Question by valerie: Why were Lenin and the Bolsheviks able to seize power in November 1917?
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Answer by wilderwriter
Primarily the economic conditions for the overwhelming majority were so terrible that the populace was ripe for revolution. The bolsheviks had the combination of attractive promises and had organized so well (particularly within the Army) that they had the power to offer an alternative command structure, with which they were able to defeat the “white” Russians also pushing for revolt.
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andymarkelson says
Keep in mind that the Russian Imperial forces were busy warring on the Eastern Front of the Great War at the time. Those that did return probably weren't that supportive of the Imperial dynasty anymore; no man who ever gazed upon the trenches, mud, and rotting corpses of WWI was ever the same "Patriotic" citizen again.