THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONTHE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION19171917
Causes of the RevolutionCauses of the Revolution Autocratic
government gave no political outlet to the people
Conservatism & incompetence of Tsar Nicholas II
Embarrassing defeat in Russo-Japanese War (1904-05)
Failure of 1905 Revolution Stillborn Duma
Growth violent political opposition among factory workers
Causes of Causes of the the
RevolutionRevolution WW1 revealed the incompetence of the aristocrats and military
Average soldier had little enthusiasm for the war
Government was unable to properly supply the army or provide decent hospitals
Russia suffered massive casualties leading to high rates of mutiny & desertion
Causes of the RevolutionCauses of the Revolution Tsarina Alexandra
was extremely conservative
Guided by “holy man” Rasputin
During the war Alexandra and Rasputin basically ran the government
Scandals involving Rasputin discredited the entire monarchy
Rasputin is assassinated in 1916
March RevolutionMarch Revolution
Mismanaged wartime economy led to rampant inflation and food shortages
Cities flooded with refugees March 8-11, 1917:
increasingly large demonstrations in Petrograd demanding bread and democracy
Factory workers went on strike and joined
Army was ordered to fire on the crowds but refused
Provisional Provisional GovernmentGovernment March 12: Duma
established the Provisional Government
March 15: Tsar Nicholas II abdicated
Provisional Government headed by Prince Lvov and Alexander Kerensky Decided to carry on the
war Favored gradual political
and economic reforms and eventual land redistribution
Little actual control of the country
Petrograd SovietPetrograd Soviet
Soviet: council of workers or workers Sprang up in army units,
factories, villages and major cities
Dominated by socialists and demanded radical change
Petrograd Soviet Claimed to be the
legitimate govt Urged Russians not to
fight, work or pay taxes to the Provisional Government
Vladimir LeninVladimir Lenin
Political terrorist Devoted to Marxism Helped found Bolshevik
Party in 1902 Believed that a
revolutionary vanguard must bring about revolution
Dedicated to violent revolution
Exiled to Switzerland before the war
Germany allowed him safe passage to return to Russia in April 1917
Lenin Steps Into the Vacuum
March: PG releases all political prisoners
April: Lenin arrives in Petrograd
Preached a message of “Peace, Land, Bread” “All Power to the
Soviets” “Worker Control of
Production” Bolsheviks rapidly
recruited workers and soldiers
November RevolutionNovember Revolution Workers frustrated with the
slow pace of reform Army tired of fighting
desertions skyrocket Attempted army coup leads
PG to arm the soviets to stop the coup
Bolshevik membership grows 5 x in one year
November 6-7: Bolshevik forces seize the Winter Palace in Petrograd and the PG flees
Bolsheviks quickly move to consolidate control over the civil service, transportation and communications
Army mostly joins the Bolshevik revolution
November 1917 to March 1918 Duma is disbanded and
replaced with a Council of People’s Commissars
Private property abolished and divided among peasants
Most factories entrusted to soviets
Political police called the Cheka established
Red Army created under command of Leon Trotsky
Bolshevik Party renamed Communist Party
Trotsky signs Treaty of Brest Litovsk to end the war
Civil WarCivil War Enemies of the Bolsheviks
begin to organize a civil war against the new regime
Opponents of the Bolsheviks are called the “Whites” Old aristocracy Liberals Moderate socialists
8 foreign countries intervene on the side of the Whites including France, Japan, Britain & US
Minorities such as the Ukrainians, Poles, Finns and Georgians also fought against the Reds
Lenin’s forces are called the “Reds”
Civil War 1918 Kolchak invades from
Siberia Balts and Finns attack
from the west Ukrainians attack from
the south Allies invade from the
north Royal family is murdered
1919 Deniken invades from the
south Poles attack from the
west 1920
Reds defeat Deniken and retake Ukraine
1921 Reds reconquer Georgia,
Armenia & Azerbaijan
How did the Reds win?
Reds controlled central Russia Whites were extremely
politically divided Peasants feared that the
Whites would take away their land
Trotsky imposed strict military discipline on the Red Army
Cheka terrorized any and all opponents of the regime
Foreign intervention aroused Russian patriotism
Communists made very effective use of propaganda
Communists established firm control over the economy (war communism)
New Economic Policy (NEP)
By 1921 the economy was devastated and Western countries wouldn’t trade with Russia
Forcing peasants to turn over their grain had led to unrest, hoarding and famine
1921: NEP allowed peasants to sell grain in a free market and keep profits
Small businesses could be privately owned
Grain production skyrocketed, prices came down, and famine ended
1922: Russia renamed “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics”
Changes to Russian society
Govt tried to end the domination of ________________ Made it easier to _______________ Encouraged all women to get an
education and enter the work force
Established free ______________ Legalized ___________________ Govt encouraged educational and
recreational clubs Govt tried to improve _____________
Campaigns to eradicate epidemic diseases
Many doctors were trained and hospitals built
____________________ rose rapidly
Say NO to the oppression and
vacuity of household work!
Changes to Russian society
Equal rights were given to all ethnic and __________ groups
Govt promoted ____________ Almost all churches and
monasteries were closed and property confiscated
Priests and monks were publically humiliated and/or sent to prison camps
All schools were secularized
_______________________ sporadically prohibited