Russian Revolution: how the Russian revoution came about.

Essay by cauchemar81University, Bachelor'sA, September 2003

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The Russian Question remains one that continues to puzzle historians by means of how and why the Communist regime was able to be spawned; whether it was the realization of individual aspirations or the mere acknowledgment of an already crumbling imperialist structure, through self inflicted wounds- however one attribute which is universally shared is that the Russian people sought a rejuvenation or redevelopment of both materialist ideals and social emancipation- thus turning its back on the structures which governed it, and moving away from the economic backwardness which had plagued it for so long, and as history shows liberation was attained via the gates of Bolshevism. If we are to place this in context with the synopsis of J.K Galbraith- "Three conditions are absolutely essential for a revolution. There must be determined leaders- men who know exactly what they want, men who know that they have everything to gain, and also everything to lose.

A revolution must have disciplined followers- men (and women) who will accept orders, will not think for themselves. Finally the other side must be weak. All revolutions are the kicking in of a rotten door. They are by men (and women) who charge ruthlessly into a vacuum."(1) - to gain a better understanding of this situation, then we must go beyond the superficialities- thus examining the preconditions which later culminated in the revolution (both the short term and long term catalysts in the 'kicking in of the rotten door'), whilst also delving into the importance of the revolution itself. However we must also acknowledge the key figureheads who advocated revolution- whether intentionally (cause) or unintentionally (capitalize); and finally an examination of the followers- 'men and women who charged ruthlessly into a vacuum'- is required to establish reasoning. As is the case with an onion, we must...