Mr. Millott’s Historiography schools of thought and quotes Topic Lenin & The Structure of the Bolshevik Party Quotes 1905 revolution *causes & consequences Quotes Soviet Perspective Central group of leaders driving change Lenin had successfully adapted Marxism for Russia “ The leadership given by Lenin and the Bolshevik Party … ensured the success of one of the greatest events in world history – the overthrow of the power of the landowners and capitalists.” ‐ GD Obichkin Western Perspective Bolshevik Party were basically a power hungry party who took advantage of a set of circumstances “To impose such immense sacrifices in the name of so naïve and flawed a vision makes Lenin one of the greatest criminals of all time.” Lievin “Judged in terms of its own aspirations: the Communist (Bolshevik) party was a monumental failure.” ‐ Richard Pipes Russia was socially backward, so Tsarist regime not only ignored much of the population exploited pressure from below but also from by a limited few who had power advise of the ministers No leader to guide revolutionary reform and general population still trusted Tsar “1905 failed as a revolution Bloody Sunday was an overwhelming because the protestors were display of Tsarist incompetence.” disunited and inexperienced.” ‐ Richard Pipes ‐ Leon Trotsky Revisionist Perspective Lenin believed in and lusted power but only because the Bolshevik party should initiate the achievement “While Lenin was cunning & untrustworthy, he was also dedicated to the ultimate goal of communism … He was determined that the Bolsheviks should initiate the achievement of a world without exploitation” ‐ Robert Service. Tsarist regime was out of touch with the people and avoided reform “The Tsar was truly out of touch with his people” and “although the regime succeeded in restoring order, it could not hope to turn the clock back. 1905 had changed society for good. Many of the comrades of 1905 were the elders of 1917…” ‐ Orlando Figes Mr. Millott’s Historiography schools of thought and quotes First World War Quotes 1917 February Revolution Capitalist, Imperialist War which highlighted the divide between the oppressed and the wealthy class, who were not accountable in the war. “The tsar kept his outlook unchanged through two wars and two revolutions.” ‐ Leon Trotsky Led by the workers and soldiers but did not go so far as to transfer power “The dynasty fell by shaking, like rotten fruit.” – Leon Trotsky Highlighted the political and economic flaws in Tsarist Russia. So backward that it could organize the transportation and military, and led to the problems back in Petrograd “In the short run, it rescued the government from a serious crisis. But in the long run it may have simply deepened the crisis and ensured that it was more profound when it finally arrived” ‐ Christian “By 1917 the war would prove to be the undoing of tsardom” and “The tragedy for the tsar was that he and his government showed themselves increasingly incapable of running the war.” ‐ Michael Lynch One of the most leaderless revolutions of all time; successful insofar as a democratic revolution “The collapse of the Romanov dynasty … was one of the most leaderless, spontaneous, anonymous revolutions of all time.” ‐ WH Chamberlin Russia was socially already vulnerable and on the verge of collapse. People protesting in Petrograd and mutinying soldiers a major cause. The autocracy’s situation was precarious on the eve of First World War. The society was deeply divided, and the political and bureaucratic structure was fragile and overstrained. The regime was so vulnerable to any kind of jolt or setback that is hard to imagine that it could have survived long, even without the War. ‐ Sheila Fitzpatrick Not as a direct result of WWI, but rather as a collapse of support for the government. “ When the February Revolution came, it was … the result of the collapse of public support in the government.” ‐ Steve Smith Mr. Millott’s Historiography schools of thought and quotes 1917 October Revolution “Who led the February Revolution? We can… answer definitively enough: conscious and tempered workers educated for the most part by the party of Lenin.” ‐ Leon Trotsky Lenin as an infallible leader guiding the Bolsheviks to power in the name of the proletariat. “No‐one made the Russian Revolution, unless it was autocracy itself … it was the direct result of the utter bankruptcy of the autocracy.” ‐ Bernard Pipes “ The Tsarist regime’s downfall was not inevitable, but its own stupidity made it so.” ‐ Orlando Figes It was a seizure of power rather than revolution from below, without mass support. “ In his guidance of the uprising, Lenin’s genius as a leader of the masses, a wise and fearless strategist, who clearly saw what direction the revolution would take, was strikingly revealed.” ‐ GD Obichkin “There was something essentially totalitarian about Lenin himself.” ‐ Lynch “October was a classic coup d’état, the capture of governmental authority by a small band … with a show of mass participation, but with hardly any mass involvement. “ ‐ Richard Pipes Bolshevik Party had gained support mainly due to the lack of support given to the weak provisional government “ The October Revolution emerges as very much more that a conspiratorial coup d’état. By then the central political issue was that of soviet power.” ‐ Edward Acton