wwi & russian revolution vocab

Nationalism

Roots from Social Darwinism, supports the argument that a nation is superior and has the right to conquer

People identify with their nations and want independence movements

Facilitates conflict by causing people to blindly follow their leader

The Black Hand

Serbian terrorist organization

Sought to end Austria-Hungarian influence in the Balkans

Shot Archduke of A-H Franz Ferdinand and his wife

The Schlieffen Plan

German plan to prevent a 2-front war

March troops through neutral Belgium to defeat France by threatening Paris

Turn to eastern front to defeat Russia

France/Russia mobilized faster than expected

Plan failed and resulted in 2-front war

Trench Warfare

Soldiers fought in small trenches to stay hidden

Infested with rats, trench foot, living among dead bodies

Climbing out of trenches into “no man’s land” was necessary but very deadly

War of Attrition

No ground is actively being made

War will continue until a nation runs out of money and/or resources

Ex. western front of WWI, Russia lost

Zimmerman Telegram

Germany sent a telegram to Mexico telling them to declare war on the US (funded by Germany)

Germany promised Mexico their territory back, US would be unable to fight Germany

Intercepted by US, Congress declared war on Germany

Total War

All of a nation’s resources mobilized for the war effort (ex. private factories converted to create weapons)

All civilians expected to help (enlisting, women in workforce, war bonds, etc.)

Colonies expected to participate in war effort

Economies suffer, famines, deaths, crime

Armenian Genocide

Ottoman Empire was paranoid that Armenians (Christian minority) would side with the Russians (Christian majority)

Forced Armenians into labor camps and executed them

Forced to relocate to Serian deserts with no water

Modern-day Turkey denies the genocide (claims they were killed in WWI)

Spanish Flu

Spread to other soldiers in trenches, who then brought it home

20m dead in Europe and US, 7m dead in India

Spain was the only country to report it (hence the name)

The Lost Generation

The generation that fought in WWI

Suffering from shock/anxiety from the war

Deadly and/or disabling injuries

Unable to reintegrate into society

High death toll

Treaty of Versailles

European nations’ attempt at eternal peace, targeted Germany in an attempt to prevent them from being able to start another war

War guilt clause

Army/Navy limited

War reparations

Lost territory/colonies

Led to angry and unstable Germany

Wilson’s 14 Points

Presented for peace instead of punishment

Urged for creation of a League of Nations

Aimed to prevent future wars and encourage international diplomatic relations

League of Nations

Goals: collective security, disarmament, diplomacy, cooperation

US Senate voted against joining but was Wilson’s idea

Couldn’t enforce anything due to lack of military power

Sykes-Picot Agreement

Secret treaty between Britain, France, and Russia on how to divide Ottoman Empire

Divided into spheres of influence

Created arbitrary borders in Middle East

Led to immense conflict

Communism

Egalitarian society with equal opportunities

Money does not exist, government provides basic necessities

Violent revolution where proletariat overthrow bourgeoises and take means of production

No private property or classes

Appealing in countries with unfit leadership

The Romanov Dynasty

Absolute monarchy, outdated for the time

Wealthy landowners, priest, and Czar controlled government and economy

Feudalist society, most of the population were Serfs

Feudalism

Economic system where large landowners hire people to work the land

Offer protection and basic necessities in return

Brought serfdom, similar to slavery

System used by Romanov dynasty

Nicholas Romanov II

Ruler of Russian Empire at age 26 (authoritarianist)

Internal friction between ethnic groups made it difficult to rule

Defeated in Russo-Japanese War, made him look incompetent

Very poor leader (ignored protests and calls for reform and left to fight on the frontlines)

1905 Revolution

Beginnings of push for democracy and political reform in Russia

People protested for shorter workday, pull out of war with Japan, and universal suffrage for citizens

Forced Nicholas II to set up a Duma

Duma

National Assembly implemented by Nicholas II

Done in response to 1905 Revolution in an attempt to appease the public

Didn’t solve any actual political, economic, or social issues

Rasputin

Illiterate peasant and self-proclaimed “holy man”

Cured Queen Alexandria’s son of hemophilia (in reality just stopped aspirin prescriptions)

Rumors of affair with Queen Alexandria

Assassinated by paranoid nobles (foresaw an end to the dynasty)

St. Petersburg Protests

People protest food shortages by marching towards royal palace (“down with the czar”)

Government loses control of St. Petersburg while Nicholas II is fighting in the war

Nicholas II forced to abdicate

Mensheviks

Marxist group in Russia

More moderate, broad popular support

Believed in socialism achieved through gradual reform

Composed of bourgeoisies

Bolsheviks

Marxist group in Russia

More radical, less support than Mensheviks

Believed that only revolution would implement socialism

Composed of proletariat

Vladimir Lenin

Watched his brother get executed for plotting to kill the Czar (fueled intense hatred for Romanovs)

Exiled to Switzerland for protesting for workers’ rights

Aided by Germans to return to Russia and helped start the Bolshevik Revolution

The Bolshevik Revolution

Lenin returned to Russia with Germany’s help (wanted to cause a civil war in Russia to get them out of WWI)

Troops left the front lines to join the revolution

Called for a government led by the proletariat

Lenin appointed dictator after a peaceful coup d’etat

War Communism

Lenin’s economic system while in power over Russia

Took over banks, mines, factories, railroads

Peasant farmers forced to feed civilians and red army (Bolsheviks)

The Romanov Family

Arrested by Bolsheviks and relocated to Siberia

Lenin gives permission to execute as White Army inches closer

Guards shoot and kill the entire family

Rumors that one daughter was not killed

Joseph Stalin

Chosen to rule by Communist Party after Lenin’s death

Leveraged antisemitism to get voted

Implements Five Year Plans

Carries out Great Purge

Leon Trotsky

Stalin’s right-hand man

Jewish heritage, originally a Menshevik

Negotiated peace terms with Germany

Killed by an assassin sent by a paranoid Stalin

Five Year Plans

Attempt by Stalin to prepare USSR for war

Government controlled all businesses

High production goals for every 5 years

Russia becomes industrial powerhouse but standard of living lowers

The Great Purge

Stalin grows paranoid of disloyalty and being overthrown

Arrested old Bolshevik leaders, army heroes, and common citizens

Killed intellectuals

4m+ arrested

Non-Aggression Pact

Between Germany and USSR

Know they are going to go to war eventually

Agreed to not take military action for 10 years

Made in 1938, broken in 1941 (Hitler invaded USSR with Operation Barbarossa)

Dulce et Decorum Est

“It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country”

Poem that describes the traumas of war to disprove this phrase

Suggests that war is never worth it

Written by a soldier