At all times and periods of history, the main driving force behind revolutions was the student body and the proletariat. The first was driven by an inquiring mind, maximalism and a desire for change. The proletariat believed that the main reason for their troubles was the state, which oppresses the common people.
The meaning of the word "proletariat"
It is generally accepted that the proletarians are people who united and overthrew the tsar during the period of revolutionary events in Russia in 1917. It's true. However, the history of this word is older than most people think.
The word "proletariat" appeared during the time of the Great French Bourgeois Revolution. It was introduced by Simond de Sismondi. He noted that the proletarians are a group of people who do not have the necessary amount of means for a decent existence. They live one day and do not think at all about what will happen tomorrow.
Later in Western Europe they began to consider all people who belong to the working class and sell their labor power as proletarians.
Proletarians in Russia
The greatest scale of the movement of the proletarians was noted in Russia in the period 1917-1920. This was the period when Marxist-Leninist theory influenced the public consciousness and activity of people .
Karl Marx in his book The Principles of Communism noted that the proletarians are that social class of the population that lives off of the sale of their own labor and does not have capital that can be used.
Over time, small industrialists, artisans and merchants began to join the proletarians. It is believed that the class of the proletariat is precisely that class that is always opposed to the bourgeois. Karl Marx wrote that for the triumph of justice in the state, the working class must become a hegemon and establish a "dictatorship of the proletariat." The bourgeoisie were to be replaced by the proletarians. Their main goal is to build a communist society, first in Russia, and then throughout the world.
World Ambition
The revolutionary events of 1917-1918 ended successfully for the protesters. The monarchy was sent to the dustbin of history. The new leadership and people faced the task of building communism in the near future. Initially, it was planned to create a communist society in Russia itself, and then throughout the world. Leadership has set a minimum plan: to build communism around the world for ten years. Moreover, it was even planned to cancel the history, which was before 1917, and start the countdown again.
“Workers of all countries, unite!” - This is the slogan with which the Communist Party of the USSR sought to unite society within the country with one idea. It was planned that this slogan will become global. By the way, in his Manifesto, he was first used by Frederick Engels.
In 1920, at the Communist International, Lenin considered that the phrase needed to be changed. For all peoples, he said: "Workers of all countries and oppressed peoples, unite!" This slogan clearly shows that the leadership’s focus is not only on the internal affairs of the country, but also on the international arena.
Results for the proletarians
The revolutionary events showed that the proletarians are an active social class that fights for their rights through rallies and demonstrations. The most active movement in the history of the proletariat was in Russia. This is not strange if we turn to the definition of "proletarians" by Simond de Sismondi. The largest number of poor people who are employed are observed in Russia.
The proletarians overthrew the monarchy, but did not achieve their own improvement in life. Most of Lenin’s promises never came true. Unresolved land and production issues. The peasants did not receive the coveted plots, and the workers did not get better working conditions and reduced working hours.