Early in 1917, Russian workers and soldiers rose up against their government and forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate his throne. A temporary (provisional) government was established, but it soon lost the support of the people. In November 1917, Bolshevik Red Guards stormed the Winter Palace in Petrograd and kicked out the provisional government. An American journalist, John Reed, wrote the eyewitness account that I would like you to read (you can by clicking here; read from the bottom of page 131 - the top of page 135) of the storming of the Winter Palace.After reading the document I would like you to consider and discuss the following: What were John Reed’s impressions of the Bolsheviks? What type of behavior was displayed by the Red Guard (Bolsheviks) while storming the Winter Palace? Why were members of the Red Guard ordered not to steal? What happened to the yunkers (provisional government officials) once the palace was seized? How does this revolution in Russia compare to the Mexican and Chinese Revolutions that occurred around the same time in history?
12 comments:
Pretty much they didnt pay any attention to the words of "Property of the People!" they still attempted to take clothing, this was a popuar choice for the working class.. but the mood here in this to me was careless.. like that annoying little brother or sister you try to keep out of your closet so they wont play dress up with your clothes.
They also just stromed through the palace taking the yunkers guns, leaving them unable to shoot
The first fight the document mentioned seemed so small. Prokopovich made me a little mad when he spoke. The sailors didn't really want to hurt them or shoot them. They just kept bothering them, just like what a sister does to a older brother. It seems the angry crowd didn't know anything that was going on, and just listened to the loud screams and believing everything they heard they marched. But of course... they are illiterate, well most of them, I must give them that. The picture the words put out is terrible. Uncontrollable mobs, not wanting to listen to reasoning, had one goal. It seemed it could've been dealt with a little better with a few negotiations.
In the beginning of the eyewitness account, it is obvious that the sailors were very agitated with the Bolsheviks. The behavior of the Blosheviks is very disciplined. When they stormed in the Winter Palace, many attempted to steal the items laying around. But once somebody yelled, "Stop, property of the people! Revolutionary discipline!" everything was put back spontaneously. They wanted to show that they werent thieves. They just wanted a change in the government so they can live a happier life.
Once the palace was seized, the yunkers had their guns taken away. They were called names such as "antirevolutionists" and "murderers of the people." The yunkers were completely terrified, however, no violence was done.
The citizens storming the palace did not listen to orders at all. They stormed the palace like a mob and began stealing things like clothing. The only good news is that they did not kill any of the gaurds that were gaurding the palace.
it had the disorganized, angry mob sort of feel to it. nobody really wanted to shoot them, but they took their guns just for good measure...and a lot of other stuff too, it seems. i personally like the "what will you do?" "we will spank you." line. very intimidating.
the reason that they were told not to steal the things in the palace is because they are a group for the people so it makes sense that they would be shouting "property of the people" they yunkers were told to drop their guns and the Red army took them. there was organization in the Army it says that 2 men were recording everything.
At first the guy says that they won't harm any russian that is unarmed and it looks like they keeps their word in this document, because they don't kill the yunkers yet just scare them big time and they also don't hurt the servants. it seems that the soldiers are very laid back not tense at all like they already won; beat the enemy and all they want to do is get the valuable stuff in the boxes.
His impression of the Bolsheviks weren't very good. It kinda made them seem aggressive (at least the sailors did). He also added the speech that one person of the Red guard gave telling the workers, sailors etc that they are doing this to save themselves and make the country a satisfying place to live in. He did though add that they wouldn't harm anyone who wasn't armed to defend themselves which gave them some bonus points to the people who read it. The actions when storming the palace seemed unorganized, people were doing things without orders. The red guard was ordered not to steal because the property in the palace is considered the property of the people in which they were doing this action for. The yunkers were simply talked to by some of the red guard. The guard was playing a kind of mental game with them and made them terrified but they were soon set free without being killed since they were unarmed. The guard wanted to show them that they "murdered" the people (not literally of course). ALl three revolutions resulted in a one party dominance making the people have less rights than intended. They also were meant to give more rights and power to the working class (marxist ideas). And they also all led to a civil war.
Yeah that seemed to have been a preety easy storming of the palace. No wonder it was called a bloodless revolution.
Many of the Red Guard did not want to shoot the unarmed, Russian people, but they were threatened by their leaders that they would be shot of they did not. They were ordered not to steal because the items belonged to the people. This stopped the Guard, but not the Yunkers.
The Bolsheviks seemed somewhat disorganized, and their success seems to have been dependent on their numbers. Everybody rushes in, and then everybody is rushed out. "All Out!" Despite the warnings that the goods in the palace belonged to the people, the Red Guards still took things. As they came out of the palace, they were taken back and recorded by a commitee and put in a little room. The yunkers were taken out of the palace and proceeded through the city, where the people really wanted to do kill them. The Russian revolution was similar to the Mexican revolution in that it served the people. While the overthrowing of the Provisional government was more simple for the Bolsheviks, the Mexican revolution took much more time. In 1927, a new Mexican constitution was made that was clearly influenced by Marxist ideas. Although a one-party system emerged, a socialist government like the one installed by the Bolsheviks was not formed. While Lenin fought for Communism, Sun-Yat Sen fought for a Republic. The Republic was mostly ineffective outside of Beijing, but a more grounded government came in 1949 with the victory of Communists after years of civil war in China. I think it is important to note that Sun-Yat Sen's three-point plan was somewhat influenced by Marx. 1- Nationalism, getting read of Manchu rule and the dynastic cyle, removing spheres of influence. 2- A SYSTEM IN WHICH PROPERTY OWNED would be sold at a price, made possible by rising land value, where landowners could receive a profit while still a lot of the money went to the state. 3- a five-part government plan. Obviously this was not enough for the Communists in China. While The Russian Revolution seemed to be more focussed on internal problems, the Chinese revolution led by Sen seemed to be more focussed on getting rid of spheres of influence first. Much like the provisional gov in Russia, the Republic of China did not seem to be able to effectively govern. While the emergence of Communism was more immediate in Russia, it faced civil war later. The emergence of Communism in China was later, and Civil War came first.
the sailors were tryin to act like my little brother and annoy them, not hurt them or anything but annoy the heck out of them. the picture shows how horrible everything was and it seems like the crowd is nieve and believed everything they heard and everything was uncontrollable, especially the mobs
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