Why the October Revolution is different from the February Revolution and the revolution

of 1905.

By: Anh Kiet Ngo

Russian 90BW
TA: Jesse Odell

During the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks seized all power for themselves,
without considering other parties opinions. Compared to the two previous Russian
revolutions in 1905 and in February 1917, the October revolution was much more
forceful, with accompanying violence and coercion. There was not as much negotiation
and cooperation between the opposing sides. Brute force was employed more regularly in
this revolution. Using their propaganda machine, the Bolsheviks fabricated it into a
peoples revolution, in which the mass rose up to depose an inefficient government. That
was no more than a myth that the government made up to justify their action to the
people, which will pave the way for their move to power.
In retrorespect, the October Revolution was not exactly like the other Russian
revolutions, which was based on agreements between two or more sides. When the
February Revolution happened, it set up a Provisional Government. That government was
to last until the Constituent Assembly voted and agreed on a permanent government. The
Bolsheviks, however, did not wait until then. They decided to strike down the Provisional
Government before the Constituent Assembly could decide anything. In September, 1917,
Lenin was already predicting that an insurrection was coming, and he was contemplating
carrying out his revolution in a forceful manner (Hosking, pg. 48). Yet, even among the
Bolsheviks, people such as Zinoviev and Kamenev doubted Lenins idea. They
considered that a violent seizure of power would be too risky (Hosking, pg. 49).
Lenins plan essentially meant putting the rest of the Constituent Assembly out of
business, leaving unilateral Bolshevik rule (Hoskin, pg. 51). By doing that, the
Bolsheviks would remove other parties representation in the Constituent Assembly.
Zinoviev and Kamenev were aware of that, and even suggested that a coalition

government with the other parties would be better than risking alienating themselves
from the others (Hosking, pg. 49). After all, should the Bolsheviks take over, they would
have to carry out their responsibility as a government alone without the other parties
support. Also, the Bolsheviks were gaining support among the people, and they could win
the elections for seats in the Assembly in a peaceful manner, so a violent coup would be
pointless (Hosking, pg. 49). Lenins idea contrasted that, as his idea for a revolution has
already envisioned a violent coup detat, in which the Bolsheviks ultimately seized all
power. It was an uprising that would disregard any negotiation or voting process. It
should not be a surprise that there would be people who disapproved of his vision, such
as Zinoviev and Kamenev, who thought of a violent uprising as unnecessary.
When the revolution finally happened, Lenin ordered his men to take the
offensive. He also ordered the arrest of the Provisional Government (Hoskin, pg. 50). His
action was not without consequence, as support for the Bolsheviks dropped in the
Constituent Assembly. The elections were still going on, despite the Provisional
Governments dismantlement. Clearly, people in the Assembly were aware that the
Bolsheviks actions were illegal. Thus, it would be dangerous to hand over power to
them. Perhaps, their actions were too radical for the Assembly to accept. Hence, the
Assembly thought it would be better to entrust power to someone else. The Bolsheviks
method could not win the Assemblys support, because it was done without anyones
consent, and it has violated an agreement. It has dismantled the Provisional Government
before the election for a new government could happen. It was not like the revolution in
1905, when the Czar reached an agreement with the people to create a parliament. It was
not like the February revolution, when the Czar peacefully stepped down from the throne.

In that revolution, the military even cooperated with the people and refused to intervene
with their activities (Hoskin, pg. 34). Those two revolutions were signified by the
peoples agreement with the government, whereas the October Revolution is signified by
force, as well as its arrest of the Provisional Government. However, the Constituent
Assembly was still around, which Lenin regarded as an impediment. An impediment that
has to be removed, if his revolution was to succeed.
The Constituent Assembly, when it was still in power, suffered countless
harassment from the Red Guards and the Bolsheviks. Lenin did not hesitate to use force
at all when he made his demands to the Assembly. Such example is the Bolsheviks
reaction when their resolution to recognize their new Soviet government was rejected by
the Assembly. The Bolsheviks responded by locking down their meeting building so that
the Assembly cannot meet (Hoskin, pg. 55). The Red Guards also forcibly dispersed a
workers demonstration in support of the Assembly (Hoskin, pg. 55). This was radically
different from the militarys lack of intervention when the people demanded the Czars
abdication during the February Revolution. Not to mention that the Assembly could not
carry out its purpose: to vote for a new government. Eventually, the Assembly was
dissolved, leaving the Bolsheviks solely in power. The Bolsheviks, with their Red
Guards, used coercion and forces to remove any opposition that might come into their
way, and disregarded everyones opinions. All of this, however, was covered up by their
propaganda later on.
The Bolsheviks, besides being coercive, were keen on their propaganda. The
movie October by Sergei Eisenstein demonstrated that. In this movie, Lenins coup was
depicted as a peoples revolution. In the scene in which the Winter Palace was stormed, it

was depicted with the masses, ganging up on what Lenin would call the enemies of the
people. The scene was probably glorified and exaggerated in order to make the event
more heroic that it actually was. This movie, of course, did not detail any of the coercive
activities that Lenin carried out against the Assembly. It also altered many details, such as
the Bolsheviks winning much more vote than the Mensheviks or anyone else for all that
matters, which was not actually the case. All the people who opposed the Bolsheviks
were condemned as lackeys of the bourgeois. This made the Bolsheviks actions more
justifiable, as in this movie, they were fighting for the people and freeing them from the
bourgeois. Seeing how the Red Guards dispersed a workers demonstration, it might not
actually be the case, as the Bolsheviks were oppressing the very people they wanted to
represent by doing that. With propaganda, the Bolsheviks coup detat was turned into
one of the most glorious moments in the history of not only Russia, but also of the world.
The October Revolution was, and has always been, a coup detat, which set it
apart from the other two revolutions. The Bolsheviks did not negotiate with the people or
anyone, but instead used their Red Guards to bully others into submission as well as
arresting their opponents. It was not necessarily a peoples revolution, as it was a seizure
of power. In the revolution of 1905 and the February Revolution, at least the people
reached an agreement with the government. In the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks
basically seized all power through destroying their opponents such as the Provisional
Government and the Constituent Assembly. Most, if not all of their actions, were either
covered up or glorified by propaganda. Nevertheless, their revolution will always stand
out from the other Russian revolutions. It was a forceful overthrow of the government, no
matter how hard they try to cover it up from the world.