THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Watch this video
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZbho6AsBOc
Russian Empire
How did World War I Impact Russia?
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WWI strained Russian resources
Factories could not manufacture
enough war supplies
Poor transportation system
meant insufficient supplies
arrived at the war front
Not enough weapons, rifles, and
ammunition
Poor equipped soldiers and badly
trained
1915: 2 million Russian casualties
The Czar’s Response
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Czar Nicholas II went to the
war front to take command of
his armies
Nicholas II was equally
incompetent to lead as were
his Russian generals
Who was running the Russian
government in the czar’s absence?
Rasputin
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Nicholas II went to Eastern
Front to rally his troops
Left his wife, Czarina Alexandra
in charge of Russian
government
Alexandra fell under the
influence of the mysterious
Rasputin who claimed to have
magical healing powers
Alexandra believed Rasputin
cured her son Alexis of
hemophilia (uncontrolled
bleeding when blood does not
clot effectively)
Rasputin’s Influence
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To reward Rasputin, Alexandra
allowed Rasputin to make key
political decisions
Rasputin put his friends in high
government positions and was
corrupt
Opponents assassinated
Rasputin for his excessive
involvement in government
affairs
Crisis Worsens in Russia
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Increased military disasters and
battlefield deaths
Food and fuel shortages; prices
increased
Striking workers marched in the streets
demanding bread
Government military troops refused to
open fire on the protestors
With no more military support to
support his leadership, the Tsar
abdicated and fled
Temporary Government
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Politicians in the Duma (legislature) established a provisional
government after the czar abdicated (surrendered his throne)
Alexander Kerensky was the leader of the Provisional
Government
Provisional government continued fighting against Germany in
WWI
Revolutionaries secretly were plotting to overthrow the
provisional government
Revolutionaries established soviets (council of soldiers and
workers) and, at first, worked with the provisional government
Radical revolutionaries called Bolsheviks were intent on
overthrowing the Provisional (democratic) government
The Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Lenin and the Bolsheviks
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V.I. Lenin (1870-1924)
Lenin hated the tsarist governments
Lenin became a revolutionary at a young age
when the tsar executed his older brother for
planning to kill the czar
Lenin planned a revolution based on the
writings of German Karl Marx
Lenin believed the proletariat (working
class) would revolt, overthrow the
government, and establish a socialist state
Bolsheviks vs. Mensheviks
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Bolsheviks (“majority”) believed
that socialism could be achieved
through swift, violent, and radical
changes to society
Mensheviks (“minority”) believed
socialism could be achieved
through gradual and moderate
reforms such as higher wages,
increases suffrage, and social
welfare programs
Marxists
Bolsheviks
(majority)
Mensheviks
(minority)
Lenin Returned from Exile
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Lenin had been exiled in
Switzerland
Germany knew that Lenin was a
Russian revolutionary
Germany wanted Lenin to return
to Russia and spark the Russian
Revolution
Germany felt that Russia would
be unable to continue fighting
the war IF Russia was also
involved in a revolution
Lenin’s Promise to the Russian People
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Lenin and the Bolsheviks
promised to the Russian
people “peace, land,
and bread”
Peace = withdrawal from
WWI
Land = poor peasants
would own the land
Bread = starving Russians
would receive sufficient
food to avoid starvation
Lenin addressing a crowd in
1920
Continued Mistakes of the Provisional
Government
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Continued fighting World War I
Russians tired of war
Thousands of soldiers deserted
Kerensky launched a disastrous military offensive in
July, 1917
Failed to deal with land reform
Peasants demanded land
City workers wanted food and fuel
Bolsheviks Attacked
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November, 1917
Armed factory workers (Red Guards)
and rebelling sailors attacked the
provisional government
Lenin’s Bolsheviks seized power in just a
few days without a struggle
Kerensky’s Provisional Government
collapsed
Moscow became the Bolshevik’s capital
Kremlin became the Bolshevik HQ
Moscow
Kremlin – Bolshevik HQ (Moscow)
What actions did the Bolsheviks
take after seizing power?
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Ended private ownership of land
Distributed land to peasants
Workers given control of factories and mines
New red flag symbolizing workers and peasants
created
Bolsheviks renamed themselves Communists
End of World War I
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Lenin sought peace with Germany
Soviet Union (USSR) signed Treaty of BrestLitovsk with Germany (March, 1918)
USSR surrendered much territory and population
Terms of treaty angered and humiliated Russians
Lenin wanted peace with Germany to concentrate
Russian resources to defeat the communist enemies
Germany transferred the troops on the Eastern Front
to fight the Allies on the Western Front
Russian Civil War
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Russian Civil War erupted between the Reds (communists) and
the White (counter-revolutionaries, Mensheviks, democrats,
etc.)
Civil War lasted three bloody years
“White” armies wanted to defeat the communists
Allies supported the White army
Allies hoped that White army would defeat the communists and
support fight against Germany
Britain, France, and USA sent soldiers to fight in the Russian
civil war
The Communists (Reds) defeated the Whites (Mensheviks)
White Army
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Enemies of the Bolsheviks
Bolsheviks had the responsibility to eliminate
all enemies
Leon Trotsky commanded the Bolshevik
army and fought a three year civil war to
secure absolute control of Russia
15 million Russians died in civil war
Civil war caused famine, hunger, and flu
epidemic
Russia was left economically in ruins
Leon Trotsky
What happened to Czar
Nicholas II and his family?
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Communists executed
Czar Nicholas II,
Czarina Alexandra, and
their five children in
July, 1918
Communists felt that
Czar would serve as
rallying symbol for the
White army
Cheka
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Secret Soviet police force
Used terror tactics to control the people
Executed many citizens suspected of
being against the revolution
Gulag
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Forced labor camps
Political prisoners
and counter
revolutionaries sent
to the gulag to
work in hard (bitterly
cold and scorching
hot) labor conditions
“War Communism”
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Policy of taking over banks, mines, factories, and
railroads
Rural peasants were forced to deliver their crops to
feed urban dwellers and the military
Peasants were drafted into the army
Peasants forced to work in urban factories
Commissars
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Trotsky turned the Bolsheviks
into a superior fighting force
Commissars – communist party
officials – were assigned to
monitor the army officers
Commissars taught communist
party principles and demanded
absolute loyalty – or risk
imprisonment or execution
Building the Communist Soviet
Union
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Russia was in chaos
Millions of Russians died in
WWI and the Russian Civil
War
Thousands died from
starvation, illness, and
disease
The communists under Lenin
faced enormous challenges
to repair a destroyed
economy
Girl starving
during Russian
famine (1921)
New Government
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Russia united into the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics) (Soviet Union)
Constitution established
Elected legislature (Supreme Soviet)
Right to vote over age 18
All means of production belonged to workers and
peasants
The Communist party, however, was supreme over
the people – hardly a social democracy!
USSR used the army and secret police to enforce its
will
End of war communism
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War communism damaged the Soviet economy
Mine and factory production decreased
Peasants stopped planting and harvesting crops
knowing the communist party would seize the crops
Lenin elected to halt the policy of war communism
New Economic Policy
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Lenin launched his New Economic Policy
(NEP) to replace war communism
Peasants allowed to sell crops instead of
giving crops to government
People could buy and sell goods for profit
Government controlled banks, major
industries, and communication
Small factories, businesses, and farms
operated under private ownership
Foreign investment encouraged
Advantages of the New Economic
Policy (NEP)
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NEP restored some confidence in the Soviet economy
Ended armed resistance to the new communist
government
Food and industrial production climb back to pre-war
levels by 1928
Standard of living improved
Lenin believed NEP would only be a temporary
flirtation with capitalism
Lenin’s goal was to bring the USSR to a pure
communist state
Death of Lenin
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Lenin died of a stroke
in 1924 at age 54
Power struggle – who
would take control of
the Communist Party?
Top two contenders:
Leon Trotsky and
Joseph Stalin
Lenin’s embalmed
corpse is on display in
Moscow.
Stalin vs. Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
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Brilliant Marxist thinker
Leader of Bolshevik
Revolution
Urged support for a
worldwide revolution against
capitalism
Fled to Mexico
Continued to criticize Stalin
Stalin’s secret agent
murdered Trotsky in Mexico
in 1940
Joseph Stalin
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Clever political operator
Behind-the-scenes organizer
Desired to build socialism
(communism) at home
before exporting it globally
Isolated and stripped Trotsky
of membership in communist
party
Stalin became ruthless
dictator of USSR
Powerpoint Questions
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1. What was the slogan the Communists promised to
the people?
2. What treaty ended WWI between Russia and
Germany?
3. The last czar of Russia was ____.
4. Who was the mysterious man who promised to
cure Alexis of hemophilia, the son of the czars?
5. The leader of the Provisional Government was __.
6. The Communists who were the majority were
known as the __________.
Powerpoint Questions
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7. The working class people who were to stage the
revolution were known as the _________.
8. The Russian secret police were called the _____.
9. If you disagreed with the communists, you could
be arrested and sent to a _______.
10. Whose job was to teach communist party
principles and ensure loyalty to the party?
11. What was “war communism”?
Powerpoint Questions
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12. The Russian civil war was fought between the
___ and the ___ armies.
13. Who succeeded Lenin as the leader of Russia
following Lenin’s death?
14. What economic policy replaced “war
communism”?