Compare and Contrast the French Revolution

And

The Russian Revolution.

The French Revolution and the Russian Revolution were the same in many ways, but were also different in just as many ways. Russia was led by a king who believed in absolutism, just as France was before the revolution; the kings didn’t accurately represent their people, nor were they close to them; the middle class (bourgeoise, in France, Duma, in Russia) wanted recognition; and in both cases, the royal families were executed. There were even more comparisons to the two Revolutions.

Both Louis XVI and Nicholas II were absolute rulers. Neither of them wanted to be king. Louis simply wanted a quiet life where he could be tucked in and eat to his delight. He wanted nothing to do with the problems that arose in his reign. It was also his indifference to the crown that caused those problems. Tsar Nicholas also felt that way. Both kings followed their ancestors’ rulings. The Bourbons and Romanovs had always ruled their country with a firm, absolute hand. Though they were relatively kind, gentle men, their people did not see it that way. They saw them as uncaring towards their countries and wanted a new monarchy – but without a monarch. They wanted a fair government. France’s Revolution followed America’s Revolution, their desire for a free, fair Constitution strong.

The problems that arose and caused the French and Russian Revolution were many. In both cases, however, it was the starvation and the bitter winter that had taken its toll on the people. A bread riot began in both cases. In the French Revolution, the women marched to Versailles and chased after Marie Antoinette, fixed upon killing her. They then forced the royal family into the Tuilleries Palace in Paris so they could keep a good eye on them. In the Russian Revolution, the women were calmer and simply paraded down the streets on International Women’s Day, merely wanting some bread to sate their hunger. Unlike in the French Revolution, soldiers were ordered to shoot at the people in the “parade.” They disobeyed and instead shot their officers and joined the “parade.”

The middle-class, which had hardly existed in Russia until socialism was introduced, was also a major factor in both Revolutions. In the French Revolution, the middle-class – or bourgeoise – was practically ignored by Louis XVI, who only gave recognition to the aristocracy. As for Tsar Nicholas, he refused to acknowledge the middle-class, whom were called the Duma. The aristocracy enjoyed their place in society and had no problems with the way things were. The Duma, on the other hand, were disgusted with the way Tsar Nicholas ruled. Their discontent, along with the poor people’s, were one of the uprisings that led to the Revolution of 1917. This, too, happened in the French Revolution. The bourgeoise planned and organized until striking at the monarch and setting up their own government. The Duma had set up what was called the Provisional Government on March 12, 1917, which “established equality before law; freedom of religion, speech, and assembly; the right of unions to organize and strike; and the rest of the classic liberal program.” The government in which the bourgeoise had set up was identical. The Provisional Government lasted only a short time before Vladimir Lenin, an extreme socialist, overthrew it, giving this proclamation:

“To the Citizens of Russia!

The Provisional Government has been deposed. State power has passed into the hands of the organ of the Petrogad Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies – the Revolutionary Military Committee, which heads the Petrogad proletariat and the garrison.

The cause for which the people had fought, namely, the immediate offer of a democratic peace, the abolition of landlord property-rights over the land, workers’ control over production, and the establishment of Soviet power – this cause has been secured.

Long live the revolution of workers, soldiers, and peasants!”

Lenin thereafter established a communist government and Russia ruled as the Soviet Union until 1991 when it fell.

Before both Revolutions, the financial situation in the countries was dire. Tsar Nicholas was in debt from World War I. He had lost many people against Germany and could not supply the remainder with the correct supplies for fighting in the war. This was a dreadful situation for him and his family, causing people to believe he was not a suitable monarch and that the Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaievitch would be better suited. In return, Tsar Nicholas took the Grand Duke’s position as the commander at the front; this was fatal to his country and the people in the war. It resulted in him getting even more debts. As for the French king, Louis XVI had been too extravagant with his court, not to mention his wife. Also, he inherited the debts from his predecessors, Louis XIV and Louis XV. Louis XIV was extravagant in his court, too, and his building of Versailles was a great debt. Louis XV’s failing war with England did not help. Louis XVI made a rash decision in assisting in the American Revolution, because, though it helped get revenge on England (for his father’s loss in the war between them,) the debts he wracked up were horrific. He then had to call in the States-General and in the end, when he locked them out of Versailles and refused to take their advice, the Tennis Court Oath was taken and was the first act towards Revolution in France.

For both Revolutions, there was an abolition of a system that was held in the countries for a long amount of time. When the bourgeoise took control of the government in the French Revolution, feudalism was abolished. Shockingly, it was a noble who first suggested abolishing feudalism. The Viscount of Noailles explained that feudalism must be “swept away.” The Duke d’Aiguillon agreed and he was “next to the king, the greatest feudal lord in France.” All the nobles soon agreed and feudalism was dissipated. In Russia, both the Provisional Governmentand the Bolsheviks (who came to power after overthrowing the Provisional Government) agreed that serfdom should be banished. The Provisional Government based their government on liberal ideas: equality before law, freedom, and other such things. Lenin wanted the government to be led by workers and wanted to assist the peasants, so he also was eager to abolish serfdom. The nobles and aristocracy fled Russia because of such ideas.

In both of the Revolutions, the indisposed royal families were executed. Unlike Louis XVI’s family, though, the Romanovs were not a threat. Louis and his family once tried to escape the clutches of the mob of Paris, but were caught when they had nearly reached Austria, Marie Antoinette’s home country. The Romanov family, on the other hand, wanted no trouble. Tsar Nicholas had abdicated peacefully enough, only wanting the best for his people. He and his family were arrested first by General Kornilov of the Provisional Government and imprisoned at their palace of Tsarskoe Selo. Later, they were transferred to a small home in Tobolsk, Siberia by the same man. Later, when Lenin is in control, Commissar Vassily Yakovlev orders a man, Rodionov, to escort them to Ekaterinburg to the Impatiev House, “House of Special Purpose.” “Shortly after midnight on July 17, 1918, the head of the Secret Police ordered the Romanov family to dress and go downstairs. They were crowded in a basement room and then eleven executioners entered and shot each of the members of the family: Tsar Nicholas, Alexandra, Marie, Alexei, Tatiana, Olga, and Anastasia.” The Romanov family merely wanted to continue living and posed no threat to the government. Nonetheless, Lenin had ordered them to be killed. Louis XVI’s family wasn’t killed as harshly. Louis’s son was taken from them and possibly tortured to death. Louis was put to death by the guillotine. Marie Antoinette was put into prison and later, she, too, was put to death by the guillotine.

Conclusively, though the French Revolution and Russian Revolution had many similarities, it also had many differences. Both Revolutions ended in both happiness and sadness. There were two sides to each of the Revolutions. To this day, many see Tsar Nicholas and Louis XVI as men that had ended in a position they were not destined for and paid with their life and their family’s for that.

Sources

Modern Europe

Hazen, Thomas, 1924

Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

2007

A History of Western Society

McKay, John P., 2006

Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess

Meyer, Carolyn, 2000