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24 Unit 4, Chapter 14

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GUIDED READING Revolutions in RussiaSection 1

A. Analyzing Causes and Recognizing Effects As you read this section, take notesto answer questions about some factors in Russia that helped lead to revolution.

B. Determining Main Ideas On the back of this paper, identify each of the following:

proletariat Rasputin provisional government soviet Communist Party

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How did each of the following help to ignite the full-scale revolution?

1. Policies of the czars

2. Industrialization and economic growth

3. The Russo-Japanese War

4. “Bloody Sunday”

5. World War I

6. The March Revolution

How did each of the following help the Bolsheviks gain and hold political control?

7. November 1917 Revolution

8. Civil war between the Red and White armies

9. Organization of Russia into republics

What role did each of the following play in the Russian Revolution?

10. Karl Marx

11. V. I. Lenin

12. Leon Trotsky

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SKILLBUILDER PRACTICE Analyzing CausesHistorians analyze causes to understand why events in the past happened.Historical events such as strikes and revolutions often have multiple causes. Asyou read the excerpts below, try to identify the reasons for the local protest thatexploded into the March Revolution of 1917. Then fill in the chart. (SeeSkillbuilder Handbook)

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Passage AThe fact is that the . . . revolution was begun frombelow, overcoming the resistance of its own revolu-tionary organizations, the initiative being taken oftheir own accord by the most oppressed and down-trodden . . . women textile workers. . . . The over-grown bread lines had provided the last stimulus.About 90,000 workers, men and women, were onstrike that day. . . . Throughout the entire [next] day,crowds of people poured from one part of the city toanother. . . . Along with shouts of “Down with thepolice!” was heard oftener and oftener a “Hurrah”addressed to the Cossacks. . . . The soldiers showindifference, at times hostility to the police. Itspreads excitedly through the crowd that when thepolice opened fire by the Alexander III monument,the Cossacks let go a volley at the horse [police].

Leon Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution

Passage BThe rising cost of living and the food crisis couldnot but serve as revolutionary factors among themasses. . . . Gradually the minor issues of food, theprice of bread, and the lack of goods turned intopolitical discussions concerning the entire system ofthe social order. In this atmosphere political move-ments grew feverishly and matured quickly. . . .

Peter I. Lyashchenko, History of the National Economy ofRussia to the 1917 Revolution

Passage CThose nameless, austere statesmen of the factoryand streets did not fall out of the sky: they had tobe educated. . . . To the question, Who led the . . .revolution? we can then answer definitely enough:Conscious and tempered workers educated for themost part by the party of Lenin. . . .

Leon Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution

What were three causes of the March Revolution?

Economic

Political/Social

Other

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32 Unit 4, Chapter 14

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PRIMARY SOURCE from Bloody Sundayby Father Gapon

On January 22, 1905, a priest named Father Gapon led a peaceful march of about200,000 workers and their families to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Themarchers wanted to ask Czar Nicholas II for better working conditions, more per-sonal freedom, and an elected national legislature. As you read the followingexcerpt from Father Gapon’s autobiography, think about what happened onBloody Sunday.

Section 1

We were not more than thirty yards from thesoldiers, being separated from them only by

the bridge over the Tarakanovskii Canal, whichhere marks the border of the city, when suddenly,without any warning and without a moment’s delay,was heard the dry crack of many rifle-shots. I wasinformed later on that a bugle was blown, but wecould not hear it above the singing, and even if wehad heard it we should not have known what itmeant.

Vasiliev, with whom I was walking hand in hand,suddenly left hold of my arm and sank upon thesnow. One of the workmen who carried the ban-ners fell also. Immediately one of the two policeofficers to whom I had referred shouted out, ‘Whatare you doing? How dare you fire upon the portraitof the Tsar?’ This, of course, had no effect, andboth he and the other officer were shot down—as I learned afterwards, one was killed and the otherdangerously wounded.

I turned rapidly to the crowd and shouted tothem to lie down, and I also stretched myself outupon the ground. As we lay thus another volley wasfired, and another, and yet another, till it seemed asthough the shooting was continuous. The crowdfirst kneeled and then lay flat down, hiding theirheads from the rain of bullets, while the rear rowsof the procession began to run away. The smoke ofthe fire lay before us like a thin cloud, and I felt itstiflingly in my throat. . . . A little boy of ten years,who was carrying a church lantern, fell pierced by abullet, but still held the lantern tightly and tried torise again, when another shot struck him down.Both the smiths who had guarded me were killed,as well as all those who were carrying the icons andbanners; and all these emblems now lay scatteredon the snow. The soldiers were actually shootinginto the courtyards of the adjoining houses, wherethe crowd tried to find refuge and, as I learned

afterwards, bullets even struck persons inside,through the windows.

At last the firing ceased. I stood up with a fewothers who remained uninjured and looked downat the bodies that lay prostrate around me. I criedto them, ‘Stand up!’ But they lay still. I could not atfirst understand. Why did they lie there? I lookedagain, and saw that their arms were stretched outlifelessly, and I saw the scarlet stain of blood uponthe snow. Then I understood. It was horrible. Andmy Vasiliev lay dead at my feet.

Horror crept into my heart. The thought flashedthrough my mind, ‘And this is the work of ourLittle Father, the Tsar.’ Perhaps this anger savedme, for now I knew in very truth that a new chapterwas opened in the book of the history of our people.I stood up, and a little group of workmen gatheredround me again. Looking backward, I saw that ourline, though still stretching away into the distance,was broken and that many of the people were flee-ing. It was in vain that I called to them, and in amoment I stood there, the centre of a few scores ofmen, trembling with indignation amid the brokenruins of our movement.

from Father Gapon, The Story of My Life (1905). Reprintedin John Carey, ed., Eyewitness to History (New York: Avon,1987), 417–418.

Discussion QuestionsDetermining Main Ideas1. When did the soldiers start firing on the marchers?2. According to this excerpt, who were among the

victims of the shooting?3. Analyzing Causes and Recognizing Effects

Why do you think many Russians were outragedby this massacre? Use information from thisexcerpt as well as your textbook to support youropinion.

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Vladimir Lenin was one of the century’s mostimportant leaders. Unhappy and disillusioned

with the Russian monarchy, he led a group calledthe Bolsheviks in a revolution that gave him controlof the largest nation in the world.

Born in 1870, Lenin was raised by two educatedparents in a happy family. He showed intelligenceand skill with classical languages. While in histeens, two shocks jolted his world. First, his fatherwas threatened with losing his job by the govern-ment. Second, Lenin’s older brother was hangedfor conspiring against the czar. Within two years,Lenin had read the work of Karl Marx and believedthat Russia needed a Communist revolution.

Lenin then began to write and to recruit newfollowers. He was arrested and served 15 months inprison followed by three years of exile in Siberia.When that ended in 1900, he traveled abroad,where he spent much of the next 17 years. Duringthis time, he sharpened his ideas about Marxism.

Marxism said that industrial workers, called theproletariat, were in a struggle against capitalists, thepeople that owned businesses. Eventually, Marxsaid, the workers would overthrow the capitalistsand form a new society called communism. However,Russia consisted mainly of peasants and only had asmall number of industrial workers. Marxists won-dered how a workers’ revolution could occur.

Lenin saw the role of the party as essential, andhis group became known as the Bolsheviks. TheBolsheviks, he said, would lead the people to therevolution they needed. However, many Marxistsfound it difficult to accept Lenin’s iron rule. In 1912,he forced those who disagreed with him out of theparty.

World War I brought another crisis. Communistsall over Europe ignored class loyalty and chose tofight for their country instead. They joined theirnations’ armies to fight each other—not the capital-ists. Lenin said that the war would help capitalistsprofit while workers suffered. He urged thatCommunists “transform the imperialist war into acivil war.”

As the war continued, the Russian people suf-fered terribly. In March 1917, hungry, angry workersand soldiers overthrew the czar. Lenin and his sup-porters won permission from Germany to travelthrough German lands back to Russia.

Lenin accepted the new temporary governmentbut said that it was not revolutionary enough. Heurged that power go to the soviets, which werecouncils of workers set up in many cities. His posi-tion grew dangerous. He was branded a Germanagent and was forced to live in hiding in Finland.From that base, he issued a stream of writings urgingimmediate Russian withdrawal from the war andfor the government to give land and bread to thepeople. These cries gained popularity. In lateOctober, he returned to Russia, disguised for hissafety. He persuaded the party’s leaders that it wastime to overthrow the provisional government butwatched with alarm as no steps were taken. Finally,on November 7, 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrewthe temporary government. The soviets chose the47-year-old Lenin as their leader.

Lenin quickly made peace with Germany, givingup large chunks of Russian territory. A civil war,though, still raged in Russia between the Bolsheviksand their opponents. However, Lenin’s leadershipensured that the new government would survive.

With peace came the question of how to rule thenew state. The country was named the Union ofSoviet Socialist Republics, and the Bolsheviksrenamed themselves the Communist Party. In Lenin’slast years, he struggled to prevent Stalin from gainingpower. Lenin became ill and died in 1924.

Questions1. Drawing Conclusions What is the danger of

Lenin’s idea of party leadership?2. Making Inferences Why did the Germans allow

Lenin and his associates to return to Russia?3. Determining Main Ideas What obstacles did

Lenin have to overcome to achieve his revolution?

HISTORYMAKERS Vladimir LeninRussian Revolutionary

“There is no other man who is absorbed by the revolution twenty-four hours aday, who has no other thoughts but the thought of revolution, and who evenwhen he sleeps, dreams of nothing but revolution.”—another Communist,speaking of Lenin

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RETEACHING ACTIVITY Revolutions in RussiaSection 1

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Reading Comprehension Find the name or term in the second column that bestmatches the description in the first column. Then write the letter of your answer(s) inthe blank.

____ 1. Czar who turned Russia into a police state

____ 2. Under Russian Marxism, the group of workers who wouldrule the country

____ 3. Radical Marxist group willing to sacrifice everything forchange

____ 4. Main leader of the Bolsheviks

____ 5. Another name for the Revolution of 1905 in St.Petersburg

____ 6. Alleged healer who Czarina Alexandra allowed to makedecisions in Nicholas II’s absence

____ 7. Another term for temporary government

____ 8. In Russia, local councils consisting of workers, peasants,and soldiers

____ 9. Revolutionary leader who commanded the Bolshevik Red Army

____10. New name for the Bolsheviks after the revolution

A. Bloody Sunday

B. Bolsheviks

C. provisional government

D. Soviets

E. Leon Trotsky

F. Lenin

G. Communist Party

H. Alexander III

I. Rasputin

J. proletariat

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