The Three Sages and "I Cried for the Revolution"

I am a fifth-grade elementary school student.
I recently learned about the "Meiji Restoration" and "Civilization and Enlightenment" in social studies class, but my eyes were caught by a phrase the teacher had scribbled in the corner of the blackboard.

Why, I wonder?
Why would something that happened in a faraway country like "Russia" appear in my social studies textbook?
The moment I suddenly wrote "What is the Russian Revolution?" in my notebook that night, the lights in my room flickered, and the hands of the clock began to spin around.

What appeared was—

A man appeared in a black hat and coat, looking as if he had stepped out of a period drama.
"I am Lenin. I heard you had questions."

Next, an elegant woman sitting comfortably in a chair appeared.
"I am Hannah Arendt. I came to talk a little about revolution."

Finally, a bearded man clutching an old book appeared quietly.
"Fyodor Dostoevsky. Your question stirred my heart."

The three of them turn my small room into a "theater of history."

Lenin: "Why was a revolution necessary?"

"My boy, in 1917 Russia, there was a 'Tsar,' and the people were enduring cold and hunger.
Workers couldn't get bread even after working for over 12 hours, and young people were being sent off to war (World War I) one after another.
The 'Tsarist regime' was on the verge of collapse.
I shouted, 'All power to the Soviets (workers' councils)!'

Revolution, my boy,
begins the moment someone says, 'I can't take this anymore.'

Arendt: "How can freedom be sustained?"

"But, Lenin. Did your revolution create freedom?
Certainly, the Tsar was overthrown.
But after that, people who voiced opposing opinions were thrown into prison.
My boy, people becoming free is not the 'revolution' itself.
What matters is 'what comes after,' and what kind of rules you create."

A true revolution is the creation of a system.
If you only destroy, freedom will soon vanish.

Dostoevsky: "What do humans seek when they start a revolution?"

"My boy, do you know my novel 'Demons'?
In it, young people who dream of revolution appear.
But deep in their hearts, there was 'anger' and 'emptiness'.
People sometimes desire 'destruction' before they know it, while speaking of 'justice'.
The Russian Revolution was a hope, and at the same time, it was a deep shadow of humanity."

Revolution is not just for bread.
People turn the world upside down because they want to shout, 'I am alive!'

The air in the room changed slightly.
Hannah Arendt stood up slowly.
Her tone was gentle, but her eyes shone like distant lightning.

"My boy, you asked, 'Is the Russian Revolution amazing, or is it sad?'
But what you should really be asking is, 'Why did it fail?'"

I couldn't help but ask back.

"Fail...?"

Arendt nodded quietly.

“The Russian Revolution began as a quest for 'freedom.'
The monarchy collapsed, the people rose up, a parliament was formed, and people tried to talk to one another.
However, that freedom vanished in an instant.
Because‘violence became the only means’.”

Lenin’s expression twisted slightly.
But he said nothing and listened intently.

Arendt continued.

“People will sometimes rise up for freedom even without bread.
But if a revolution only changes the ‘form of rule,’
then it isnot liberation, but ‘re-enslavement.’
Remember this, my boy.
The essence of revolution is not ‘destruction,’ but ‘creation.’
Thinking about ‘how to live’ after tearing things down is the true meaning of revolution.”

The words I had written in my notebook blurred before my eyes.

“But…”
I muttered.

“If the people who sought freedom ended up causing others to suffer…
did it really have any meaning?”

Dostoevsky opened his mouth heavily.

“The meaning is not immediately apparent.
But as long as you keep asking, your ‘cry’ will reach someone.”

Lenin turned toward me quietly, yet powerfully.

His hat fell off, and he had eyes like a child, just like mine.

“My boy.
You are still a child.
But you already possess the ‘power to question’ the world.
That is a revolutionary power stronger than any adult’s.”

“Whether the Russian Revolution was right or not.
It is the people of the future—
that is, ‘you all’—who will decide that.”

“Please, do not forget.
History begins with ‘knowing,’
and lives on through ‘continuing to question.’”

Lenin gently closed my notebook.

“Your questions begin small, like a revolution.
But every step you take holds the potential to change the world.”

I woke up,
and wrote this on the last page of my notebook.

“I want to build, not destroy.
I want to talk, not shout.
I am the one who decides that.”

Even after the three sages had left, the lingering echo of the ‘question’ that remained in the corner of the room
felt as though it had made my world just a little bit larger.

By the way, what was the Russian Revolution...?

Once upon a time, there was a large country called "Russia".
In that very cold and vast country, a king called a "Tsar" decided everything for the nation all by himself.

This king, Nicholas II, had many castles and golden carriages.
But at that time, most of the people in Russia were very poor and worked hard every day while going hungry.

In Russia around 1900, working people lived lives where they couldn't even buy bread despite working from morning until night.
Moreover, the country participated in a war (World War I), young men were sent to the front one after another, and families were filled with grief.

Amidst all this, voices began to emerge from among the people.

"As long as the king is here, we will always be miserable!"

And in March 1917, the people of Russia finally rose up.
Demonstrations and strikes spread, and even the soldiers sided with the citizens.
As a result, Nicholas II was driven from the throne.

After the king was gone, a government was formed to discuss "what to do with Russia from now on."
But—this government couldn't produce much change, to the point where people wondered, "How is this any different from before?"

That was when a man named Lenin appeared.

He said this:

"This time, let's build a country for the working people!"
"All power to the Soviets (workers' councils)!"

In November of that year, Lenin and his followers took up arms to overthrow the government, and the Russian Revolution truly began.

Lenin's comrades were called the "Bolsheviks".
They built a new country, and the "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics," commonly known as the "Soviet Union," was born.

In this country,

• factories and land were no longer just for the rich, but were made for everyone

• there was no king

• schools and hospitals were made available for everyone to use

—these ideas began to spread.

But on the other hand,

• those who opposed it were arrested or executed

• An era began where people could not speak freely.

That was also a sad reality.

So, was the Russian Revolution "a good thing?"

That is a difficult question that cannot be answered immediately.

It is true that the era where only kings were great ended.
But if you ask whether a "free and equal society" arrived immediately, that was not the case.

Lenin and his followers intended to act for the sake of "justice," but
mixed within that were "power" and "fear."

The Russian Revolution was

a great cry from people saying, "We want to live better!"

It was something frightening, yet also a ray of hope.

But you know, a revolution is

not just about "tearing things down." Thinking about "how to build" is the true revolution
.

So, because I thought, "I want to know about the Russian Revolution,"
I am already standing at the gateway of history.