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.]] The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia , also known as the '''October Revolution''', is traditionally dated to October 24 , 1917 ( November 7 , N.S. ). "SparkNotes: The October Revolution" (timeline), SparkNotes LLC, 2006, webpage: SN-5 : accessed 2007-01-28. The October Revolution was the second phase of the overall Russian Revolution Of 1917 , after the February Revolution of the same year. The October Revolution overthrew the Russian Provisional Government and gave the power to the Bolsheviks . It was followed by the Russian Civil War (1917–1922) and the creation of the Soviet Union in 1922. The revolution was led by the Bolshevik s with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries and Anarchists . Bolshevik troops began the takeover of government buildings on October 24 ; however October 25 was the date when the Winter Palace (the seat of the Provisional government located in Petrograd , then capital of Russia ), was captured. It was the first Marxist Revolution in history. Initially, the event was referred to as the October uprising (Октябрьский переворот) or the '''Uprising of 25th''', as seen in contemporary documents (for example, in the first editions of Lenin 's complete works). With time, the term October Revolution came into use, the event seen as of major importance. The '''Great October . CAUSES The mounting frustration of workers and soldiers erupted in July with several days of rioting on the streets, in what became known as the July Days . This event was sparked by the June offensive against Germany, in which War Minister Alexander Kerensky sent troops in a major attack on the Germans, only to be repelled. The July Days were also sparked by the workers' anger at their economic plight. A group of 20,000 armed sailors from "Red Kronstadt ", as it was known, marched into Petrograd and demanded that the Soviet take power. The capital was defenseless for two days. After suppressing the riots, the government blamed the Bolsheviks for encouraging the rebellion and many Bolshevik leaders, including Lenin and Grigory Zinoviev , were forced to go into hiding. Although the Bolshevik party had to operate semi-legally throughout July and August, its position on the far left end of the political spectrum was consolidated. Radical anti-war social democrats, who had joined the Mezhraiontsy earlier in the year, merged with the Bolsheviks in August. Many of them, particularly Trotsky, Joffe and Konstantin Yurenev would prove vital to the Bolsheviks' eventual seizure of Petrograd. The Kornilov Affair was another catalyst to Revolution. Alexander Kerensky , who held positions in both the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet, felt he needed a trustworthy military leader. After appointing Lavr Kornilov, Kerensky soon accused Kornilov of trying to set up his own military dictatorship. It is still uncertain as to whether or not Kornilov did engineer a plot of this kind or not. Kornilov, convinced Kerensky was acting under duress of the Bolsheviks, responded by issuing a call to all Russians to "save their dying land!" Unsure of the support of his army generals, Kerensky was forced to ask for help from other quarters- including the Bolshevik Red Guards, even providing them with arms. Kornilov's supposed attempt to seize power collapsed without bloodshed as his Cossacks deserted him. Kornilov and around 7000 of his supporters were arrested. EVENTS . ]] On October 10, the Bolsheviks' Central Committee voted 10-2 for a resolution saying that "an armed uprising is inevitable, and that the time for it is fully ripe".http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/oct/10a.htm On . (The ''Aurora'' was placed in Leningrad (modern St. Petersburg) and still stands there now.) The Winter Palace was guarded by Cossack s, Cadet s (military students), and a Women's Battalion . It was taken at about 2 a.m. The earlier date was made the official date of the Revolution, when all offices except the Winter Palace had been taken. Later official accounts of the revolution from the Soviet Union would depict the events in October as being far more dramatic than they actually had been. (See firsthand account by British General Knox ). Official films made much later showed a huge storming of the Winter Palace and fierce fighting, but in reality the Bolshevik insurgents faced little or no opposition and were practically able to just walk into the building and take it over. The insurrection was timed and organized to hand state power to the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies which began on October 25th. OUTCOMES proclamation about the deposing of the Russian Provisional Government ]] The Second Congress of Soviets consisted of 650 elected delegates; 390 were Bolshevik and nearly a hundred were Left Socialist-Revolutionaries , who also supported the overthrow of the Kerensky Government. When the fall of the Winter Palace was announced, the Congress adopted a decree transferring power to the Soviet s of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies, thus ratifying the Revolution. The transfer of power was not without disagreement. The center and Right wings of the Socialist Revolutionaries as well as the Mensheviks believed that Lenin and the Bolsheviks had illegally seized power and they walked out before the resolution was passed. As they exited, they were taunted by Leon Trotsky who told them "You are pitiful isolated individuals; you are bankrupts; your role is played out. Go where you belong from now on — into the dustbin of history!" The following day, the Soviet elected a Council Of People's Commissars ( Sovnarkom ) as the basis of a new Soviet Government, pending the convocation of a Constituent Assembly , and passed the Decree On Peace and the Decree On Land . The Decree On Land ratified the actions of the Peasant s who throughout Russia seized private land and redistributed it among themselves. The Bolsheviks viewed themselves as representing an alliance of workers and peasants (smychka) and memorialized that understanding with the Hammer And Sickle on the flag and coat of arms of the Soviet Union. Other decrees:
Bolshevik-led attempts to seize power in other parts of the declared independence on November 28 , 1917 , while an Estonian Bolshevik sympathizer, Jaan Anvelt, was recognized by Lenin's government as Estonia's leader on December 8 , although forces loyal to Anvelt only controlled the capital.See the article on Estonian independence in the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia online The success of the October revolution transformed the Russian Revolution from parliamentarian to socialist in character. A coalition of anti-Bolshevik groups including invading armies from the victorious Allies of the war attempted to unseat the new government in the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1922. The United States did not recognize the new Russian government until 1933. The European powers recognized the Soviet Union in the early 1920s and began to engage in business with it after the New Economic Policy (NEP) was implemented. SOVIET ''IN MEMORIAM'' OF THE EVENT The term Red October (Красный Октябрь, Krasny Oktyabr) has also been used to describe the events of the month. This name has in turn been lent to a Tractor factory made notable by the Battle Of Stalingrad , a Moscow Sweets Factory that is well-known in Russia, and a Fictional Soviet Submarine . November 7 , the anniversary of the October Revolution, was an Official Holiday In The Soviet Union . SEE ALSO FOOTNOTES EXTERNAL LINKS
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