Russian Revolution (mar 8, 1917 – oct 25, 1922)

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The Russian Revolution, which began in 1917, marked a significant shift in Russia's political and social landscape. It was a period of political and social change that saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government after two successive revolutions and a civil war. The revolution was a precursor to other revolutions that occurred in the aftermath of World War I, such as the German Revolution of 1918-1919.

The February Revolution in early 1917 marked the beginning of the Russian Revolution, as the Russian Army was losing morale due to major defeats on the war front and logistical problems in the rear. Tsar Nicholas II, who had abdicated, agreed to abdicate, leading to the formation of a new provisional government led by the Russian Duma.

During the civil unrest, soviet councils were formed in Petrograd, which initially did not oppose the new Provisional Government. However, the Soviets continued to hold more power in domestic affairs, particularly the working class and urban middle class. This chaotic period saw frequent mutinies, protests, and strikes, with many socialist and leftist political organizations competing for influence within the Provisional Government and the Soviets.

Notable factions included the Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries, Anarchists, and the Bolsheviks, a far-left party led by Vladimir Lenin. The Bolsheviks gained popularity with their program promising peace, land, and bread, including cease war with Germany, giving land to the peasantry, and ending the wartime famine.

The Provisional Government repressed protestors, leading to the July Days and the October Revolution, a Bolshevik armed insurrection that overthrew the Provisional Government and seized state power. The Bolsheviks established their own government and later proclaimed the establishment of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).

The RSFSR began the process of reorganizing the former empire into the world's first socialist state, practicing soviet democracy on a national and international scale. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany fulfilled the promise to end Russia's participation in the First World War.

As the war progressed, the RSFSR began to establish Soviet power in newly independent republics that seceded from the Russian Empire. Historians generally consider the end of the revolutionary period to be in 1922, when the Russian Civil War concluded with the defeat of the White Army and most separatist factions, leading to mass emigration from Russia. The victorious Bolshevik Party reconstituted itself into the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and remained in power for the next six decades.

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