The Russian
Revolution

Characteristics of Revolutions (American & French)
Inequality-
Vast majority of citizens were poor
Individual Rights-
Common citizens wanted a voice
in government.
Taxation-
Majority of the population
shoulders the tax burden; most
often the poorest citizens.
“Taxation without representation.”
Characteristics of Revolutions (American &
French)
Financial Problems-
Louis XVI bankrupted gov.;
King George III burdened
with debt from protecting the
colonies.
Stage One---Conditions for a
Revolution
Czar Nicholas II and Family
Alexander
III
Nicholas II
Olga
Tatiana
Alexandra,
wife of
Nicholas
Marie
Anastasia
Alexie
How the East fell behind the West




Western Europe begins modernization (16th –17th centuries)
Eastern Europe as the West’s defence barrier
Eastern Europe as the West’s agricultural base
The West:
–
–
–
–

Industrializing
Global trade
Capitalism
Nation-state
The East:
–
–
–
–
Farming (with pockets of industry)
Regional trade
Feudalism
Empire
THE RUSSIAN SYSTEM








The state is huge, costly, militarized
Society (especially the peasantry) is exploited heavily by
the state
The state is a highly centralized autocratic hierarchy, with
bureaucracy controlling the economy
Society has very little autonomy from the state
Individual rights and liberties are circumscribed
Market economy has very limited potential for
development
When reforms become necessary, the state acts as the
main agent of reforms
Society influences the state mostly by resistance to it
(passive or active)
•Clergy – Russian Orthodox Church
•Nobility – owned most of the land,
and held most gov’t and military
positions.
•4/5 of Population = Peasants
•City workers (factories)Soviets
•Low wages
•Poor working conditions
•Middle Class
•Very few
•Resented the nobility
What is a Czar
Czar
A male monarch or emperor
(similar to a King or Queen);
Ruled Russia prior to the
revolution of 1917.
The last Czars
Alexander III.
Nicholas II
Rule 1881 – 1894
Rule 1894 – 1917
Tsar or Czar Nicholas II
► In
1894, the last
Russian Czar,
Nicholas II came to
power.
► He was committed to
keeping total control
over Russia.
Romanov Dynasty: Rise & Fall
Czar Nicholas II came to power in
1894
 Ruled like his ancestors

– autocratic
Did not see changes
around him

– Modernization
– Industrialization
Russian Government Before
Revolution

Monarchy: The Czar (Tsar)

Until 1905 the Tsar's powers were unlimited.

Russia had no constitution,

No political party system to check the Tsar's
power

A strong secret police which terrorized the
people.
Tsar Nicholas II





Only true autocracy
left in Europe
No type of
representative
political institutions
Nicholas II became
tsar in 1884
Believed he was the
absolute ruler
anointed by God
Russo-Japanese War
(1904) – defeat led to
pol. instability
Czarist Rule under Nicholas II
Policies
Hard-line (Autocratic)
Censorship
Anti-government activities were
not allowed; no right to protest
the Czar.
Pogroms
Mob attacks on Jewish citizens;
less rights and freedoms for
Jews.
Czarist Rule under Nicholas II
Russification:
Non-Russians forced to use the
Russian language, and learn
Russian history.
Over ½ population was not
Russian.
(Finns, Germans, Mongols, Ukrainians etc.)
Czarist Rule under Nicholas II
Gov. Corruption Bribery; dissidents sent to
Siberia.
Peasant Life
Poverty, heavily taxed, limited
access to education.
Weak character of Nicholas II:




Autocracy
the divine right of kings,
the continued support of the Russian
Orthodox Church
the hatred of Jews into Nicholas.
To understand this cartoon you must know that Nicholas made a speech just after he
became Tsar in which he pledged to defend autocracy. This is part of the speech. "I
intend to protect the principle of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as did my late and
never to be forgotten father
Alexandra: The Power Behind the
Throne

Even more blindly
committed to
autocracy than her
husband

She was under the
influence of Rasputin

Origins of Rasputin’s
power - ?

Scandals surrounding
Rasputin served to
discredit the
monarchy
Influence of Rasputin on Royal
Family










Rasputin entered the Verkhoture Monastery but decided against becoming a monk.
He returned to Pokrovskoye and at the age of 19 married Proskovia Fyodorovna.
Over the next few years the couple had four children.
Rasputin eventually left home and traveled to Greece and the Middle East.
He claimed he had special powers that enabled him to heal the sick and lived off
the donations of people he helped.
Rasputin also made money as a fortune teller.
Soon after arriving in St. Petersburg in 1903, Rasputin met Hermogen, the Bishop
of Saratov.
He was impressed by Rasputin's healing powers and introduced him to Nicholas II
and his wife, Alexandra Fedorovna.
The Tsar's only son, Alexis, suffered from hemophilia (a disease whereby the
blood does not clot if a wound occurs).
When Alexis was taken seriously ill in 1908, Rasputin was called to the royal
palace.
He managed to stop the bleeding and from then on he became a member of the
royal entourage.
Rasputin
Alexis: Alexandra’s Son with
Hemophilia
Rasputin’s Influence on the
Government
In September, 1915, Nicholas II assumed supreme
command of the Russian Army fighting on the Eastern
Front.
 As he spent most of his time at GHQ, Alexandra Fedorovna
now took responsibility for domestic policy.
 Rasputin served as her adviser and over the next few
months she dismissed ministers and their deputies in rapid
succession.
 Rumours began to circulate that Rasputin and Alexandra
Fedorovna were leaders of a pro-German court group and
were seeking a separate peace with the Central Powers in
order to help the survival of the autocracy in Russia

Rasputin with Admirers
Russian cartoon
showing how
Rasputin
dominated the
Royal Court
(1916)
Czar Nicholas II Dancing To
Rasputin’s Tune
Rasputin
The Evil Monk
“Tsar of the land of Russia, if you hear the
sound of the bell which will tell you that
Rasputin has been killed, you must know this
……. if it was your relations who have wrought
my death then no one of your family, that is to
say, none of your children or relations will
remain alive for more than two years.
They will be killed by the Russian people...
I shall be killed. I am no longer among the living.”
The Tsarevitch, Alexie, fell ill, the attack was severe and both
the Tsar and the empress were frantic. Alexie’s illness became
Rasputin’s way to get privileges.
"I believe in Rasputin!!"
"It is necessary to have Faith. God alone is thy help……a man
can do much." (The Real Tzaristar, LiliDehn)
The “man” was referred to Rasputin by Alexandra
"Tell me, Rasputin, are you really powerful enough to dissolve
the Duma? How would you go about it?"
Said by Prince Felix Yussupov.
"Why, my dear fellow, it's perfectly easy; when you become my
friend and ally, you'll be told everything. For the time being, I'll
tell you this much: the Tsarina has a wise, strong mind and I can
get anything and everything from her. As for him (Nicholas II),
he's a simple soul. He was not cut out to be a sovereign; he is
made for family life, to admire nature and flowers, but not to reign.
That's beyond his strength. So, with God's blessing, we come to
his rescue."
Problems for Nicholas II
► Russia
was far behind in industrialization.
► Most people wanted reforms to limit the
Czar’s power.
► Massacre at Bloody Sunday looked very
bad.
► Russo-Japanese defeat looked very bad.
► World War I defeats looked very bad.
Russo-Japanese War
► Russia
and Japan were rivals for Korea
and parts of Manchuria.
► Russia broke treaties and tried to take the
land
► Japan attacked and easily won
► This was a big embarassment for the Czar.
Russo-Japanese War
Expansion
Into Eastern Europe and Asia –
Costly
Russo-Japanese
War (1904)
Battle for the Korean Peninsula
Consequence
Russia unprepared, embarrassed
by peace treaty.
Russo Japanese War
Russia in World War I
At the start of the war, Russia had an enormous army of some 6 million
soldiers.
Preparations for War
On the Battlefield
• Outbreak of fighting caused
patriotism, rush to join military
• Many Russian officers advanced
on connections, not ability
• Otherwise Russia ill-prepared for
war
• Some initial successes on
battlefield
– Factories unable to produce
supplies quickly
• Losses soon outnumbered
victories
– Transportation system weak
• Millions of Russian soldiers
wounded, killed during early
battles
– Equipment outdated
Events 1914 – March 1917
August 1914
World War I started. Russia declared war
on Germany and troops were mobilised. The
Tsar was very popular.
September 1914
The two main Russian armies were
defeated in the battles of Masurian Lakes
and Tannenberg.
End of 1914
Over 1 million Russian soldiers were now dead.
Russia’s industry could not produce enough
weapons to supply all the soldiers. The army
lacked supplies, and the officers were
sometimes incompetent.
1914 – 1915 There were shortages of food, coal and industrial
materials in the cities. Prices rose and factories
closed. The government was blamed.
September 1915
The Tsar decided to leave Petrograd and go to
the Western Front to run the Russian Army.
The Tsarina and Rasputin were left in charge,
and were very unpopular, even among the
aristocracy. Rasputin persuaded the Tsarina
to replace ministers that he did not like with
his friends. The organisation of the supply of
food to the cities broke down.
Winter 1916
The winter was a bad one. Hardly any food or
fuel got into Petrograd. Huge bread queues
formed and prices rocketed.
World War I: “The Last Straw”

War revealed the
ineptitude and
arrogance of the
country’s
aristocratic elite

Corrupt military
leadership had
contempt for
ordinary Russian
people

Average peasants
had very little
invested in the War
World War I (cont)

Ill-trained, ineffective
officers, poorly equipped
(Russ. was not ready for ind.
war) – the result was mass
desertions and 2 million
casualties by 1915

Result: Chaos and
Disintegration of the Russian
Army

Battle of Tannenberg
(August, 1914) – massive
defeat at hands of
Hindenburg and Ger.
World War I
► The
Russians had to fight because of
commitments to France, England and
Serbia.
► The limited industry and rail lines made
victory impossible.
► Soldiers became unhappy and refused to
fight. Felt the fight was hopeless and the
Czar was responsible.
World War One Conditions Grow Worse
Czar Nicholas II took personal command of forces, 1915
• Move made little sense since he knew little of military matters
• Czar’s fate became linked with fate of Russian armed forces
• Bad situation grew worse under Czar’s command
Russian army seemed doomed
• Central Powers were able to stop Russian offensive
• Destroyed Russian soldiers’ faith in leadership
• Army had little strength, even less confidence
Conditions in Russia worse than on battlefield
• Food, goods scarce; peasants grew desperate
• Unpopular Czarina relied on Grigory Rasputin, viewed as corrupt, immoral
• Shaky support for Russian monarchy dipped even lower
Criticism of the Tsar
•Poor military
commander
Criticism if the
Tsarina
•Poor political leader
•Inexperienced and
incompetent ruler
•Left the Tsarina in
charge of the
government
Impact of WWI
•Refused to accept
advice from the Duma
•Under the influence
of Rasputin
•Unpopular because
she was German
Role of Rasputin
•Claimed to be a
healer.
•Disliked by many yet
held influence over
both the Tsar and
Tsarina
Economy
► Russia’s
huge
population still left
many people poor.
Industry Causes Problems
Poor working conditions
 Low wages
 Child labor

To improve conditions workers formed strikes
and reform movements.
These reform movements grew and competed for
power
Impact WWI
Economic problems
Impact WWI
Over 15 million men joined the army
 not enough workers in factories and
farms
 caused shortages of food and materials
 Railway system very poor

– could not supply the troops
– could not supply the towns
– food prices rose
Impact WWI
Social discontent
Impact WWI
Food shortages and price rises caused
widespread discontent
 The war had seen the population move
from the countryside to the cities
 The cities soon became overcrowded and
people lived in terrible conditions

•The discontent of the Peasants: Russia was a rural society with
over 90% of the people being poor peasants.
• Until 1861 the peasants had belonged to their masters, who
could buy and sell them like animals.
• When the peasants were freed in 1861 they were given
small amounts of land for which they had to pay back the
government.
• As a result most farmers were in absolute poverty.
Agriculture was in desperate need of modernisation.
•In contrast, a small number of upper-class people held most
of the wealth and power.
•This aristocracy had large town houses and country estates.
Very often the peasants do not have enough
allotment land. They cannot feed themselves, clothe
themselves, heat their homes, keep their tools and
livestock, secure seed for sowing and lastly pay their
taxes.
Police report into country conditions 1905
The discontent of the Workers
•Industrialisation began much later in Russia than in Western Europe.
•Huge iron foundries, textile factories and engineering firms were set up.
•Most were owned by the government or foreigners, and were located in the
big cities such as St Petersburg or Moscow.
• By 1900 20% of Russians were workers living in cities.
•Working conditions in the new industrial towns were hard.
• Pay was very low. Although strikes and demonstrations were illegal, they
often took place.
•Strikers were frequently shot by the Tsar’s soldiers or secret police.
‘The whole day we pour out
our blood and sweat. Every
minute we are exposed to
danger.’
Union leaflet 1898

By the end of the 19th century, the flaws of the
Russian system become manifest

The gap between Europe and Russia widens fast,
the Russian system is too inefficient, too rigid,
resistant to reform

The 1904-05 war with Japan and then World War I
exhaust the Russian state

1917: the entire state collapses, leaving society to
its own devices. REVOLUTION
Stage Two: Rising Discontent--Writers and Thinkers
Proletariat
Followers of Karl Marx
 Believed workers would
rule country
 Became known as
Russian Marxists

Russia and World War I
The Years Before the
War
• Russia a troubled nation
• Czar Nicholas II had promised
reform after 1905 revolution, but
delivered little real change
Bolshevik Plan
• Adaptation of Marxist ideas of
overthrow of capitalism
• Wanted elite group to keep much
of power over Russia
• Bolsheviks sought to change life
through revolution, wanted to
overthrow czar
• As Russia’s problems grew more
serious, Bolsheviks gained more
followers
• Led by Lenin, wanted proletariat
to rule Russia as socialist country
• Czar Nicholas hoped World War I
would cause people to rally to his
leadership

conditions deteriorated, rev.
became possible, especially
with Lenin’s involvement

he had gravitated towards the
Social Dem. Workers’ Party of
George Plekhanov

they believed in dialectical
materialism and thus favoured
modernization/capitalism
(which the czars also favoured
as a measure to catch up w/
the w. Europe, esp. after the
Crimean and Russo-Japanese
Wars)
Russian Marxists Split
Mensheviks
 Moderate
 Wanted a broad base of
popular support




Bolsheviks
Radical
Supported a small
number of deeply
committed people
willing to sacrifice
anything
Led by Vladimir Lenin
Ruled from exile
Stage Three: Public
Dissatisfaction
Russian Revolution Part II
From 1904 – 1917 a series of crisis showed
the Czar’s weakness and paved the way for a
revolution
Bloody Sunday
The Revolution of 1905

Rapid growth of
(discontented) working class

Vast majority of workers
concentrated in St. Petersburg
and Moscow

Little help from the
countryside: impoverished
peasants – Populist
Movements of the 1870s and
later had done little to improve
their lot
– No individual land
ownership
– Rural Famine
Bloody Sunday
► 200,000
protesters peacefully march to
Czar’s winter palace in St. Petersburg.
► Czar
was not there. Soldiers and guards
thought it was a revolt. They opened fire.
► Almost
a thousand people killed.
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1905)
Public Dissatisfation
Opposition Groups
Intelligentsia (Democratic)
Bolsheviks (Socialism)
Population Growth
50 – 100 million 18601900.
Duma
Parliament was dissolved
(1907).
Conservatism Continues:
1905-1917

Tsar paid no
attention to the
Duma; it was
harassed and
political parties
suppressed – only
token land reform
was passed

Nicholas was
personally a very
weak man; he
became increasingly
remote as a ruler

Numerous soviets
thus began to appear
Failure of the Duma
•In 1905 Russia lost a war with Japan.
• This defeat caused strikes in the Russian
cities, the Tsar nearly lost control.
• Nicholas II offered to call a Duma, or
parliament, with free elections.
• This was accepted by the demonstrators.
•When the Duma met, it began to criticise the
Tsar and demanded changes.
•Nicholas II did not like this at all.
• The Duma was dismissed and new
elections, controlled by the Tsar, were called.
•It became clear that the Duma would be
shut down if it criticised the Tsar.
•As long as the Tsar had control of the army,
his power could not be broken.
The Collapse of the Imperial
Government

Nicholas left for the Front—
September, 1915

Alexandra and Rasputin
throw the government into
chaos

Alexandra and other high
government officials accused
of treason
Assassination of Rasputin
Rasputin was also suspected of financial corruption
and right-wing politicians believed that he was
undermining the popularity of the regime.
 Felix Yusupov, the husband of the Tsar's niece,
Vladimir Purishkevich, the leader of the monarchists
in the Duma, and Grand Duke Dmitri, formed a
conspiracy to murder Rasputin.
 On 29th December, 1916, Rasputin was invited to
Yusupov's home where he was given poisoned wine
and cakes.
 When this did not kill him he was shot by Yusupov
and Purishkevich and then dropped through a hole in
the frozen canal outside the house.

Rasputin and Scandal
•While Tsar Nicholas II was absent
commanding Russian forces during the
First World War, he left the day to day
running of Russia in the control of his
wife Tsarina Alexandra.
•Alexandra came increasingly under the
influence of Gregory Rasputin, a ‘holy
man’ who appeared to be able to heal
the haemophilia of Prince Alexis, the
heir to the throne.
•Rasputin used his power to win
effective control of the Russian
government.
•But this aroused envy and he was
murdered in 1916. Rasputin’s influence
undermined the prestige of the royal
family, but his murder came too late to
save them.
“Mad Monk”



Alexandra relied on a
“holy man” Rasputin for
advise on ruling Russia
Rasputin wasn’t trusted
by the government or
people and had many
enemies
Prince Felix Yussoupov
poisoned and shot
Rasputin and fellow
assassins threw him into
a lake (12/29/1916)
The Collapse of the Imperial
Government (cont)

Rasputin assassinated in
December of 1916

Complete mismanagement of
the wartime economy

ind. production plummeted,
inflation and starvation were
rampant, and the cities were
overflowing w/ refugees

they became a hotbed for pol.
activism, and this was ignited
by serious food shortages in
March 1917, esp. in St.
Petersburg
7th March 1917
The situation was desperate. 40,000 workers
at the Putilov factory went on strike.
8th March 1917
International Women’s Day. Thousands of
women joined the demonstrations. The
protestors demanded food, fuel and a new
government.
Stage Four: Power is
Transferred
Fall of the Monarchy

In February 1917, rioting broke out in Saint Petersburg,
renamed Petrograd in 1914

The riots grew out of hand quickly which prompted the
formation of an emergency committee of the Duma

This committee took governmental powers and became the
Provisional Government of Russia on March 1

The political body known as the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’
and Soldiers’ Deputies also surfaced during this time

On March 2, the emperor abdicated and the monarchy
collapsed
March Revolution (1917)

1917- protests spread through St. Petersburg and
the Royal palace is taken over.

Czar abdicates

Provisional government (Duma) takes control
lead by Alexander Keresnky

Provisional government unpopular after decision
to stay in WWI
12th March 1917
The Tsar ordered that the army fire on the
protestors. Many soldiers refused and joined
the demonstrations. Soldiers and workers
marched to the Duma to demand that it took
control of Russia.
15th March 1917
The Tsar tried to get back to Petrograd but
the railway workers stopped him. He was
forced to flee.
Stage Five: Reforms Carry Out
Their Ideas
The Russian Revolution: Moderates in
Power
By the end of 1916, Russia was once again on the edge of a revolution. As
the new year began and conditions in Russia continued to worsen, the
Russian people clearly wanted a change.
Revolution Begins
Czar Nicholas II
• Citizens protested in
streets of Petrograd,
March 8, 1917
• Ordered legislature
to disband
• Police, soldiers
refused to shoot
rioters
• Citizens,
government, military
refused to obey Czar
• Government was
helpless
• Forced to abdicate,
March 15, 1917
• His order defied
Calendar Change
• March revolution
known as February
Revolution
• Russian calendar at
time 13 days behind
• New calendar
adopted, 1918
Russian Revolution Part I.
Provisional Gov
established Civil rights, free elections
promised.
Soviets
Councils..were set up throughout
Russia to speak for the needs of
workers and soldiers.
New Leader
Alexander Kerensky (Moderate
Socialist)
WWI
Continued involvement in WWI.
Ramifications
Lost support from many peasants
and workers.
The March
Revolution

Origins: Food riots/strikes

Duma declared itself a Provisional
Government on March12

Tsar ordered soldiers to intervene;
instead they joined the
rebellion…the Tsar thus abdicated
on March 17

the Menshevik Alexander Kerensky
headed the Provisional Government,
along w/ Prince Lvov
– Very Popular Revolution
– Kerensky favoured gradual
socialist reform/ saw the war
effort as #1 priority
Stage Six: Reforms Divide
Nations Into Rival Groups
Kornilov Affair

General Kornilov
attempted to overthrow
Provisional Government
with military takeover

To prevent this takeover,
Kerensky freed many
Bolshevik leaders from
prison and supplied arms
to many revolutionaries
Lenin Leaves Russia




After arriving in Petrograd, Lenin argued in his “April Thesis” that
the Bolshevik Party must topple the Provisional Government
In July, Lenin was associated with an armed uprising in Petrograd,
and he was forced to leave for Finland
Lenin’s primary goal was still a seizing of power by force
During his time spent in Finland, he wrote his famous pamphlet
State and Revolution in 1918
The Petrograd Soviet
 leftists in St. Petersburg
formed the Petrograd
Soviet, which they claimed
to be the legit. gov’t
 Ger. was aware of the
Russ. situation and began
to concentrate on the W.
Front
 Ger. even played a role in
returning Lenin to Russia,
so he could foment rev.
– Having been granted
“safe passage”, Lenin
returned in April 1917
Lenin Returns to Russia
Up until this time, Lenin was in
Switzerland
 He believed that the revolution
should not stop its efforts with the
assumption of power of the
Provisional Government
 He wanted it to proceed to the final stages of Marxist
theory
 In his attempts to return to Russia, the French and Italian
governments refused to let him pass
 Germany, however, aided Lenin in his return in hopes of
him provoking politically instability in Russia
 He arrived in Petrograd in early April

Lenin Takes Control
Lenin had been living in
hiding, outside of Russia
 Germany helped arrange for
his return
 He and the Bolsheviks take
control of the soviets
 Rallied supporters with the
slogan, “Peace, Land, and
Bread!”

•Divisions Amongst the Russian People:
•Many middle-class Liberals and Social Revolutionaries (who supported the
peasants) opposed the rule of the Tsar, but the most revolutionary were the
Social Democrats or Communists.
•The Communists believed in the ideas of Karl Marx. Marx claimed that history
is all about the struggles between the classes.
•He claimed that the capitalist system was unfair because the factory owners
(bourgeois) made profits from the toils of the workers (proletariat).
• Marx predicted that the proletariat would violently overthrow the bosses and
take control of the country on behalf of the people.
•The Russian Communists were divided into the Bolsheviks led by Lenin and the
Mensheviks led by Trotsky.
•Lenin believed that the small party of Bolsheviks should seize power and
control Russia on behalf of the people.
•Before 1917 Lenin and many of the other Communist leaders were in exile
abroad, plotting to bring about a revolution in Russia
Soviet Political Ideology
More radical and
revolutionary than
the Provisional
Government
 Most influenced by
Marxist socialism
 Emulated western
socialism
 Two Factions
-- “Mensheviks”
-- “Bolsheviks”

The Russian Revolution
Provisional Government
Bolsheviks
• Duma established temporary
government
• Led opposition to Kerensky’s
provisional government
• Led by Aleksandr Kerensky
• Wanted fundamental change in
government and society
• Many unhappy with new leadership
• Planned Marxist revolution
Bolshevism
• Abolish private property
• Enforce social equality
• Later known as MarxismLeninism
Vladimir Lenin
• Bolshevik leader forced to live
outside Russia
• Returned, April 1917
• Germany hoped Lenin would
weaken Russian war effort
Bolshevik Revolution
Lenin returned to Petrograd
in October
 He was able to convince a
majority of the Bolsheviks to
seize power by force in the
name of the soviets
 On October 25, 1917, armed
workers and soldiers
stormed the Winter Palace
and arrested the members
of the Provisional
Government
 The next day, the second
Congress of Soviets declared
Soviet power

October (Bolshevik) Revolution1917
-Lead by VI Lenin “Peace, Land,
and Bread”
-Won support of people
(especially peasants)
Russian Revolution Part II. Bolshevik
Revolution - November, 1917 - 1921
The Bolsheviks
Became the communist party;
Early on a relatively small
party 1917 less than 1 percent of
the population.
Ideology
Abolish capitalism, create a
classless society.
Russian Revolution Part II (Bolshevik
Revolution)
Gained popularity
-Promised to get Russia out
of WWI
-Land to peasants
-Food for workers
Red Guard
Workers’ militia (Supported
Lenin)
Founder of Bolshevism: Vladimir Lenin

His Early Years
--Exiled to Siberia in 1897

Committed to Class Struggle and
Revolution

Moved to London in 1902 and
befriended Leon Trotsky

What is to be Done?
– vanguard is required to lead
the rev. (thus rev. from
above)  this split the SDWP
in 2
Lenin Steps into This Vacuum

Amnesty granted to all political prisoners
in March of 1917

Lenin’s arrival in Petrograd

A tremendously charismatic personality

“Peace, Land, Bread”

“All Power to the Soviets”

He preached that the war was a
capitalist/imperialist war that offered no
rewards for the peasants/workers; he
also felt the war was over w/ the czar’s
abdication

Bolshevik party membership exploded;
their power was consolidated
 Lenin formed the
Military-Revolutionary
Council and in May
1917 he urged the Pet.
Soviet to pass Army
Order # 1
–This gave control of
the army to the
common soldiers;
discipline thus
collapsed, and
Kerensky was
undermined
The Bolshevik Revolution
Kerensky’s final offensive
• Kerensky ordered final military offensive against Central Powers along
Eastern Front, mid-1917
• Drive failed and led to widespread rebellion in Russian army
• Weakened Russian army collapsed
Bolshevik takeover
• Conditions ideal for Lenin
• Armed Bolshevik factory workers,
Red Guard, attacked provisional
government, November 1917
Lenin became leader
• Established radical Communist
program
• Made private ownership of land
illegal
• Known as October Revolution
• Land given to peasants
• Kerensky’s government collapsed
after nearly bloodless struggle
• Control of factories given to
workers
Kerensky Overthrown

Lenin takes over provisional government
– Orders farm land to be divided among peasants
– Gives control of factories to workers
– Signs a truce with Germany to end WWI (Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk)
November Revolution




Lenin’s 1st task was to
get Russia out of the war
so he could concentrate
on internal reform…
The Treaty of BrestLitovsk negotiated with
the Germans, giving them
much Russian territory,
population, and
resources
Civil War followed, 19171920
“Reds” versus “Whites”
Complete breakdown of
Russian economy and
society
After the Revolution
Lenin sought to end Russian involvement in
World War I
 Sent
Leon Trotsky to negotiate peace with Central
Powers
 Russia’s
army virtually powerless
 Trotsky
had to accept agreement harsh on Russia
 Russia
gained peace, gave up large parts of empire
•The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918
•To successfully impose Communist control in Russia, Lenin realised
that he would have to bring Russia out of the First World War.
•He feared that the war might bring about an end to Communist rule.
•By this time the Russian army was weakened by poor morale,
desertions and a break down in discipline.
•It was incapable of resisting the Germans.
•In March 1918 Russia signed a humiliating peace treaty with
Germany. Russia lost a huge amount of land in the West.
•This included about one-sixth of the population (60 million people),
three-quarters of its iron and coal and over a quarter of the best
farmland in Russia.
•The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk came at a high price for Russia, but Lenin
knew he could not defeat Germany and his opponents in Russia at
the same time.
Reaction to Treaty
• Bolsheviks’ acceptance of peace treaty angered many Russians
• Bolsheviks’ opponents organized the White Army
• White Army included army leaders, political opponents, wealthy Russians
opposed to Communist system
Civil War
• White Army received military help from France, U.S.
• Civil War raged for 3 years between Lenin’s Red Army and White Army
• Millions of Russians died in fighting, famines
• Bolsheviks finally triumphed, late 1920
Russian Revolution Part II (Bolshevik
Revolution)
November Rev.
(6-7 1917)
Red Guard with help from
sympathetic soldiers and sailors
seized control of the central gov.
Lenin
Chief of state, unlimited power.
November Revolution
Political Police
organized: CHEKA
 Revolutionary
army created with
Trotsky in charge
= “Red Army”
 Bolshevik Party
renamed
Communist Party
in March of 1918

Red Army vs. The Whites

Communist Army = Red
Army

The right wing
revolutionaries were
nicknamed the Whites.

Whites receive aid from
Western Countries.
– Allies upset over
Russia leaving WWI
– Upset over peace
Treaty with Germany
Opposition to Bolsheviks
“White Army “ was the nickname given to
opponents of Bolsheviks
 Bolsheviks were referred to as the “Red
Army”


White Army split into 3 groups:
 Group that wanted a czar in control
 Group that wanted a more democratic government
 Group made of socialists, but against Lenin’s form of
socialism
Opposition to Lenin and the Bolsheviks
“Whites”
Members
Opposed Lenin and the
“Reds”
Ukrainians,
Poles,
Finns,
Estonians,
Latvians,
and Lithuanians
all wanted their own rule.
Peasants forced to send food to cities.
Opposition to Lenin and the Bolsheviks
Issues
Problems
Lenin shutdown freely elected
Constituent Assembly 1918.
Army was not well coordinated;
lacked peasant support. (Land
Policy)
Civil War
Red Army is led by Leon
Trotsky

3 year civil war

14 million dead

Famine

Bolsheviks seize power
•The Civil War 1918-1921
•The opponents of the ‘Reds’, Lenin and the Communists, were known as
the ‘Whites’.
•The Whites were a mixture of aristocrats, royalists, churchmen, army
officers and many others.
•The Whites were led by Admiral Kolchak and Generals Deniken and
Wrangel.
•The Whites were supported by Britain, France, Japan and the USA,
countries that were alarmed at the possible spread of communism.
•At the same time, Lenin fought a war against Poland, a new country
formed by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
•Although in a very dangerous position, the Communists were able to win
the Civil War.
•This was because the Whites were divided, while the Reds controlled the
key cities, industrial centres and communication links.
•Trotsky’s tough leadership of the new Red Army proved decisive in the
victory over the Whites.
Soviets
Red Army overwhelms the Whites.
 By 1922 Communist party renames
Russia.
“The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.”
 Soviet = Council in Russian

War
Whites and their supporters fleeing abroad after defeat in the Civil
Stage Seven: Radicals Take
Power
•The execution of Tsar Nicholas II
July 1918
•After his abdication in March
1917, Tsar Nicholas II and his
family were arrested and sent to
Siberia.
•In July 1918, the Romanovs
were in Ekaterinburg, with a
White army closing in on the
town.
•Local communists were worried
that the Tsar might be a rallying
point for the Whites.
•As a result, Tsar Nicholas, his
wife, their five children and four
attendants were shot and
bayoneted.
Murder of the Romanovs












The Romanov family was murdered at Ekateringburg on July 17th, 1918. After his abdication in
March 1917, Nicholas and his family had been put under house arrest and kept just outside of
St. Petersburg.
As the civil war developed, the whole family was sent to Tolbolsk in Siberia and from here to
Ekateringburg in the Urals.
The Romanovs had given Lenin a major problem. To many, Nicholas was still the legitimate
ruler of Russia.
While he was alive, people would rally to his cause.
The simple fact was that many in the White corner were fighting to restore Nicholas the throne.
The tsar, appointed by God, had many loyal followers. If Nicholas escaped, then his followers
would have had someone at their head to lead them - against Lenin.
In the summer of the 1918, Ekateringburg was threatened by the advancing Whites. The
decision was taken by the Bolsheviks to kill Nicholas and his family.
On the night of July 17th, the family was awoken and told that there was trouble in
Ekateringburg.
They were told that they would be safer in the basement of the house they were staying in.
The whole family, the family doctor (Botkin) and three servants went to the basement.
A group of twelve Red Army soldiers appeared in the basement and shot those there.
The legend has it that the princesses had to be finished off with bayonets as they had stuffed
jewels in their blouses which had deflected the bullets.
Murder of the Romanovs








Many rumours quickly spread with regards to the murders.
One was that the youngest daughter, Anastasia somehow managed to survive.
Another was that not all the family were murdered in the basement and that some,
primarily the children and Alexandra, were removed from the house and shot
elsewhere.
Another was that the first judge appointed by the Bolsheviks to investigate the
murders, Judge Sergeyev, was removed from the investigation as he was going to
go public about what had happened.
Sergeyev was certainly removed from the investigation in 1919 and died in
mysterious circumstances shortly afterwards.
It suited the Whites to put out stories about how cruel the Reds were and it may
well be that the Whites themselves were responsible for the many rumours that
persisted after the murders.
A second investigative judge, Sokolov, reported that the bodies were removed from
the basement and taken to the 'Four Brothers' mine near to Ekateringburg.
Here they were thrown done a mine shaft and left. Grenades were thrown in the
mine shaft in an attempt to make it collapse.
Murder of the Romanovs
Such was the fear of the Cheka that the story of the Romanovs
deaths was never challenged and the same remained true under
Stalin.
 However, in September 1918, a number of people claimed to have
seen Alexandra and the four princesses at a house in Perm - this
followed the rumour that a heavily guarded train left Ekateringburg
immediately after July 17th, with the four princesses and their
mother on board.
 Also a doctor in Perm claimed to have treated one of the princesses
after she had fallen ill in September 1918.
 The actual details of what happened to the Romanovs on July 17th
will never be known and this has led to continual speculation as to
what exactly did happen.

Murder of the Romanovs
•On July 17, 1918, Nicholas II and his wife and the five children were tricked
to go into the cellar of a house in Yekaterinburg.
•Then the Bolsheviks fired continually and brutally at them until they were
found dead.
•However, that’s not the end, the killers tried to burn two of the bodies - but
it took too long.
•They doused the rest of the bodies with sulphuric acid and buried them in a
shallow grave in a forest outside the city.
•What a terrible and bloody murder!! Indeed, it was a family of endless
misfortunes.



After several aborted efforts to dispose of the bodies, Yurovsky and his
detachment finally decided to burn them.
But burning a human body takes a long time if the temperature is not hot
enough. Once again Yurovsky had to make a different plan.
“ We wanted to burn [Aleksei] and Alexandra Fedorovna, but by
mistake the lady-in-waiting [the maid Demidova] was burnt with
Aleksei instead. We then immediately buried the remains under the
fire and lit the fire again, which completely covered up traces of
the digging. Meanwhile, we dug a common grave for the rest. A pit
around 6 feet deep and 8 feet square was ready by around 7
o'clock in the morning. [That would have been the morning of the 19th.]
We piled the corpses in the pit, poured sulfuric acid onto their faces
and generally over their whole bodies to prevent them both from
being recognized and from stinking as a result of decomposition
(the pit was not deep). Having thrown dirt and brushwood on top, we
put down railroad ties and drove over them a few times - no traces
of the pit were left. The secret was completely safe; the Whites
didn't find this burial place.”



The Whites had, in fact, found the temporary grave where the bodies
had been hastily left after the murders. However, they never found
the spot Yurovsky describes as the permanent grave site:
Koptiaki is 12 miles from Yekaterinburg. [The R.R. crosses mile 6
between Koptiaki and the Upper Isetsk factory to the northwest [of
town].
The burial place is 700 feet closer to the Upper Isetsk factory from
the point of intersection.
Yurovsky wrote his account in 1920.
 By that time, the Bolsheviks had changed the name of
Ekaterinburg to Sverdlovsk, in honor of the man who
masterminded the execution - Yakov Sverdlov - a member of
the Bolshevik Central Committee.
 (In 1960, the American U-2 pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was
shot down over Sverdlovsk.)
 Today, the town is once again known by its former name.








The bodies remained in their shallow grave, undisturbed, until 1979, when
they were apparently found by a Russian mystery writer, Geli Ryabov, and a
geophysicist from Ekaterinburg, Dr. Alexander Avdonin. Ryabov and Avdonin
waited ten years before they revealed their find.
What do the bones that Ryabov and Avdonin found in 1979 tell us?
President Yeltsin ordered their disinterment and the remains have been
studied by Russian and American teams.
Dr. William R. Maples, head of the American team, discusses his findings in
Dead Men Do Tell Tales.
After a great deal of study, including DNA samples from Queen Elizabeth
II's husband, Prince Philip (whose grandmother was Princess Victoria of
Hess, Alexandra's sister), Dr. Maples is sure the remains belong to the
Romanov family.
The DNA evidence is "almost 99 percent" which, coupled with strong
skeletal evidence, makes it virtually certain the bones belong to the
Romanovs and their staff.
Except, in the original grave, there were absolutely no
skeletal remains for two people: Alexei and (it was believed,
at the time) Anastasia.
 Do the missing remains give further credence to the claims
of Anna Anderson and "Heino?"
 Maybe. Maybe not, according to Dr. Maples. In his final
report, he recommends that


...the site around the pit be carefully excavated and
searched for the remains of the two bodies Yurovsky
said he burned. I believe such a dig might well
turn up the calcined remains of Anastasia and
Alexei. (Page 267, Dead Men Do Tell Tales.

While speculation continued, for a time, about the Tsar's
two youngest children, the rest of the family members were
finally laid to rest. Even President Yeltsin paid tribute.

The November Revolution





Nov. 6, 1917…
this was the ideological
aspect of the rev., w/ the
coup itself planned by Leon
Trotsky, who had gained the
confidence of the army (=
the “Red Miracle”)
Lenin went on to consolidate
his power in Jan. 1918 when
he disbanded the
Constituent Assembly (had
replaced the Duma) – the
Bolsheviks had not gained a
majority there in late Nov.
elections - Russ. dem. thus
terminated  a Council of
People’s Commissars was
created
All private property was
abolished and divided among
the peasantry
Largest industrial
enterprises nationalized
Role of the Secret Police:
Cheka
Cheka
Tactics
Secret police.
Snuff out opposition.
Often encouraged neighbors to spy on
each other.
Turn in anyone that speaks in a
negative manner against Lenin
and the Communist party
The Cheka (or secret police)
In December 1917 Lenin set up a secret
police force known as the Cheka.
Cheka agents spied on the Russian people in
factories and villages.
Anyone suspected of being anti-Communist
could be arrested, tortured and executed
without a trial.
When opponents tried to assassinate Lenin
in 1918, he launched the Red Terror
campaign against his enemies.
It is said that 50,000 people were arrested
and executed in this period.
Interpreting the Russian Revolution
The official Marxist
interpretation
 The importance of a
permanent international
revolution
 Function of Russian
History and Culture
 Imposed Revolution on
an unwilling victim
 A Social Revolution…

Every scoundrel who incites
anyone to retreat or to
desert will be shot!
Leon Trotsky – founder and
commander of the Red Army
Every scoundrel
soldier whowho
throws
Every
incites
away his rifle will be shot!
anyone to retreat or to desert
will be shot!
Every soldier who throws away
his rifle will be shot!
Bolsheviks in Power

Lenin orders all
farmland to be
distributed among the
peasants and gave
control of the
factories to the
workers
How did
Lenin impose
Communist
control in
Russia
between
1917-1924?
The abandonment
of the Constituent
Assembly
The Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk
1918
The
Cheka
The Civil
War 19181921
The
execution of
Tsar Nicholas
II 1918
Factors that helped
Lenin impose
Communist control in
Russia 1917-1924.
War
Communism
Success of
the New
Economic
Policy
The Kronstadt
Revolt 1921
•The abandonment of the Constituent Assembly
1917
•Straight after the October Revolution of 1917,
Lenin promised to hold elections for a Parliament
to be known as the Constituent Assembly.
•Lenin renamed the Bolshevik Party as the
Communist Party in order to win wider support.
•However, the Communists only won 175 seats
out of 700, not enough for a majority.
•Therefore Lenin shut down the Constituent
Assembly after only one day!
•Lenin was not prepared to share power with
anyone.
•This was the first step in setting up a Communist
dictatorship.
The First Great Bolshevik U-Turn
The New Economic Policy

Bolsheviks Haemorrhaging support
– War Communism not working
 Workers - unmotivated
 Peasants - requisitioning
– Plummeting Industrial and agricultural output
– Shortages due to World War, Revolution and Civil War
– Disillusionment of masses (and many Socialists) as
Communist Utopia fails to emerge
– International Isolation complete
 No state willing to support Bolsheviks


Lenin listens to rightists who call for a ‘temporary’
change in economic direction
“We are making economic concessions to avoid
political concessions” Bukharin
Effects of War & Revolution
Russian economy is destroyed
 Lenin establishes the New Economic Policy
(NEP)

 Small scale version of capitalism
 Peasants could sell surplus crops instead of turning
them over to the government
 Government maintained control of major industries,
banks, and means of communication
 Small businesses, farms, and factories were allowed
to operate under private ownership
 Government encouraged foreign investment
New Economic Policy

What was the rationale behind the
following factors of the NEP:
– Grain Requisitioning Abolished
– Small businesses allowed to operate
– Money re-introduced
– Industrial Trusts created
•War Communism
•To win the Civil War and impose
Communism in Russia, Lenin needed a
strong Red Army supplied with weapons and
food.
•The state took control of the factories and
appointed managers to run them.
•Work was hard and long, food was rationed
to only those who worked and trade unions
were banned.
•To get enough food, the Cheka seized all
surplus grain from the peasants.
•The peasants hid food or preferred to grow
less rather than give it away free to feed the
towns.
•Drought and famine hit Russia in 1921 –
over 4 million people died.
Food?
Lenin’s Economic Reforms




War and revolution
destroyed the Russian
economy
Lenin launched the New
Economic Policy or NEP
Lenin put aside his idea
for a state-controlled
economy and resorted
to a small scale version
of capitalism.
The government still
kept control of major
industries and banks
New Economic Policy

Grain Requisitioning Abolished
– Surpluses beyond a quota could be sold freely (and at a profit)

Small businesses allowed to operate
– Artisans and small concerns were allowed to operate once
more.
– Allowed to produce consumer goods
 Realised that the state had neglected private consumer goods for
state industries
– No incentives to work if there is nothing to buy!

Money re-introduced
– Rationing and barter was proving to be too inefficient and time
consuming
– Entrepreneurs were allowed to buy and sell
 More efficient use of time as middlemen move goods from place of
production to place of distribution

Industrial Trusts created
– State kept control of big industries like Steel, Coal, banking etc
– However, these now had to operate within budgets and set
targets
New Economic Policy
Collapsing economy
• Brought on by civil war, pushed Russia to edge of total ruin
• Peasants, workers especially hard hit
• Lenin introduced New Economic Policy, 1921
Key points
• New Economic Policy permitted some capitalist activity
• Peasants could sell food at profit
• Tried to encourage badly needed food production
The Soviet Union
• Russia reunited with several neighboring lands, became Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics, dominated by Communist leadership
• Lenin’s death in 1924 led to struggle for control of Soviet Union
THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY



The USSR faced serious eco. issues w/
the conclusion of the wars
W. nations refused to trade w/ them,
and Lenin was at 1st determined to
apply his Marxist principles, which
failed
In Mar. 1921 Lenin relented and intro’d
the NEP
 It was an attempt to rebuild agri.
and industry thru a free market
system (it was a pragmatic measure
– Lenin could not yet take on the
peasants; it did cause a rift w/in the
Comm. Party) – many dissidents
were shipped off to the gulags
 The NEP did work; Lenin was
presumably ready to return to
Marxist principles
 But his health deteriorated after a
1922 stroke, and Lenin died in 1924:
this created a power vacuum and a
struggle b/n Trotsky and Stalin
NEW ECONOMIC POLICY (I)

Lenin replaced War
Communism with
New Economic Policy
(NEP) in 1921
– Never saw it as
permanent policy
but as a temporary
retreat from
socialism that
would give Russia a
chance to recover
economically and
socially
NEW ECONOMIC POLICY
 Provisions
(II)

– State retained ownership
of large industry
– Private enterprise allowed
in small industries and
retail trade
– Peasants freed from forced
requistions
 Had to pay tax in kind to
government but were
otherwise free to sell
rest on free market
 Given strong incentive
to produce more
NEP was tremendous success
and it quickly revived the
Russian economy
Success of the New Economic Policy 1921
To regain popular support, Lenin relaxed War
Communism with the New Economic Policy (NEP).
Smaller industries were returned to private ownership and
peasants could sell their surplus on the open market.
This was a return to capitalism and competition.
Lenin hoped that NEP would give Russia ‘a breathing
space’ to get back on its feet.
Most of the Communist Party saw the need for NEP, but
some were against it.
On the whole NEP was a success.
But it did create some problems.
Some peasants, the Kulaks, became rich, while ‘Nepmen’
or businessmen made a profit in the towns
. Some saw NEP as a betrayal of communism and return
to the old system.
Was the NEP a success:
Agricultural Output
90
80
70
60
50
Grain
40
30
20
10
0
1913 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926
In Millions of Tonnes
Figures on page 112
Was the NEP a success:
Industrial Output
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
Factory
4,000
2,000
0
1913 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926
Factory Production in millions of Roubles (1926 values)
Figures on page 112
“DANGERS” OF THE NEP



Nepmen
75% of all retail trade fell into
private hands during NEP
– Caused rise of “Nepmen”
 Numerous and prosperous
 Fear was that they would
become new “bourgeoisie”
Caused rise of “kulaks”
– Peasants grown wealthy
because of private enterprise
provisions of NEP
Debate over NEP would become
linked to power struggle after
Lenin’s death
•The Kronstadt Revolt 1921
•War Communism made Lenin’s government very unpopular.
• Discontent amongst the peasants led to violence in the cities.
•Workers went on strike, in spite of the death penalty for striking.
•The most serious opposition to Lenin’s government came in March 1921.
• Sailors at the Kronstadt naval base near Petrograd revolted.
•They accused Lenin of breaking his promise to help the workers.
•Lenin ordered the Red Army to put down the revolt.
•This caused 20,000 casualties and the leaders of the revolt were executed.
•However, the mutiny was a warning to Lenin that he might have to relax War
Communism.
Ramifications of U-Turn

What effect did the Kronstadt revolt have on
party delegates?
– It made most waverers realise the dangerous forces
still at work in Russia.
– It made most of them rally to Lenin’s insistence that
this was a temporary tactical withdrawal
– They realised that any internal splits could be fatal
to the Bolshevik party

10th Party Congress agrees to pass a ‘ban on
factions’
– Once Party Policy had been decided by the Central
Committee then all Communists had to accept it and
not form factions to challenge it
– Penalty for factionalism was expulsion from the
party
BAN ON “FACTIONS”

In response to criticisms of
NEP, Lenin and Politburo ban
all “factions” in 1922
– Any party member who
joined others to oppose or
criticize any party policy
would be expelled
– Stalin would later use policy
to eliminate rivals
– Leaders who would later
suffer because of this policy
all voted for it in 1922
Lenin’s Political Reforms




Lenin organized Russia
into several self-governing
republics under the
central gov’t
The country was named
the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR)
Bolsheviks renamed their
party the Communist
Party
They created a
constitution based on
socialist and democratic
principles, but the
Communist part had total
control
Stage Eight: Public Tires of
Radicals---Moderates Regain
Power
TWO MISTAKES


Lenin suffers from a
series of increasingly
series strokes
between late 1921
and 1924
– Left him speechless
and paralyzed
Made two tragic
mistakes during this
period
– Supported ban on
factions
– Appointed Josef
Stalin General
Secretary of
Communist Party
LENIN’S LAST TESTAMENT


Began in December 1922
Did not name successor and instead
offered his personal evaluation of all
possible candidates
– Stalin: should be replaced with
someone “more patient, more loyal,
more courteous, and less
capricious”
– Trotsky: most pre-eminent member
of party but suffered from excessive
self-confidence and
highhandedness
– Barely mentioned Zinoviev and
Kamenev
– Highly praised Nicholas Bukharin
and Felix Pyatokov
LENIN’S CONCLUSION

No one was fit to
succeed him
– Wanted Trotsky,
Zinoviev, and
Kamenev to form
caretaker
government until
Bukharin and
Pyatokov were
ready to take
over
DEATH OF LENIN

Lenin takes final
steps to eliminate
Stalin

Final stroke on March
10, 1924 completely
paralyzes Lenin
before he could get
rid of Stalin
– Dies in early 1924
at age 54
•When Lenin died in 1924, he had been
very successful in imposing a communist
dictatorship in Russia.
•He had defeated all of his opponents
and established a strong communist
government.
•As each of the areas formerly belonging
to the Tsar came under communist
control, they were turned into socialist
republics.
• In 1923 these became the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
But, Lenin failed to provide a clear
successor on his death.
This led to four years of bitter struggle.
Lenin’s Death
Lenin learned of Stalin’s manipulative
actions and began preparing letters and
speeches in order “to crush Stalin
politically”
 However, on March 7, 1923, he suffered
his last stroke and lost the power of
speech
 He died on January 21, 1924

Who
would
succeed
Lenin?
OR
Trotsky – Red Army
Commander and
Commisar of Foreign
Affairs
Stalin – Commisar for
Nationalities
v.
Trotsky (right) was a firm Marxist who
wanted support for a worldwide
revolution against capitalism
 Stalin (left) wanted to work on socialist
views in Russia first
 Stalin put his supporters into top jobs
and isolated Trotsky in his own party

Leon Trotsky
intellectual, head of
the Red Army
 favoured the doctrine
of World Revolution

– felt that the USSR could
not survive as the sole
comm. state
– the USSR must
therefore seek to export
rev.
– as a doctrinaire comm.,
he opposed the NEP
Lenin’s Potential Successors

Leon Trotsky
– Trotsky was an intellectual and formerly a
member of the Mensheviks (he recently had
joined the Bolsheviks)
– He had led the Red Army and was probably
the most able successor, but he was very
arrogant and did not have political allies
– He was prepared to criticize the party for the
growth of bureaucraticatization
LEFT POSITION



Proposed by Trotsky and
supported by Zinoviev
and Kamenev
Socialism in Russia was
doomed without
worldwide communist
revolution
Soviet Union should
therefore support
revolutionary movements
abroad and pursue a
militant and “pure”
socialism at home
– Get rid of NEP
Kamenev
Lenin’s Potential Successors

Josef Stalin
– Was underestimated and was careful never to criticize
the party
– As General Secretary of the Cabinet, Stalin controlled
promotions and ranks in the Soviet Union. He filled
the party with those who were personally loyal to him
– He used the image of Lenin and the “Cult of Lenin” to
present himself as the rightful heir. Stalin presented
himself as the only true Leninist
– The Cheka was used to find information which could
be used to discredit his opponents
JOSEF STALIN



Born in Georgia in 1879
– Real name was Iosif Djugashuili
Joined seminary to study to become
a priest
– Expelled and drifted from job to
job
Gradually drawn into revolutionary
movement and became Social
Democratic agitator in Georgia by his
early 20s
– Eventually came to the attention
of Lenin and came to Petrograd
after February Revolution
– Named Commissar of Nationalities
after October 1917 and made
member of Politburo and Council
of People’s Commissars
– Named General Secretary of

favoured “Socialism in One
Country”
Josef Stalin
– the USSR should strengthen itself and
lead the comm. world by ex.
as a pragmatist, he supported the
NEP
 experienced as a bureaucrat, he
became the Party’s General
Secretary in 1922: here he
appointed many apparatchiks
(these allies were crucial to
Stalin’s rise)
 their power struggle lasted until
1928, when Stalin’s complex
system of alliances and ability w/
realpolitik allowed him to succeed
 even Lenin’s doubts couldn’t deter
Stalin, and many involved in the
party hierarchy paid more
attention to one another than to
Stalin

•The Struggle for power: Stalin v Trotsky
•After the death of Lenin in 1924, there was a four year power struggle
between Josef Stalin and Leon Trotsky over the succession to the Russian
leadership.
•Trotsky believed that under his leadership Russia would become a catalyst
for the spread of communism across the world.
•He had been very successful as commander of the Red Army in the civil
war and appeared to have Lenin’s support.
•Stalin had not played a significant part in the revolution of 1917, but since
then he had gathered control of a number of key posts in the Communist
Party.
•Stalin was determined to win control of Russia for himself.
•He was not interested in international communism, he wanted to make
Russia strong and with himself at its head.
•By 1928 Stalin emerged as the successor to Lenin and Trotsky was forced
into exile.
– in the end, Stalin prevailed
over all of them, and Trotsky
was forced into exile and
eventually murdered in
Mexico City in 1940
– Stalin went on to condemn all
deviation from the party line
and proclaimed himself vozhd
 This Rev. from above saw the
emergence of totalitarianism in
the USSR
 His style of leadership was that
of an “office dictator”, very
different from Mussolini’s
charismatic style – Stalin relied
on his apparatchiks
 He also created a “Cult of Lenin”
and worked to connect himself to
the fallen leader
Stalin v. Trotsky cont…
Trotsky was stripped
of party membership
and fled into exile in
1929
 He was later
murdered in Mexico
by an agent working
for Stalin

Trotsky in Mexico:
Leon Trotsky was hunted
down by Stalin’s agents
and killed in his hotel
room in Mexico City
with an ice pick in 1940.
STALIN WINS


Power struggle after Lenin’s
death was not merely over
personal power
– It was over the future of
Russia
Stalin eventually won the
day
– Used variety of tactics
 Accused opponents of
factionalism
 Accused them of
deviating from party
line and trying to split
the party
 Used General Secretary
position to pack party
congresses with his
supporters
1924
Lenin Dies
 Power Vaccuum
 Leon Trotsky vs. Joseph Stalin
 Stalin takes control
 Now must decide how he will
maintain power
 Decides to create a totalitarian state

ULTIMATE TRIUMPH

Final victory came at 15th
All-Russian Congress of the
Communist Party
– Prohibited “all deviation
from the general party
line” as interpreted by
Stalin
– All opponents forced to
publicly apologize for
their “errors”
– Trotsky kicked out of
party and, in 1929,
expelled from Russia
 Murdered in 1940 on
Stalin’s orders in
Mexico City
Reasons for Stalin’s success
When Lenin died he had warned the
Communist Party of Stalin’s threat in
his ‘Political Testament’.
Comrade Stalin is
too rude.
Comrade Stalin,
having become
General Secretary,
has great power in
his hands, and I am
not sure that he
always knows how to
use that power with
sufficient caution.
•Reasons for Stalin’s success
Although Lenin had not supported him, Stalin was in a strong position. As
General Secretary of the Communist Party Stalin had responsibility for
appointing posts in the Party.
This meant he could remove opponents and replace them with his
supporters.
He was also popular in the Party as he wanted to concentrate on turning
Russia into a modern, powerful state; this approach was called ‘Socialism
in one country’.
In contrast Trotsky was much less popular.
He had been a Menshevik and had only joined the Bolsheviks in 1917.
Trotsky was dismissed as Commissar for War in 1925 and from the
Central Committee in in 1926.
In 1927 he was expelled from the Communist Party and forced into exile
in 1929.
Stalin had Trotsky assassinated in Mexico in 1940.
Other leading figures of 1917, Kamenev, Zinoviev and Bukharin, were
also removed by Stalin.
Stage Nine: Return to a Similar
Government
Stalin becomes Dictator
Stalin was cold, hard
and impersonal
 After forcing Trotsky
out Stalin focused on
Russia’s development
 He used the phrase
“socialism in one
country” to describe
his aims of perfecting
a Communist state

How did
Stalin rule
the USSR
between
1928-1941?
Stalin’s Totalitarian State



Stalin transformed
Russia into a
Totalitarian state
Totalitarianism
described a gov’t that
takes total, centralized
state control over every
aspect of public and
private life
Totalitarian leaders
appear to provide a
sense of security and
give direction for the
future
After Stalin has Risen to
Power…
Stalin’s Rule
5 Year Plans
Collectivisation
Industrialisation
Public Works
Control
through
Fear & Propaganda
Evaluation of
Life Under Stalin
Characteristics of a Totalitarian
State
Dictatorship- Absolute Authority
 Dynamic Leader- Vision for the nation
 State Control Over All Sectors of Society

– Business, Family Life, Labor, youth groups, housing,
religion, education, the arts

State Control Over the Individual
– Obedience
– Denies basic liberties

Organized Violence
– Uses force to crush opposition
Stalin’s Totalitarian State
 State
Control of the Economy
– 5 year plan, collective farms
 Police
Terror
– Great Purge, crush opposition
 Religious
Persecution
– Control of the individual
 Propaganda
(socialist realism)
– Molding peoples minds
 Education
– Controlled by the government
The Stalin Revolution
(1927-1939)
Weapons of Totalitarianism
Police Terror
 Dictators of
totalitarian states
uses terror and
violence to force
obedience
 Monitored
telephone lines,
read mail,
planted informers
1)
Lavrent Beria
(right): head of
secret police




Stalin’s paranoia
still wouldn’t
rest…The Great
Purges
They began in 1934
when Stalin’s deputy
Sergei Kirov was
murdered
Stalin ordered the
NKVD to crack down
on potential
opposition – this soon
penetrated all levels
of Soviet society
Anyone perceived as a
threat was forced to
confess in public trials
and then
executed/shipped to a
gulag

Millions disappeared
during this time; the
party leadership and
army officer corps was
esp. affected
Stalin was the architect and
planner of the purges. He
exercised much personal control
over the arrests and directives
Stalin used the purges
as a weapon to
establish control of the
party
Stalin used the purges in
1937-8 as a terror
mechanism to control the
population
Stalin’s personality was
central to the way the
purges were carried out
Totalitarian
View
Stalin sought to get rid of
old Bolsheviks who might
present a threat to his
leadership
The NKVD was the
instrument of a disciplined
state apparatus which
carried out orders passed
down from the top
Weapons of Totalitarianism
2) Indoctrination and
Propaganda
 Totalitarian states rely
on indoctrination or
instruction on the govt’s
set of beliefs, to mold
people’s minds
 Party leaders lectured
workers and peasants
on the ideals of
communism
 The State supported
youth groups and used
them as training
grounds for future party
members
Weapons of Totalitarianism
Soviet newspapers
and radio broadcasts
glorified the
achievements of
Communism and
Stalin
 Soviet Realism was
an artistic styles that
praised Soviet way
of life

Stalin’s face is seen everywhere. His name is
spoken by everyone. His praises are sung in
every speech. Every room I entered had a
portrait of Stalin hanging on the wall. Is it
love or fear? I do not know.
A foreigner describes the
glorification of Stalin in the USSR.
Stalin’s dictatorship: purges and propaganda
Even with his opponents removed, Stalin still felt
insecure. He conducted a policy of purges between
1934-1938. Millions were arrested, executed or sent to
labour camps.
Stalin used the NKVD, the secret police, to undertake
the ‘Great Terror’. Stalin purged:
• 90% of the army’s top officers,
• every admiral in the navy,
• 1 million Communist Party members,
• some 20 million ordinary Russians.
At the same time Stalin encouraged a cult of
personality.
Propaganda was used to make people aware of the
part Stalin was playing in every aspect of life – work,
home and leisure.
Weapons of Totalitarianism
3) Censorship
 Stalin would not
tolerate individual
creativity that
threatened conformity
 Gov’t controlled all
newspapers, motion
pictures, radio and
other sources of
information
Weapons of Totalitarianism
4) Religious Persecution
 Communists aimed to
replace religious
teachings with the
ideals of Communism
 The Russian Orthodox
Church was the main
target of persecution
 Roman Catholics and
Jews were also
persecuted
Religious Persecution






League of the Militant
Godless
Atheists
Priests were killed
Churches destroyed
Religion was considered to
be superstitious
Reality is that Stalin
probably didn’t want
citizens believing in
something higher than
himself
Stalin’s Economic Reforms
Lenin’s NEP was a
mixture of free
enterprise and state
control
 Stalin’s economic policy
called for total state
control
 He called for a
command economy,
which is a system
where the government
makes all economic
decisions

Command Economy
• The Soviet Union developed a command economy under
Stalin.
• In a command economy, government officials made all basic
economic decisions.
• The government owned all businesses and distributed all
resources.
What was Collectivisation?
Collectivisation

Stalin took all farmland and set up huge state-run farms called
collectives (kolkhozy)

Peasants kept enough for themselves and sold the rest to the state

Could not own land or sell food privately

Had fixed hours and wages

State provided homes, food, fuel, and clothing for the peasants
Negative impacts of
Collectivization –
Starving child in the
arms of his mother
Negative impacts of
Collectivization –
Peasants caught with
human body parts –
Cannibalism as a
result of famine
Rapid Industrialization

Stalin wanted rapid industrialization to:
– Free Russia from dependence on capitalist
states for goods
– Put all national resources under government
control, including workers
– Make Russia economically strong so that she
would be able to produce more powerful
weapons
– Prove that the socialist system was more
successful than capitalism
Rapid Industrialization
Was rapid in the cities due to coercion and
strict enforcement of worker discipline
 Stalin encouraged enthusiasm and that
people were part of something new and
good
 Educational programs would replace the
bourgeoisie intellectuals with a new Soviet
educated class

USSR’s Industrial Revolution
In 1928, Stalin
outlined the 1st of
many five-year plans
for development of
the USSR’s economy
 The five-year plans
set unrealistic
quotas to increase
the output of steel,
coal, oil, and
electricity

Five Year Plans:
Modernize the Soviet
Union in five years no
matter what the cost.
It caused massive
shortages and
suffering for all.
Five Year Plans
Were plans to industrialize Russia with emphasis
on heavy industries such as coal, iron, oil, steel,
and electricity
 Capitalist models were used for nearly every
project
 Targets were set which industries had to meet
 Exaggerated figures were often submitted to
demonstrate that a particular factory had
exceeded expectations

Three Five Year Plans

Three Five-Year Plans

First plan (1928 to 1932)
– Concentrated on expanding industry, transport and the power
supply

Second plan (1933 to 1938)
– Focused on more manufactured goods, in addition to first
plan

Third plan (began in 1939 but interrupted by outbreak of war)
– Production of ‘luxuries’ like bicycles and radios
Assessment of the Five Year Plans





Russia was transformed into a major industrial power
second only to the U.S.
The Five Year Plans allowed the USSR to resist the
German invasion
Living standards declined at first, then improved
slowly
Russians suffered a lack of consumer goods and daily
necessities
Communist principles were compromised – good
workers were rewarded with higher pay and
competition between factories was encouraged
Evaluation of the Plans (positive)

Greatly succeeded in increasing industrial production and
creating NEW industries

Areas of the country (the north, the east) were
incorporated into the economic life of the country for the
first time.

The Red Army obtained a highly developed armaments
base.

Industrialization and collectivization was LARGELY
undertaken using internal manpower and financing.
Successes ...
 1.
The USSR was turned into a modern state (which was able to resist Hitler's
invasion).
















2. There was genuine Communist enthusiasm among the young ‘Pioneers’.
3. There were huge achievements in the following areas:
new cities
dams/ hydroelectric power
transport & communications
the Moscow Underground
farm machinery
electricity
coal
steel
fertilizers
plastic
no unemployment
doctors & medicine
education.
Evaluation of the Plans (negative)

The cost of industrialization and collectivization was
tremendous:
- the population suffered great hardships
and deprivation of consumer goods
- inadequate housing
- increasingly large bureaucracy / low worker
productivity
- poor pay / poor working conditions not unlike the
industrial revolution in Britain during the 18-19th
centuries
- many of the major industrial / construction
projects were undertaken by forced labor - GULAG
PROBLEMS



Involved creating of huge
planning bureaucracy
– Main job was to produce
tons of paperwork
Stalin interfered with planning
process and caused problems
– Hired flunkies who gave him
the numbers he wanted
 No one would point out
mistakes in the planning
process, thereby
guaranteeing that when a
mistake was made, it
would be a giant one
Centralized planning failed to
make the Soviet Union
competitive in the world
marketplace
Problems with the Five
Year Plans
Problems with the Five-Year Plans

Problem 1: the quality of goods suffered
– Rapid production led to poor quality of goods
– Workers were not trained properly
– Stalin desperately sought help from Western experts

Problem 2: human cost
– People were crowded into new industrial towns to live
and work in appalling conditions
– Living conditions were cramped with little running water or
sanitation
•
Failures/ criticisms
1. Poorly organised – inefficiency, duplication of effort and waste.
2.
Appalling human cost:
discipline (sacked if late)
secret police
slave labour
labour camps (for those who made mistakes)
accidents & deaths (100,000 workers died building the
Belomor Canal)
few consumer goods
poor housing
wages FELL
no human rights
3. Some historians claim the tsars had done the ‘spadework’, setting up
the basis for industrialisation, and that Stalin’s effort had very little effect on
a process that would have happened anyway.