Answer:
The year 1917 brought two major changes in World War I. First, in its continuing effort to prevent all countries’ ships from transporting food and supplies to Britain, the German navy’s submarines sank several American ships. In response, President Woodrow Wilson asked for a declaration of war against Germany and the Central powers in April. The declaration brought a powerful new army into the war on the side of the Allied powers. The second change was occurring as Congress voted to approve the American president’s request: a revolution had begun to take place in Russia.
A communist agitator speaks to Russian peasants.
Standing with a portrait of Vladimir Lenin, a communist agitator advocates for the Bolshevik program to Russian peasants sometime between 1918 and 1924.
The monarchy of the Russian tsar had been vulnerable since a revolution against its autocratic power had been attempted and brutally put down in 1905. By 1917, participation in World War I had resulted in disaster for the tsar’s armies and government. The nation’s casualties were much higher than those of any other country, and its economy was in shambles. On March 8, another revolution began when food shortages prompted hundreds of women to riot in the streets of St. Petersburg, the empire’s capital. In the days that followed, the violence spread to other cities and towns. Disheartened soldiers increasingly joined the revolt. In less than two weeks, Tsar Nicholas II had to give up his throne at the urging of the Duma, Russia’s parliament. Members of the Duma then set up a provisional, or temporary, government that shared power with councils of soldiers and workers, called “soviets.”
German authorities saw the upheaval in Russia as a chance to end the war in the east. They knew that Russian Communists known as Bolsheviks had long opposed the war and were eager to make peace. But the tsar had exiled their leaders, including Vladimir Lenin, years earlier. Hopeful that their return would undermine the Russian war effort, the Germans allowed Lenin and other Bolsheviks to return to Russia from exile in Switzerland.
Soon after his arrival in Russia, Lenin called for the overthrow of the provisional government by the soviets. But there was little response to his demand; most people were willing to give the new government a chance. As a result, Lenin was once again forced into exile. Within a few months, however, starving Russians weary of war had become impatient with the slow pace of change under the provisional government. Lenin’s calls for “peace, land [for farm laborers and workers], and bread” now attracted more followers. By October, he was back in Russia, and by November 7, his Bolshevik-led army, the Red Guard, had forced out the provisional government and proclaimed government by the soviets.