The policy of liberalism centred on achieving political and social change through reform, rather than destruction of the tsarist regime. The Tsar would still be in power but there would be a constitution and elected parliament to keep prevent tsarist rule in check. The parliament would share at least some of the political power held by the Tsar. In , the reformers came together to form a political party known as Liberation. This party helped form the Constitutional Democratic Party, or Kadets, in The Kadets became an important political force in Russia.
Despite the establishment of the Duma after the Revolution, the Old Order and the Tsar's autocracy remained. Although political parties that had been banned were acknowledged and newspapers allowed, real political power still lay with the Tsar. He manipulated the Duma to do as he wanted and so restricted any democratic power it might have had. It became clear that freedom would only be achieved through drastic measures, even violence.
In a Soviet was again established by peasants, workers and soldiers to represent them in the Provisional Committee of the Soviet. Later years, the term was used to indicate a district controlled by an elected board or soviet. The whole state was seen as a union of these smaller soviets, and was therefore called the Soviet Union. Between and , the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks were politically active. They participated in the soviets , published revolutionary newspapers and developed their understanding of Marxist ideology.
During the same period, the workers movement staged hundreds of strikes throughout the country. Peasants also began to engage in actions to lower tax and gain more land. The lot of the masses had not improved after the Revolution, and increasing frustration led to the rise of dissidents' intent on overthrowing the Old Order.
In , the First World War broke out. The Tsar believed that Russia's participation in the War would help to establish it as a great nation. Russia joined Britain and France in the war against Germany. More than 6 million soldiers were mobilised and the economy was reorganised to support the war effort.
Much of the food, clothing and livestock of the country also went to the army. Within 12 months the elation gave way to despair. Between and more than 4 million Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in action. Incompetent leaders, corrupt administration, shortages of weapons and other war supplies left the Russian army shattered. By , the army was retreating from the advancing Germans and thousands of soldiers deserted their ranks. The war aggravated the domestic problems of the country.
Since most production was directed at the war effort, peasants and workers bore the brunt of the sacrifice. Livestock and grain grown by peasants was sent to the army, leaving them to go with very little. Food was often difficult to find in the urban areas and working and living conditions were cruel.
As food prices continued to soar, hunger and suffering grew. While the war had at first united the Russians, they now only craved peace. Unhappiness among the peasants and workers exploded and across the country strikes and riots were staged.
When the war broke out, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Ilych Lenin, had started an anti-war campaign. They saw that the workers and peasants had nothing to gain from the war. They called upon the masses to use Russia's involvement in the war as an opportunity to attack the Tsar. By , the campaign had gained substantial support. So, while the Tsar had entered the War to help build Russia's image as a Great Power, the war now spelled disaster for his rule.
His unpopularity increased even further as he and his wife the Tsarina proved ineffective as leaders during the War. In the midst of the War, Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra a German by birth took some decisions that seriously damaged the position of the government. Firstly, the Tsar decided to take over military command himself, not realising the risk in being held personally responsible for Russia's defeat and suffering. Secondly, his military engagements meant that he left the Tsarina in charge of all other political affairs.
The Tsarina was widely unpopular. Not only was she German and therefore associated with Russia's great enemy in the War, but her close relationship with a bogus "holyman" Gregory Rasputin, of peasant origin, was feared and despised.
Rasputin was regarded as evil and immoral, following a religion of sinning in order to obtain forgiveness. Rasputin captured the Tsarina's blind devotion after proving capable of treating her only son and the crown prince and heir to the Romanov dynasty, Alexei, of his haemophilia, a hereditary disease where the blood does not clot.
The grateful Tsarina came to depend on Rasputin, who manipulated her to serve his own interests and political ambitions. This became disastrous after the Tsarina was left in charge of the country while the Tsar was leading the war effort.
Rasputin proceeded to fire those he did not like and hire his own followers. Fearing his growing influence and the support he had from the Tsarina, he was murdered by two blood relatives of the royal family in Rasputin proved not easy to kill. He was poisoned, shot, beaten and eventually thrown into an icy river where he finally drowned. It was clear that Russia lacked an effective leader capable of real reforms. Russia also lacked a leader who could obtain the support of the revolutionaries and the liberals, and stabilise the economy and the chaos caused by the disgruntled Russians.
The dissatisfaction that the Russians felt over their poverty, suffering and lack of political rights reached a climax during the years of the First World War.
Overthrowing the tsarist regime seemed the only way out, and revolution was not far off. The reason for the discrepancy is that Russia did not follow the Western calendar. The traditional Russian Christmas is celebrated in the first week of January. Before , Russia followed the Julian calendar.
In accordance with this calendar when the Revolution took place, it was February in Russia. The one is named according to the Russian and the other, the Western calendar. The important thing is to be consistent regardless of the calendar being used. This lesson refers to the March or November Revolutions. Today, Russia also follows the Gregorian calendar that the West uses, and that we use in South Africa.
Although the climate for revolution was ripe by , the March Revolution nevertheless took people by surprise. Not a single Bolshevik leader was in Russia when the revolt broke out, as many of them were exiled because of their anti-war campaign. Lenin himself was in Switzerland at the time. Consequently only government was able to arrange the productive resources of the territory.
However, in the meantime even western countries adapted a diversified economic planning structure but without an extension of taking responsibility from the private sector. As there was actually no guidance to economic planning in the literature of Marx, the Bolsheviks in the Soviet Union had to run economy and industrialization without knowing if it will work out.
Lenin shared even very utopian opinions: 4. In communist theory the welfare of society is above individual welfare, without disadvantaging somebody intentionally. There prevails an equal sharing of profits and work to the general mass without any distinctions of social status and hierarchy. In theory communism is probably the ultimate goal for humankind.
As most of the people just have a rather inexplicit knowledge of communism, it has often been confused with socialism. Even the most likely capitalist state - the United States of America - has some socialist influences in their economy, and even China - as probably the last great economy influenced by communism in the world, has increased impacts of capitalism in their behaviors over the past decades.
Nevertheless, both terms as itself can be seen as the complete opposite of one another, since their essential theoretical ideologies contrast their selves in the most conspicuous way imaginable.
As World War II ended in - two superpowers, on the one hand the capitalist USA and on the other hand the communism USSR pursued these two very opposite economic approaches - which caused a 45 year long disagreement, called the Cold War. Presumably the most critical difference of these two systems is the ownership of economic production. As in the communist system the government is responsible for all decisions, the system of capitalism leaves the decisions and regulation more or less to the private sector.
Historically seen the communism approach has only been successfully in very agricultural countries. Suspecting that the main goal of communists is an equal outcome for the whole society, as the main objective of capitalist is to just offer equal opportunities.
This fact is probably one reason too, that capitalism had a more long term success. In a capitalist economy, it is the owners who decide and invest, in the financial and capital market on the production inputs.
The competition in the economy decided the price and distribution of merchandise in the economy. A form of socialism, in which the means of production, resources, and property are owned and controlled by the egalitarian society, i. It is based on the idea of shared ownership. The theory of communism was mainly sparked by the German philosophers cum sociologist Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The central principle behind communism is, the contribution and share of each would be based on his ability and needs.
In this political system, the government owns everything and all the individual works for a common goal. Therefore, class distinction does not exist, as all are considered equal. Communism aims at removing the gap between the wealthy and poor and establishing equality in the economy. The following points are noteworthy so far as the difference between capitalism and communism is concerned:.
Both communism and capitalism are a form of social organization, that is associated with trade and industry in the economy and discusses the ownership of property. As every coin has two aspects, a good and a bad, so as with the case of communism and capitalism. In capitalism, the distribution of wealth is uneven, due to which the rich get richer while the poor become poorer. On the other hand, in communism, there is an equal distribution of wealth, but it does not allow individuals to have private property.
It really helped me on an assignment. You really think so? But I am glad it helped you. Oopsie poopsie! It is especially hard if you convert to it without having the solid base of a working country and economy, as has often been the case with attempts at communism.
Russia is the prime example of this, the most backwards country of Europe at the time of the October revolution. There was very little industrialization. Most people were illiterate, and most people were peasants. It should be obvious that it is incredibly hard to undertake such a political project with a base like this. Yet in the case of Russia, quite some success was achieved, unfortunately at the cost of many lives.
Most communist revolutions have become authoritarian dictatorships which murder millions of people in the process of trying to convert to communism. You see, communist society as Karl Marx envisioned it is not totalitarian nor authoritarian, quite the opposite in fact. Karl Marx envisioned communist revolutions to happen in first world western countries, not backwards third or second world countries. Personally I believe that if proper democracy is retained, a lot of the unnecessary atrocities can be prevented.
Communists and socialists should learn from these issues as not to repeat them. I grew up in a communist country, but now live in Canada. I wish the world did not have to go through the communism phase. That was great man! You got the idea through my head like a hot knife through butter! Why is it then, that every country that calls itself communist, is in fact a dictatorship?
Would not that suggest that there is something inherent to communism that makes it a dictatorship? Further, while the means of production are to be owned and operated by the people or society as a whole, in practice that means government control and administration in the form of highly centralized government economic planning and implementation of said five and ten year plans. And, of course, dissension about this control leads to political repression through the use of secret political police and terror forces.
All this leads to the, for some, unpleasant conclusion, that communism as practiced, and indeed, as theorized, is synonomous with dictatorship. It happened that the rulers of the communist countries were dictators.
That does not mean that communism always results in oppression and dictatorship. There were also anti-communist capitalist countries which were also run by dictators such as Apartheid South Africa. It seems that the communist countries were in the era of dictators since nearly every country in the world of that time was run by dictators and the people were in some way or another oppressed.
Since everything is controlled by the government, There is no individual property, no individual freedom, no individual liberty and no individual right. The state has absolute power of every aspect of everything. When the state has the authority to tell everyone what they are allowed to eat and wear.
Where they are allowed to live and work. When no one is secure in their own homes and property what you have is a dictatorship. Freedom is the ability to choose for yourself. It is the ability to do a honest days work for an honest days pay. To know that the fruits of your labor are yours and no one has the right to take that from you. Freedom is the ability to be secure in your person, your home and your possessions with out fear of the government arbitrarily taking anything from you because everything really belongs to the state.
Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Given that the basis of communism is absolute power in the hands of the state.
In practice communist governments are always absolutely corrupt dictatorships where those in political power live lives of luxury while everyone else lives in poverty. Private property are things like companies and factories, personal property are things like your house, your car, your computer, your clothes, and of course your toothbrush.
You may also want to consider that dictatorship is not synonymous with Communism because there have been far-left leaders aka Fascists like Hitler that have also been dictators so to say one is a communist because they are a dictator would not be a true synonymous relationship between the two words.
However, there are a lot of similarities in communist countries as far as the rise to power of their leader and how they maintained power and kept the economy going. The new governments is the people. Communism looks good on paper, but does not work in the real world. Capitalism looks bad on paper but it actually works in the real world. Absolute power will corrupt absolutely.
Any form of government that places absolute power in the hands of those in political power will become absolutely corrupt. Communism is mainly related to dictatorship because an actual government of complete communism is impossible. With no one in charge, and everyone on an equal level, the country would not get anywhere. Thanks for helping me in my history homework. I would say there is nothing inherent in communist thought itself that results in oppression but how people try to achieve it i.
There are basically two forms of communists, there are the authoritarians such as the followers of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Mao etc. As history has shown and as Mikhail Bakunin mentioned before the Russian revolution it results in immense oppression as the Party which seized state power is also the direct economic masters, i. Anarchist communists believe that the only way to achieve communism is through the reorganisation of society from the bottom up along the principles of freedom, equality and solidarity.
Contrary to the authoritarians, the anarchists know that you cannot bring about freedom and equality through inequality and oppression. The organisational principles of the anarchist communists is based on keeping power with the people through decentralisation and directly democratic procedures, basically a community discusses issues face to face and comes to decisions.
If things need to be coordinated or decided on a larger scale then they have a mandated, recallable, rotating delegate to discuss it with delegates of other communities but any decision the delegates reach must be decided by the community which the delegates are apart of and come from.
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