THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

[angel95086]

I know this is a really stupid question to ask but when was it and exactly how horrible was it? ( i mean in regards to killings and stuff) My family came over here from Kyiv during the Revolution I believe and i wanted to know..thanks

[johnstruthers]

Now, now, now. We have to keep this in perspective. The Bolsheviks were overthrowing a rather stupid and badly advised tsar who had shown a propensity to inflict pain on those who complained. The revolution was based on a very large idea, one that would place the means of production into the hands of the worker. The idea did not have universal support, but the anger at the tsar was rather contagious. The tsar murdered a lot of people in the streets before the revolution actually began. At that moment, and until other events showed another side, the Bolsheviks looked like the "good guys".

[johnstruthers]

You are, of course, correct, Kathy. I only meant to point ou thtat, at that time, the Bolsheviks were "positioned" as saviours, not the Stalinist monsters they became. In defense of Lenin, he understood the ramifications of resistance, and wanted the Revolution, and the subsequent Civil War, to turn out according to plan. It's only with benefit of hindsight that we can judge. The times were different. Then, the horror in Ukraine in the 30s. It is still hard to come to grips with.

[Zbyszek]

Vanya and Katya,

I was taught at school in postwar People's Poland. The red flags were hanging everywhere on November 7 (the anniversary of the populace attack on Zimny Dvorec(Winter Palace) in Sankt Peterburg). After all the teachings taken I came to the conclusion that the only real asset of the October Revolution(there was also less famous February Revolution a few months earlier) was that West European countries and the USA to some extent, scared tremendously, started to think much more seriously about the social injustice. Moreover, they started to act at last. Prewar Poland lived in a deep shade of the Soviets and was sometimes on the verge of its own revolt. This explains to some extent why communism poisoned so many Polish (and possibly Ukrainian)hearts after the war.
Katya, what do you think about the "Tikhy Don" book of Mikhail Sholokhov. Is is an honest description of the post revolution reality in Russia and Ukraine?

[johnstruthers]

Zbyszek,
You made an important point about the October Revolution: It forced western nations to come to grips with the detritus of the industrial revolution, a working class that couldn't feed itself, and people oppressed in general. Nobody can look into the future, so the excesses of Stalinism were not predictable.

Trotsky did, indeed, hate the Cossacks, who represented a warrior caste that defended the Tsar. They are rebuilding their culture now, and even getting adventurous from time to time. A number of them volunteered against better advice to fight the TransDniestrian war, and they were sent home by Russians and Ukrainians alike who were afraid they might hurt somebody.

Their culture is enjoying a resurgence with popular support now, especially in Zaporozhe.