NAME: OKOH OSEREME MICHELIA

MATRIC NO: 170903506

COURSE TITLE: POWER AND POLITICS

COURSE CODE: POL 326

LECTURER: DR. ONUOHA

ASSIGNMENT: A WRITE UP ON 4 REVOLUTIONS IN

HISTORY
 A revolution refers to a movement, often violent, to overthrow an old regime and effect
complete change in the fundamental institutions of society. According to Wertheim, a revolution is
aimed at the overthrow of an existing social order and of a prevalent social structure. The term has also
been defined by Nnoli as a social phenomenon involving fast moving fundamental changes in the social,
economic, cultural and production relations in the society which are associated with the coming into
position of dominance and anew ruling class. It is a radical change in socio-political relations. Lenin has
equally described it as a festival of the oppressed and exploited. In history there has been a whole lot of
revolutions that have taken place such as the American revolution ( 1765), the Russian revolution
(1917), French revolution ( 1789), Cuban revolution (1953), Iranian revolution(1979) and the list goes on
and on. However in this paper, we’d be summing up 4 of these revolutions;

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION (1917)

The Russian revolution was a period of social and political upheaval and it took place in two phases: the
February revolution referred to as so because the Russians followed the Julian calendar at the time (on
our calendar its March 8 not February 23); and the October revolution also known as the Bolshevik
revolution. The revolution was led by Vladimir Lenin and a group called the Bolsheviks. The system in
place in Russia at the time was that of serfdom. The working class people lived in harsh conditions and
worked with little pay and were fed just enough to live and work more. This was the main reason for the
revolution. They practiced a totalitarian system where the Tsar had all the power. In January 1905 a
major event which led to the revolution called The Bloody Sunday occurred where a large number of
people marched to the Tsar’s place to demonstrate for better working conditions. Roughly about 1000
people were killed& injured. The World War I began in 1914 between Russia and Germany. Untrained
and unequipped working class& peasant men were forced to join the army which led to the loss of a
whole lot of soldiers. Approximately 2million soldiers were killed and 5million injured. The Russians
blamed the Tsar for this loss. The revolution began in Feb 1917 when the workers began to strike and
riot. This didn’t go well with Nicolas II, the Tsar who then ordered the army to suppress the riot. The
army refused to open fire on the people and instead joined them to fight against the Tsar. The Tsar was
forced to step down thereby ending 300yrs of Romanov rule and a new government took over. The Feb
revolution was swift and bloodless. The government was the run by the Petrograd soviets and the
provisional government. The Bolsheviks which means majoritarian was led by V.I Lenin and he believed
the new Russian government should be a communist government. In October 1917, Lenin took full
control of the government in what is known as the Bolshevik/October revolution which made Russia the
first communist country in history.

THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION (1979)

The Iranian revolution resulted in the overthrow of the last monarch of Iran, Mohammed Reza Shah
Pahlavi. The Iranian revolution was a nationalist and Islamic revolution that replaced a totalitarian
monarch with religious democracy. The Shah’s regime was considered brutal, corrupt, oppressive and
extravagant which brought about inflation. Some causes of the revolution include the westernization
and secularizing efforts of the western-backed Shah, high expectations created by the 1973 oil revenue
windfall and an overly ambitious economic program. The Shah was perceived to be a puppet of the
western powers as the western culture was affecting that of Iran. Demonstrations against the Shah
intensified in 1973 and later on huge strikes begun. The Shah left on exile on Jan 16 1979 as the last
Persian monarch. Ayatollah Khomeini, who can be considered as one of the leaders of the revolution
was invited into the country. The royal reign collapsed shortly after on Feb 11 when guerrillas and rebel
troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in street fighting, bringing Khomeini to official power. Iran
became an Islamic republic based on vote by referendum on April 11 1979. Although this revolution
lacked many customary causes of a revolution, it was non-violent and helped redefine modern
revolutions.

CUBAN REVOLUTION (1953)

Fulgenico Batista was president from 1940-1944 and then ran for president again in 1952, but by the
look of things he knew he didn’t have a chance at winning, he then seized power violently which led ton
Castro’s plot to overthrow him. The Batista’s regime was a dictatorship. The Cuban revolution was led by
Fidel Castro’s 26th of July movement (the attack on the Moncada Barracks). During this attack, about 19
soldiers were killed, many captured and shot while the Castro brothers escaped but were later captured.
The Castro brothers and other captives were put on a public trial. Fidel, being a trained lawyer based his
argument on Batista’s dictatorship stating his attack on the Moncada Barracks to take up arms as his
civic duty. He made a very long speech that lasted for about 4 hours ending with the famous words
“condemn me, it does not matter. History will absolve m” although he was sentenced to 15yrs in prison,
he was released on an amnesty made by Fulgenbgf Batista in 1955 after which he moved to Mexico to
regroup and plan the next step in the revolution and returned to Cuba on the Granma Yacht in Dec
1956. On return, they were ambushed by Batista’s men but were able to escape into the central
highlands with a few survivors where they recruited more men and gathered weapons and staged
guerrilla attacks on military targets. Batista then sent a troop of army to the highlands but failed
woefully as they were killed, deserted or switched sides. Castro and his troop captured towns and
village’s meanwhile government officials were trying to negotiate with Castro, trying to salvage the
situation and halt the bloodshed. Batista, seeing Castro’s victory knew he had no hope, took all the loot
he could and fled.

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789)

The French revolution started with the people storming Bastille de Saint-Antoine, seizing its gun powder
and releasing a handful of prisoners held there on July 14 [Link] French revolution lasted for about
10yrs during which sociopolitical reforms took place. The French government went bankrupt following
the 7yrs war and the American revolutionary war. In an attempt to restore its financial status, the
government put in place regressive taxation schemes which affected the working class even more. Other
causes of the revolution identified by historians include economic mismanagement, environmental
factors leading to agricultural failure and political mismanagement by King Louis XVI as well as the Era of
Enlightenment. The revolution ushered huge changes in the sociopolitical structure of France as the
French monarchy was put to an end. New ideas such as liberty, freedom for commoners as well as
women rights were introduced and slavery abolished. These ideas have helped shape Europe’s modern-
day government even with the end of the revolution and rise of Napoleon.