This exploratory essay will explore the causes for the Egyptian Revolution and predict where as a country they will be in five years by knowledge from previous revolutions such as the French and Russian. The Egyptian Revolution began because of the lack of basic human rights, the censorship in education, which was controlled by a corrupt government. The cause of the French Revolution was the brutal taxation of the lower estates and the desire for equality. Similar to the French revolution, the Russian revolution was about the unfair working conditions for the middle class in their society. I believe with the knowledge accumulated from past revolutions will help establish a final outcome of the Egyptian Revolution.
Pursuing the comparisons between the Egyptian and French Revolution further more by linking past events such as the taxation on the third estate and the leader of France, Louis XV1. In Egypt there are major problems occurring just like the ones in France years ago. Hosni Mubarak the leader who stepped down recently has some very similar traits that Louis XVI displayed when he was leader in France. Mubarak and Louis both were overthrown by their people because the living conditions provided for lower class citizens were extremely brutal and the denial of human rights which also helped make tension between the community and these leaders much more hostile. Both leaders were also very corrupt, Hosni Mubarak chose his fellow political leaders no matter who the people voted for to make sure that he did not lose power. In France Louis XVI was part of the extremely unfair taxation of the lower estates. The third estate was paying most of the taxes while the nobility only was inclined to pay 2 percent. Very similar to how in France the people that need finical support are getting zero help by their government is still occurring in modern day Egypt. The typical Egyptian is making a total of 300 pounds a week and is forced into becoming a thief just to aid their families. Clearly the governments and treatments of the France Revolution can help.
Another revolution that is very similar is the Russian and it can help bring more enlightenment to the subject of where Egypt will be in 5 years. There are a lot of comparisons between the two but one of the most irrelevant is Sunday Bloody Sunday and the Egyptian protests in Tahrir Square. The Bolsheviks were the protestor’s during the Russian Revolution and decided to take non-violent protests against the current government very similar to how the people of Egypt took to the streets and protested against Mubarak. The Bolsheviks were fighting against Alexander II for more land, better working conditions, higher wages compared to Egyptian protestors who wanted similar rights plus the abolishing of censorship and corruption in the political figures of the country. Unlike the protestors on Sunday Bloody Sunday, the Egyptian protest didn’t end with blood shed by the revolutionaries. Another relation between the two revolutions are their leaders. Czar Nicholas's wife Alexandra of Hesse Darmstadt was a strong part in his decisions because she believed in autocratic power witch put all the power of Russia at the Czars hands. Mubarak led Egypt as a democratic nation but truthfully the roots of the political intentions were driven by more dictatorship ideals. Even with a huge gap in time, both of these leaders took advantage of their people for their own benefit. A Way they took advantage of their people is by making them overpay for their own benefits. Over Mubarak’s time in power the citizens living in Egypt have had brutal living conditions mostly due to the high unemployment rates. From the span of 2010-2011 the unemployment rate went up 3.2 percent, from 9% to 12.2%. So far the year to come the unemployment rate is projected to get worse. In Russia the unemployment rate was also very bad, which relates to how corrupt leaders are not looking out for their citizens.
In Conclusion, from learning about the Russian and French revolution, insight has been accumulated to help understand where Egypt will be in 5 years. After discovering and analyzing information about the past revolutions finally a conclusion has appeared. In 5 years from now I believe that Egypt will be struggling to figure out who will be in control of the country. It is impossible for a very quick return from such damage that was in the making of 30 years from Hosni Mubarak. I think it will take some time to restructure Egypt as a country and for everything to offset and become normal. The change can come sooner than expected with elections in May. For the first time in 30 years it is up to the people to choose the direction of Egypt.