What is the October Revolution?

The October Revolution (also called the Bolshevik Revolution) was the seizure of power by the Bolshevik Party led by Vladimir Lenin on 7 November 1917 (25 October by the Julian calendar then in use in Russia) in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg). It was the second phase of the Russian Revolution of 1917, following the February Revolution that had toppled Tsar Nicholas II.

The revolution was organized by the Revolutionary Military Committee chaired by Leon Trotsky. On the night of 24-25 October (O.S.), Bolshevik Red Guards seized railway stations, telegraph offices, bridges, and government buildings across Petrograd. The Winter Palace, seat of the Provisional Government, fell with remarkably little bloodshed. The Provisional Government under Alexander Kerensky was overthrown.

Two foundational decrees were issued immediately: the Decree on Peace (to negotiate withdrawal from WWI) and the Decree on Land (transferring land from landlords and the Church to peasant committees). The revolution established the world's first communist state and profoundly shaped 20th-century geopolitics.

Key Features

# Feature Details
1 Date 7 November 1917 (New Style) / 25 October 1917 (Old Style Julian Calendar)
2 Location Petrograd (Saint Petersburg), Russia
3 Leaders Vladimir Lenin (Bolshevik leader), Leon Trotsky (Revolutionary Military Committee)
4 Preceded By February Revolution (March 1917) that overthrew Tsar Nicholas II
5 Bolshevik Slogan "Peace, Land, and Bread"
6 Storming of Winter Palace Seat of the Provisional Government; fell with minimal casualties
7 Decree on Peace Immediate negotiations to exit World War I
8 Decree on Land Abolished private land ownership; land transferred to peasant committees
9 Outcome World's first communist (socialist) state established
10 Russian Civil War Followed 1918-1922; Bolsheviks (Reds) vs anti-Bolsheviks (Whites)

UPSC Exam Corner

Prelims: Key Facts

  • Date: 7 November 1917 (New Style) / 25 October (Old Style)
  • Leader: Vladimir Lenin
  • Party: Bolsheviks (majority faction of Russian Social Democratic Labour Party)
  • Overthrew: Provisional Government of Alexander Kerensky
  • First decrees: Peace and Land
  • Led to formation of: USSR (1922)

Mains: Probable Themes

  1. Analyse the causes that led from the February Revolution to the October Revolution in 1917
  2. "The October Revolution was as much a product of World War I as of Marxist ideology." -- Discuss
  3. Examine the global impact of the Bolshevik Revolution on anti-colonial movements in Asia and Africa
  4. Compare the October Revolution with the Chinese Revolution of 1949

Sources: October Revolution (Wikipedia) | Russian Revolution (Britannica) | October Revolution (Origins, Ohio State) | Russian Revolution (HISTORY)