The Russian Revolution
How the USSR was created.
Russia
Very large country.
 Location: Eastern
Europe and Northern
Asia
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1900
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Tsar Nicolas II
Of the “Romanov” family.
The last “emperor” of
Russia.
He had very little
experience of
government and was
portrayed as a failure
He was thought of as
weak and contradicting
World War I
1914 -1917
 Russia suffers
horribly.
 The poor resent the
rule of the rich
Romanov family.
 Outdated economy
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– Farms
– Railways not
developed
February 1917 Revolution
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Protests & strikes against
the war and food
shortages in Petrograd
(St. Petersburg).
Turns violent, eventually
police & soldiers join with
strikers.
Tsar Nicolas II steps
down.
Provisional government is
set up.
Communism
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Karl Marx
German philosopher,
political scientist
Writes “The Communist
Manifesto”
The workers own the
factory or farm
“communally.”
The opposite of
capitalism.
Revolutionaries Split into 2
Groups
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Mensheviks
(minority)
Bolsheviks
(majority)
 Led by a talented
debater, brilliant
organizer, named
Vladimir Ulyanov
a.k.a. Vladimir
Lenin
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Communism in Russia
Lenin
 Leader of the
“Bolshevik” party
 Trotsky
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Leon Trotsky
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Educated
Powerful speaker
Lost the power
struggle.
Stalin exiled
Trotsky and his
family from Russia.
Finally had him
killed in Mexico.
October 1917 Revolution
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Lenin leads the
Bolsheviks to oust the
provisional government &
take over.
Trotsky leads Bolsheviks
in St. Petersburg.
Create the USSR – The
Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics
Capital is moved to
Moscow.
The USSR
Tsar Nicolas II and
his family are
murdered July 1918.
 Lenin dies 1924.
 Power struggle
between Trotsky &
Stalin.
 Stalin wins.
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Josef Stalin (1879-1953)
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Described as ruthless
Wanted to make Russia a
modern industrial power.
Believed in collectivization:
the belief that all land,
means of production, and
distribution of such should
be left up to the
government.
Stalin’s “Great Purge”
Stalin gets rid of all
competition.
 Stalin executes all of
the other leaders of
the October 1917
revolution.
 Trotsky is exiled and
eventually
assassinated in 1940.
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Stalin’s rule, continued
Propaganda and
censors.
 They literally re-write
history.
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Stalin’s 5-year plan
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Farms are “collectivized”
to finance new industry.
Must meet a gov’t quota.
Starvation in the Ukraine
section of the USSR.
Between executions &
starvation Stalin is
responsible for several
million deaths.
USSR
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The USSR was lead
by the Communist
Party until 1989.
-ISMS
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Socialism: You have 2 cows.
Give 1 cow to your neighbor.
Communism: You have 2
cows. Give both cows to the
government, and they may
give you some of the milk.
Fascism: You have 2 cows.
You give all of the milk to the
government, and the
government sells it.
Nazism: You have 2 cows.
The government shoots you
and takes both cows.
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Anarchism: You have 2 cows.
Keep both of the cows, shoot
the government agent, and
steal another cow.
Capitalism: You have 2 cows.
Sell one cow and buy a bull.
Surrealism: You have 2
giraffes. The government
makes you take harmonic
lessons.
Other Russian terms you should
know
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Pravda: the official propaganda tool of the
Communist Party.
Propaganda: language or advertising that tries
to persuade you to do something/change
“The Internationale”: the Communist national
anthem.
Kremlin: the official headquarters of the party.
KGB: the secret police
Why are we discussing this?
Animal Farm = USSR
 Mr. Jones - Tzar Nicholas II
 Old Major = Marx/Lenin
 Snowball = Trotsky
 Napoleon = Stalin
 The pigs = The Communist Party
 Boxer & the animals = the workers of
Russia
 Dogs = KGB/Secret Police
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Animal Farm by George Orwell
An allegory illustrating the way Stalin
betrayed the principals of the Russian
Revolution.
 George Orwell is campaigning against
Stalin’s Totalitarian government.
 Written in 1944, during WWII, when the
UK and USA allied with Stalin to defeat
Hitler.
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TERMS
Allegory - a story in which the characters,
setting and events stand for abstract or
moral concepts
 Fable – a short mean to teach a moral –
usually uses animals
 Utopia – an ideal society or perfect
existence for man or earth
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Terms (cont)
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Totalitarianism – government in which one political party aims at
total control over people
– Organized violence or police terror – force used to crush
opposition
– Censorship – only official versions of information are allowed
– State control over individual - demanding everyone
unquestionably loyal to state
– Single strong leader – glorified or deified. Elevated to god-like
status
– State control over society - business, education, family, housing,
religion
– Ideology of state – glorified aims of state used to justify
everything
– Dictatorship – one party rules with absolute control
Is it still relevant today?
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You decide.