Revolutions are usually associated with change. While the change is huge and significant, how it happens and why it happens are more important aspects to consider. When looking at two specific revolutions in history, the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution, there are two main leaders that stand out greatly. In these two primary sources they share their goals, characterization of democracy, and views on violence in their movements that have strongly influenced change. The French Revolution lasted from 1789 to 1799 and had the main goal of decreasing powerful monarchs and increasing democracies and nationalism. The Russian Revolution in this primary source took place in 1917 and was aimed at getting rid of the power of the bourgeoisie and ultimately creating a communist Soviet Union. Maximilien Robespierre started out as a young French lawyer and local politician who became a very influential figure in the French Revolution. . Robespierre was influenced by the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a Swiss scholar who believed that the determination of the people was vital and that the legitimacy of the king/monarch depended on what the people wanted or would agree with. Essentially, he thought government relied on the will of the people and spread ideas to men like Robespierre. Robespierre led one of the most radical periods of the French Revolution known as the Reign of Terror. He led the Jacobins from 1793 to 1794, a radical republican group that made up the majority of the National Convention. The National Convention was the new government in France at the time. The period in which he led the Jacobins was also the period of the Reign of Terror, a deadly phase of the revolution in which thousands of lives were lost under the guillotine. A... middle of paper... olence that led to change. Understanding why an action was taken leads to a better understanding of the outcome. Unfortunately, neither of these two strong leaders had a particularly successful outcome. Robespierre was eventually executed and the Reign of Terror ended. Lenin was however more successful than Robespierre, he took control of Russia renaming it the Soviet Union as he had planned, but eventually became too ill to rule leaving the country in terrible shape to Stalin. Overall it is proven that, according to these two prominent leaders, violence and democracy go hand in hand in a revolution. They saw violence as the most effective way to create the change they aimed for in their countries. Works Cited Bulliet, Richard W. "Chapter 22." The Earth and Her Peoples: A Global History: Vol.II: Since 1500. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2011. Page No. Press