THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONTsar Nicolas II was not a popular guy. However, when war broke out, many Russians were happy. This illustrates a cause of the war:

NATIONALISM &IMPERIALISM

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONHowever, Russia was not successful in winning the war.

Tsar Nicholas II had bad management skills.

EASTERN FRONTRussia lost 2.3 million4 million wounded

3.3 million POW

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONNICHOLAS’ MISTAKES-He insisted on personally controlling the war. Thus he became responsible for losses.

-His wife was left in control of government.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONNICHOLAS’ MISTAKES-His wife fell under the control of Grigori Efimovich Rasputin, a creepy monk who seemed to be able to cure her son’s haemophilia.

-Rasputin was hated by a lot of people because he was creepy.

SIDENOTE:RASPUTIN:-Grew up in a household abused by an alcoholic.

-Fell in with a wandering banned Christian mystic sect.

-Through faith healing, he was said to have kept Alexei, the Tsar’s son, alive.

SIDENOTE:RASPUTIN:-Rasputin gathered many admirers among the elite, who loved the occult.

- People tried to kill Rasputin a lot, but he kept surviving!

SIDENOTE:RASPUTIN:-1914 Rasputin was attacked by a former prostitute and stabbed. She was angry about how he talked disrespectfully about the royals behind their back.

-She stabbed him and his entrails hung out.

- She shouted “I have killed the anti-Christ!” After several operations, he survived.

SIDENOTE:RASPUTIN:-1916 His murder is legend.

1st, they served him cakes with cyanide-filled wine. He ate enough poison to kill 5 men and lived.

- Conspirators then shot him. He fell and they left the body. Hours later, Rasputin got up and lunged at his attackers and attempted to strangle one.

SIDENOTE:RASPUTIN:- The other conspirators returned and fought him. After beating him with a club, they cut off his privates, bound his body in a carpet, and threw him into the Neva River. He broke out of the carpet and bonds wrapping him, but drowned.

SIDENOTE:RASPUTIN:- Three days later, Rasputin’s body: poisoned, shot 4 times, beaten and drowned, was found. The autopsy shows that he died from drowning.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONWERE THE RUSSIANS SUCCESSFUL?

January 1917 – Russian troops are barely holding on.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Russian soldiers going to war were having their land taken back by kulaks* because their families couldn’t pay the bills.

*landlords

LAND

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Russia had become industrialized quickly, leading to low-paying jobs & bad working conditions.

During the war, workers began to strike, led by the Bolshevik Party.

STRIKES

On March 8 1917, 90,000 textile workers went on strike protesting the shortage of bread and fuel. By March 10, in Petrograd 200,000 strikers, including women, joined together in bread lines calling for the overthrow of the Tsar. Cossacks, the troops of the Tsar, sent to stop protesters but they refused to attack. On March 12 they shot their own commander and joined the protesters. By March 14 Moscow had fallen and on the fifteenth the Tsar abdicated and was placed under house arrest in a cottage near Moscow.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

In February 1917, half of all industrial workers in the capital city are on strike.

Strike focuses on overthrowing the Tsar and ending the war.

FREEDOM

Sign in the picture above reads:

“Down with the 10 capitalist ministers

All Power to the Soviets of Workers, soldiers and peasants’ deputies.

And to the socialist ministers.”

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONTHESE PROBLEMS ARE COMPOUNDED BY WAR

Russian armies suffered from terrible desertion rate

1.5 million soldiers deserted the army in 1916.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONTHESE PROBLEMS ARE COMPOUNDED BY WAR

Lack of Passion for War

Soldiers are hearing about their families at home losing land.

Don’t care about the Tsar’s quest for more Russian Empire.

As you can see in the picture, even the soldiers begin to protest.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONTHESE PROBLEMS ARE COMPOUNDED BY WAR

Lack of FoodSoldiers on the front are starving.

They begin to question why they are fighting at all.

As you can see in the picture, even the soldiers begin to protest.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONTHESE PROBLEMS ARE COMPOUNDED BY WAR

Lack of good weapons.

As you can see in the picture, even the soldiers begin to protest.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONTHESE PROBLEMS ARE COMPOUNDED BY WAR

Lack of good weapons.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION15 million peasants are forced to fight in the war, to outman Germany

War of Attrition Not soldiers, “peasants in uniform” (says Lenin).

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION15 million peasants are forced to fight in the war, to outman Germany

War of Attrition Not soldiers, “peasants in uniform” (says Lenin).

Conscription is not successful.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONWhile many economies BOOM in war, Russia’s didn’t.

INFLATION:People can’t afford to buy food and prices go up due to shortages.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONWhile many economies BOOM in war, Russia’s didn’t.

INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT:Stuff isn’t getting made due to strikes.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONTSAR MADE HIMSELFUNPOPULAR

DUE TO HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH RASPUTIN.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONMarch Revolution:TEMPORARY GOV’T SET UP = DUMA

Protesting the prices of bread and fuelSlogans:

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONThe Tsar sends people to put down the protests.

HIS OWN ARMY MUTINIES(overthrows their generals)and DEFECTS(leaves their posts).

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONThe REVOLUTION:

March: Nicholas resigns + temporary gov’t set up.

October: OCTOBER REVOLUTION.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONOCTOBER REVOLUTION

Trotsky leads Red Guards and soviet workers to control bridges. Red Guards take all gov’t buildings.

Fierce fighting.

BY NOVEMBER, LENIN DECLARES VICTORY.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONLENIN SIGNSTREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK

Russia out of the war.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONLENIN SIGNSTREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK

Russia out of the war.

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTIONPROMISESRUSSIANS:PeaceLandBread

Allies view Russia as a traitor for backing out early.