The Russian Revolution (1917) occurred only a year before the end of World War II as the The Chinese Revolution (1949) occurred just a few years after the end of World War II. Although different in their strategies, the war had a similar effect on both countries. Poor, oppressed peasants and wealthy landlord classes had already suffered increased tension, and the wars just helped to spark these revolutions. The leaders of the revolutions, Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong, were able to blame their failing performances in each war on the political structures they wanted to overthrow, strengthening their campaigns further. Another similarity is that both revolutions were led by communist leaders. The reason for this similarity is because both countries wanted more power, and the more political influence a nation has, the more powerful the nation becomes.
Did the Russian Revolution achieve its goals?
Over all the Russian Revolution did achieve its goals. Stalin was over thrown and the provisional government took control of the Soviet Union.
October Revolution: October 1917: Soldiers of the Keksgolm regiment marching with banners in Petrograd (St Petersburg) during the Russian Revolution. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
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In October of 1917 the Bolshevik Revolution overturned the temporary provisional government and established the Soviet Union.
Horror crept into my heart. The thought flashed through my mind, ‘And this is the work of our Little Father, the Tsar.’ Perhaps this anger saved me, for now I knew in very truth that a new chapter was opened in the book of the history of our people. I stood up, and a little group of workmen gathered round me again. Looking backward, I saw that our line, though still stretching away into the distance, was broken and that many of the people were fleeing. It was in vain that I called to them, and in a moment I stood there, the centre of a few scores of men, trembling with indignation amid the broken ruins of our movement.
- Gapon, Father, The Story of My Life, 1905.
What were the similarities between the Russian and Chinese revolutions?
Both Mao Zedong and Vladimir Lenin were communist leaders that followed the Karl Max theory. Each of the revolutions started with a poor lower class that became revolutionaries because of their irritation with ineffective governments and unequal social structures.
Red Guards Firing Red Guards firing from an armoured vehicle in Moscow, during the Russian Revolution. Original Artwork: Russian Album (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Political Portraits circa 1949: Large scale portraits which were put up on the occasion of the Third Parliament of the Free German Youth at Leipzig, in the Soviet Zone, East Germany. Depicted are, amongst others, the former American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the former Labour Party deputy Zilliac, Max Reimann, Mao Tse-tung, Lenin, Stalin, Wilhelm Pieck and Grotewohl. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Mao Speaks Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong (1893 - 1976), better known as Mao Tse-tung, addresses a meeting calling for even greater efforts against the Japanese, at the Kangdah (Anti-Japanese) Cave University. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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On October 1, 1949, Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).