The Importance Of Revolutionaries And Youth Organizations During The Russian Revolution

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"˜Stalinism as Revolution from Above' and "˜ "A Woman Is Not a Man": The Culture of Gender and Generation in Soviet Russia, 1921-1928' demonstrate the importance of both, the political revolutionaries and the youth organizations which existed during the Stalinist period. These organizations provided the society with a feeling of political involvement for the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, a place of discussion concerning the political slate, and a forum for interaction among fellow comrades. The existence of these revolutionists and organizations was essential for the Russian Revolution's outcome under Stalinism. In the following paragraphs, this essay will discuss the main reasons these revolutionists and organizations were so prominently influential in a time of difficulty and political turmoil.

One of the main reasons that the Russian Revolution occurred, was to abolish economic imbalances throughout society, and to "˜remove all limits to women's equality.' Organizations such as the Komosol provided women with a place of political interest, and in the early years, their eagerness to join was salient.

A key factor in Stalinism was "˜culturalizing,' which was the process of reshaping society's mentality towards certain issues. A large amount of culturalizing was executed through these organizations. Youth communist organizations were programs, implemented by the government in order to: familiarize people with the changes that were occurring in Russia and to accomplish the decrease of illiteracy . It has to be said that the involvement and influence of these youth organizations was so prominent during the Stalinist period, and as a result, many became cultural embodiments. The goal of the Komosol was to "˜help liberate women from the oppressed and enslaved conditions they suffered under the capitalist system' . This organization was significant for the youth, because it allowed them to participate in communist party activities. However, it did not achieve its objective of gender equality in the end, but instead, accentuated the differences between men and women. Women were put into traditional roles when collectivism was established, and therefore had no time to juggle the responsibilities of home and the communist party. The policies of this party were very official however, were also very rarely implemented . An example of this is when the members would discuss International Women's Day, but never approached the everyday detrimental encounters that these women had to face.

The Bolsheviks were significant, because they were the revolutionists' that advocated for the peasants, and managed to suppress the communists. The Bolsheviks' aim was to "˜make peace with the majority' and force the changes to occur progressively. What is exceptionally interesting about this time period is that, the NEP (New Economic Plan), which emanated from the Bolshevik Revolution, was described as a "˜society with two uneasily coexisting cultures' . This was a phenomenal encounter for Russia, because every aspect of life was controlled under the state; something that had never completely occurred until then.

In conclusion, it is blatant that the Komosol and the Bolsheviks contributed largely to the Russian Revolution. Many of the problems that existed with the parity of the Komosol policies can be seen in everyday life, and obviously cause many problems. Even though politics and life was run by an autocracy, certain significant aspects of that structure malfunctioned. Just as Robert C. Tucker claims, "we must allow that a different, non-revolutionary form of further Soviet developmental movement was a possibility .

Nothing is absolute and anything could have occurred during the time of the Russian Revolution to change the outcome.