The Russian Revolution

Russia Had Issues With Modernization in the 19th Century

All industrialized European powers had growing pains, aka ________________, on the way to modernization

Russian aristocracy would like to find a way to have the modern life, without losing their special positions

External Pressures Forced the Issue

Humiliating Loss to Japan in 1905

Led to rioting in Russia Bloody Sunday in St.

Petersburg

Duma- symbolic Parliament, but largely powerless

A Total War/ War of Attrition Wasn’t So Great for Russia

Russians welcome it at first as a chance to restore honor (after loss to the Japanese)

However, soon the Russians are sending soldiers to the front without rifles

Lenin- His Radicalization

Older brother executed for plotting against the Tsar

Lenin became completely absorbed with pulling off a radical socialist revolution in Russia inspired by Karl Marx, among others Lenin was such a pain in the gov’ts butt that he

was eventually exiled from the country

Lenin’s Form of Marxism (aka Leninism)

Agreements with Marx Bourgeois are the problem Only violent revolution can solve the

problem

Disagreements with Marx Revolution can happen in an agrarian

society Russia

Revolution will not come about from natural historical forces

Instead, a vanguard of die hard intellectual revolutionaries must lead the way

Lenin’s Views on WWI

International conflict is pointless It just gives the bourgeois an excuse to divert the

common man from the internal problems caused by capitalist greed by focusing it instead on war with another people

New nationalism-style, right? According to Lenin, the true fight is class

warfare Foot soldiers in all countries should turn guns on …

UH, OH!

Total War= Growing Chaos in Russia = An Opportunity for Revolutionaries

Russian Soldiers started to dissert a war that seemed to guaranteed only death

Huge protests began in Russian cities on account of rationing and other hardship

people are willing to start listening to radicals Plus, the central government isn’t so well-

defended at this point

Poor Leadership by the Tsar Made Things Worse

Journey to the front Rasputin Further Level of Chaos

The March Revolution

Finally, rioting became so bad that Tsar Nicholas II abdicated The Duma, which had been largely symbolic, declared the right

to rule (Under Karensky) The Petrograd Soviet, a collection of workers who met (claimed

to speak for the working class) declared themselves the rightful rulers

The two shared power agreed on a very liberal, nearly socialist new gov’t Many natural rights and freedoms

However, fatal mistake continued to fight WWI (which was the real source of Russia’s problems)

Meanwhile, Germany and Lenin Worked Together

Lenin- ‘I am missing the revolution I am meant to lead’ He was in Switzerland

He managed to convince Germany to send him back to Russia Why was Germany so easily convinced?

St. Petersburg

Lenin’s First Attempt to Seize Power Failed

Lenin had to go into hiding

Continued Anarchy Led to A Second Chance for Lenin’s Bolsheviks

Duma and Soviet continue to argue Duman makes a major error with Army Order #1

Attempt to win popularity by weakening the hierarchy in the army

led to chaos some of the army leadership marched their armies

away from the front to overthrow the Duma Karensky armed the Bolsheviks to help him

against the army

Never, never, never, never, never, never, never…. give Lenin guns!

The Bolsheviks promptly turned their guns on the Provisional Gov’t and seize powerKnown as the October or Bolshevik

Revolution (2nd revolution) Trotsky was Lenin’s right hand man in all

of this

Lenin… here’s a gun. Help me fight the White Army!

You hate them, too!

Yes, but I hate everyone in

charge… even you!

Ha, ha, ha…

Seeds of Totalitarianism

The Bolsheviks Claim They Will Hold a Vote to legitimate their rule They do badly in this vote and just ignore it

Remember, Lenin believes in a dedicated vanguard to lead the people Even if they don’t want to be led? Yes!

The Russian Civil War

Civil War Broke Out Bolsheviks aka ‘the Red Army’ The Whites (Tsarists, aristocrats, conservatives)

Lenin’s Reds Fought Effectively Dropped out of World War I

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Used Harsh Military tactics Eliminated the Romanov family

During the civil war, Lenin’s forces executed the tsar and his family. Why would they do this?

No rallying point for the whites. Rumors existed for a long time after that one of the tsar’s daughters

survived. Anybody know her name? Anastasia

Lenin’s forces won the civil war. They renamed Russia the U.S.S.R. or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or Soviet Union

Lenin had engineered the first successful Marxist revolution in history. The problem is that he had little time to enjoy his victory because…

He died of a stroke in 1922, only 5 years after the Revolution started Instead, the task of running the Russian Revolution fell to…

Joseph Stalin…

Flags of Communist Nations

The Treaty Of Brest-Litovsk

Communist Russia Was Isolated as a Pariah

U.S. even sent troops to help the Whites win Some historians have argued that this

actually helped the Reds…huh? Communism was seen as a terrible threat

Preached international revolution No private property

Russia was not invited to the treaty negotiation at the end of the war Irony?- they’d lost the most in the war