The Russian Revolution
Mr. White’s World
History Class
Objectives

After this section, we should be able
to:
Explain the reasons that the Russian
people revolted in 1917
 Describe the changes that the
Bolsheviks made when they came to
power

The Fall of the Czar


Previously in Russia, the country had
been ruled by a czar
Many people in Russia had reasons to
overthrow the czar and set up a new
government




Czar’s political incompetence
Grigori Rasputin, the czar’s healer
Food and fuel shortages
Russians were tired of fighting in World War I
Uprising



March 8, 1917 – Hundreds of thousands
of men and women demonstrated against
the czar
The government ordered troops to fire on
the people and end the riot, but they
refused
Any troops brought back from the front in
World War I simply joined the rebelling
people
The Provisional Government




A new government was set up to have
elections to create a new government
The provisional government was opposed
by the Petrograd Soviet, which was a
socialist group
The Soviets called for immediate peace,
transfer of lands to peasants, and the
control of factories by workers
The Provisional government doesn’t really
do much
Lenin




The Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, both
socialist groups, wanted to control the
revolution
V.I. Lenin, a Bolshevik, had been exiled
from Russia for promoting revolution
When the czar was overthrown, Lenin
wanted to return to Russia to start a
revolution
“Peace, Land, and Bread” was the slogan
used by the Bolsheviks
The Bolshevik Revolution



November, 1917 – Bolsheviks started a
revolution and overthrew the government
Bolsheviks laid the foundation for
socialism – ended private property,
distributed land to peasants, and gave
workers control of factories
This system would become known as
communism
Civil War




Lenin took power for the Bolsheviks
Lenin made peace with Germany, and lost
a lot of Russia’s land in exchange
The communists and their political
opponents engaged in civil war
Eventually, the communists put down the
other revolts and used the Cheka, or
secret police, to arrest enemies of the
revolution