As many theorists of the revolutionary movement emphasized in their writings, and first of all V.I. Lenin, the revolutionary situation is the situation in the country that maximally contributes to the beginning of the revolution. It has its own characteristic features, the most striking of which are mass revolutionary sentiments and the inclusion of the broadest strata of the oppressed classes in the struggle aimed at overthrowing the existing system. The very existence of a revolutionary situation can be considered as the emergence of socio-political conditions for the seizure of power by the advanced class.
The main prerequisites for the emergence of a revolutionary situation
According to Lenin, a revolutionary situation can take shape in view of a number of factors. One of them is the so-called "crisis of the top." It should be understood as an environment in which the ruling classes are deprived of the opportunity to maintain their dominant position in its original form.
As a result, their policies become unable to restrain all the growing indignation and discontent of the oppressed masses. V. I. Lenin, in his writings, described the state of society in which the "tops" cannot live as before, as an indispensable condition for the emergence of a revolutionary situation in the country.
But besides this, he also notes the need for preparedness for the revolution and its main driving force - the lower layers of society, which make up the majority of the population and are traditionally the object of exploitation. Such readiness, as a rule, is the result of a number of negative consequences caused by a sharp drop in the standard of living of the population.
In addition to economic reasons, the creation of an environment in which the “lower classes” do not want to tolerate the established order further contributes to the strengthening of social powerlessness, general deprivation of the masses and aggravation of antagonism (social contradictions) that are the result of this political system. The validity of such a statement shows all historical experience. Based on it, Lenin’s books were written containing materials that later served as a guide in the political struggle of the proletariat.
An important role is also played by such factors as the onset of reactionary forces, the war or the threat of its outbreak, the instability of domestic life in its various manifestations, etc. As a result, the political activity of the masses often increases to such an extent that it only takes to start active revolutionary actions powerful enough detonator.
Another step towards revolution
As the revolutionary theory, developed by a galaxy of leading thinkers of the 19th and 20th centuries, emphasizes, one of the deepest foundations of the emergence of a revolutionary situation lies in the conflict between productive forces and production relations. Due to the importance of this circumstance, we should dwell on it in more detail.
By productive forces it is customary to understand the totality of the means of production: equipment, tools, production facilities or land plots and that labor force, thanks to the skill, skills and knowledge of which the final product is produced. In parallel with the general course of historical progress, productive forces are developing, going from the most primitive forms to modern varieties of high-tech production.
Since production was most often carried out collectively at all stages of the development of society, certain relations inevitably developed between the people employed in it, determined primarily by ownership of the means of production. It is quite obvious that production relations and productive forces are not only in close connection with each other, but are also interdependent.
As society develops, previously established production relations become obsolete and act as a brake on production forces. If in the process of history they are naturally replaced by new ones, then the conflict is resolved peacefully. Otherwise, the crisis may provoke an exacerbation of social tension. And as a result, a revolutionary situation arises.
What can serve as an impetus for the development of a revolutionary situation?
Many works of Lenin and other prominent theoreticians of the revolutionary movement contain indications that the emergence of a situation in which society becomes ready for a radical change in the existing system depends on a whole range of social and political conditions. These include, first of all, the general state of the state apparatus, the strength of the positions taken by the ruling class, and, very importantly, the level of development of the working class, the degree of its merging with other sectors of society and the presence (or absence) of experience in the revolutionary struggle. When the aggravations in the social and political life of the country reach a critical level, a situation called revolutionary is created in it.
Many of Lenin's works are devoted to questions of its development. In them, he points out, in particular, that such a situation may differ in growing dynamism and in its development undergoes a number of certain stages. The process begins, as a rule, with mass fermentation, observed in all sectors of society, and gradually increasing, it leads to a national crisis, followed by a social explosion followed by a change in the social system.
The importance of the subjective factor in the preparation of the revolution
As the signs of a revolutionary situation become more apparent in the country, the role of the subjective factor increases, that is, the readiness of the revolutionary masses to carry out the necessary social transformations leading to the overthrow of the exploiting class. Especially its role grows at the stage when social tension reaches the level of a national crisis, since it does not always end with a revolution.
An example of this is the situation prevailing in Russia in 1859–1861, as well as in Germany in 1923. In none of these cases did it lead to revolution merely because the progressive class was not ready for vigorous action aimed at seizing power.
In both the first and the second cases, the spontaneously created revolutionary situation, without meeting the necessary support, gradually began to decline, and the energy of the masses began to fade. At the same time, the ruling classes, having sought the opportunity to hold power in their hands, made every effort to consolidate their position. As a result, the revolutionary upsurge gave way to the reaction zone.
Accurately identifying and formulating the signs of a revolutionary situation is extremely important, since it generally affects the strategy and tactics of the struggle aimed at overthrowing the rule of the exploiting class. As historical experience testifies, attempts at a revolutionary transformation of society, undertaken in the absence of objective prerequisites, end in defeat and entail unnecessary sacrifices.
The crisis in Russia in the last quarter of the XIX century
It is convenient to trace how a revolutionary situation can take shape and develop on the example of its occurrence in Russia in the late 70s and early 80s of the 19th century. That period of Russian history is characterized by a combination of the development of the workers 'and peasants' movement with the struggle of raznochintsy, mainly the intelligentsia, which formed circles of the so-called populists.
Their activities were carried out against the backdrop of a number of negative consequences of the abolition of serfdom. Among them, one can note the exorbitant prices for the redemption by the peasants of landlord lands, an increase in the volume of duties and other enslaving measures that led to the ruin of the most numerous class in the country — farmers.
The situation was exacerbated by the famine that arose in a number of provinces due to the crop failure of 1879–1880, as well as the consequences of the recently ended regular Russian-Turkish war. In the current situation, rumors about allegedly being prepared soon redistribution of land were widespread. All this led to the appearance of obvious signs of possible spontaneous demonstrations by the peasants. The government was extremely afraid of this outcome of events, and at the same time, the Narodnik revolutionaries sought it.
At the same time, a no less threatening picture developed in most cities. The consequences of the economic crisis that swept Russia in the mid-70s led to massive unemployment, and, as a result, a sharp deterioration in the financial situation of most representatives of the working class.
The revolutionary struggle as a consequence of social problems
This resulted in an aggravation of social struggle. It is known that at the end of 1878 and at the beginning of 1879, 89 strikes and 24 other cases of social protests were registered in St. Petersburg, most of which were the result of the activities of an underground socialist organization called the Northern Union of Russian Workers. In 1891, the first May Day of the revolutionary proletariat took place in Moscow. Subsequently, these illegal meetings held outside the city on May 1 became a tradition and became a form of political activity of the masses.
The revolutionary situation in Russia at the end of the 1870s was particularly acute due to the activities of the Narodniks, which were already mentioned above. If earlier many members of this organization held the positions of apolitism, suggesting the improvement of the social system only by educating the backward and almost completely illiterate rural population, then during this period their views changed dramatically.
The result was the subsequent split soon of the All-Russian organization "Earth and Freedom" into two wings - the organization "Narodnaya Volya" and "Black Redistribution". Henceforth, the Narodnaya Volya chose political terror as the method of their struggle. Very soon, Russia was stirred up and received a wide public outcry by a number of their actions.
The story includes the assassination attempt of Vera Zasulich against the Petersburg mayor F.F. Trepov, committed in 1878, the murder of the chief of one of the gendarme administrations N.V. Mezentsov, as well as a number of cases of armed resistance to the authorities, which entailed victims as with one on the other hand. The culmination of everything was the next assassination attempt on Alexander II in April 1879, and then his assassination, committed on March 1, 1881.
The end of the next period of revolutionary struggle
In parallel with this, from the spring of 1878, the crisis that engulfed the ruling classes was sharply marked, in particular, in response to Alexander II’s appeal to society asking for assistance in the fight against all the more frequent manifestations of revolutionary sentiments, many Zemstvos criticized his policies.
Not finding support from the population, the king tried to normalize the situation by taking emergency measures. He transferred cases related to political terrorism to the jurisdiction of field courts, and also entrusted local government to governor generals, which immediately led to the decentralization of state power.
However, the arrests that followed the assassination of Alexander II undermined the forces of the people's freedom, and the lack of support from the broad masses of the population did not allow them to take advantage of the revolutionary situation to overthrow the existing system. In this case, the fatal role was played by their inability to raise the people to the struggle, using all the prerequisites available for that. In other words, the same subjective factor, which was discussed above, summed up.
Russia on the eve of the revolution
The events that preceded the February Revolution (1917 ) and the subsequent seizure of power by the Bolsheviks were completely different. To understand the regularity of the events that have taken place, one should take into account the situation in which they occurred and evaluate the actions of their direct participants.
In anticipation of the events leading to the overthrow of tsarism, the revolutionary situation in Russia has developed as a result of a number of objective factors. First of all, the contradictions that caused the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907 were not resolved. In particular, this concerns the land issue, which remained among the most pressing problems, despite the government’s attempts to solve it by implementing the agrarian reform of P. A. Stolypin.
In addition, one of the detonators of subsequent events was hyperinflation, caused by the extremely unsuccessful course of the First World War and the fact that its actions began to unfold in Russia, affecting many of the most fertile areas. This caused disruptions in food supply in large cities, and in villages led to starvation.
War as a detonator of revolution
The role of the First World War in the dynamics of increasing social tension and creating a revolutionary situation is very great. Suffice it to say that the number of Russians killed in it amounted to 3 million people, of which almost 1 million are civilians.
The general mobilization negatively affected the mood of the masses, as a result of which 15 million people, mainly rural residents, were forced to shed blood for interests alien to them. But the general reluctance to fight was skillfully used by propagandists who were sent to military units by political forces fighting for leadership: the Bolsheviks, the Cadets, the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (Socialist Revolutionaries), etc.
During the First World War, there was a noticeable decline in industrial production, which resulted in the dismissal of a significant number of workers and subsequent unemployment. All of the above circumstances led to the situation in the country under which the "lower classes", who made up the majority of its population, did not want to live in the old way. This was one of the reasons for the emergence of a revolutionary situation.
Between two revolutions
At the same time, the “tops” demanded changes, the need for which was due to the weakness of the tsarist government politically and economically. The previous methods of governing the country were clearly obsolete and no longer provided the possibility of holding power by the big bourgeoisie. Thus, there was also the second component of the emergence of a revolutionary situation in the country - the "tops" could not live in the old way.
Lenin's books, widely published in the Soviet period, are full of materials proving the irreversibility of the revolutionary process that began in the country. And indeed, day by day it developed with ever-increasing strength, which resulted in the fall of the monarchy.
According to contemporaries, all of 1917, Russia was a "boiling political cauldron." The reason for this was that the February Revolution did not solve the main social and political problems that generated it. The Provisional Government that came to power from the first days showed its weakness and complete inability to influence the processes taking place in the life of the country.
Not far left was the party of socialist revolutionaries, the largest political organization of Russia at that time, with more than a million members. Despite the fact that its representatives held key posts in many government agencies, she was also unable to offer a way out of the crisis and as a result missed political leadership.
Party taking advantage of the revolutionary situation
As a result, the revolutionary situation that remained in the country promptly took advantage of the Bolsheviks. Their Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party, having managed to win over a significant part of the Petrograd garrison and Kronstadt sailors, seized power in October for many years, becoming the head of state.
Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to believe that during the years of their rule in the country, situations close to revolutionary were not created. If in the 30s the new authorities were able to almost completely suppress all manifestations of social discontent, then the previous decade was marked by repeated protests by both workers and peasants, dissatisfied with many sides of the government’s internal policy.
Violent collectivization, impoverishment of the population, as well as repressive measures against entire sections of society have repeatedly become the cause of increased social tension, fraught with explosion. However, using a wide range of measures, ranging from ideological influence to the use of military force, the Communists each time managed to take control of the situation.