Russian Revolution: was The Krondstat Naval Uprising A Spontaneous Ac :: essays research papers

History Revolutions - The Kronstadt Naval UprisingWord Count 1997On March 1, 1921, the sailors of the Kronstadt naval fortress rose up in an armed rebellion against Russias totalitarian leadership, claiming that Bolshevik control of Russia had failed to compass its promise of working class liberation, delivering only a new serfdom and even greater enslavement of human beings. The Kronstadt sailors, who had previously been regarded by Trotsky himself as the pride and glory of the revolution, now held themselves in direct dissention with the states communist rule. The rebels quickly adopted a self-drafted fifteen-point plan of political and social reforms that they vowed to fight by, aspiring to achieve a third and new toilers revolution. At the time of the revolt, members of the Russian populace who sympathized with the Kronstadt sailors viewed them as revolutionaries fighting to restore the true soviet idea. However, the Bolshevik government took the belief that the originate was the result of a premeditated conspiracy on behalf of counter-revolutionary whiteguard agents, and undertook extreme measures to propagate this view amongst the public. This was an issue that would later become a point of much line of reasoning amidst historians holding different theories over the causes of the event. This study shall seek to justify the view that the Kronstadt uprising was one of spontaneous revolt, brought on by discontent with the conditions experient under the Bolshevik regime, and not the result of a precontrived outside White influence.During the years preceding the Kronstadt rebellion, Russia was locked within a brutal period of civil war between the Bolsheviks red army and the opposing scattered white imperialist forces fighting for reinstatement of the old Tsarist rule.The wars great expense as a consequence of its need for resources was dealing a crushing blow to the already crippled Russian economy, and its constant skirmishes caused the disruption of transport around the nation. This, amongst other factors, prevented foodstuffs grown in rural areas from reaching the cities, create widespread famine and mass exoduses from these areas. Petrograd, where the Kronstadt naval base was situated, suffered greatly during this period. Its remoteness from producing areas contributed to a dire food shortage and the departure over half its population, its come dropping from 2.5 million to just 750 000 between the years of 1917-20 due to workers emigrating to the countryside in search of food. One Soviet source likens the conditions of this time to fertile soilfor the intrigues of the counter-revolution.