The October Revolution pt 1 ( Dr Matthew Raphael Johnson)

Dr Matthew Raphael Johnson presents part one of a two part series on the mechanics of the Bolshevik takeover of power in the October revolution in 1917.

In February, the Tsar was overthrown in a military coup – he never “resigned” – but this was only a pretext. The Provisional Government, the “Whites,” were weak, divided and incoherent. Because of the connections Trotsky and others had made with New York bankers, especially the Schiff clan, the Bolshevik faction, relatively small in February of 1917, had grown many times its original size in October.

How a tiny, unpopular party grew from a few hundred in February to 400,000 in October is something that requires a substantial answer. The reason is German assistance, the emptying of the prisons, the use of German POWs as infantry, mercenaries from abroad and, MOST OF ALL, the influx of huge sums of money from JEWISH BANKERS IN NY.

In the short period of time between February and October, more than 40 Red newspapers sprang up all over the country that outclassed their rivals in production quality. Finally, the abortive coup of Gen. Kornilov to end the chaos of Kerensky's regime (some say set up by Kerensky himself) destroyed what was left of army discipline, and the small but powerful Red battalions swept into the unguarded Petrograd center.

And this was just the start.

Presented by Matt Johnson