the russian revolution · 2019-10-24 · the influence of rasputin over alexandra origins of...
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The Russian Revolution
-Key Concepts-
I. Pre-Revolutionary Russia
Only true autocracy left in Europe
No type of representative political institutions
Nicholas II became Tsar in 1884
Believed he was the absolute ruler anointed by God
Revolution broke out in 1905--Russo-Japanese War (1904)
II. The Revolution of 1905
The creation of a discontented working class
Vast majority of workers concentrated in St. Petersburg and Moscow
Help from the countryside: poor peasants
No individual land ownership
II. Revolution of 1905 (cont)
Russia industrialized on the backs of the peasants
Tremendous historic land hunger among peasants
Real winners of the 1905 Revolution: Middle Class
--Constitutional Democratic Party (Cadets)
--Duma
III. Alexandra: The Power Behind the Throne
Even more blindly committed to autocracy than her husband
The influence of Rasputin over Alexandra
Origins of Rasputin’s power
Scandals surrounding Rasputin served to discredit the monarchy
Welcome Back!
Bell Ringer: Using your textbook review sheet, you and your neighbor will analyze documents relating the Russian Revolution.
Were the Russian people better off after the Revolution?
Agenda and Objective: Through note review and analyzing primary sources, students will identify major events of the Russian Revolution as well as evaluate its impact on the Russian people.
Worksheet Review
Review your chapter questions on the Russian Revolution
Activity
Briefly meet with your group. Elect a speaker who will summarize your section of your homework questions to the class.
Questions 1-8
IV. World War I: “The Last Straw”
War revealed the ineptitude and arrogance of the country’s aristocratic elite
The Russian “Steam Roller”
Corrupt military leadership and contempt for ordinary Russian people
Average peasant has very little invested in the War
World War I (cont)
Poorly supplied troops
Result: Chaos and Disintegration of the Russian Army
--Battle of Tannenberg(August, 1914)
Spreading Discontent
V. The Collapse of the Imperial Government
Nicholas leaves for the Front—September, 1915
Alexandra and Rasputin throw the government into chaos
Alexandra and other high government officials accused of treason
Alexis: Alexandra’s Son with Hemophilia
V. The Collapse of the Imperial Government (cont)
Rasputin assassinated in December of 1916
Refusal to receive assistance of the Russian Middle Class
Complete mismanagement of the wartime economy
VI. The Two Revolutions of 1917
The March Revolution (March 12)
The November Revolution (November 6)
VII. The March Revolution
Origins: Food riots and strikes
Duma declared itself a Provisional Government on March12th
Tsar abdicated on March 17th
Composition of the Provisional Government--Alexander Kerensky
Very Popular Revolution The Petrograd Soviet
--Order #1
Bell Ringer Review: Primary source Analysis
As you read Lenin’s April Thesis, ponder on the following questions.
What is his attitude towards World War I? Is there any circumstance that he would would support Russian’s involvement?
Why does he think that the Bolshevik Revolution with be successful?
Questions 9-15
Kerensky’s Provisional Government (PG)
Maintain the war effort to support allies
Tsarist estates were expropriated by state
Amnesty for all political exiles
Destruction of secret internal spy system
VIII. Soviet Political Ideology
More radical and revolutionary than the Provisional Government
Most influenced by Marxist socialism
Emulated western socialism
Two Factions:
Mensheviks (moderate leftists)
Bolsheviks (radical leftists)
IX. Founder of Bolshevism: Vladimir Lenin
His Early Years-Exiled to Siberia in 1897
Lenin ‘s brother was killed for attempting to kill Alexander III. Lenin hated the Czarist government
adapts Marxist ideas to Russian conditions
Marxists - Those who followed the orthodox theory as laid out in the Communist Manifesto; called for violent overthrow of the government, international workers' union, and a focus on the urban centers of society.
Set up elite group to lead Revolution. “dictatorship of the proletariat”
Moved to London in 1902 and befriended Leon Trotsky
X. Lenin (cont)
Key role of the Party in the revolution
-- “Dictatorship of the Proletariat”
Bolsheviks split from the Russian Socialist Party in 1912
Character of the Bolshevik Party
--Joseph Stalin
XI. Lenin Steps into This Vacuum
Amnesty granted to all political prisoners in March of 1917
Lenin’s arrival in Petrograd
A tremendously charismatic personality
“Peace, Land, Bread” “All Power to the Soviets” Bolshevik party
membership exploded Consolidation of Bolshevik
power
Questions 16-23
XII. The November Revolution
The events of November 6
Council of People’s Commissars
All private property of wealthy was abolished and divided among the peasantry
Largest industrial enterprises nationalized
XII. November Revolution (cont)
Political Police organized: CHEKA
Revolutionary army created with Trotsky in charge-- “Red Army”
Bolshevik Party renamed Communist Party in March of 1918
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk negotiated with the Germans
Terms of the Treaty
XIII. November Revolution (cont)
Humiliating Treaty would be nullified since all of the west was on the verge of revolution
Civil War fought between 1917-1920
-- “Reds” versus “Whites”
Complete breakdown of Russian economy and society
XIV. Vacuum of Leadership in Russia
Petrograd Soviet dominated by Mensheviks
Failure of the Provisional Government
Workers refusing to work and soldiers refusing to fight
Peasants were expropriating the land outright
Power was literally lying in the streets of Petrograd(St. Petersburg)
How did Lenin impose Communist control in Russia
between 1917-1924?
Factors that helped Lenin impose
Communist control inRussia 1917-1924.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
1918
The Civil War 1918-
1921
The execution of Tsar Nicholas
II 1918
Success of the New Economic
Policy
The Cheka
The abandonment of the Constituent
Assembly
The Kronstadt Revolt 1921
War Communism
•Straight after the October Revolution of 1917, Lenin
promised to hold elections for a Parliament to be known as the
Constituent Assembly.
•Lenin renamed the Bolshevik Party as the Communist Party
in order to win wider support. However, the Communists only
won 175 seats out of 700, not enough for a majority.
•Therefore Lenin shut down the Constituent Assembly after
only one day- the first step in setting up a Communist
dictatorship.
The abandonment of the Constituent Assembly 1917
The Cheka (or secret police)
•In December 1917 Lenin set up a secret police force known as the
Cheka. Cheka agents spied on the Russian people in factories and
villages.
•Anyone suspected of being anti-Communist could be arrested, tortured
and executed without a trial.
•When opponents tried to assassinate Lenin in 1918, he launched the Red
Terror campaign against his enemies. It is said that 50,000 people were
arrested and executed in this period.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918
•In March 1918 Russia signed a
humiliating peace treaty with
Germany.
•Russia lost a huge amount of land
in the West. This included about
one-sixth of the population (60
million people), three-quarters of
its iron and coal and over a quarter
of the best farmland in Russia.
The Civil War 1918-1921
•The opponents of the ‘Reds’, Lenin and the Communists,
were known as the ‘Whites’.
•The Whites were a mixture of aristocrats, royalists,
churchmen, army officers and many others.
•The Whites were supported by Britain, France, Japan and
the USA, countries that were alarmed at the possible spread
of communism. At the same time, Lenin fought a war
against Poland, a new country formed by the Treaty of
Versailles in 1919.
•Although in a very dangerous position, the Communists
were able to win the Civil War. This was because the Whites
were divided, while the Reds controlled the key cities,
industrial centres and communication links
The execution of Tsar
Nicholas II July 1918
•After his abdication in March 1917,
Tsar Nicholas II and his family were
arrested and sent to Siberia.
•In July 1918, the Romanovs were in
Ekaterinburg, with a White army
closing in on the town. Local
communists were worried that the
Tsar might be a rallying point for the
Whites. As a result, Tsar Nicholas,
his wife, their five children and four
attendants were shot and bayoneted.
War Communism
To win the Civil War and impose
Communism in Russia, Lenin needed a
strong Red Army supplied with weapons
and food.
The state took control of the factories and
appointed managers to run them. Work was
hard and long, food was rationed to only
those who worked and trade unions were
banned.
To get enough food, the Cheka seized all
surplus grain from the peasants. The
peasants hid food or preferred to grow less
rather than give it away free to feed the
towns.
Drought and famine hit Russia in 1921 –
over 4 million people died.
The Kronstadt Revolt 1921
•War Communism made Lenin’s government very unpopular.
Discontent amongst the peasants led to violence in the cities.
Workers went on strike, in spite of the death penalty for
striking.
•The most serious opposition to Lenin’s government came in
March 1921. Sailors at the Kronstadt naval base near
Petrograd revolted. They accused Lenin of breaking his
promise to help the workers.
•Lenin ordered the Red Army to put down the revolt. This
caused 20,000 casualties and the leaders of the revolt were
executed. However, the mutiny was a warning to Lenin that
he might have to relax War Communism.
Success of the New Economic Policy 1921
To regain popular support, Lenin relaxed War
Communism with the New Economic Policy
(NEP). Smaller industries were returned to private
ownership and peasants could sell their surplus on
the open market. This was a return to capitalism
and competition.
Lenin hoped that NEP would give Russia ‘a
breathing space’ to get back on its feet. Most of the
Communist Party saw the need for NEP, but some
were against it.
On the whole NEP was a success. But it did create
some problems. Some peasants, the Kulaks, became
rich, while ‘Nepmen’ or businessmen made a profit
in the towns. Some saw NEP as a betrayal of
communism and return to the old system.
But, Lenin failed to provide a clear
successor on his death. This led to
four years of bitter struggle.
When Lenin died in 1924, he had
been very successful in imposing a
communist dictatorship in Russia.
He had defeated all of his opponents
and established a strong communist
government. As each of the areas
formerly belonging to the Tsar came
under communist control, they were
turned into socialist republics. In
1923 these became the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Who
would
succeed
Lenin?
Trotsky – Red ArmyCommander and
Commisar of ForeignAffairs
Stalin – Commisar forNationalities
OR