French Revolution vs. Russian Revolution

The French and Russian revolutions both had a common goal, obviously, and also very influential leaders, but the way they happened and the end result were different. A leader is the cornerstone of any revolution, and both France and Russia had very powerful ones. Robespierre and Napoleon for France and Vladmir Lenin for Russia. They commanded the respect of their people, and in Robespierre's case sent people to get killed at the guillotine. Both revolutions were trying to overthrow the government and did succeed for a while, but France did not succeed in the end as the third estate really did not gain much power. In the French revolution, they were trying to implement more values from the enlightenment, while in the Russian revolution, they were trying to just get rid of the old imperial government because it was so unstable in the country.

French Rev. vs. Russian Rev.

Although both the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution shared some of the same characteristics, it is not true to say that the Russians modeled their revolution after the French. Firstly, the reasons for the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution were very different. The French Revolution happened after years of inequality and a monopolizing government. This build-up is what caused the Third Estate to rebel. On the other hand, the Russians revolted mainly because of the Great War. When it came to economics, the war had left the peasants with little more than nothing. The Third Estate was mostly revolting for more of a say in government, while the Russians mainly revolted for more economic equality and better treatment of workers.

Also, immediately following the French Revolution, Napoleon rose to power and conquered all. He was from the third estate, so it's true that the French Revolution sort of worked. However, this isn't what the Russians wanted. They would hate to have their revolution end up in one person with a lot of power, because this is exactly what communism isn't.

It is true that both revolutions were a lower class rebelling against those more powerful than them. However, isn't this true with all revolutions? When looking at the more specific details of each revolution, we can see that they are different in what their citizens fought for, and the turn-out of their rebellion.

Parallels Between the Russian and French Revolution

The Russian revolutionaries did take the mystique of the French Revolution of 1789 as basis for their basic ideals, but the fundamental difference was revolution for economic purposes.

Both revolutions were progressive, their views on a better society was a more modern one. The Russian revolutionaries had no desire for a traditional right-wing government. They wanted change, just like the French did. The Russians got rid of the old aristocracies and gave the lower class of peasants more power. They also placed an emphasis on educated leaders like the Third Estate did, too.

The French Revolution was over one hundred years ago so modern society's complexities were apparent in the Russian Revolution that weren't as prevalent in the French Revolution. The rising up of the Third Estate was mostly political, they wanted a constitution drafted that would give equal rights to all citizens. Besides that though they didn't have too many demands that weren't political. The Russian revolutionaries recognized that besides political inequality that the lower class suffered from, they also suffered from economic inequality. The Russians claimed that their revolution supported these poor urban and rural workers. In the social upheaval that followed the falling of Czar Nicholas II trade unions were established to protect the workers and many factories were taken over.

I also consider the civil war that followed the Bolshevik takeover to be like a second revolution. The civil war that lasted from 1918-21 had similarities to France during the time when Maximilien Robespierre ruled. The Bolsheviks were an authoritarian government during this time, they were extremely violent, suppressed any type of resistance and killed many people. The Bolsheviks knew that during such an unstable time like revolution sometimes the only answer was to silence the opposition. France underwent a bloody period like this during the Reign of Terror. It is rare that a revolution goes peacefully and without blood being shed.

During the French Revolution France's government was starkly different from other European countries' governments. France had a democracy in place with a constitution that promised equal rights for all people. The rest of Europe was still entrenched in traditional monarchies with kings ruling over his subjects. The world had changed and the Russians emerged with different ideals from the other European countries. Now most of the European countries where capitalist and Russia was communist. Just like French's democracy inspired more equality in other European countries, Russia's communism also spread to Eastern European countries (although not necessarily organically).

Gonna start a revolution...

Answer the following question in a blog POST: Strayer asserts that the Russian revolutionaries took the French Revolution of 1789 as their model; to what extent is this true? Reference specific facts and concepts from each revolution to defend your answer.

The Russian revolutionaries may have taken a few ideas from the French revolution, but they did not model their uprising around it.
Many of the peasant rebellions were against bosses, overlords, and similar figures, in an attempt to gain greater rights and more equality, similar to in the French revolution. However, it would be nearly impossible to find any major uprising in which people did not mass together and attack those above them, because you only rebel when you are unhappy, and in general, it is either correct or easiest to blame those more powerful than you. It is entirely possible that any similarities between the two revolutions were entirely coincidences due to the nature of rebellions.
In any case, the Russian revolutionaries would not have wanted their evolution to have the same outcome as the French revolution. While the French did achieve greater equality and democracy for a short time, they lost their power to Napoleon relatively quickly. Any self-respecting rebel (perhaps excluding anarchists) wants not only to gain power, but to keep it. By the mere fact that communism stayed in Russia, it is apparent that they did not try to match their revolution to France's, and if anything learned from others mistakes.

Russian Rev vs. French Rev

The skeletons of both of these revolutions are essentially the same: a charismatic political leader leads their nation's revolution to abolish monarchy and replace it with a form of government that ideally represents the people directly. Robespierre led France while Lenin led Russia. Both leaders preached the importance of the lower class and how a new order would promise their representation. This idea, along with the dissolution of the monarchy, triggered both revolutions for the most part.

Exposure to "outside features" also played a key role in both revolutions. France became exposed to ideas from the Enlightenment that inspired new government models. Russia, on the other hand, became exposed to new technology by the Germans through WWI. Perhaps the Russian population became aware of how industrially backwards they really were, therefore encouraging nationwide change.

French Revolution and Russian Revolution

Strayer boldly argues that the Russian Revolution was modeled after the French Revolution. However, it's extremely unlikely that any Russian revolutionaries took it as their inspiration because the people of Russia were concerned with their own daily worries and the declining quality of their day to day life, not the grievances that pushed people to act in a very foreign country centuries ago. The Russian people, weakened due to the war, began to protest the state of the nation demanding improvements. Food was scarce, the winter was cold, workers were paid meager salaries, shops were boarded up, and the Provisional Government failed to solve the problems within the nation. Protests, violence, and the formation of trade unions occurred because each person realized how terrible their life was becoming, and they wanted to take whatever action they could to restore it. Strayer's myopic argument fails to address the fact that people are concerned with their own welfare. People don't base political action on knowing that a line of action has worked in the past. Revolutions occur as a reaction to certain circumstances.

Although the two seem to be unique incidents created by the needs of the particular country at a specific time, many parallels appear when the two are juxtaposed. True, both revolutions involved the massive working class rebelling against their controlling powers due to their respective injustices impressed upon them by higher powers. Both revolutions carried with them the unheard of ideals to form an improved society. The French Revolution implemented the blooming Enlightenment ideals, and Russia followed the lead of Lenin's communism. Although the Russian Revolution was spurred on by their government's inadequacy whereas the French Revolution rebelled against a strict unfairness in representation, both formed new governments based on the reverse of the failed old government. While the French Revolution was not necessarily a direct influence on the Russian Revolution, there are definitely similarities. Because the old ideas caused the nation to crumble, it was believed that by taking the opposite route, the people of the nation would be able to embrace a brand new way of life.

French vs. Russian Revolution

The triggers for what started both the French and Russian Revolutions are very similar. The idea is that the lower class needs more say and power. Obviously these ideas are more modern, because they are similar to more progressive democratic governments. I do not know if the Russian Revolution actually looked to the French Revolution to end up influencing themselves. Russia just coincidentally had similar struggles and was in the need for a similar revolution. I think that Strayer's claim was not meant to be necessarily literal, but he was trying to say that like the French Revolution, the basis of the Russian Revolution started with a need for the government to represent more of the people.

Just a Claim...

Although the Russians claimed the French Revolution was their model, the only similarity between them was that lower class people overthrew the current form of government in their country. First, the people were upset in the first place for completely different reasons. The French were upset because they had a very poor economy at the time, and there was very little food for the people, while the king feasted and lead a luxurious lifestyle. The Russians were upset because they wanted to get out of the war. In the French Revolution, members of the middle class were the ones who revolted, not the poorest of the poor. In the Russian Revolution, members of the middle class were part of the group that was being overthrown by the lower class. After the French revolution, France went under the control of Napoleon. After the Russian Revolution, Russia became communist. No difference there. At all. Okay, huge difference. One final difference is that the Communist party stayed in power for over 25 years. Napoleon didn't rule nearly that long.

Overall, sure Russia can say they modeled their Revolution after the French Revolution. But let's be honest. Times change. The French Revolution occurred over a century before the Russian Revolution. It's like saying I want to my life to be just like my great- great grandmother's. Sure I could say it, but that doesn't mean it's true.

French Revolution to Communism?

Although I can see similarities between the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution, I feel that Strayer emphasizes his point too strongly. It's true that both revolutions were started by lower class citizens demanding more rights. However, while the French Revolution was focused mainly on a change in the government and in the representation of the third estate, the Russian Revolution was more than just political. The Russian Revolution demanded an entire social upheaval. Russian citizens seized the land of wealthy lords and redistributed it amongst themselves, something the chaotic French could never have managed. They pushed for lower class control over factories, and they saw enemies everywhere. The communist party in Russia quickly had an identified list of enemies in and outside of Russia, while the French revolutionaries saw only the political leaders in France who they thought needed to be removed. So although the Russian Revolution may have taken some inspiration from the French, they did not model their revolution after France's.

In a Constant State of [R]Evolution

Strayer is somewhat justified in saying that there were connections between the two revolutions, but not so much so in saying that one inspired the other. As in France, the Russian revolution took place during a time of poverty (due to the war) and malcontent. Not only were the people hungry, but they were also disappointed by the incompetence of their Czar, whose skill as a military figure was unimpressive. This ties in with the unpopularity of Louis XVI, who was by no means a malicious man, just not terribly skilled at his job. In both cases, the lower classes (Third Estate/"workers and soldiers") united to bring down the monarchy. In due course, a temporary leadership was set up (Robespierre's commitee for public safety/Provisional Government) and then overthrown again due to further dissatisfaction with political performance. Yet out of the people's confusion and righteuos despair came a charismatic leader who quickly won support (Napoleon/Lenin). After the resulting civil wars followed a time of relative peace, in which the people found that their chosen commanders were not who they had been supposed to be. In Napoleon, the people discovered a dictator (or rather, Emperor), while Lenin's authoritarian and aggressive methods proved less than ideal. From this general timeline of both revolutions, it can be said that they followed the same course, but by no means would one have inspired the latter.
The ideologies of each revolution, while similar, are subtley (yet importantly) different. In the French Revolution, the people fought to overthrow the monarchy because they believed in "liberty, equality, and fraternity." The soviets and Bolsheviks on the other hand, fought for communism. Now, one might say that communism is the practice of absolute equality, which follows the ideals of the French revolutionaries. Yet, I believe that there is a difference in that in communism, the equality is won by absolute abolition of private property, whereas in the French revolution it was thought to be done by redistribution of belongings and an equality in what was owned. So, one is about have an equal amount of something, whereas the other is about having absolutely nothing (or rather sharing everything with everyone). As I said, subtley different. Also, in all practicality, I doubt that Russian revolutionaries fashioned their revolution after that of the french because, really, who would want to go through that? So while it coincidentally happened thus, I doubt that it was a conscious effort to make it so.

The French and Russian Revolutions

The Russian Revolution did not model itself after the French Revolution. Though both involved great amounts of violence, the Russian Revolution was different from the French Revolution in a few key ways. The Russian Revolution was different because it was far less bloody; there were less public executions, there was no guillotine. The russian revolution had far less killings. Also, the French revolution was different because it came out of relative peace time; the Russian revolution erupted during the middle of war