IDs and Definitions
• USSR (definition)
• Lenin
Questions and Imperatives
• Trotsky has been called the “architect” of the
Bolshevik Revolution. Put the Revolution in
context and explain what Trotsky did and how
he was successful.
Revolutionary Year, 1917
• March, protests escalated and Tsar Nicholas attempted to have the
people crushed with troops
• soon the troops had enough and joined the other side.
• with no protection, Nicholas was persuaded to abdicate
• the Duma formed a provisional government and named Georgi Lvov
as leader
• PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT:
– elections were to be held
– The new government promised to distribute land to the peasants
– the work day was shortened
– political prisoners were freed
– there was a proclamation that Jews were no longer to be persecuted
– these reforms gained the provisional government a broad support
– at the same time, the provisional government was undermined by
the Soviet Council of Workers, who were mostly (split) Socialists
Social Revolutionaries
• agrarian radicals who wanted to change Russian society by setting up local
governments
• Mensheviks and Bolsheviks were Marxists
• Mensheviks
– wanted a mass-based party like the Socialists in western Europe
– wanted peaceful reform after capitalism had spread creating a large working class
• Bolsheviks
– Leader was Lenin
– believed only revolution would achieve Socialism
– not a mass movement, but small groups of professional revolutionaries who knew
what they were doing ==> discipline and leadership
• Mensheviks and Bolsheviks worked together for awhile, against the
provisional government
• the Duma, still in charge, favored a constitutional Monarchy
• the Duma felt it was the duty of Russia to stay in the War
• BUT, War was creating hardships at home and the wide support was thinning
• Bolsheviks took advantage of this
Lenin
• had a brilliant mind and had long been in anti-government
activity (brother killed for attempting to kill Alexander III)
• Lenin was in exile in Switzerland during March Revolution,
had been in Western Europe since 1900
• sealed train across Germany, released in Finland, and arrived
in Petrograd in April 1917
• the Germans did this to stir up trouble within Russia…
• Lenin did not support the provisional government, but called
Bolsheviks to another revolution
• Lenin established authority within Bolshevism and pressure
was put on the provisional government
• Leader of provisional government, Lvov, arrested some
Bolshevik leaders and Lenin escaped to Finland
• Provisional government decided to name a new leader since
Lvov couldn’t hold it together
Vladimir Illych Ulyanov
Trying to hold on
• Alexander Kerensky was chosen, a moderate socialist
revolutionary who should help to again broaden support
• Kerensky made 2 mistakes (so to speak)
– allowed Russia to remain in the War
– allowed a strike at the Soviets, and then feared those who made
the strike might act out towards him and gave weapons to the
Soviets to defend themselves
• Soviet is the Russian word for council
– In a big factory (i.e. a steel complex), there was an elected council
to represent the workers
– responsible for resting the ownership at the time of revolution
and transferring the ownership to the workers on the plant floor
– soldiers will elect own officers and peasants will elect own council
Peace, Bread, and Land
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Lenin knew what people wanted
Lenin demanded all power to the Soviets
Bolsheviks were in control of Soviets in Petrograd and Moscow
Lenin returned to Russia in October, prepared to take power
Lenin promised the people peace, bread, and land, but the cost would
be high
Lenin wanted to get the peasants on his side
Lenin said “all land to the peasants,” this was the nobility’s land
Marx said land to be held jointly
Lenin could get the peasants because of their greed for land, they
didn’t want Marx’s idea of collectivization
all land to the peasants would make them like small capitalists versus
Marx’ jointly held, therefore Lenin did broaden his base
Leon Trotsky
November Revolution
• Leon Trotsky was the mastermind of the Bolshevik victory
• he was the head of the Petrograd Soviets and became the
#2 man after Lenin
– he first persuaded government soldiers to join the
Soviets
– this larger group took control of means of
communications (railroads, power stations, bridges,
telephones)
– Soviet sailors moved a ship in firing range of the
Winter Palace
• It appeared Bolsheviks had upper hand and Kerensky fled
• Lenin and the Bolsheviks were in power, but life did not get
better overnight for the Russian people
Promises kept BUT… not all happy
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The first thing Lenin had to do was to make peace
he was willing to sacrifice land to the Germans for peace
the Germans need the food that came from the land
the Germans were the one to dictate the terms and they
demanded the land
peace came with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Not all Russians wanted the Bolsheviks in power and so civil
war broke out and hit its peak in the fall of 1918
Lenin suffered criticism for handing over land to the
Germans but the treaty became vitally important
from now on policy was to protect the soviet state, there
was a Bolshevik victory at home and Lenin would instill
terror if he had to for the good of the
state
Lenin took steps
• 1) emasculated the soviets (empty them of their
power) in favor of the communist party
• 2) Lenin promised the right of the constituents to meet
(to assemble with a mission to draw up a constitution)
and then he dissolved the group...he shut them
down...his intention was to never have opposition to
the party
• 3) Lenin installed a secret police force which resorted to
terror to root out opposition...all opposition, not just
the covert
• Trotsky ran military operations in Russia, growing the
Red Army
• by late 1920, the Red Army was powerful enough to
scare “Allied forces” out of Russia, and Russia gained
back much of the land she lost to Germany
USSR
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1917-1921:
- shortage of food, disease and the civil war killed millions of Russians
- civil unrest hit a peak in 1921 and Lenin moved to subdue it
1921:
- the NEP (New Economic Policy) was installed
- capitalism on a local level (private ownership of small business)
- Lenin did the peace thing, now he needed to provide bread
- he allowed the Kulaks (newly created peasant middle class) to thrive as successful
landowner power, therefore food would find its way into the cities
- Communists debated this policy, it was a compromise with socialist theory
- NEP did not end state control of large business
- NEP helped to bring industry back to pre-war levels
1922:
Lenin created Russian states, known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
Lenin had 2 strokes in 1922 and died in 1924, was succeeded by Stalin...Lenin had said
“Beware of Stalin.”
Trotsky did not have party support and Lenin knew it
DISCUSSION QUESTION: Four
hundred years apart: How can we
tie the Posting of Luther’s 95
Theses to the Bolshevik
Revolution?