★ October Revolution Flashcards
What is often debated between Historians about the October Revolution?
★ Whether it was a Coup D’Etat or a Popular Revolution
What is a Coup D’Etat?
★ A seizure or overthrowing of Government by forceful action, mostly military
What is a Popular Revolution?
★ A revolution done by the people
What was the Soviet View of the October Revolution?
★ The Soviet interpretation was that the October Revolution was a popular revolution led by the working class
★ According to this view, the working class created the soviets which acted as the power bases through which revolution was accomplished
★ Bolshevik party played a key role in guiding the working classes to success in October
What was the predominant Western view after 1945?
★ Hostile towards USSR due to Cold War
★ Saw it as a ‘tiny minority’ seizing power in Coup D’Etat and imposed their evil ideology on an unwilling population
What did Revisionists think?
★ Became more critical of American politics after the Vietnam war
★ Saw a much more active role in the October Revolution from the lower ranks of the Bolshevik party
What is the recent view?
★ Room to accept the scholarship of Cold War historians and Revisionist historians
★ Argue Lenin was a key figure, that without his drive there wouldn’t have been a revolution
★ However, also says that there was independent action at local levels of the party due to the increased racialisation of soldiers, workers, sailors and peasants
What evidence is there for Bolshevik popularity?
★ November elections could be interpreted as a disaster for the Bolsheviks because they got less than a quarter of the seats in the Constituent Assembly, but Bolsheviks did very well in the cities with as much as 70% of those voting in working-class districts of Petrograd voted for them)
★ A lot of peasants would’ve been voting for the left-wing Social Revolutionaries who were working with the Bolsheviks
★ Workers radicalised
★ Upturn in violence in countryside, would’ve been willing to accept Bolshevik compromise as long as land was handed to them
How many people voted for the Bolsheviks in July and October 1917 at Moscow?
★ July 1917: 75,000 (11%)
★ October 1917: 198,000 (51%)
When did Kerensky attempt to action against Bolsheviks?
★ October 23
How many soldiers and sailors from Kronstadt moved into the city on Trotsky’s command?
★ 5,000
What key buildings did the Bolshevik Red Guard take over?
★ Key Government buildings
★ Telephone exchange
★ Post offices
★ Railway stations
★ News agency
★ State bank
★ Bridges
★ Power stations
When did Kerensky leave?
★ Left on 25 October to rally military support dressed as a nurse
What palace did the Red Guards surrender?
★ Winter Palace
★ Was supported by the battleship Aurora that had moored nearby and declared support for the revolution
★ 9:40pm: Blank shot from Aurora signalled beginning of Bolshevik attack
When was the Winter Palace captured?
★ 26 October
