Vladimir Illich Ulyanov
http://home.sandiego.edu/~landeros/KGBCIA/Lenin.jpg
http://www.info-regenten.de/regent/regent-d/pictures/russia-lenin.jpg
Lenin
Marx, Engles, Lenin
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/images/wand1/wand4.jpg
•Older brother Alexander was a “revolutionary” that tried to organize an
assassination attempt upon Nicholas II.
•Alexander caught and hanged for treason.
•Vladimir Illich Ulyanov goes to University but follows his brother’s footsteps by attending anti-czar rallies.
•After one protest demonstration he was arrested and taken to the local police
station. One of the police officers asked:
"Why are you rebelling, young man? After all, there is a wall in front of you."
"The wall is tottering, you only have to push it for it to fall over.” (Response Ulyanov gave)
•University expels Ulyanov but says: if you can pass the exams we’ll give you a degree,
but you can’t come to classes. One year later Lenin takes the exams for the 4 year law courses and
aces all! University has to give degree.
•Ulyanov continues to study Karl Marx’s ideas and protests gov’t.
Calls himself a “Marxist.”
•Gov’t exiles Ulyanov
• Ulyanov continues to protest by publishing newspaper “Pravada” (“truth)
from abroad. Changes his name to Lenin.
• Promotes the “Bolshevik” party and his idea of “Leninism”
• During the political turmoil of Nicholas’s abdication, German authorities
offer to smuggle Lenin back to Russia. Even provide him with train ride!
Lenin arrives and gives famous trains station speech where he
promises 3 things….
http://www.sporen.nl/posters/poster5/Lenin.jpg
Can you guess what are the 3 things that the Russian people want?
•Lenin conspires with Trotsky and overpowers Kerensky’s provisional gov’t.
http://www.vor.ru/English/centuries/centuries_29.html
Lenin assumes authority and delivers his promises:
1) Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed at great expense
(The week before signing this, the Germans had just captured:
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/outline.weekfive.html
•6,800 officers,
•54,000 men,
•2,400 guns,
•5,000 machine-guns,
•8,000 railway trucks,
•8,000 locomotives,
•128,000 rifles &
•2 million rounds of ammo)
2) Land confiscated from Church & Nobility, given to peasants.
3) Food redistrubition
4) Election (Bolsheviks lose, so they scrapped that)
http://www2.wgbh.org/mbcweis/ltc/jpalp/holidays/bread.gif
Result….
So…the people have their 3 wishes, the tsar has given up and “Leninism”
means everyone will share and everything will be perfect, right? Well,
there’s still one major problem….any guesses?
What about the tsar supporters? (want to return to old ways)
Rich nobility? (want land back)
Politicians (want power too)
Allies (USA/England, etc….communism?!!! Russia, then what?
Result…
CIVIL WAR!!!
Bolshevik Communists
(Red Army)
Vs. Tsar supporters/Anti Communists
(White Army)
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian/issues99/jul99/chess_jpg.html
Lenin’s attitude...
• When Lenin was told the soviets had abolished the
death penalty he stated:
• “How can you make a revolution without executions?”
• Reminder of French Revolutionist..?
Romanov Family...
• What to do with Nicholas, Alexandra
and children?
• Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, Alexei?
http://www.angelfire.com/biz5/romanovs/index.html
ROMANOV FAMILY
• In the beginning left alone.
• Eventually “house arrest”
• Then Lenin decides that they must be shot.
• “How can we have a revolution without executions?”
• According to Trotsky:
The decision [to kill the imperial family] was not only
expedient but necessary. The severity of this punishment
showed everyone that we would continue to fight
on mercilessly, stopping at nothing. The execution
of the Tsar's family was needed not only in order to
frighten, horrify, and instill a sense of hopelessness
in the enemy but also to shake up our own ranks,
to show that there was no turning back, that ahead
lay either total victory or total doom. This Lenin sensed well.
ROMANOV FAMILY
Romanov family brought to a house in Ekatrinebourg,
shoved into a cellar, then shot. After a number of rounds
were fired into the family, a soldier bayoneted those remaining alive.
Bodies were reportedly burned
in acid, then thrown into a mine shaft
http://www.richeast.org/htwm/ROMAN/ROMANOV.HTM
Bolshevik Communists
(Red Army)
New struggling gov’t
Vs. Tsar supporters/Anti Communists
(White Army)
Noble support, Allied resources, etc..
Who’s going to win…
RED ARMY!!
Why?
Trotsky’s organizational skills (He’s a military genius, Remember?)
By 1920 Civil war is over, Red Army has won, but at severe
costs to Russia.
Drastic measures must be taken, including “War communism”/NEP
New Economic Policy:
Peasants allowed to make profit by selling extra goods…??!!!???
Change name of country to U.S.S.R.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Strong government
Secret police force (Cheka)
Increase communist party membership (over 1,000,000+)
Finally, things starting to settle down when guess what happens?...
Lenin dies
http://www.aha.ru/~mausoleu/lenin_mausoleum_images/lenin_in_tomb.jpg
• Now what????
Trotsky vs. Stalin
http://www.guysboroughacademy.ednet.ns.ca/reds/trotsky.jpg
http://debrisson.free.fr/images/musee/stalin.jpg
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http://www.socialistviewpoint.org/may_02/trotsky.jpg
Trotsky
Military genius/intellectual
Organized revolution for Lenin
Worried about communism beginning in Russia first
(Supposed to happen in industrialized countries)
Goal--> provide $, support, etc. to get small colonies
of industrialized countries to revolt .
• Eventually lead to worldwide “permanent revolution”
• Communist “Idealist”
• Hardliner/Propogandist
• Political organizer/connections
• Believed U.S.S.R. should become strong and powerful as a
symbol to rest of world of communist success.
• Goal--> U.S.S.R. become so powerful that other
countries around the world will want to emulate
USSR and become communist also
(once USSR is so, they can help these countries).
• Communist “Realist”
http://web.elsatnet.cz/panek/web/obr/photos2/stalin.jpg
Stalin
Even though Trotsky’s intellectually smarter and
a military genius, Stalin uses his political connections
to assume power and convinces others that Trotsky
has the ability to become a “Soviet Bonaparte”
and eventually has Trotsky exiled from the country.
So, Stalin becomes the next leader of the USSR...