The October Revolution

The seizure of power by the Bolsheviks, followed by a civil war and the creation of the Soviet Union.

Background

The Provisional Government continued the war and delayed land reform, and its authority eroded. The Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin promised peace, land and bread, and won support in the soviets of the main cities.

Course of events

On 25 October by the old calendar (7 November in the West) Bolshevik forces took key points in Petrograd and the Winter Palace. The new government issued decrees on peace and land. A bitter civil war between the Reds and the Whites and their foreign supporters then lasted until 1922.

Legacy

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was founded in 1922. The revolution shaped twentieth-century politics through the Cold War, and it remains one of the most debated events in modern history.