The Parallels Between
Animal Farm
and the
Russian Revolution
What Was the Russian Revolution?
The Russian Revolution began with the overthrow of Tszar
Nicholas II on February 8, 1917. The citizens of Russia were
very unhappy with the way the Romanov dynasty was ruling
Russia. They were in economic turmoil due to World War I, and
it led to strikes and uprisings from the citizens. The Tszar
abdicated his rule in Russia.
The October Revolution, also known as the Bolshevik
Revolution, took place on November 7, 1917. This revolution
was started by a small extremist group called the Bolsheviks,
who wanted to create a democaratic, communist state. They
gained the support of the Russian people quickly, and were
accepted as the leaders. They abandoned the democratic
process in January 1918 and declared themselves a dictatorship
of the proletariat.
The Effects
This overthrow of the Russian Empire led to the Russian Civil
war. It was an attempt by the previous rule to take back the
Russian Government from the Bolshevik Soviets. The Reds,
which were the Bolsheviks, won the war in 1920 and the Soviets
remained in power.
From these Soviets rose many communist leaders. Among them
were Leon Trotsky, Vladmir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky ruled the Soviet Union from March 13, 1918 to
January 15, 1925. He was a proponent of Marxism and wanted
to create a Marxist state. He created many groups such as the
FI International Committee, International Workers' League and
the Committee for a Workers' International. These groups were
designed to benefit the state as a whole, which Leon Trotsky
was very in support of. He was forced out of the Communist
party by Stalin and the KGB, which were the secret police, and
was assaniated.
Vladmir Lenin
Vladmir Lenin became the leader of the Bolshevik party and the
Soviet Union from December 30, 1922 to January 1924. He
was a harsh ruler and was a corrupt leader. He claimed to want
a communist government, but passed laws to benefit the
Bolshevik party rulers. He used propoganda and lies to control
the Russian people.
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin came to power on April 3, 1922 and ruled
until March 5, 1953. He was a very brutal ruler, and exiled or
killed all who opposed him. He created the KGB secret police to
control the people around him and the Russian citizens. He
used the Russian Church to control the citizens and prevent
them from uprising. He was a puported supporter of
Communism, but changed the principals to benefit himself and
the Bolsheviks.
What Does This Have To Do With
Animal Farm?
George Orwell wrote Animal Farm as a political satire and
commentary on the Russian revolution. The characters, events
and themes in Animal Farm DIRECTLY correlate with the
events and people of the Russian Revolution.