The View of the Russian Revolution by The Diary of Mr. Herbert G. Stewart
No Trams Today, or Ever
The Diary of Mr. Herbert G. Stewart, written in 1917 by the English tutor of the Tzar of Russia's nephews, is revealing of the Russian Revolution as viewed by the different class structures. Mr. Stewart writes of his own experiences as well as by word-of-mouth from others; although he is not a Russian citizen, his experiences help paint the picture of what moods were felt as well as what actions were taken by those of the political community as well as the townspeople at the beginning of the revolution. Stewart provides numerous descriptions of rebellion of the lower classes such as street disturbances, all of which explain the attitudes towards the Russian government during the time of the revolution. The February Revolution was extremely spontaneous and unorganized. There were no clear leaders and no prepared replacement for the monarchy, which caused Russia to endure eight months of disorder and unrest before a second revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power. In order to best understand the different class attitudes regarding the February Russian Revolution, the information contained within Mr. Herbert G. Stewart’s diary account should be examined from the acts of disturbances made by the Russian people in the town of Petrograd, which includes: a halt on transportation, violence, and police revolt.
Transportation was and is still a vital importance to all classes of people in all parts of the world, including Russia. Dependence on transportation in the century of the revolution was large, and much can be understood from Stewart’s descriptions of the effects made by the stopped movement of all sources of transportation. While transportation seems irrelevant in a time of job loss, much can be understood of the severity of the despair people were feeling during that time from research of disrupted transportation. Petrograd, now called St. Petersburg, was the capital of Russia and home to many industrial workers, or “peasants” as Orlando Figes, author of “The Russian Revolution of 1917 and Its Language in the Village”, uses, during the time of the revolution. The passing mentions of many people walking in the streets, and no sign of trams are important signs of a common revolt among the people. Trams were central in the town of Petrograd, where most workers used them in their everyday lives to get to work, home, and to the shops. At the same time, peasant life and culture was changing constantly. Peasant life and culture was changing constantly during this time. Changes were due to the physical movement of growing numbers of peasant villagers who migrated to and from industrial and urban environments, but also by the introduction of city culture into the village through material goods, the press, and word of mouth. The citizens in the towns looked forward to working, as acquiring new skills gave many workers a sense of self-respect and confidence, which heightened expectations and desires. So when transportation was put to a stop, it was a major catalyst for revolt among the townspeople. Stewart mentions himself being burdened with having to walk everywhere, as there were no open or working trams anywhere in the city. With no way of getting anywhere but on foot, people were forced to walk to their destinations on the streets, where everyone else in the town was doing the same thing. The lower working classes, however, were the only ones directly affected by this as the royal community still had their own cars and means of transportation at their disposal. While the upper class is left unaffected by the halt of transportation, lower classes are left walking angry in the streets. With all of the fed up citizens walking on foot together, it was only a matter of time before their hyped up revolutionary energy became a cause for concern. This is a large difference and a main cause of why the working class revolted against the Tzar and his people.
Violence played a large role in the working class’s class-consciousness in the February Revolution. On March 8, 1917, Russia’s February Revolution began with rioting and strikes in Petrograd. “The peasants, above all, who made up more than three-quarters of the population, had to be transformed into active citizen” (1). The unrest was triggered primarily by food shortages in the city, which were caused by the wider problems of a worsening economy and repeated failures on the battlefields of World War I. Food shortages were not just a concern for the few in the city, but for all of the working class. Peasants formed “families” and stuck together, passing word of strikes and violent attacks to all those in the streets. Stewart describes the large amount of people in the streets all wearing red, causing little commotion at first, but then gradually gathering enough energy throughout a few days as a whole to erupt into open violence. Stewart mentions police stations and prisons being attacked as well as mobs in the streets. Even though streets were being patrolled, the townspeople were willing to put themselves in danger to prove to the authorities and government that they meant business and were not afraid to keep going until changes were made. When the strikes and riots began, they did not appear to pose a threat to the Russian monarchy headed by Czar Nicholas II. However, in the following days, the protests grew and began to take on a different tone. Czar Nicholas did not have the support of the Russian people, and the growing violence showed all of Russia that he no longer had majority control.
The Czar has lost support of the people and could only rely on his troops, who also, lost his support. The Russian Czar was always more powerful than the people, especially because of the amount of military involvement. However, with the growing amount of hatred for the government, troops found it the perfect time to get out, especially since they were being threatened. Stewart mentions several police stations being ruined as well as the police headquarters being burnt down. He also accounts, “Soldiers took all guns and ammunition from the palace including sporting weapons” (2). The revolution, confined to the capital and its vicinity and lasting less than a week, involved mass demonstrations and armed clashes with police and gendarmes, the last loyal forces of the Russian monarchy. The czar ordered Russian troops to suppress the protests, but many refused and instead joined the protesters. Having lost control over his people and his authorities, the czar abdicated his throne on March 15.
The numerous events that took place in the start of the February Russian Revolution were vital to understanding the class structure in Russia as well as the feelings toward the government during that time. The upper classes relied on the support of the people and military in order to hold office and control, and were not heavily affected by the revolutionary acts until the very end when the government lost control of the people and the military. In March, growing civil unrest for the government, which led to many street disturbances, erupted into open revolt, forcing the abdication of Nicholas II (1868-1918), the last Russian czar. Little known are accounts of people who have actually recorded events during the Russian Revolution, which is why the mentions in Mr. Herbert G. Stewart’s diary entries grant a real glimpse into the time of the revolution and how the disturbances of transportation, violence, and police revolt all played an important role regarding the class.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Stewart, G. Herbert. Diary of Mr. Herbert G. Stewart. England: Yorkshire World Collections. Originally published in 1917.
Secondary Sources
Ulam, Adam B. Bolsheviks: The Intellectual and Political History of the Triumph of Communism in Russia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965.
Figes, Orlando. “The Russian Revolution of 1917 and its Language in the Village.” Russian Review. Jul97, Vol. 56 Issue 3 p323. 23p. <http://ezproxy.marymountcalifornia.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.marymountpv.edu/docview/211306999?accountid=12297>
The Diary of Mr. Herbert G. Stewart, written in 1917 by the English tutor of the Tzar of Russia's nephews, is revealing of the Russian Revolution as viewed by the different class structures. Mr. Stewart writes of his own experiences as well as by word-of-mouth from others; although he is not a Russian citizen, his experiences help paint the picture of what moods were felt as well as what actions were taken by those of the political community as well as the townspeople at the beginning of the revolution. Stewart provides numerous descriptions of rebellion of the lower classes such as street disturbances, all of which explain the attitudes towards the Russian government during the time of the revolution. The February Revolution was extremely spontaneous and unorganized. There were no clear leaders and no prepared replacement for the monarchy, which caused Russia to endure eight months of disorder and unrest before a second revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power. In order to best understand the different class attitudes regarding the February Russian Revolution, the information contained within Mr. Herbert G. Stewart’s diary account should be examined from the acts of disturbances made by the Russian people in the town of Petrograd, which includes: a halt on transportation, violence, and police revolt.
Transportation was and is still a vital importance to all classes of people in all parts of the world, including Russia. Dependence on transportation in the century of the revolution was large, and much can be understood from Stewart’s descriptions of the effects made by the stopped movement of all sources of transportation. While transportation seems irrelevant in a time of job loss, much can be understood of the severity of the despair people were feeling during that time from research of disrupted transportation. Petrograd, now called St. Petersburg, was the capital of Russia and home to many industrial workers, or “peasants” as Orlando Figes, author of “The Russian Revolution of 1917 and Its Language in the Village”, uses, during the time of the revolution. The passing mentions of many people walking in the streets, and no sign of trams are important signs of a common revolt among the people. Trams were central in the town of Petrograd, where most workers used them in their everyday lives to get to work, home, and to the shops. At the same time, peasant life and culture was changing constantly. Peasant life and culture was changing constantly during this time. Changes were due to the physical movement of growing numbers of peasant villagers who migrated to and from industrial and urban environments, but also by the introduction of city culture into the village through material goods, the press, and word of mouth. The citizens in the towns looked forward to working, as acquiring new skills gave many workers a sense of self-respect and confidence, which heightened expectations and desires. So when transportation was put to a stop, it was a major catalyst for revolt among the townspeople. Stewart mentions himself being burdened with having to walk everywhere, as there were no open or working trams anywhere in the city. With no way of getting anywhere but on foot, people were forced to walk to their destinations on the streets, where everyone else in the town was doing the same thing. The lower working classes, however, were the only ones directly affected by this as the royal community still had their own cars and means of transportation at their disposal. While the upper class is left unaffected by the halt of transportation, lower classes are left walking angry in the streets. With all of the fed up citizens walking on foot together, it was only a matter of time before their hyped up revolutionary energy became a cause for concern. This is a large difference and a main cause of why the working class revolted against the Tzar and his people.
Violence played a large role in the working class’s class-consciousness in the February Revolution. On March 8, 1917, Russia’s February Revolution began with rioting and strikes in Petrograd. “The peasants, above all, who made up more than three-quarters of the population, had to be transformed into active citizen” (1). The unrest was triggered primarily by food shortages in the city, which were caused by the wider problems of a worsening economy and repeated failures on the battlefields of World War I. Food shortages were not just a concern for the few in the city, but for all of the working class. Peasants formed “families” and stuck together, passing word of strikes and violent attacks to all those in the streets. Stewart describes the large amount of people in the streets all wearing red, causing little commotion at first, but then gradually gathering enough energy throughout a few days as a whole to erupt into open violence. Stewart mentions police stations and prisons being attacked as well as mobs in the streets. Even though streets were being patrolled, the townspeople were willing to put themselves in danger to prove to the authorities and government that they meant business and were not afraid to keep going until changes were made. When the strikes and riots began, they did not appear to pose a threat to the Russian monarchy headed by Czar Nicholas II. However, in the following days, the protests grew and began to take on a different tone. Czar Nicholas did not have the support of the Russian people, and the growing violence showed all of Russia that he no longer had majority control.
The Czar has lost support of the people and could only rely on his troops, who also, lost his support. The Russian Czar was always more powerful than the people, especially because of the amount of military involvement. However, with the growing amount of hatred for the government, troops found it the perfect time to get out, especially since they were being threatened. Stewart mentions several police stations being ruined as well as the police headquarters being burnt down. He also accounts, “Soldiers took all guns and ammunition from the palace including sporting weapons” (2). The revolution, confined to the capital and its vicinity and lasting less than a week, involved mass demonstrations and armed clashes with police and gendarmes, the last loyal forces of the Russian monarchy. The czar ordered Russian troops to suppress the protests, but many refused and instead joined the protesters. Having lost control over his people and his authorities, the czar abdicated his throne on March 15.
The numerous events that took place in the start of the February Russian Revolution were vital to understanding the class structure in Russia as well as the feelings toward the government during that time. The upper classes relied on the support of the people and military in order to hold office and control, and were not heavily affected by the revolutionary acts until the very end when the government lost control of the people and the military. In March, growing civil unrest for the government, which led to many street disturbances, erupted into open revolt, forcing the abdication of Nicholas II (1868-1918), the last Russian czar. Little known are accounts of people who have actually recorded events during the Russian Revolution, which is why the mentions in Mr. Herbert G. Stewart’s diary entries grant a real glimpse into the time of the revolution and how the disturbances of transportation, violence, and police revolt all played an important role regarding the class.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Stewart, G. Herbert. Diary of Mr. Herbert G. Stewart. England: Yorkshire World Collections. Originally published in 1917.
Secondary Sources
Ulam, Adam B. Bolsheviks: The Intellectual and Political History of the Triumph of Communism in Russia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965.
Figes, Orlando. “The Russian Revolution of 1917 and its Language in the Village.” Russian Review. Jul97, Vol. 56 Issue 3 p323. 23p. <http://ezproxy.marymountcalifornia.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.marymountpv.edu/docview/211306999?accountid=12297>
Primary Source: The Diary of Mr. Herbert G. Stewart
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Herbert G. Stewart was an English tutor to the children of The Grand Duke Alexander Michailovitch, the Tzar of Russia's nephews. He was in St Petersburg (formally known as Petrograd), during February and March 1917 when the Russian Revolution began. Since the revolution was focused in Petrograd, Mr. Herbert G. Stewart saw first hand what was going on in Russia during the revolution. The primary source is of several diary entries recorded by Mr. Stewart in Petrograd in 1917. His personal diary tells of the events going on in the streets and in the city during that time. His entries were not for a public purpose, but to instead record the events leading up to the revolution for his personal memories. He describes the first disturbances in the streets, which later turned into more violence as the Russian Revolution really got on its way. The entries he recorded give insight to how the people felt during that time. He notes of government ciaos and strength of the people. It is clear that the people were willing to put themselves in danger in order to get the changes they wanted. During the first revolution of February 1917, Emperor was forced to abdicate and the old regime was replaced by a provisional government. Members of the Imperial parliament, assumed control of the country, forming the Russian Provisional Government.
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Photo Gallery
These two photos are of Mr. Herbert G. Stewart's actual diary that is a Yorkshire World Collections object, one of 100 chosen by young people aged 16-24, as part of the London Cultural Olympiad programme Stories of the World.
"With 2 million Russian soldiers dead in the war, Russian women again chose the last Sunday in February 1917 to strike for "bread and peace". Political leaders opposed the timing of the strike, but the women went on anyway. The rest is history: Four days later the Czar of Russia was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. That historic Sunday fell on 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia, but coincided with 8 March on the Gregorian calendar used by people elsewhere."
Socialist agitators reacted to the demonstrations. The next morning following meetings in factories, the protestors took to the street again, but armed with hammers ready to fight.
Video
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/3/8