The French and Russian Revolutions and Their Impact on Human Rights Development in Europe and Indonesia

Abstract

This study analyzes the historical significance and long-term impacts of the French Revolution (1789) and the Russian Revolution (1917) on the evolution of human rights, democracy, and ideological frameworks in Europe and their contextual adaptation in Indonesia. Using a comparative-historical method, the research examines primary historical documents, scholarly monographs, and legal texts to trace how these revolutions dismantled absolutist regimes and catalyzed paradigm shifts in political legitimacy, social justice, and individual freedoms. Findings indicate that the French Revolution laid the philosophical and institutional groundwork for modern liberal democracy and universal human rights, epitomized by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789). Conversely, the Russian Revolution advanced a collectivist, socialist vision of rights, prioritizing economic equality and class emancipation. In the Indonesian context, human rights are interpreted not as a secular construct but as a divine endowment, embedded in Pancasila and local wisdom thus demonstrating a dynamic synthesis of universal principles and national-cultural specificity. This article highlights the enduring relevance of these revolutions in shaping 21st-century discourse on rights, governance, and ideological pluralism.