The Russian Revolution - 1917

The Russian Revolution - 1917

In Russia, the population is fed-up and they aren't going to take it any more, what with military defeats, a terrifically inept government and wide-spread suffering in the civilian sector. In March there are food riots and strikes in the capital, Petrograd (it used to be St.

Petersburg,) and in Moscow. Even a sizable number of the soldiers refuse to help put down this civil unrest. The Czar (Nicholas II*) tries, with no success, to dissolve the fourth duma (remember, it's that parliament the Czar put in as part of the civil liberties he tried in response to the 1905 revolution.) The revolutionaries are better organized now than they were in 1905. The revolutionary committees organized by the socialists among the striking workers are called soviets (councils) and now there are farmers', peasants', and soldiers' soviets springing up all over. These have central executive committees and cover the socialist spectrum of Bolsheviks*, Mensheviks* and members of the Socialist Revolutionary Party*.

The insurgents take over the capital (Petrograd) and the duma appoints a provisional government under Prince Lvov* (1861-1925.) The Czar is forced to abdicate. The government doesn't have much support, but nobody else does either. The government's power consists of the Petrograd soviets (workers and soldiers) which control troops, communication and transport. In April Lenin* returns to Russia to lead the small Bolshevik* party. Their slogans include "end the war," "all land to the peasants," and "all power to the soviets." [He sees the World War as an opportunity for worldwide socialist revolution.]

In May Trotsky* returns to Russia and becomes the leading organizer of the Bolsheviks* power moves. The government (that provisional one under Prince Lvov) reacts to the demonstrations for peace. The foreign minister resigns and Prince Lvov is replaced by the Mensheviks* and the revolutionary, Aleksandr Kerensky* (1881-1970) as Prime Minister. [He won't last long either.]

In October-November, the British attack the German line in another battle of Ypres (in southwest Belgium) and manage to advance all of five miles (at the cost of 300,000 dead.)

At this point we have the Russian "October Revolution." In November (October in the Old Style Russian calendar,) the Russian provisional government isn't solving the economic problems or ending the war. The Bolsheviks* [remember, this is the bunch that wants a small party of professional revolutionaries who will establish a dictatorship of the workers and peasants] seize power in Russia and begin getting Russia out of the war. Trotsky* starts out as the people's commissar for foreign affairs.

1918 - In England they are busy reviving the classics. Nigel Playfair* (1874-1934) leases the the Lyric Theatre*, presenting Restoration and eighteenth century works, many of which enjoy long runs.

1918 - In the commercial New York theatre, Arthur Hopkins* (1878-1950) begins producing plays by Tolstoy*, Ibsen*, Gorky*, and O'Neill*, proving that the "new stagecraft" can be commercially successful.

1918 - In New York, the Washington Square Players* disband, but some of its members start

a new venture. They form the Theatre Guild*, a professional company dedicated to presenting plays of merit not likely to interest commercial managers. From this founding until it begins to run into financial difficulties in the 30's, the Theatre Guild* will be America's most respected theater, presenting several plays each year to its New York subscribers and sending out companies to subscribers in six other cities.

In Russia, in January the constituent assembly meets but it is disbanded by Bolshevik* troops. They set up the Cheka (political police) to eliminate any opposition. Democratic reform is in big trouble. In March Soviet Russia (the Bolsheviks* who are now the Russian Communist Party) signs a separate peace treaty (the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk*) with the Central Powers* . The terms are not good for the Russians (they lose lots of territory and have to recognize the independence of Poland, the Baltic states, Georgia and the Ukraine). Trotsky* doesn't agree with Lenin* about this treaty, so he quits being foreign affairs commissar and becomes the people's commissar of war. He organizes the Red Army and keeps busy pursuing the civil war for the next two years.

The treaty also makes all the other Allies* very angry. A number of countries (British, American, French and others) send troops into Russia to fight on ththe side of the "Whites" (the anti-Bolsheviks*) against the "Reds" (the Bolsheviks*) but this is ineffective. One of the main problems is that while Lenin* claims the October Revolution created a proletarian dictatorship, in fact, it is the party that rules. This effectively cuts the proletariat out of the picture.

This year there is also a very devastating influenza epidemic which spreads throughout all the countries involved in the war [including America, of course]. Over twenty million people die as a result of this epidemic.

The second Battle of the Marne stops the Germans just short of Paris and a successful Allied counter-offensive follows. The Turkish Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian Empires are disintegrating from within. They, together with Bulgaria, surrender to the Allies.