Blog Entry #8.
                
            The Russian Revolution:
                            Before The first World War, a small Marxist group known as the Bolsheviks sough to change life in Russia though revolution. Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenin. They represented the "proletariat"  or the industrial workers. And what was their goal? Their goal was to take power in the government system.

At the start of the war, Russia had an enormous army of 6 million soldiers but was ill-prepared. Russian factories were not able to produce the military supplies quickly enough for the army. The Russian nation also had a weak transportation system. Military equipment were outdated and Russian officers were advanced by personal connections rather than ability. As a result, millions of soldiers were wounded or killed during the war's early battles. On March 8, 1917 citizens of the Russian Capital took to the streets to protest lack of food. Czar Nicholas, the ruler of Russia at that time, loses control and abdicates on March 15th. In November 1917, armed Bolshevik factory workers called "the red guard" attacked the provisional government. After this struggle, Vladimir Lenin became the leader of Russia.
              After the revolution, Russia's involvement in WW1 ended but they were forced to give up chunks of their empire.