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What was the Bolshevik Revolution?

The Bolshevik Revolution was the overthrow of the Russian government, which took place in the fall of 1917. The Bolsheviks were an extremist faction within the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (later renamed the Russian Communist Party) who seized control of the government and ushered in the Soviet age. The Bolshevik Revolution is also known as the October Revolution because, according to the old Russian calendar (in use until 1918), the government overthrow happened on October 25.

The Bolshevik Revolution was the culmination of events in 1917. Russia had entered World War I (1914–18) in 1914, and by 1917 the country was facing hardships, including shortages of food and fuel. The people had lost faith in the war effort; they were no longer willing to send young men into battle only to be killed. In the Russian capital of Petrograd (known as St. Petersburg until 1914),...

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