the end […]
Red Star, Week 3 Posts
The Army’s Revolution
by Kelly Cooper •
In 1917, the Imperial Russian army played a significant role in the February and October revolutions. Despite the utter defeat and loss of the Russo-Japanese War, Tsar Nicholas II decided to enter World War I. Throughout the war, the Russian … Continue reading →
Week 3 Posts
The Provisional Government
by kathaskew •
The Provisional Government Dual Power “In what does this dual power consist? In the fact that side by side with the Provisional Government, the government of the bourgeoisie, there has developed another government, weak and embryonic as yet, but undoubtedly … Continue reading →
Comrades' Corner, Week 3 Posts
Free Love and Communism: The Alexandra Kollontai Story
by cpurvis2 •
No matter the time period, no matter the location, the status of women has always been in question. As the Bolsheviks came to power, women in Russia began to see themselves on a more equal field; legislation like the Code on Marriage, … Continue reading →
Week 3 Posts
April Theses
by piercedc •
“Few contemporaries imagined that, after three centuries of rule, the Romanov dynasty could vanish in several days.” (Freeze, 273.) February 1917, the stage is set for change and progress as Tsar Nicholas abdicates his throne at the demand and protest of an unhappy Russian people. A provisional government was established out of a crippled Duma(…)
Week 3 Posts
Soviet State “Security”
by zmartin •
“Dzherzhinskii asks: “Comrade Lenin, when should we execute people, before or after lunch?” Lenin: “Before lunch, absolutely, and then you can give their lunches to the children of workers. Workers’ children are starving”. The state security of the Soviets was officially established December 7, 1917. They are the precursor to all other state security […]
Week 3 Posts
War Means No Food, No Food Means War
by phillip5 •
Russia was already in a food shortage leading up to 1917. World war one had left a major portion of the country hungry and poor. Russia’s grain harvest had left a large surplus in previous years, so there is no surprise that Russian officials estimated there would be plenty of grain to go around in […]