Russian Revolution

Tsar Alexander I

Russia’s conservative leader

-hated France because of revolutions

-death sparked debate on who should succeed him

Tsar Alexander II

succeeding tsar

-freed serfs during Crimean war

-formed city counsels, zemstros, dumas

-created National Duma who will advise him as king

-assassinated and successor stops duma creation

-last Tsar

Nicholas II

rule begins with many bad omens

-hundreds dead at his wedding

-only had daughters until finally 1 son but had hemophilia

-found Rasputin to cure him and soon became Rasputin’s “puppet“

Peter the Great

-visited Europe and believed Russia was backward, must modernize!!

-captured swamp area to build fleet; names St. Petersberg

strong man rule

Always prepared for war

-experience from being constantly invaded by East

Eurasion Highway

flat land across Russia connecting Europe and Asia

-faced many invasion attempts because of this

Decembrist Revolution

After the death of Tsar Alexander I, many soldiers and generals desired liberalism and protested the crowning of Nicholas I and wanted his liberal brother, Constantine

-”Constantine and Constitution!”

-these “Decembrists“ were later executed by the new ruler Nicholas I

Russo-Japanese war

Conflict between Russia and Japan that lead to a historic defeat of a European country by an Asian country

Bloody Sunday (1905)

Peaceful protesters were marching toward Nicholas II’s palace when fired on by palace guards

-hundreds died and Nicholas was completely unaware as he was off fighting

October Manifesto

An attempt to quiet strikes and revolts by promising freedom of speech and assembly and for a Duma

- not truly fulfilled

Fundamental Laws

-Tsar retains great powers with an absolute veto

-Members of the duma would be elected by tsar and his ministers

-Many saw this as a step backwards

1905 Revolution

-Strikes throughout demanding better working conditions

-Navy also begins to ignore orders

Georgi Gapon

lead Bloody Sunday protests

-demanded 8 hr work days and freedom to union and impoved working conditions

-secret sufrage in elections

-freedom of speech/press/religion

-end war with Japan

March (februrary) 1917

-strikes led by women factory workers

-joined by men adding up to 100,000 workers protesting

-also joined by cossacks; Russia’s brutal fighting unit

-Tsar ordered the army to shoot but demonstrations continued

-Eventually Tsar Nicholas II gives up throne and Duma takes over

Cause of Revolution

-Resentment toward Tsar’s absolute power and the influence of Rasputin they were under

-Heavy taxes

-Social inequality and war took away from civilians

-Failure to comply with reforms promised after Revolution of 1905

Kerensky

Head of Provisional Government after Nicholas II

-then overthrown Bolsheviks

Provisional Government

Temporary government created by the Duma after the abdication of the tsar

Lenin

“Peace, Land Bread“

-Founded the communist party in Russia and set up the world's first communist dictatorship

-He led the October Revolution of 1917 which led Russia into a communist gov.

Stalin

Russian leader who took over after Lenin died

-created a totalitarian gov and purged those who he suspected

-#2 killer in the world

Alexandra

wife of Alexander II

-German and disliked by Russians

-”emperor (Alexander II) is weak, I am not”

Rasputin

-Self-proclaimed holy man who claimed to heal the sick and have prophecy

-After healing Alexi, he had so much influence over Alexandra that she went to him for political advice

-Pupetter of the tsar

Kornilov Affair

Lead by General Kornilov: Kerenksy’s commander in cheif

-believed that the provisional gov was corrupt and must be overthrown

-gathered the Bolsheviks

-attempted to attack but was quickly defeated

July Days

Protests and riots over Kerensky’s poor military choices

-demanded an end to the war

-protester called upon the Bolsheviks for support

-troops surpressed crowd and Lenin fleed to escape arrest

War communism

-government controlling of banks and most industries

-forceful seizing of weapons and food for soldiers if they made extra

-farm

-destroyed economy

Gulags

Forced labor camps

purges

Execution of millions of people by the suspicion of Stalin

-7 million arrested, 1 million executed, 2 million died in gulags

Bucharin

befriended by Stalin as he controlled propoganda in Russia

-eventually suspected and killed by him by show trial

kulaks

rich peasants

-Stalin: They are the enemy!

Totalitarism

-propoganda

-control of media

-no institutions aside from government

-control of economy

-fear

-”butter” (things are gettin better!)

5 Year Plan

unrealistic plans introduced to industrialize the Russia rapidly

-demanded production of steel, electricity, machinery, and most other products and were enforced by the police

Russian civil war

Bolshviks v eveyone else (Red v Whites)

-Whites were supported by US, France and Britian but lost

-Red attacked and killed the tsar family so that the white’s had no figure to look up to

Bolsheviks

far right, Marxist group

-led by Lenin and seized power in 1917 after civil war

-later led by Stalin

Mensheviks

scientific socialist group

-believed they must wait for sci. socialism to come

zemstvos

elected rural governments to allow some democracy without weakening the central government

cheka

Secret police set up by Lenin-arrested "enemies of the revolution"

Alexander III

-returned Russia to a repressed nation; censorship and purged critics

-repealed reforms of Alexander II

Pogroms

massacre of a particular ethnic group-Jews in particular

Holodomor

man made famine affecting Ukrainians

-genocide?

Show Trials

Fake trials set up by Stalin

-surrounded by press

-falsely accuses defendant and forces them to agree at the expense of their family’s lives