In February 1917, shortages of food, economic hardships, dissatisfaction with Russian military failures in World War I, and the persistent refusal of Czar Nicholas II to conciliate his subjects led to angry mobs in the streets of the Russian capital, St. Petersburg, demanding reform. Soon the military garrison stationed in the city joined forces with the revolutionary crowd. In March, Czar Nicholas II agreed to abdicate the throne. Thus Russia ceased to be a monarchy. A provisional government was established under Price Lvov, but the situation grew worse. The army continued to suffer reversals, peasants engaged in open revolt against landlords, and urban workers agitated for control of industry. In July, the Menshevik (that is, moderate socialist) leader Alexander Kerensky became prime minister, but the situation deteriorated further as the Russian army suffered additional setbacks at the hands of their German enemies. Kerensky's vacillation led to an unsuccessful uprising by the Bolsheviks in July. In September, the commander in chief of the Russian military forces, General Lavr Kornilov (1870-1918), attempted a failed coup against the Kerensky government that further divided the army. Kornilov was arrested for treason, thus eliminating the major obstacle to a Bolshevik takeover.

Promising a program of peace, land, and bread, and employing the slogan, "All Power to the Soviets (workers' councils)," the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Ilich Lenin, returning to Russia from exile, launched what became known as the October Revolution, deposing Kerensky and assuming the title of chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. Lenin's Red Guards, commanded by his aide, Leon Trotsky, occupied key government buildings, railway stations, and telegraph offices in St. Petersburg. In March 1918, the new government, having transferred the capital to Moscow, concluded a peace treaty with Germany, which cost the government heavily both at home and abroad. The discontent at home led to the outbreak of the Russian Civil War. In July 1918, Bolshevik guards, on instructions from Moscow, murdered Czar Nicholas II and his entire family. The following month, an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Lenin's life resulted in a campaign of terror carried out by the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police.

The aim of the revolution was to transform Russian society not simply politically but in every sphere. The revolutionaries set out first to eliminate private property. All deeds of ownership were destroyed. But the power that Lenin had promised to the Soviets, the workers' councils, existed in name only. Actual power was vested in the leadership of the Bolshevik Party, which in 1918 assumed the name Communist Party. The long-anticipated Marxist revolution proved to be, consistent with Lenin's revision of the theories of Karl Marx, the triumph of a radical elite whose interests and goals were far removed from the will of the Russian people.

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on History at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to History and other relevant topics.