VCE History Revolutions 2025 Unit 3 AOS 1: 'Causes of the Russian Revolution'

What were the three stages of the Russian Revolution?

The First Revolution (Bloody Sunday) in Feb 1905, The Second Revolution in Feb 1917 and The Third Revolution in October 1917.

What was the population of Russia in 1897 and 1914?

128 million in 1897 and 165 million in 1914.

What was the pre-revolution social class breakdown in Russia?

82% Peasant, 4% Proletariat, 1.5%  Bourgeoisie, 12% Upper class and 0.5% Aristocracy.

When did Tsar Nicholas II take the throne?

1896

What made Russia an autocracy?

The Tsar ruled by divine right. ‘A word from the Tsar was sufficient to alter, override or abolish any existing legislation or institution.’- Alan Wood.

What made Russia difficult to control?

The empire stretched over 20 million square km, but had a centralised ruling authority in St Petersburg and Moscow.

What were the preconditions of the First Revolution?

People in St Petersburg were cold and hungry. Living was expensive, and the government was failing the people and proving itself to be made of weak leaders.

How was the peasant population coping before the First Revolution?

In 1900, ½ of the peasant population could feed themselves and only 16% produced a surplus. They were still burdened by heavy redemption payments in order to pay off their emancipation from serfdom in 1861.

What did Sergei Witte say about the peasant’s food supply?

‘Your majesty has 130 million subjects- of them, barely more than half live, the rest vegetate.’ ‘When the harvest is normal the peasant obtains 30% less nutriment than is physiologically required.’- Sergei Witte, Minister of Finance to the Tsar.

How was the economy poorly managed by the Russian Government pre-revolution?

The military received almost 45% of the government’s revenue, whilst only 4% went to education.

Why was the Tsar a weak leader?

He was unprepared, unwilling and weak-willed. ‘I am not prepared to be a Tsar. I never wanted to become one. I know nothing of the business of ruling.’- Tsar Nicholas II. ‘He was a man of weak character, limited intelligence, and singular lack of initiative.’- American historian W.H. Chamberlin

What were the effects of the 1891 Famine and how did they reflect on the Russian government?

17 provinces were struck by the Famine and a cholera outbreak that killed 400,000 by 1892. ‘The famine brought into view the corruption and inefficiency of the government’.- David Lilly.

What was the impact of the Famine on Russia's industrialisation?

Millions of peasants moved to the cities to find work. St Petersburg’s population grew from 1 million in 1890 to 1.4 million in 1900. They were ‘Snatched from the plough and hurled straight into the factory furnace.’- Trotsky.

How was life made difficult for the proletariat?

They were mistreated. Trade Unions were banned, and 12 to 16 hour work shifts were common.

What impact did Chief Minister Sergei Witte have on industrialisation?

He oversaw the Great Spurt, with rapid industrialisation. This caused an unsustainable increase in urban population. However, Russia’s GDP grew by 97% from 1898 to 1913.

When did the Russian Marxist Movement begin?

In the 1890s with the founding of the Social Democrats (SDs), which later split into the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks at the Second Party Conference in 1903.

What were the primary beliefs of Russian Marxism?

‘Proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains.’- Karl Marx.' ‘The bourgeoisie is unfit any longer to be the ruling class in society.’ The Bolsheviks sought to be the ‘Vanguard of the Proletariat’.

What were the precipitants for the First Revolution?

The Russo-Japanese War, the Potemkin Mutiny, a decrease in wages and The Putilov Steel Worker’s Strike.

How did the Russo-Japanese War create a loss of faith in the Russian government?

War was declared in Feb 1904. There were up to 70,000 Russian deaths. In June 1905, the crew of the battleship Prince Potemkin killed their officers and took charge of the ship. ‘The war exposed the weaknesses of the autocracy and Russia’s backardness.’- Sally Waller, Historian.

What was the sudden decrease in wages fueled by the outbreak of war?

Worker’s wages decreased by ¼ between October 1903 and October 1904.

What was Bloody Sunday?

In December 1904, 4 workers were unfairly dismissed from Putilov Steel Works. Father Gapon established the Assembly of Russian Factory Workers, and in January he led 150,000 workers in a peaceful march to the Winter Palace. Soldiers fired into the crowd and up to 200 protesters were killed.

What did the Bloody Sunday petition read?

‘We are impoverished and oppressed, we are burdened with work and insulted.’ The protesters came to the palace ‘To seek justice and protection.’

What were the outcomes of Bloody Sunday?

More workers went on strike, the people lost faith in the Tsar, and the Tsar wrote the October Manifesto. ‘In the end, Russia gained nothing more than a breathing spell.’- Pipes.

What quotes reflect the loss of faith in the Tsar after Bloody Sunday?

‘There is no God any longer. There is no Tsar.’ Bloody Sunday ‘gravely damaged the traditional image of the Tsar as the ‘Little Father.’- Lynch.

How many workers went on strike after Bloody Sunday?

The economies of St Petersburg and Moscow were paralyzed by October 1905, and by Autumn 1906, 2.5 million workers were on strike. Uprisings in Moscow immediately after the Manifesto cost up to 1,000 lives.

What was the October Manifesto?

In October 1905 the Tsar released a manifesto granting civic rights, abolishing censorship, and providing a degree of representative government through universal male suffrage.

Why were many Russians dissatisfied with the October Manifesto?

Only men who owned 200 hectares or more of land could vote directly, making 60% of the urban working population ineligible. The Fundamental Laws passed in April 1906 gave the Tsar the right to legislate on his own and to dissolve the Duma at any point. As the Tsar claimed, he created the Duma ‘not to be directed by it, but to be advised.’

What was the result of the first couple of Dumas?

The First Duma opened in April 1906 and dissolved in July 1906. By the creation of the Third Duma in November 1907, new legislation meant that only 1 in 6 Russian men could vote.

Who was Pyotr Stolypin and what did he believe in?

Pyotr Stolypin was the Interior Minister of Russia from 1906. He believed in ‘repression first, and then reform.’ Between 1905 and 1911, over 3,000 Russians were executed for revolutionary activity by ‘Stolypin’s Necktie’. He also made changes to the electoral system in June 1907 so that only 1 in 6 men were eligible to vote.

How did oppression continue after the First Revolution in spite of the October Manifesto?

In April 1912, over 500 workers at the Lena Goldfields were killed or wounded on the orders of a tsarist officer for going on strike. ‘The Lena shots broke the ice of silence, and the river of popular resentment is flowing again.’- Stalin.

What were the preconditions for the Second Revolution in Feb 1917?

The Bitter Winter, loss of faith in the Tsar and Tsarina, and World War 1.

What were the precipitants for the Second Revolution in Feb 1917?

The Putilov Strikes, International Women’s Day, Transport Strikes.

How was World War 1 a failure for the Russian Army?

400,000 Russians were killed during the first five months of the war, and by mid-1915 4 million soldiers were dead, wounded or captured. ¼ of the soldiers were sent to the front unarmed, and they were ‘disgustingly untrained’ (General Brusilov). ‘They hated war, and thought only of returning to their homes.’- General Wrangel. By 1916, 23 million Russians were living under German occupation.

How did World War 1 contribute to the outbreak of the Second Revolution?

By 1916, Petrograd and Moscow were receiving 1/3 of their usual fuel and supplies. Wages doubled whilst food prices quadrupled. 

How was the failure of World War 1 partially due to the Tsar?

He banned the production of vodka during the war period despite the sales tax on vodka making up 28% of the Russian Government’s revenue. He then became Commander-in-Chief of the Army in August 1915, making himself ‘personally responsible for Russia’s performance in the war.’- Lynch. When the Progressive Bloc attempted to offer advice, they ‘brushed aside the hand that was offered to them.’- Miliukov.

How did the Tsarina’s leadership during World War 1 make the autocracy even less popular with the Russian people?

The Tsarina became ‘the real autocrat’, and Rasputin ‘effectively used her as a mouthpiece for his own pretentions to power.’- Figes. She changed minister 26 times between September 1915 and February 1917.

What was the economic impact of World War 1 on Russian society?

Between 1914 and 1917, 1.5 billion roubles were spent on the war. Many aristocrats benefitted from the war, and ‘enormous fortunes rose out of the bloody foam.’- Trotsky.

How did the Bitter Winter contribute to the outbreak of the February Revolution?

The average temperature that winter was -14 degrees Celsius, and the city’s caloric intake was down 25%.

How did the February Revolution unfold?

90,000 women joined the International Women’s Day March in Petrograd on the 23rd of February, whilst the Tsar was 650km away. The Tsar ordered the Fourth Duma to dissolve, but it refused, and instead formed a Provisional Committee to act as a temporary national government. On the 28th of February the Petrograd Soviet is formed, and they issue Order No. 1. The Tsar resigns on the 2nd of March. The Revolution was ‘the result of the collapse of public support in the government.’

What were the results of the February Revolution?

A Dual Authority began, with power split between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet. Lenin returned to Petrograd.

When did Lenin return to Russia and what were his thoughts on the Provisional Government?

He returned in April 1917 with his April Theses calling for ‘Peace, Land and Bread’ and ‘All Power to the Soviets.’ He said that the Soviet should have ‘absolute distrust, no support for the Provisional Government.’

Why did the Provisional Government fail?

They were unelected and had no mandate to rule, they remained in the war, they made little economic progress and Lenin was a more persuasive and popular leader.

What occurred during the July Days?

Between the 3rd and the 6th of July 1917, approximately 500,000 Russians protested against the government.

How did Miliukov claim the Provisional Government’s right to power?

‘We were appointed by the Revolution.’- Minister of Foreign Affairs Miliukov.

‘The Soviets had power without authority, the Provisional Government authority without power.’- Kerensky, Minister of War.

Provisional government orders ‘shall be executed only in such cases as they do not conflict with the orders and resolutions of the Soviet.’- Order No. 1.

How did the order to remain in the war ruin the Provisional Government’s chances of survival?

‘It… had to keep Russia in the War, but in doing so it ruined its own chances of survival.’- Lynch.   In April 1917 Foreign Minister Miliukov stated that Russia would ‘carry the world to a decisive victory.’ The June Offensive led to losses of around 400,000 men, ruining Kerensky’s reputation and that of the provisional government. 

What were some of the economic failings of the Dual Authority?

Between March and July 1917, 568 factories shut down and 104,000 workers were dismissed.

What was the Kornilov Revolt?

In August 1917 Kornilov was fired from his position as Commander-in-Chief for the Provisional Government. He orders his troops to march on Petrograd, and Kerensky turns to the Bolsheviks for support. Trotsky forms the Red Guard, and 40,000 manage to defeat Kornilov’s forces.

How did the October Revolution unfold?

‘The Bolsheviks did not seize power, it fell into their hands.’- Lynch.

On the 25th of October, the Bolshevik Central Committee gave formal approval for an armed seizure of power by the Red Guards, and on the 27th, Lenin announces the Council of People’s Commissars (Sovnarkom), made up entirely of Bolsheviks, and makes himself Chairman, ruling by decree.

Why was the October Revolution a success for the Bolsheviks?

Lenin and his popular oratory, the failings of the Provisional Government, and the Kornilov Affair.