The French and Russian Revolutions

A famous French writer, Jean-Jaques Rousseau once said that is was “manifestly contrary to the law of nature… that a handful of people should gorge themselves with superfluities while the hungry multitude goes on in want of necessities” (Strayer 505). This quote not only applies to the spark and bitterness of the French Revolution but to the Russian Revolution as well! Although the two revolutions took place in different parts of the world and had drastically different effects on the country harboring them, they did have core similarities.

                Both the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution had revolutionary leaders. Maximilien Robespierre headed a Committee of Public Safety in France but the peasants themselves had more power and control than he did and Robespierre was sent to the guillotine for trying to lead France into a dictatorship (Strayer 505). Lenin headed the Bolshevik group in Russia and had complete and utter control of everything that went on.

                Successful revolutions show how much power the lower class has if they unite and rebel against the upper class. This is true with the French and Russian Revolutions. The French Revolution began with and was fueled completely by the peasants of the “Third Estate.” They were incredibly sick of their lack of representation in the Estates General, which was controlled and dominated by the First and Second Estates, which were comprised of the wealthy class—only 2% of the population (Strayer 504). The peasant class formed the National Assembly and took control of the country from the upper classes. In the Russian Revolution, the peasants were more of a vehicle for Lenin and the Bolsheviks. They did steal land and divide it among themselves and there were a lot of peasant uprisings (Strayer 663) but they were fueled by the Bolsheviks versus their own anger, as in the French Revolution.

                Violent and horrific slaughters plagued both the French and Russian Revolutions. Common targets among these Revolutions were the monarchs of the country. King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were sent to the guillotine in 1793 by the lower classes (Strayer 505). Similarily, in 1918, after being forced to abdicate the throne by Bolsheviks (Strayer 662), Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family, including his young son and heir Alexi, were massacred by the Bolshevik Reds (Levykin 1).  However, during the French Revolution, the blood of any and all nobility flowed through the streets, whereas the Russian Revolution, it was the blood of tsarist officials (called Whites), nationalists, angry peasants, and whoever else dared to oppose the Red Army (Strayer 664).

                Among both revolutions came a higher sense of equality among the people of France and later Russia. In France during the Revolution, lands previously owned by the church and by nobles were confiscated, sold, and divided up among peasants (Strayer 505). Titles vanished and all people were known to each other as “citizen” (Strayer 506). In Russia, peasants seized the land of the wealthy and divided it up among themselves (Strayer 670).

                Feminism was on the rise during the times of each of these revolutions. In France, it was headed by Olympe de Gouges, who wrote the “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Citizen” (Lewis 1) after the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen was written by the National Assembly (Strayer 504). No one listened to de Gouges in her time, and the feminist movement in France was soon suppressed, but the idea was sparked for a moment. In Russia the feminist movement was way more successful—it was even state-directed! Women were given full legal and political equality and in 1919 a special organization- Zhenotdel was lead by radical women who fought for feminism, held women’s conferences, and encouraged Muslim women to take off their veils, among other things. Although this movement was abolished by Stalin in the 1930s, it was extremely ground-breaking and revolutionary in the realm of feminism (Strayer 669).

                New forms of government almost always spring forth from the loins of revolution and this rung true in both France and Russia during their revolutions. In France, a Republic was set up. This new government advocated civil equality, religious freedom, and promotion by merit (Strayer 507). The State had more power than the Church, and was run by and for the people (Strayer 506). Russia, on the other hand, turned to an oppressive communist government set up by the Bolsheviks. This government, which forced peasants onto collective farms, used violence as a means of control (Strayer 671) and controlled all media, banning anything and everything Western, was the complete opposite of the Republic in France (Strayer 684). The communist government in Russia had complete power over everything and wasn’t in the least bit afraid of exerting it.

                Neither of these revolutions lasted forever. The French Revolution ended with Napoleon Bonaparte taking over the leadership of France. Bonaparte tamed the revolution and turned France into a military dictatorship (Strayer 507). Russia, however, kept its new government significantly longer than France did. Changing its name, it became the Soviet Union and became the most powerful communist country in the world.

                The French and Russian Revolutions were hugely different. They took place in different parts of the world and during different time periods, but at the core, they had similarities. Looking back at these similarities, it can be seen that these don’t all just follow the French and Russian Revolutions, but all revolutions in history.

Works Cited

Levykin, Alexei K. "Nicholas II." St. Petersburg Times Online. The Moscow Kremlin Museums, 1999. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://www2.sptimes.com/Treasures/TC.2.3.19.html>.

Lewis, Jone J. "Olympe De Gouges and the Rights of Woman." Women's History - Comprehensive Women's History Research Guide. About. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://womenshistory.about.com/od/olympedegouges/a/Olympe-De-Gouges-And-The-Rights-Of-Woman.htm>.

Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: a Brief Global History. Vol. 2. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print. Since 1500.