Russian Revolution Research Paper

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Pages: 4

¨One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one starts a revolution in order to establish a dictatorship”(George Orwell, 1949). The Russian Revolution began on March 8, 1917, and ended on November 7, of the same year. Though over a short time, the lessons to take away from the revolution and what followed should be examined forever. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”(George Santayana,1905). There are three main lessons one should take away from the dissolve of the USSR following the revolution, the importance of a stable, and flexible economy, strong leadership, and the necessity for individual rights.
A good lesson to learn from the Russian Revolution is the utmost importance
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At the time of the revolution, Tsar Nicholas II was in power. He was much more interested in his family life, than matters of Russian welfare. He had an obsession with retaining all his privileges and the belief that he was chosen by God to rule (“Nicholas and Alexandra”). This lead to famine among his people, a poor economy and social unrest. The anarchy of the revolution allowed another insufficient leader to rise to power, Vladimir Lenin. His radical socialist ideas led to the spread of socialism, by the Bolsheviks, which turned out to be completely unsuccessful. The spread of Lenin’s socialist ideals turned out to devastate Russia in that it not only disregarded the ideals of the revolution but also contributed to the eventual dissolve of the USSR. Following Lenin was Stalin, who devoid of any say of the S.U. people ruled with an iron fist. In an attempt to industrialize and spread his ideals, he killed over 20 million people (Stalin Document). Stalin’s leadership saw the deaths of millions, including the purging of millions of Ukrainians, and this is a prime example of how important proper leadership is, and how devastating the consequences of having a country devoid of a good