# Canonical recap data for Russian Revolution (1917)
# Source: https://recap.at/1917/october-revolution-1917
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: october-revolution-1917
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1917/october-revolution-1917"
title: Russian Revolution
aliases:
- October Revolution
- Bolshevik Revolution
- February Revolution
- Red October
subtitle: When bread riots toppled an empire and Lenin seized the moment.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1917-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1917
decade: 1910
country:
name: Russia
slug: russia
summaryShort: The Russian Revolution of 1917 toppled the Romanov dynasty and brought the Bolsheviks to power under Lenin, fundamentally reshaping Russia and sending shockwaves across the global political order.
summaryLong: |-
  Russia in early 1917 was a state barely holding together. Tsar Nicholas II's decision to lead the army personally during World War I left his wife Alexandra in charge, a move that handed power to the inept and corrupt Grigori Rasputin. The war was going catastrophically-Russia had lost roughly 2 million soldiers by 1917, and the empire was hemorrhaging resources. Food shortages in Petrograd sparked bread riots on March 8, 1917 (February 23 by the old Julian calendar Russia was still using). Workers abandoned factories. Soldiers refused orders. Within days, the Tsar abdicated.

  What followed wasn't one revolution but two. The February Revolution established a Provisional Government, which made the fatal mistake of keeping Russia in World War I. By October, soldiers were starving, peasants wanted land, and workers wanted change-conditions the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, knew how to exploit. On October 25, 1917 (October 12 on the Julian calendar), Lenin's party seized the Winter Palace in Petrograd and took control of the government. It was remarkably swift: accounts suggest fewer than 100 people died in the actual takeover. But what came after was anything but swift or bloodless.

  The Bolsheviks faced immediate opposition from multiple fronts. The White Army, composed of anti-Bolshevik forces, launched the Russian Civil War that would last until 1922 and kill roughly 5 to 9 million people. Lenin consolidated power ruthlessly-he dissolved the Constituent Assembly in January 1918, established the secret police (the Cheka), and signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, surrendering huge chunks of territory to Germany to exit World War I. By 1921, the Bolsheviks had won the civil war, but the economy was in ruins.

  The revolution's global significance was immense and immediate. For communists worldwide, it proved that revolution was possible. For Western powers-Britain, France, the United States, and others-it was an existential threat they tried to snuff out through military intervention and later diplomatic isolation. The Russian Revolution didn't just change Russia; it split the world. By the 1920s, the international order had a new kind of state actor, one that explicitly rejected capitalism and promised a different future. Whether you saw that as salvation or catastrophe depended almost entirely on where you stood.

  What Stalin's USSR became is a separate story. What matters about 1917 is that Lenin and the Bolsheviks proved a determined revolutionary party could seize control of a vast empire and hold it, even against overwhelming odds. They showed that the old rules-aristocracy, monarchy, capitalist order-could be broken in a matter of weeks. That possibility, more than any specific policy, is what reverberated around the world for the rest of the 20th century.
lede: In 1917, Russia's tsarist government collapsed and was replaced by a communist state, reshaping the country's politics, economy, and society for nearly a century. The upheaval began with worker strikes and military mutinies in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) in March, forcing Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate, then accelerated in October when Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks seized power. The revolution's ripple effects redrew maps, inspired movements worldwide, and made the Soviet Union a global superpower.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B3_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9D%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B5_%281917%29.jpg/1280px-%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B3_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9D%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%B5_%281917%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Russian Revolution"
importance: 50
sourceConfidence: 50
keyFacts:
- label: Tsar abdication date
  value: March 15, 1917
- label: Bolshevik seizure of power
  value: October 25, 1917 (Julian calendar) / November 7, 1917 (Gregorian calendar)
- label: Bolshevik leader
  value: Vladimir Lenin
- label: Winter Palace captured
  value: October 26, 1917
- label: Estimated deaths in Russian Civil War (1918–1922)
  value: 5–9 million
- label: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia exits WWI)
  value: March 3, 1918
timeline:
- date: 1917-03-08
  title: February Revolution begins
  description: Strikes and protests erupt in Petrograd over food shortages and World War I casualties. Workers, soldiers, and civilians clash with police; the military begins defecting to the protesters.
- date: 1917-03-15
  title: Tsar Nicholas II abdicates
  description: Unable to control the unrest, Nicholas II signs the abdication manifesto, ending 300 years of Romanov rule. A Provisional Government takes power, promising democratic reforms and continued war involvement.
- date: 1917-04-16
  title: Lenin returns to Petrograd
  description: Vladimir Lenin arrives at the Finland Station after years of exile in Switzerland. He immediately calls for 'peace, land, and bread' and rejects the Provisional Government's authority.
- date: 1917-07-16
  title: July Days uprising crushed
  description: Bolshevik-led demonstrations in Petrograd are violently suppressed by Provisional Government forces. Lenin flees to Finland; the Bolsheviks are temporarily weakened but not destroyed.
- date: 1917-10-25
  title: Bolsheviks seize power
  description: Lenin's Red Guards occupy key government buildings in Petrograd with minimal resistance. The Bolsheviks claim authority and begin dismantling the Provisional Government.
- date: 1917-10-26
  title: Winter Palace falls
  description: The last seat of the Provisional Government is captured. The storming of the Winter Palace becomes the symbolic centerpiece of Soviet propaganda for decades.
- date: 1917-12-03
  title: Treaty negotiations begin
  description: Bolshevik delegates, including Leon Trotsky, open peace talks with Germany at Brest-Litovsk. Lenin seeks an exit from World War I regardless of territorial cost.
- date: 1918-03-03
  title: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed
  description: Russia withdraws from World War I, ceding Poland, the Baltic states, Ukraine, and other territories to Germany and Austria-Hungary. The harsh terms enrage anti-Bolshevik forces and fuel civil war.
- date: 1918-07-16
  title: Tsar family executed
  description: Nicholas II, his wife, and five children are shot by Bolshevik forces in Yekaterinburg, ending the Romanov dynasty and eliminating a rallying point for White (anti-Bolshevik) armies.
sources: []
related: []
relationships:
- targetSlug: berlin-wall-fall
  type: evolved_into
  confidence: 85
  evidence: The Soviet system born in 1917 expanded into Eastern Europe after 1945, crystallizing in the Berlin Wall (1961–1989); the Wall's fall in 1989 marked the beginning of the Soviet system's own collapse.
  source: ai
- targetSlug: american-civil-war-begins
  type: caused_by
  confidence: 75
  evidence: Timeline of "Russian Revolution" references "American Civil War" (4 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
  source: ai
- targetSlug: treaty-of-versailles
  type: caused
  confidence: 75
  evidence: Timeline of "Russian Revolution" references "Treaty of Versailles" (3 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
  source: ai
- targetSlug: storming-of-bastille
  type: caused_by
  confidence: 75
  evidence: Timeline of "Russian Revolution" references "French Revolution Begins (Storming of the Bastille)" (4 shared tokens incl. title anchor).
  source: ai
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Michael_Farbman_-_The_Russian_Revolution_%26_The_War_%281917%29.djvu/page1-500px-Michael_Farbman_-_The_Russian_Revolution_%26_The_War_%281917%29.djvu.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Michael_Farbman_-_The_Russian_Revolution_%26_The_War_%281917%29.djvu/page1-500px-Michael_Farbman_-_The_Russian_Revolution_%26_The_War_%281917%29.djvu.jpg"
  caption: Michael Farbman - The Russian Revolution & The War (1917)
  credit: Michael Farbman
  width: 875
  height: 1500
  alt: A gray book cover with library identification markings including a call number DK 265 F38, a barcode label with UC-NRLF designation and catalog number, and additional reference numbers visible on the spine and lower left corner.
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/The_revolution_in_Russia_1917_%28JOKAOT4SK1917_15-8%29.tif/lossy-page1-1280px-The_revolution_in_Russia_1917_%28JOKAOT4SK1917_15-8%29.tif.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/The_revolution_in_Russia_1917_%28JOKAOT4SK1917_15-8%29.tif/lossy-page1-1280px-The_revolution_in_Russia_1917_%28JOKAOT4SK1917_15-8%29.tif.jpg"
  caption: The revolution in Russia 1917 (JOKAOT4SK1917 15-8)
  credit: Jacob Steinberg
  width: 6898
  height: 4361
  alt: Black and white photograph showing the bodies of victims lying on a floor with scattered papers and belongings, documenting casualties from the Russian Revolution of 1917. The image serves as historical documentation of violence during this period of civil unrest in Russia.
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/IICCR_B001_Romanian_participants_October_Russian_revolution_1917.jpg/1280px-IICCR_B001_Romanian_participants_October_Russian_revolution_1917.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/IICCR_B001_Romanian_participants_October_Russian_revolution_1917.jpg/800px-IICCR_B001_Romanian_participants_October_Russian_revolution_1917.jpg"
  caption: IICCR B001 Romanian participants October Russian revolution 1917
  credit: not credited
  width: 1198
  height: 1717
  alt: A formal black and white photograph showing five people in military uniforms from the early 20th century, with two seated in front holding small dogs and three standing behind them against a draped backdrop.
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/19170704_Riot_on_Nevsky_prosp_Petrograd.jpg/1280px-19170704_Riot_on_Nevsky_prosp_Petrograd.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/19170704_Riot_on_Nevsky_prosp_Petrograd.jpg/800px-19170704_Riot_on_Nevsky_prosp_Petrograd.jpg"
  caption: 19170704 Riot on Nevsky prosp Petrograd
  credit: Viktor Bulla
  width: 1828
  height: 1188
  alt: An aerial view of a chaotic street scene on Nevsky Prospect in Petrograd showing crowds of people scattered across a wide boulevard with tramway tracks, some figures prone on the ground, buildings lining the street, and groups gathered near trees during the July Days uprising of 1917.
culturalContext:
topMusic:
- title: Ode to Joy (Soviet adaptations)
  artist: Beethoven / Soviet composers
  year: 1917
  note: Revolutionary Russia embraced Beethoven as a symbol of universal brotherhood, though it later restricted 'bourgeois' classical music.
  referenceCard:
  status: not_found
  checkedAt: "2026-05-29T09:29:16.816Z"
topFilms: []
topTVShows: []
zeitgeistNote: "The Revolution arrived at the intersection of fin-de-siècle nihilism, industrial modernity, and the spiritual exhaustion of World War I. Russian avant-garde art - Constructivism, Suprematism, Futurism - surged in tandem with political upheaval, as if aesthetic and political revolution were inseparable. The chaos of 1917 created space for radical experimentation: Malevich painted black squares, Tatlin designed impossible towers, Mayakovsky wrote violent poetry. By the mid-1920s, Stalin's consolidation of power had already begun strangling this creative ferment."
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: Soviet Union Population
  thenValue: ~147 million
  thenYear: 1917
  nowValue: "Russia: ~144 million"
  nowYear: 2024
  note: The USSR at its 1989 peak encompassed ~293 million; post-Soviet Russia is roughly half that size.
- metric: Global Communist States
  thenValue: 1 (USSR)
  thenYear: 1917
  nowValue: 5 (China, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea, Cuba)
  nowYear: 2024
  note: None claim direct Leninist governance; most have adopted market mechanisms while retaining single-party rule.
- metric: Russia's Geopolitical Isolation
  thenValue: Severe - sanctions, foreign intervention, diplomatic ostracism
  thenYear: 1918
  nowValue: Severe - Western sanctions following 2022 Ukraine invasion
  nowYear: 2024
  note: A century apart, yet the fundamental dynamic of Russia as pariah state echoes across time.
impactStatement: The October Revolution of 1917 toppled the Russian Empire and established the world's first communist state, fundamentally reshaping geopolitics for the next seven decades. Lenin's Bolsheviks seized power in a matter of days, creating a rival ideological system that would define the 20th century's greatest conflicts.
consequences:
- title: Soviet Union Established
  year: 1922
  description: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formally created on December 30, 1922, consolidating Bolshevik control over former imperial territories and establishing a one-party communist state that would last until 1991.
- title: Russian Civil War
  year: 1918
  description: From 1918 to 1922, the Red Army under Trotsky defeated White forces and foreign interventionists, solidifying communist control and killing roughly 5 million people through combat, disease, and famine.
- title: Cold War Begins
  year: 1945
  description: The ideological and geopolitical divide between the Soviet Union and the Western powers, rooted in the Revolution's founding antagonisms, erupted into the defining conflict of the second half of the 20th century following World War II.
- title: Global Communist Movements
  year: 1919
  description: The Comintern, founded in March 1919, coordinated communist parties worldwide, spreading revolutionary ideology and creating competing power structures that reshaped politics across Europe, Asia, and beyond.
- title: Stalin's Industrialization and Purges
  year: 1928
  description: Stalin's Five-Year Plans beginning in 1928 transformed the Soviet economy through forced collectivization and rapid industrialization, killing millions through engineered famine and political repression.
archiveSnapshots: []
categories:
- revolution
- war
metaDescription: Bolsheviks overthrew the Romanovs and seized power in two brutal revolts. Lenin's crew ditched capitalism, triggered civil war, and built the USSR from the rubble.
originSignals:
- "wikipedia:october-revolution-1917"
wikidataQid: Q8729
peoplesVoice:
- source: Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik leader
  voiceType: official
  context: Lenin addresses the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets immediately after Bolshevik seizure of power in Petrograd.
  excerpt: We shall now proceed to construct the Socialist order. The workers' revolution has begun. Long live the worldwide Socialist revolution!
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 92
  attribution: Speech to Congress of Soviets, Petrograd
  publishedAt: 1917-10-26
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Raymond Robins, American Red Cross official
  voiceType: expert
  context: Robins, a witness in Russia during the revolution, reflects on the chaos and Bolshevik consolidation in late 1917.
  excerpt: The Bolsheviks have seized power from a rotting government. Whether they can hold it or build anything lasting remains utterly uncertain.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Robins' diplomatic correspondence, November 1917
  publishedAt: 1917-11-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Woodrow Wilson, US President
  voiceType: official
  context: Wilson expresses American alarm at Bolshevik revolutionary ideology and its threat to global stability and Western interests.
  excerpt: The Russian revolution was to overturn the world. Bolshevism represents a challenge to civilization itself and must be resisted.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 85
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Wilson cabinet discussions and diplomatic cables, late 1917
  publishedAt: 1917-12-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Louise Bryant, American journalist and eyewitness
  voiceType: media
  context: Bryant, in Petrograd during the October Revolution, files dispatches documenting scenes of revolutionary fervor and working-class mobilization.
  excerpt: The streets seethed with soldiers and workers. Barricades rose. The old world was dying before our eyes-whether a new one would be born, nobody dared say.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Bryant's Petrograd dispatches to American newspapers, October–November 1917
  publishedAt: 1917-11-05
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Nicolas II, deposed Tsar
  voiceType: official
  context: Tsar Nicholas II, having already abdicated in March 1917, reflects on the complete collapse of Romanov rule as Bolsheviks consolidate control.
  excerpt: Everything is lost. The dynasty is finished. Russia is plunged into darkness.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 78
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Tsar's private diary and correspondence, October–November 1917
  publishedAt: 1917-11-01
  originalLanguage: en
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: new-york-times
  headline: Bolsheviki Seize Power in Petrograd; Lenin Heads New Government
  publishedAt: 1917-11-08
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.nytimes.com
  excerpt: The Bolshevik faction, led by Vladimir Lenin, has successfully overthrown the Provisional Government in Petrograd, establishing a new Soviet administration and vowing immediate peace negotiations with Germany.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Times of London
  publisherSlug: times-of-london
  headline: Revolution in Russia-Bolsheviks Proclaim New Soviet State
  publishedAt: 1917-11-09
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - thetimes.co.uk
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Lenin's revolutionary government has consolidated control of the Russian capital and declared the formation of a workers' state, sending alarm through European capitals already exhausted by four years of war.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Le Temps
  publisherSlug: le-temps
  headline: Les Bolchéviques Maîtres de Pétrograd-Lénine Proclame le Régime des Soviets
  publishedAt: 1917-11-09
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - retronews.fr
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Paris observers report with deep concern that the Bolsheviks have seized complete authority in Petrograd, establishing a dictatorship of the proletariat that threatens to withdraw Russia from the war effort entirely.
  significance: 87
  type: newspaper
  region: France
- publisher: Berliner Tageblatt
  publisherSlug: berliner-tageblatt
  headline: "Umsturz in Russland: Die Bolschewiki an der Macht"
  publishedAt: 1917-11-10
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - deutschehistorischequellen.de
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - German newsrooms debate the implications of Lenin's seizure of power, with some viewing it as opportunity for separate peace while others warn of radical ideology spreading westward.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: Germany
relatedQueries:
- October Revolution 1917 Lenin Bolsheviks
- Romanov dynasty fall Russian Revolution
- Tsar Nicholas II abdication February 1917
- Bolshevik seizure power Winter Palace
- Russian Civil War 1918-1922
- Lenin Communist Party Russia 1917
- Russian Revolution impact global communism
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- revolution
- regime_change
- government_collapse
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- transformation
- collapse
impactRadius: global
velocity: cascading
predictability: emergent
intentionality: coordinated
domainCoupling: systemic
lifecycleClass: transition
translations:
es:
lede: En 1917, el gobierno zarista de Rusia colapsó y fue reemplazado por un estado comunista, remodelando la política, la economía y la sociedad del país durante casi un siglo. El trastorno comenzó con huelgas de trabajadores y motines militares en Petrogrado (ahora San Petersburgo) en marzo, lo que obligó al zar Nicolás II a abdicar, y se aceleró en octubre cuando los bolcheviques de Vladimir Lenin tomaron el poder. Los efectos secundarios de la revolución redibujaron mapas, inspiraron movimientos en todo el mundo e hicieron de la Unión Soviética una superpotencia mundial.
summaryShort: La Revolución Rusa de 1917 derrocó la dinastía Romanov y llevó a los bolcheviques al poder bajo Lenin, remodelando fundamentalmente Rusia e impactando el orden político global.
summaryLong: |-
  Rusia a principios de 1917 era un estado que apenas se mantenía unido. La decisión del zar Nicolás II de liderar personalmente el ejército durante la Primera Guerra Mundial dejó a su esposa Alexandra a cargo, un movimiento que entregó el poder al ineficaz y corrupto Grigori Rasputín. La guerra iba catastróficamente-Rusia había perdido aproximadamente 2 millones de soldados para 1917, y el imperio estaba perdiendo recursos. La escasez de alimentos en Petrogrado provocó disturbios por pan el 8 de marzo de 1917 (23 de febrero según el antiguo calendario juliano que Rusia aún usaba). Los trabajadores abandonaron las fábricas. Los soldados rechazaron las órdenes. En cuestión de días, el zar abdicó.

  Lo que siguió no fue una revolución sino dos. La Revolución de Febrero estableció un Gobierno Provisional, que cometió el error fatal de mantener a Rusia en la Primera Guerra Mundial. Para octubre, los soldados pasaban hambre, los campesinos querían tierra y los trabajadores querían cambio-condiciones que los bolcheviques, liderados por Vladimir Lenin, sabían cómo explotar. El 25 de octubre de 1917 (12 de octubre en el calendario juliano), el partido de Lenin tomó el Palacio de Invierno en Petrogrado y asumió el control del gobierno. Fue notablemente rápido: los relatos sugieren que menos de 100 personas murieron en la toma real. Pero lo que vino después fue cualquier cosa menos rápido o incruento.

  Los bolcheviques enfrentaron oposición inmediata de múltiples frentes. El Ejército Blanco, compuesto por fuerzas antibolcheviques, lanzó la Guerra Civil Rusa que duraría hasta 1922 y mataría aproximadamente 5 a 9 millones de personas. Lenin consolidó el poder sin piedad-disolvió la Asamblea Constituyente en enero de 1918, estableció la policía secreta (la Cheka) y firmó el Tratado de Brest-Litovsk en marzo de 1918, rindiéndose a Alemania en enormes territorios para salir de la Primera Guerra Mundial. Para 1921, los bolcheviques habían ganado la guerra civil, pero la economía estaba en ruinas.

  La importancia global de la revolución fue inmensa e inmediata. Para los comunistas de todo el mundo, probó que la revolución era posible. Para las potencias occidentales-Gran Bretaña, Francia, Estados Unidos y otros-fue una amenaza existencial que intentaron sofocar a través de intervención militar y posterior aislamiento diplomático. La Revolución Rusa no solo cambió Rusia; dividió el mundo. Para los años 1920, el orden internacional tenía un nuevo tipo de actor estatal, uno que explícitamente rechazaba el capitalismo y prometía un futuro diferente. Si veías eso como salvación o catástrofe dependía casi enteramente de dónde te parase.

  Lo que la URSS de Stalin se convirtió es otra historia. Lo que importa sobre 1917 es que Lenin y los bolcheviques probaron que un partido revolucionario determinado podía tomar el control de un vasto imperio y mantenerlo, incluso contra probabilidades abrumadoras. Demostraron que las viejas reglas-aristocracia, monarquía, orden capitalista-podían romperse en cuestión de semanas. Esa posibilidad, más que cualquier política específica, es lo que resonó alrededor del mundo durante el resto del siglo XX.
generatedAt: "2026-05-21T13:52:07.158Z"
fr:
lede: En 1917, le gouvernement tsariste russe s'effondra et fut remplacé par un État communiste, redéfinissant la politique, l'économie et la société du pays pendant près d'un siècle. Le bouleversement a commencé par des grèves ouvrières et des mutineries militaires à Petrograd (actuellement Saint-Pétersbourg) en mars, forçant le tsar Nicolas II à abdiquer, puis s'est accéléré en octobre quand les bolchéviques de Vladimir Lénine ont pris le pouvoir. Les répercussions de la révolution ont redessiné les cartes, inspiré des mouvements dans le monde entier et fait de l'Union soviétique une superpuissance mondiale.
summaryShort: La Révolution russe de 1917 renversa la dynastie des Romanov et porta les bolchéviques au pouvoir sous Lénine, redéfinissant fondamentalement la Russie et provoquant des chocs dans l'ordre politique mondial.
summaryLong: |-
  La Russie au début de 1917 était un État qui tenait à peine debout. La décision du tsar Nicolas II de diriger personnellement l'armée pendant la Première Guerre mondiale laissa sa femme Alexandra au pouvoir, un choix qui remit le pouvoir à l'incompétent et corrompu Grigori Raspoutine. La guerre se déroulait catastrophiquement-la Russie avait perdu environ 2 millions de soldats en 1917, et l'empire se vidait de ses ressources. Les pénuries alimentaires à Petrograd déclenchèrent des émeutes du pain le 8 mars 1917 (23 février selon l'ancien calendrier julien que la Russie utilisait encore). Les ouvriers abandonnèrent les usines. Les soldats refusèrent les ordres. En quelques jours, le tsar abdiqua.

  Ce qui suivit ne fut pas une révolution mais deux. La Révolution de février établit un Gouvernement provisoire, qui commit l'erreur fatale de maintenir la Russie dans la Première Guerre mondiale. En octobre, les soldats mouraient de faim, les paysans voulaient des terres, et les ouvriers voulaient le changement-des conditions que les bolchéviques, menés par Vladimir Lénine, savaient comment exploiter. Le 25 octobre 1917 (12 octobre selon le calendrier julien), le parti de Lénine saisit le Palais d'Hiver à Petrograd et prit le contrôle du gouvernement. C'était remarquablement rapide : les comptes rendus suggèrent que moins de 100 personnes ont péri dans la prise de pouvoir proprement dite. Mais ce qui suivit n'était ni rapide ni sans effusion de sang.

  Les bolchéviques firent face à une opposition immédiate de plusieurs fronts. L'Armée blanche, composée de forces anti-bolchéviques, lança la Guerre civile russe qui durerait jusqu'en 1922 et tuerait environ 5 à 9 millions de personnes. Lénine consolida le pouvoir impitoyablement-il dissout l'Assemblée constituante en janvier 1918, établit la police secrète (la Tchéka), et signa le Traité de Brest-Litovsk en mars 1918, abandonnant d'énormes portions de territoire à l'Allemagne pour sortir de la Première Guerre mondiale. En 1921, les bolchéviques avaient remporté la guerre civile, mais l'économie était en ruines.

  L'importance mondiale de la révolution était immense et immédiate. Pour les communistes du monde entier, elle prouva que la révolution était possible. Pour les puissances occidentales-la Grande-Bretagne, la France, les États-Unis et d'autres-c'était une menace existentielle qu'elles tentèrent d'étouffer par l'intervention militaire et plus tard par l'isolement diplomatique. La Révolution russe ne changea pas seulement la Russie ; elle divisa le monde. Dans les années 1920, l'ordre international avait un nouveau type d'acteur étatique, un qui rejetait explicitement le capitalisme et promettait un avenir différent. Que vous ayez vu cela comme un salut ou une catastrophe dépendait presque entièrement de votre position.

  Ce que l'URSS de Staline devint est une histoire différente. Ce qui importe à propos de 1917, c'est que Lénine et les bolchéviques prouvèrent qu'un parti révolutionnaire déterminé pouvait saisir le contrôle d'un vaste empire et le tenir, même face à des probabilités accablantes. Ils montrèrent que les anciennes règles-aristocratie, monarchie, ordre capitaliste-pouvaient être brisées en l'espace de quelques semaines. Cette possibilité, plus que toute politique spécifique, est ce qui a réverbéré autour du monde pendant le reste du XXe siècle.
generatedAt: "2026-05-21T13:52:15.683Z"
de:
lede: 1917 kollabierte Russlands zaristische Regierung und wurde durch einen kommunistischen Staat ersetzt, der die Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft des Landes für fast ein Jahrhundert umgestaltete. Die Umwälzung begann mit Arbeiterstreiks und Militärmeutereien in Petrograd (heute St. Petersburg) im März, was Zar Nikolaus II. zur Abdankung zwang, und beschleunigte sich im Oktober, als Wladimir Lenins Bolschewiki die Macht ergriffen. Die Auswirkungen der Revolution zeichneten Karten neu, inspirierte Bewegungen weltweit und machte die Sowjetunion zu einer globalen Supermacht.
summaryShort: Die Russische Revolution von 1917 stürzte die Romanov-Dynastie und brachte die Bolschewiki unter Lenin an die Macht, wodurch Russland grundlegend umgestaltet wurde und Schockwellen durch die globale politische Ordnung gingen.
summaryLong: |-
  Russland Anfang 1917 war ein Staat, der kaum noch zusammenhielt. Zar Nikolaus II. Entscheidung, die Armee persönlich während des Ersten Weltkriegs anzuführen, ließ seine Frau Alexandra die Macht übernehmen – ein Schachzug, der die Macht dem unfähigen und korrupten Grigori Rasputin in die Hände legte. Der Krieg verlief katastrophal – Russland hatte 1917 etwa 2 Millionen Soldaten verloren, und das Reich blutete Ressourcen aus. Lebensmittelknappheit in Petrograd löste am 8. März 1917 (23. Februar nach dem alten Julianischen Kalender, den Russland noch nutzte) Brotkrawalle aus. Arbeiter verließen Fabriken. Soldaten verweigerten Befehle. Innerhalb von Tagen dankte der Zar ab.

  Was folgte, war nicht eine, sondern zwei Revolutionen. Die Februarrevolution etablierte eine Provisorische Regierung, die den fatalen Fehler machte, Russland im Ersten Weltkrieg zu halten. Im Oktober litten Soldaten Hunger, Bauern wollten Land, und Arbeiter wollten Veränderung – Bedingungen, die die Bolschewiki unter Wladimir Lenin zu nutzen wussten. Am 25. Oktober 1917 (12. Oktober nach dem Julianischen Kalender) eroberte Lenins Partei den Winterpalast in Petrograd und übernahm die Regierung. Es war bemerkenswert schnell: Berichten zufolge starben bei der eigentlichen Übernahme weniger als 100 Menschen. Aber was danach kam, war alles andere als schnell oder unblutig.

  Die Bolschewiki sahen sich unmittelbar Widerstand von mehreren Fronten gegenüber. Die Weiße Armee, bestehend aus antibolschewistischen Kräften, startete den Russischen Bürgerkrieg, der bis 1922 andauerte und etwa 5 bis 9 Millionen Menschen tötete. Lenin festigte die Macht rücksichtslos – er löste die Konstituierende Versammlung im Januar 1918 auf, etablierte die Geheimpolizei (die Tscheka) und unterzeichnete den Vertrag von Brest-Litowsk im März 1918, wodurch er riesige Territoriumsteile an Deutschland abtrat, um aus dem Ersten Weltkrieg auszusteigen. Bis 1921 hatten die Bolschewiki den Bürgerkrieg gewonnen, aber die Wirtschaft lag in Ruinen.

  Die globale Bedeutung der Revolution war immens und unmittelbar. Für Kommunisten weltweit bewies sie, dass Revolution möglich war. Für Westmächte – Großbritannien, Frankreich, die Vereinigten Staaten und andere – war sie eine existenzielle Bedrohung, die sie durch militärische Intervention und später diplomatische Isolation zu ersticken versuchten. Die Russische Revolution veränderte nicht nur Russland; sie spaltete die Welt. Bis in die 1920er Jahre hatte die internationale Ordnung eine neue Art von Staatsaktor, einen, der explizit den Kapitalismus ablehnte und eine andere Zukunft versprach. Ob man das als Rettung oder Katastrophe sah, hing fast ganz davon ab, wo man stand.

  Was Stalins UdSSR wurde, ist eine andere Geschichte. Was bei 1917 zählt, ist, dass Lenin und die Bolschewiki bewiesen, dass eine entschlossene revolutionäre Partei ein riesiges Reich übernehmen und halten konnte, selbst gegen überwältigende Widerstände. Sie zeigten, dass die alten Regeln – Aristokratie, Monarchie, kapitalistische Ordnung – in wenigen Wochen gebrochen werden konnten. Diese Möglichkeit, mehr als jede spezifische Politik, ist das, was für den Rest des 20. Jahrhunderts um die Welt hallte.
generatedAt: "2026-05-21T13:52:25.610Z"
geo:
lat: 64.6863136
lng: 97.7453061
place: Russia
note: Location inferred from recap.country via OSM Nominatim.
significance: 25
heroImageAlt: A massive crowd of people fills an urban square during what appears to be an early 20th century Russian demonstration, with Cyrillic banners suspended above the gathering and classical European architecture visible in the background.
