Ari Gilder, 2-406!

Homework #2

1. “World War I caused a revolution in Russia” – this is true, because World War I had revealed to the Russians the flaws and the weaknesses of Russian society. The Russian industry was not enough to equip the army, and the involvement of the Ottoman Empire severely injured Russia’s ability to trade and receive supplies for the war. Consequently, the soldiers were led badly, and 9 million of them were either killed, injured or taken captive. This sparked the revolution in Russia.
2. Lenin and the Bolsheviks had come to power by overthrowing the provisional government which was established as an interim government, until a constitutional assembly was elected.
3. Lenin was forced to adapt Marxism because true Marxism could not function in Russia; Russia had a very small industrial force compared to the rest of the world, and in such a case, the economic laws defined by Marx would not apply. His version of Marxism consisted of a small group of true and loyal Marxists who would train workers to become the revolutionary force in Russia.
4. The Russian Revolution and French Revolution were both similar in that both involved a shift from conservatism to liberal radicalism, and in both revolutions, there was a lot of bloodshed and fighting. Also, both revolutions’ climaxes were when a leader overthrew the existing government and imposed his ideas upon the nation.