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Mahender Singh Dhakad

Assistant Professor Department of history,

Rajdhani College Raja Garden New Delhi 110015.

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The Impact of Russian revolution:

The Russian Revolution of 1917 is arguably the most important event in the political
history of the twentieth century. A contemporary observer of the Revolution, the
American journalist John Reed, entitled his famous account of those events Ten Days
That Shook the World, and the tremors and reverberations of the upheaval still continue
to be registered today. Even after 96 years, shock-waves emanating from Russia in 1917
still have a direct or indirect impact on a whole range of political, economic, ideological,
diplomatic, and military problems throughout the world. An appreciation of the causes,
course and consequences of the Russian Revolution is not, therefore, merely a matter of
historical interest, but something which is crucial to a proper and informed understanding
of the political world in which we live, and in which the former Soviet Union – a state
and society born of that Revolution – has played such a crucial role.

The overthrow of autocracy and the destruction of the aristocracy and the power
of the church were the first achievements of the Russian Revolution. Immediately
after the revolution, Congress established a new revolutionary government, consisting
entirely of Bolsheviks with Lenin as chairman – the Soviet of People’s Commissars
(Sovnarkom). The first Soviet government had been born. The new regime was keen to
show that it represented a radically new and different order. All institutions and customs
associated with the autocracy were to be abolished. All ranks, titles and decorations were
to be done away with. Army commanders as well as judges were to be elected. All
agencies of local government were set aside and replaced by a hierarchy of Soviets. In
the space of only eight months the Russian Empire, ruled by an absolute monarchy, had
been dramatically transformed into a revolutionary republic headed by a government of
Marxists dedicated to the establishment of international socialism. The Czarist empire
was transformed into a new state called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R)
for short Soviet Union in December 1922.
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The Soviet government issued a whole series of economic, political, administrative and
cultural decrees in the immediate aftermath of the revolution. First, the congress
unanimously approved two crucial resolutions, the Decree on Peace and the Decree on
Land, the former calling for an immediate armistice and a negotiated peace settlement,
the second more or less rubber-stamping the process of land-redistribution which the
peasants had in any case already accomplished by their own efforts. The Bolsheviks had
thereby redeemed – on paper at least – the two major promises on which they had
campaigned and which had clinched their mass support.

Later, the Russian banks were all nationalized and private bank accounts were
confiscated. Payment of interests and dividends were prohibited. Safe deposit boxes were
opened and all valuables confiscated, since they were now considered national property.
The Church's properties (including bank accounts) were seized. In January 1918, it was
announced that all state foreign and domestic loans would be annulled. This caused the
new regime to become extremely unpopular, especially in the eyes of those countries
which had loaned large sums for Russian's industrialization.

Control of the factories was given to the soviets. Wages were fixed at higher rates than
during the war and a shorter, eight-hour working day was introduced. For the first time in
the world, workers' control of industrial enterprises became legal.

The policies of the new state were to be directed to the realization of the old socialist
ideal, ‘from each according to his capacity, to each according to his work’. Private
property in the means of production was abolished and the motive of private profit
eliminated from the system of production. Work became an essential requirement for
every person there was no unearned income to live on. The right to work became a
constitutional right and it became the duty of the state to provide employment to every
individual. Each one was paid according to his work. The gap between the salary of a
worker and manager was not much, or between a worker and artist or teacher.
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The nationalised property relations that emerged from the revolution, the foundations of
an entirely new social system, entered into direct conflict with the capitalist form of
society. Despite the emergence of Stalinism, this fundamental antagonism existed right
up until the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Economic planning by the state was adopted to build a technologically advanced

economy at a fast rate and to eliminate glaring inequalities in society. Despite the
immense problems and obstacles, the planned economy revolutionised the productive
forces in the USSR and laid the basis for a modern economy. The prewar period saw the
build up of heavy industry through a series of Five-Year Plans and laid the foundations
for the advances of the postwar years.

Suffice to say that, despite the bureaucratic stranglehold of Stalinism, the successes of the
planned economy were demonstrated, not on the pages of Capital, but in an industrial
arena comprising a sixth part of the earth's surface, not in the language of dialectics, but
in the language of steel, cement and electricity.

The Soviet State also guaranteed certain social benefits to all citizens, such as free
medical care, free and equal education for all, an unemployment allowance, equal access
to culture and cultural advancement. These were infact rights of the people,
guaranteed by the constitution.
Not all of this was immediately available to the Soviet people, as production and
infrastructure for these provisions were being simultaneously created. But it is important
that the state took responsibility for the individual's good life, provided he worked
according to his ability.
Equality for women was not only guaranteed by the constitution but material basis
for this equality were created in order to implement it. There was provision for six
months maternity leave, creches at places of work, public canteens at places of work
where food was cheap and subsidised etc. All this was aimed at making possible fullest
participation by women in public life. All this had a great impact on capitalist societies.
To meet the challenge of the socialist society, they were also forced to grant certain
welfare measure. In fact the concept of a welfare state in the west was a direct
response to the Russian Revolution and the benefits that it granted to its people.
Otherwise, the working people of the west would have immediately recognised the
superiority of a socialist society.

The separation of religion from politics and state was another important measure of the
revolution. Religion was to be a purely private affair. No religions education was to be
given in schools, no public utility to be made of religion. Religion itself was not
abolished, religious people were not persecuted, as is generally believed.
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The equality of all the nationalities in the U S S.R. was recognized in the constitution
framed in 1924 and later in 1936. The constitution gave the republics formed by the
nationalities autonomy to develop their languages and cultures. These developments were
particularly significant for the Asian republics of U S.S R which were much more
backward than the European part.
Within a few years of the revolution, the Soviet Union emerged as a major power
in the world. The social and economic systems that began to be built there was
hailed by many as the beginning of a new civilization while others called it an evil
system After about 70 years of the revolution, the system collapsed and in 1991
the Soviet Union ceased to exist as a state.
In its impact on the world, the Russian Revolution had few parallels in history. The ideas
of socialism which the socialist movement had been advocating and which the Russian
Revolution espoused were intended for universal application. The Russian Revolution
was the first successful revolution in history which proclaimed the building of a socialist
society as its objective. It had led to the creation of a new state over a vast area of the
globe. It was, therefore, bound to have repercussions for the rest of the world.
The subsequent surge of confidence amongst all left-minded groups in Europe and in
other parts of the world caused great alarm to entrenched political systems based on
exploitation and maximization of profit. A revolutionary wave swept Europe in 1918 and
1919, with German revolutionary sailors carrying the banner of the Soviets through the
country. Spanish revolutionaries experienced a new burst of energy, a short lived socialist
republic was proclaimed in Bavaria in 1918 and another one in Hungary in March 1919.
Other parts of the world were also in ferment. "Soviets" were formed by tobacco workers
in Cuba, revolutionary student movements erupted in Argentina and in China. In Mexico,
the revolutionary forces under Emiliano Zapata now drew inspiration from revolutionary
Russia and in India too, M.N.Roy and later many others were greatly influenced by
communism. Jawaharlal Nehru has explained, in his Autobiography, what Russia meant
to people like him:
Russia, following the great Lenin, looked into the future and thought only of what was to
be, while other countries lay numbed under the dead hand of the past and spent their
energy in preserving the useless relics of a bygone age.
Soon after the revolution, the Communist International (also known as the Third
International or Comintern) was formed for promoting revolutions on an international
scale. The leftwing sections in many socialist parties now formed themselves into
communist parties and they affiliated themselves to the Comintern. Communist parties
were also formed in other countries, often with the active involvement and support of the
Comintern. Thus the international communist movement arose under one organization
which decided on policies to be followed by all communist parties The Soviet Union was
considered the leader of the world communist movement by the communist parties in
various countries and the Communist Party of Soviet Union played a leading role in
determining the policies of the Comintern. It is generally agreed that Comintern was
often used by the Soviet Union as an instrument for pursuing its own objectives
However, the formation of communist parties in many countries of the world with the
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objective of bringing about revolution and following common policies was a major
consequence of the Russian Revolution.
With the formation of the Comintern, the socialist movement was divided into two
sections — socialist and communist. There were many differences between
them on the methods of bringing about socialism and about the concept of
socialism itself. Despite these differences, socialism became one of the most
widely held ideologies within a few decades after its emergence. The spread of
the influence of socialist ideas and movements after the First World War was in
no small measure due to the success of the Russian Revolution.
The growing popularity of socialism and many achievements made by the Soviet
Union led to a redefinition of democracy. Most people who did not believe in
socialism also began to recognize that for democracy to be real, political rights
without social and economic rights were not enough. Economic and social affairs
could not be left to the capitalists. The idea of the state playing an active role in
regulating the economy and planning the economy to improve the conditions of
the people was accepted. The biblical idea, revived by the socialist movement
and the Russian Revolution, ‘He that does not work neither shall he eat’, gained
widespread acceptance, adding anew dignity to labour. The popularity of
socialism also helped to mitigate discriminations based on race, colour and sex.
The spread of socialist ideas also helped nip promoting internationalism. The
nations, at least in theory, began to accept the idea that their relations with other
nations should go farther than merely promoting their narrow self-interests. Many
problems which were considered national began to be looked upon as concerns
of the world as a whole. The universality and internationalism which were
fundamental principles of socialist ideology from the beginning were totally
opposed to imperialism. The Russian Revolution served to hasten the end of
imperialism. According to Marx, a nation which enslaves another nation can
never be free. Socialists all over the world organized campaigns for putting an
end to imperialism.
The new Soviet state came to be looked upon as a friend of the peoples of the colonies
struggling for national independence. Russia after the Revolution was the first country in
Europe to openly support the cause of independence of all nations from foreign rule.
Immediately after the Revolution, the Soviet government had annulled the unequal
treaties which the Czar had imposed on China. It also gave assistance of various kinds to
Sun Yat Sen in his struggle for the unification of China. The Russian Revolution also
influenced the movements for independence in so far as the latter gradually broadened
the objectives of independence to include social and economic equality through planned
economic development.

After the success of the Russian Revolution it began to be increasingly realised by the
Indian leaders that nothing could be gained either by constitutional method or through the
politics of the bomb. What was most necessary and decisive was the intervention of the
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masses in political struggle. The 1920's thus saw the formation of Workers' and Peasants'
Parties, the All India Trade Union Congress, and increasing workers and peasants
struggles.
The Non-Co-operation Movement was a direct result of this understanding and
organisation.
The Russian Revolution also led to the propagation and spread of socialist ideas in
India.
The first Indian Communists were, infact, trained in Soviet Russia. In India too, many
congressmen under the influence of Marxism and as a result of the participation in
people's struggles broke away from the Congress and laid the foundations of the
Communist Movement in India. Two major figures were A.K.Gopalan and E.M.S.
Namboodiripad. The growth of the Communist Movement lent an altogether new
dimension to the Indian National Movement. Class struggle i.e. workers struggle against
the Indian capitalist class hence forth became an inherent part of the Indian struggle for
freedom.
As a result of the growth of the left, the national movement as a whole was also
radicalised.
Within the Indian National Congress itself there emerged a Congress Socialist group.
Jawaharlal Nehru particularly was deeply influenced by Soviet Russia, particularly by its
anti-imperialist thrust. 'Socialism' became a pervasive term in the political vocabulary of
the Indian leaders during this time. The 30's saw the Indian National Movement reach a
level where bourgeois hegemony of the national movement was seriously challenged by
the left.
Left oriented students and writers organisations were also formed.
The Indian National Movement became a part of the world wide struggle against
Imperialism led by the Soviet Union, and it began also to be recognised as such by Indian
leaders. Without the success of the Russian Revolution which weakened Imperialism at
the world level, the Indian people' fight against British Imperialism would have been
much more difficult. It is not a coincidence that it was with the defeat of Fascism and the
capitalist crisis after World War II that a process of decolonisation was precipitated.
Indian Independence, along with the Chinese Revolution and the formation of the
peoples' democracies in Europe, was won in the context of an uncompromising fight by
the Soviet Union against Imperialism.
In India the R.I.N. Mutiny, the Tebhaga and the Telengana Movements (1946-48) played
a major role in the history of political independence by India. These were led by the
Indian Communists, who saw themselves as part of the world communist movement led
by the Communist International. The Indian Communist Party outlined its strategy and
tactics on the basis of an analysis of the Indian situation and the correlation of class
forces in India, but in this it was guided by the experience of the successful revolutionary
movement against the Russian Autocracy. Russia having been an economically
backward country, just as India is, the experience of the Russian Revolution was
particularly relevant to India. It is from the Russian experience, and its applicability to
the specific Indian conditions, that the Indian Communist Party saw the Indian peoples
struggle as a struggle of a two-stage revolution.
The British, on their part, saw in every struggle of the masses in India a "Bolshevik
conspiracy" and the work of communists. Within a few months of the Russian
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Revolution they were forced to issue a declaration known as the Montagu Declaration, in
which they promised the gradual development of institutions of self-government. They
were totally unnerved by the response that the Bolshevik Decree on Peace evoked among
the nations struggling for independence.
In 1921 when Kisan Sabhas were established all over U.P., the Times Correspondent
reported that 'Kisan Soviet' have been established in India. Most of the time the
Communists were forced to work underground and were subjected to extreme repression.
The Meerut Conspiracy case trial was one example. Through this they sought to do away
with what they called the 'Bolshevik menace',. Thus, the positive and electrifying effect
of the Russian Revolution in India, as well as the radicalisation of the Indian National
Movement which followed, was accompanied by an impact also on the British policy in
India. The British became increasingly repressive toward any nationalist upsurge. At the
same time they sought to win over the reactionary sections of the Indian society to their
side.
Finding themselves inadequate to deal with the 'Bolshevik Menace' on their own they
tried to present the Indian Communists as 'anti-national' in order to render them isolated
from the main stream of the nationalist struggle. The Russian Revolution had
contributed to the growth of a strong anti-imperialist perspective, and during the freedom
movement the Indian nationalist leadership was very clearly and definitely on the side of
the democratic struggles of the world.
Most important of all the success of the Russian Revolution and the achievements of the
soviet people, brought forth new questions in many developing countries-including
India--questions such as what kind of development? development for whom ?
It projected in concrete reality the idea that any development must have as its criteria the
well being and interests of the vast majority of people. It must answer in some form the
aspirations of the people.
By building a qualitatively different society, it brought to the forefront the necessity of
revolution and socialism as an answer to the problems of development and social justice.
Nehru Writes in his autobiography, “It made me think of politics much more in terms
of social change.”
Yet, there were certain negative aspects too. There was a strong authoritarian streak in
Bolshevism which carried over into Communist Russia as well. The spirit of democracy
was often compromised with and individual Communist Parties which were set up in
different countries were too closely tied to the apron strings of the Comintern (The
Communist International, set up by Soviet Russia in 1919 to promote the world
revolution) for them to grow in a healthy, organic fashion. Within Russia too, especially
in the Stalinist years, terror and dictatorial methods became the order of the day and a
bureaucratic machine replaced the Soviets which had caught the imagination of the
world. Though Stalin's Russia heroically defended itself against the onslaught of Hitler
and was responsible for beating back the forces of Fascism to a significant extent, in the
years that followed the regime turned inwards, drawing an iron curtain across Europe and
cutting itself off from the outside world. Anti-cosmopolitanism and xenophobia came to
replace the internationalism of the early years and that was the great irony. It negated the
very spirit of the Russian Revolution, which had an ingrained internationalism, which had
discarded old divisions of nationality as obsolete and whose vanguard, the Bolshevik, had
once proudly regarded himself as a citizen of the world.
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