The Bolsheviks came to power through a mostly bloodless coup.

For centuries, Russia had been ruled by a Royal Family, the Romanovs. The people had essentially no influence on how the country was run until 1905, when an elected state council was created (the Duma), but even then, their influence was extremely minimal.

Tsar Nicholas II was a terrible Tsar. He ruled entirely through oppression, and strongly believed that giving any power to the public would be disastrous. He removed any ministers he felt were 'too competent', as he feared they would become too powerful, surrounding himself with reactionary ministers (ministers who favoured oppression over social change), and was easily swayed by the bad advice they gave him. He was completely and totally out of touch with the people, and was very unpopular (although he truly believed the people loved him).

When Nicholas II came to power, Marxist ideas were gaining in popularity. In 1898, the Social Democratic Party, a collection of smaller Marxist parties, held its first congress. In 1903, a split began in the party between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks, who wanted the same outcome (a Communist Russia) but believed in two different ways to bring it about. Bolshevik meant majority and Menshevik meant minority, although the reverse was actually true - there were more Mensheviks than Bolsheviks. By 1906, the split between the two factions had hardened to such a degree that there were effectively two Social Democratic parties.

The First World War brought everything to a head. One of the reasons Nicholas took Russia to war was because he wanted something to deflect the public's attention from social unrest at home. However, apart from the first few months, the Russian war effort went extremely badly, and this only increased unrest. Furthermore, there were huge logistical problems with the war - for example, there was a massive shortage of grain in the urban towns, whose populations had swelled due to the need for workers for essential war industries.

In February 1917, many soldiers mutinied and a general strike took place in Petrograd (the capital of Russia at the time). Nicholas II was forced to abdicate on the 27th of February, as he had lost the support of the military. A Provisional Government was formed from members of the Duma. At the same time, the Petrograd Soviet (a workers' council) was created from a former 'Central Workers Group'. This was a Menshevik group which was run by representatives of factories and soldiers. Because of its control over factories, essential workers, and the military, the Soviet was very influential. They initially supported the Provisional Government.

Although this February Revolution overthrew the Tsar, because Russia was in such a difficult position, many of the problems remained. The Provisional Government didn't put an end to the war, and they suffered from many internal difficulties amongst the politicians themselves. The Provisional Government also feared too much change, and sided with the middle class against the working class, and so were disinclined to address too many working class grievances. However, much of the public expected change to happen instantly, so people were left very disappointed in the new government.

In July 1917, when it looked as though Kornilov (the Commander-in-Chief of the army) was about to attempt a coup, Kerensky (the head of the Provisional Government), asked the Petrograd Soviet for support, supplying them with arms.

Kornilov and his band of followers were all arrested by the 1st of September, but the whole debacle seriously discredited both Kerensky and the Mensheviks (who had stood by and allowed Kerensky to appoint Kornilov as Commander-in-Chief of the army). Army officers felt Kornilov had been betrayed, and the rank and file were furious that Kornilov had been appointed in the first place. However, this was a huge popularity boost for the Bolsheviks, who had opposed Kornilov consistently.

In the following weeks, the Bolsheviks experienced a huge upsurge in popularity. Leon Trotsky, a Bolshevik, was elected Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet. Vladimir Lenin, one of the leading Bolsheviks who had been in exile for many years, finally returned to Russia on the 7th of October in secret. He urged the Bolsheviks to seize power.

On the night of the 24th of October 1917, the Bolsheviks seized key positions around Petrograd, mostly without any resistance. They demanded the surrender of the Provisional Government at 7 pm, and at 10 pm they stormed the Winter Palace (the government headquarters), where the ministers, and most of the soldiers, gave in without a fight.

On the 26th of October, at the second 'All Russian Congress of Soviets', it was announced that the Petrograd Soviet had seized power in their name and a governing committee was to be set up, headed by Lenin. A list of proposed ministers for the new government was read out, all of them Bolsheviks.

Although many of the delegates were Socialists, they were not Bolsheviks, and they disagreed with the decisions being made. In response, they left the congress. As mostly Bolsheviks remained, Lenin was able to claim majority support for his new government.

On the 24th of October, Kerensky had fled Petrograd to find troops loyal to the Provisional Government. He set up his headquarters at Gatchina, not far from Petrograd, and his troops began fighting for Moscow against Bolshevik forces.

However, Kerensky's troops were repulsed at the outskirts of Petrograd by a contingent of soldiers and workers on the 30th of October, and after ten days of fighting in Moscow, the city was held by the Bolsheviks on the 2nd of November. The Bolshevik Revolution was secure, although another four years of civil war would take place before the Communists would have full control of Russia.

N.B. All dates are those of the Julian Calendar, which was in use in Russia at the time. The Gregorian calendar, used today, is about thirteen days ahead.

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