Was the communist revolution in Russia a revolution of the masses or of the elite?

Question

Most of what I read show the leaders, Stalin, Lenin, Trotsky were from educated well off families. They never had alot of followers but those they had were ruthless. Most peasants as you might call them fought for the white army who were not communist, infact the white army wanted democracy. Samething today most of those preaching communism do it from universities not the fields and factories.

Answer 1

Neither masses nor elite, but a small group of criminals. I refuse to call them elite.

Answer 2

There was a great deal of support for the Revolution among the masses in Russia, particularly the industrial workers. Many of the leaders of the communist party were well educated and could be called part of the elite. But certainly not all of them. Stalin, for example was not by any means not part of any elite. To call the party leaders a bunch of criminals is absurd and certainly a misrepresentation. They may have been misguided and had a problematic reading of Marx but most of them started out with good intentions even if it went quickly wrong.

I don't believe that there is a lot of support for 'Communism' in academia. That misunderstanding comes from the fact that Marxism has had a lot of influence in a number of academic disciplines including philosophy, political science, sociology etc. But I was in academia for many years and met very few who actually supported communist governments. Most actual communists that I met were in the so-called third world anyway. There continues to be many socialists though all over the world. Many working-class people continue to support a great deal of the socialist agenda and recent elections in Latin America show that socialists are still many in number.

Answer 3

I have always been under the impression that you can not have a successful revolution unless the middle class supported it. The replacement government is very dependent on the figure heads of the revolution more so than the ideology of the middle class. The example given to me by my history teacher in relation to the Russian revolution was the walking cane of a rich person. The top of the cane was ornate and had jewels ( the aristocracy) the majority of the length and support of the cane was the staff ( the middle class or working class) and the tip of the cane was the part that was dirty and received the worst environment was the criminal element. The result of the revolution inverted the cane. The aristocracy had fallen and was stripped of the wealth. The middle class working class still had nothing, and the Criminal element was now in charge.