Russian October Revolution of 1917: Plans and outcomes

Abstract

The article compares ideational political settings of Bolsheviks prior to the October 1917 revolution in Russia to the results of the practical fulfillment of these settings. When leading Bolsheviks Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky were planning to seize power in Russia, they expected that successful similar revolutions would follow in developed European countries. Bolsheviks accepted all means aimed at their victory in power struggle in Russia, and they were often unable to foresee consequences of their actions. Many of the ideas that Bolsheviks treated as guidelines prior to the October revolution were utopian and unrealistic. In particular, one can find such ideas in Lenin’s State and Revolution. Deep economic and political crisis in Russia was the result of attempts to apply these utopian ideas in practice. The crisis forced Lenin to change the strategy of Bolsheviks and to work out a new plan aimed at formation of a socialist society under the given circumstances for which most Bolsheviks appeared to be unprepared. The new strategy outlined by Lenin treated technological modernization as prerequisite to formation of a new type of society. On one hand, modernization appeared to be fruitful thus allowing transit to socialism. On other hand, the modernization cost much effort, great loss, and countless victims. The article concludes that results of the October 1917 revolution in Russia were ambiguous. Refs 12.