Revolution :: Russian Revolution, Social Change

Throughout history, there have been many revolutions between people and their governments. People have always wanted change, whether it be social, economic, and/or political, for people wanted control over their lives, rather than being under the rule of a powerful government. For long periods of time people lived under the rule of a powerful government but eventually they could bear no more. The American revolution and the Russian revolution both had similarities and differences, however they had one cause, which was their independence from their government. In the Russian revolution, there were no foreign powers involved, it was between the people, and the noble monarchy, however during the civil war, the white army had allies, including England, America, and France, who supplied them with arms, food, clothes, and equipment (Thompson, 199). Tsar Nicholas II held power tightly, when Europe was moving away from monarchy. All land belonged to the Tsar family, and noble landlords, while factories belonged to capitilists. At this time in Russian history, there were no labor laws established for workers. The conditions of labor in Rural, and Urban environments, were very bad. Before the revolution, the justice system made all laws in favor the ruling elite, and capitolists. The peasents were obloged to paying large taxes to landlords. The majority of the Russian population was illiterate, poor, and had no access to upper education. Land ownership, and freedom of self-government were major proponents leading up to the Russian Revolution. After the war with Japan, anti-tsarist feelings greatly increased, for the soldiers wanted peace. WWI also increased anti tsarist feelings, for the people did not achieve anything from fighting, there were great losses on battle front, living conditions became worse, and soldiers did not receive any rights after returning from the battle. After the soldiers returned from consecutive wars, autocracy was not able to control the country, and the rich and noble were not able to maintain their power. The relationship between the average citizen, and the rich and noble, reached an unbearable state because, neither workers nor peasants had any rights, and they were not allowed to make any political decisions. After WWI, and the war in Japan, the people of Russia were yearning for change, and by February 1917 protests had out broken. Many women were chanting, instead of men, for the men were at war, and the women said â€Å"End the War!, â€Å"Down with the Autocracy!†, and â€Å"Give us bread† (Hacht, Hayes, 1).