The Cuban and the Russian revolutions comprised two revolutions inspired by Karl Marx. The Russian Revolution led the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin to form a communist government in 1917. A civil war emerged following the formation of the government from 1918 to 1921 in which the Red Army won. The Cuban Revolution emerged due to the attempts by Fidel Castro to overthrow the corrupt government under Batista. Castro won and introduced communism to his country under the support of the Soviet Union. Castro led Cuba for decades in spite of the United States placing an embargo to Cuba. The two revolutions had some similarities and some differences.
The present paper compares and contrasts the Cuban Revolution and the Russian Revolution by focusing on the causes, events during the revolution and events after the revolution. The paper will examine the similarities and differences in both categories in both revolutions.
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Causes of the Revolutions
For the Russian Revolution, events during the Nicholas II rule formed the foundation of the revolution. For instance, revolutionary radicals murdered the grandfather of Nicholas II, which Nicholas II’s father reacted through brutal oppression of the population. After becoming the Tsar in 1894, Nicholas II continued oppressing the masses to calm regular resistance campaigns (Richards, 2005). The resistance and the continued oppression of the masses weakened Nicholas II rule, which forced him to engage in autocracy. In turn, this led to great suffering among the people where Russia experienced vast inequalities between owners and workers, reduced wages, and poor working conditions. In turn, this caused Russian workers to engage in massive protests against the monarchy, which resulted in the Bloody Sunday massacre in 1905 in which the Tsar soldiers killed many unarmed protesters (Richards, 2005). The massacre initiated the 1905 revolution in which angry workers engaged in many crippling strikes across the country. Besides, Russia entered into the First World War in 1914 to support the Serbs and their allies, even though its involvement was devastating for the empire. Germany was more industrialized than Russia in terms of military technology, which caused many Russian casualties during the war (Goldstone, 2014). The war also led to fuel and food shortages that left Russia with high inflation and a devastated economy (Richards, 2005). Tsarina Alexandra began sacking elected officials in the absence of the Tsar after the Tsar had gone to command the Russian army front. During the same time, Alexandra’s advisor, Rasputin, strengthened his influence over the royal Romanov family and Russian politics, which annoyed Russian nobles who killed him in 1916. A majority of Russians lost faith in the leadership of Tsar due to rampant corruption, a weak economy, and Tsar’s autocracy following the 1905 events. Moderates then joined Russian radicals to start the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Regarding the Cuban Revolution, Fulgencia Batista became the Cuban President in 1940 and lasted for four years until 1944 (Becker, 2017). During this period, Cuba fought with Allies during the Second World War and formed diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union (Goldstone, 2014). Batista did not run in the 1944 elections, even though his preferred candidate lost and Batista left Cuba and stayed out of power for eight years. During this period the two Presidents, Grau San Martin, and Carlos Prio Socarras failed to implement any substantial changes. The Cuban government became a tyranny during this period, and public services broke down with widespread unemployment and absence of water infrastructure. Batista returned to Cuba in 1952 and overthrew the government without bloodshed (Becker, 2017). He later called the 1954 elections in which he won, reinstated the 1940 constitution that inclined to liberal pro-labor changes, and attempted to return Cuba to normalcy (Becker, 2017). Batista became dictatorial and manipulated the economy, Congress, press, and higher education institutions to maintain a good working association with the United States since Cuba relied on the U.S for sugar exports. He faced stiff opposition, particularly from large landowners who protested the 1956 Sugar Act from the United States that curtailed sugar imports from Cuba to benefit domestic U.S producers. Batista’s support from the influential agriculture sector and the government collapsed due to the uncertain future of sugar imports from Cuba. Radical elements that opposed Batista rejected the legitimacy of the 1955 elections and engaged in sabotage and harassment movements in the provinces (Becker, 2017). The dominant movement was the 26th July movement led by Fidel Castro, and it initiated the Cuban Revolution through a series of attacks (Becker, 2017).
The events in Russia and Cuba caused the crisis and chaos that triggered the revolutions in both countries. Many of the events aggravated over time and caused the people to desire changes. These events are similar since in both cases the leaders lost power over the population and engaged in mass oppression in an attempt to regain authority. In both countries, the economies became dysfunctional, for instance, compared to other European countries, Russia was less industrialized and urbanized and Russian workers received low wages and had poor working conditions. Cuba also experienced massive unemployment and a breakdown in the public services due to a dysfunctional economy. In both countries, shortages of basic needs occurred; for instance, Russia had food and fuel shortages while Cuba experienced water shortages. The two countries, however, differed based on the beginnings of the revolution. For example, in Russia, the troops attacked unarmed protesters while forces in Cuba did not attack unarmed people directly.
Events during the Revolution
From 23-27 February 1917, protesters supported by many striking industrial workers went to the Petrograd streets (Richards, 2005). They clashed with law enforcement officers but did not leave the streets. Authorities called the Petrograd army garrison troop to calm the rebellion on March 11. The forces killed some protesters while the remaining ones continued demonstrating on the streets (Richards, 2005). On March 12, the Duma established a provisional government under the leadership of Alexander Kerensky, and Tsar Nicholas stepped down later (Richards, 2005). The interim government supported liberal programs such as the right of unions to unite and strike, equality before the law, and freedom of speech and opposed violent social uprising (Goldstone, 2014). Kerensky became the war minister and supported the Russian effort during the First World War. The masses did not support the war effort since the war worsened food supply in the country, which led to further unrests and riots across the country (Richards, 2005). Later, local councils (Soviets) composed of workers and peasants were formed. These councils gained substantial influence. From July 3 to 7, 1917, the Soviets opposed the armed protests led by workers and soldiers against the provisional government (Goldstone, 2014).
In the Cuban case, Fidel Castro led a small group of revolutionaries to attack the Moncada Barracks, the most significant military barracks in Cuba, on 26 July 1953 (Becker, 2017). The attack failed in its mission, even though it served as the beginning of the Revolution in the country. Castro adopted the date of the attack, July 26, as the name for the revolutionary movement, the 26 July Movement, that later toppled Batista in 1959 (Becker, 2017). Castro had hoped that the attack would lead to a general uprising against the government, but government soldiers killed most of the attackers. Authorities captured and imprisoned Castro and his brother Raul along with other rebels. After the attack and the trials, Batista outlawed the Cuban Communist Party, which further aggravated the frustrations of the revolutionary party. The government offered amnesty to Castro and his brother and released them in 1955 (Becker, 2017). Fidel moved to Mexico where he used the Cuban exiles to organize an invading force (Becker, 2017). He returned to Cuba unsuccessfully with several men in 1956 and then escaped with Ernesto Guevara and several men (Becker, 2017). The group then used the Sierra Maestra Mountains to initiate a guerrilla movement against the Cuban government (Becker, 2017).
These events are similar because they both indicated direct action and involvement of the rebels. Both activities aimed at changing the society through revolutionary parties in which workers in Russia engaged in street protests and later implemented changes while Fidel Castro led his men to attack and rebel against Batista. In both countries, the events were the stages when the masses began uniting against the government. Russia involved the union of the Bolsheviks and the Soviets while in Cuba the communist group, Guevara, and Castro’s followers joined against Batista. Both events also included the general people in which Russians engaged in protests against the government while Cubans engaged in guerilla tactics.
Events after the Revolution
The Bolshevik Party led by Vladimir Lenin initiated a coup from October 24 to 25, 1917 against the provisional government. Lenin proposed a Soviet government to be directly ruled by workers, peasants, and council of soldiers (Richards, 2005). The Bolsheviks supported by the Soviets occupied government buildings and specific strategic areas in Petrograd. They then established a new government led by Lenin. In late 1917 following the revolution, a civil war broke out in the country in which the white army fought against the Red army (Richards, 2005). The Red Army sided with the Lenin government while the white army fought for democratic socialism supporters, capitalists, and monarchists. The Red Army won the war in 1923, ended the Civil War, and established the Soviet Union (Richards, 2005). The Bolsheviks later executed Tsar Nicholas II and his family on July 7, 1918.
In Cuba, sporadic raids by the rebel forces continued in 1958 and led to substantial property destruction that severely disrupted the economy (Becker, 2017). Sugar plantations and mills were burned, Havana bombings disrupted the tourist industry, and rebel activity in Oriente province disrupted the mining sector. Batista capitalized on the violence to postpone the 1958 elections, which provoked the Communist groups under Juan Marinello to call for strikes (Becker, 2017). Even though the strikes were unsuccessful, they strengthened the role of the communist groups in the revolution. Batista later launched attacks against Fidel’s forces, and in July 1958 government troops advanced against rebels in the Sierra Maestra Mountains, which was unsuccessful (Becker, 2017). The victory of the rebel forces in the Mountains symbolized their strength over the government. The rebel forces continued their attacks on transportation and communication infrastructure in the Las Villas, Camaguey, and Oriente provinces. Batista lost substantial support following the 1958 elections. Besides, government forces had low combat effectiveness due to shortages on ammunition. Rebel forces could fight the government in pitched fights with superior weapons. Che Guevara led a rebel attack against the Santa Clara garrison and captured arms and ammunition (Becker, 2017). Batista resigned and fled to the Dominican Republic on January 1, 1959, and left Gen. Eulogio Cantillo in charge (Becker, 2017). The General established a provisional government which Castro rejected. Castro declared the victory of the revolution, and on January 3, 1959, Che Guevara led a rebel column into Havana without any opposition. Castro arrived in Havana on January 8 and became the prime minister.
These events are similar because they represent the turning point in the revolutions in which the Bolshevik Party in Russia gained power whereas the Communist party in Cuba fought the Cuban Army. The events are also similar because they represent a new era where new parties emerge from the revolution, the Bolshevik in Russia and the Communist in Cuba. In both Revolutions, the previous leaders were eliminated either through being killed (Nicholas II) or going to exile (Batista).
Conclusion
The Cuban Revolution and the Russian Revolution had some similarities and differences. In both revolutions, new leaders that emerged broke the old state apparatuses and replaced them with new states based on the widespread agreement of the people. While the Cuban Revolution occurred later after the Russian Revolution, both revolutions involved people who were fed up by harsh economic conditions and the oppression of the old rulers against the population. The two revolutions differed only in the way the resistance occurred. During the Russian revolution, for instance, the revolution involved massive protests by workers and peasants while in Cuba, the revolution involved guerilla warfare tactics against the established government. In both revolutions, however, the old regimes were defeated.
References
Becker, M. (2017). Twentieth-Century Latin American Revolutions [PDF]. Rowman & Littlefield.
Goldstone, J. A. (2014). Revolutions: A very short introduction . Oxford University Press.
Richards, M. D. (2005). Revolutions in World History [PDF]. New York: Routledge.
