The February Revolution; the End of the Tsarist Reign The February revolution was the beginning of a quest for change. After centuries of being ruled by a monarch, the Russian people rose up against the Tsar, who then abdicated. With the February revolution, the governing system changed from an autocratic system, ruled by a monarch, to another system that might better represent the working class. Similarly, in George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, the animals launch their own revolution against the farmer.
In this essay, I will discuss the events surrounding the February revolution, how Orwell portrays them in Animal Farm, and how accurately they were represented. THE HISTORY The last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, ruled from November 1, 1894 until March 15, 1917. He was also known as Nicholas the Bloody. Nicholas made many unpopular decisions. For instance, on a day known as Bloody Sunday, he ordered his Imperial guards to shoot demonstrators led by a well-liked priest. What prompted the February revolution was when Nicholas ordered the Russian mobilization in 1914.
On July 31, 1914, having promised France that Russia would help protect it, Nicholas sent his army to fight in WWI. While Russia had the biggest army, it lacked the necessary artillery. Russia therefore ended up sending some men to fight without weapons. They also were unable to transport troops in a short amount of time. Germany then declared war on Russia. Geoffrey Hosking stated that “Nicholas’s reputation, sullied by Bloody Sunday, was further damaged by military defeat – a crucial matter for a Tsar. ” (90) The Russians no longer trusted a Tsar who maltreated them at home and sent them away to war without proper support.
This is important for the remainder of my essay because now that I have explained a bit about the leader, we can better comprehend why the February Revolution occurred. The February revolution was one of two revolutions that occurred that year; the October revolution was the following one. The February revolution’s goal was to overthrow the Tsarist government although it was never really thought through or planned. It mostly occurred in Petrograd, now known as St Petersburg, and lasted approximately a week. Although it actually happened in March, because of the Julian calendar it was called the February revolution.
It began peacefully but became violent after Tsar Nicholas ordered his troops to fire on the protesters. In the last days of the revolution, the Russian monarchy’s forces sided with the revolutionaries, which led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas. The Russians no longer believed that the Tsarist government could effectively lead their country. This is relevant because, as soon as the leader loses the trust of the people, he can no longer lead them. Animal farm portrays the events of the February revolution through the allegory of animals rising up against the farmer Jones.
The first time that the idea of a revolution appears in the book is when old Major talks about the idea of Communism. Old Major is an allegory to Karl Marx, the inventor of communism. In George Orwell’s book, old Major says “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. ”(Animal Farm, 6). Old Major conveys the idea that without Jones, all animals are equal and they will have a better life. The Rebellion occurs a few months later when Jones fails to feed the animals after another drunken night.
That is when, without real planning, the animals decide that Jones should no longer be in control. In Animal Farm we find “With one accord, though nothing of the kind had been planned beforehand, they flung themselves upon their tormentors. ” (George Orwell, 12). Jones and his men are startled; nothing of the sort had ever happened before. They begin to panic: “They had never seen animals behave like this before, and this sudden uprising of creatures whom they were used to thrashing and maltreating just as they chose, frightened them almost out of their wits.
After only a moment or two they gave up trying to defend themselves and took to their heels. ” (Animal Farm,12) Jones, faced with the uprising, decides not to fight back. He leaves the premises and abandons the farm, giving the animals their victory. Having discussed the animal’s Rebellion, I will next examine what the February revolution and George Orwell’s animal Rebellion have in common. I think that George Orwell well portrayed the event, if not perfectly. The animal’s Rebellion and the February revolution have four things in common. There is also one difference.
Firstly, they were both unplanned. In the animals’ case, there had been talk about revolution but they had not planned it thoroughly and had not decided when it would occur. The February revolution was also unplanned and disorganised. The revolution took Nicholas by surprise, just as it did Jones. Secondly, they both contained a last straw event. In the February revolution, Tsar Nicholas made a disastrous decision concerning the war whereas in Animal Farm, the last straw was when Jones did not feed the animals. The animals had had enough of Jones and that is when they kicked him out.
For the Russian working class, the loss of their people in a failed war effort was the last straw. Thirdly, after the revolution and the Rebellion, a change in the governing system occurred. The animals lost Jones as their leader and created a new system named animalism. In the February revolution when Nicholas abdicated, the people remained without a monarch as a leader for the very first time. Both stories lost the person in charge, the leader. Lastly, both the Tsar and Jones found themselves fleeing to save their own lives, and were defeated by the people/animal uprising.
In George Orwell’s book we see “A minute later all five of them were in full flight down the cart-track that led to the main road…” (Animal Farm, 12). Tsar Nicholas also loses control over his kingdom and in order to survive, he must abdicate. Although George Orwell translated the February revolution very well, he incorporates more violence in the animal’s Rebellion. Contrary to the February revolution, it does not start off peacefully. In George Orwell’s book we find: “Jones and his men suddenly found themselves being butted and kicked from all sides” (Animal Farm, 12).
Although the February revolution involved some violence, it began as a peaceful demonstration. I believe that, as shown above, George Orwell used allegories correctly and was able to create a story that depicted almost perfectly the plot of the February revolution. He incorporated the main events of the revolution into another story. This is relevant to my essay because I think that it is important to see how Animal Farm’s story mirrors the real life events. In this essay I have looked at how the February revolution happened, how it was portrayed in George Orwell’s book, and how correctly it was depicted.
When people feel that their interests are no longer taken into account, they become dissatisfied and want change. This happened in Russian history and in Animal Farm. In the February revolution, the people overthrew the tsarist empire, leading to a new government system. In Animal Farm, the animals kicked Jones out of the farm, leaving the animals to create a new governing system. Whether or not either new system succeeds its goal of equality plays out in the remainder of Animal Farm and the continuation of Russian History.