AQA GCSE HISTORY PAPER 1: Tsardom and Communism

making this made me want to KMS

18 jan 1918

Constituent Assembly- Bolsheviks lose so Lenin closes it down using Red Guards. Instead used Congress of Soviets to pass his laws as it had a Bolsh majority. Lenin thought he was establishing a dictatorship of the proletariat which would give way to true communism

28 Jan 1918

Red Army formed. 300,000 soldiers, lead by Tsarist officers whose family was held hostage

Mar 1918

Lenin accepted terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk; end of Russia in WWI. Russia lost A LOT: 34% of population, 32% of agricultural land, 54% of industry, 89% coal mines, fine of 300 mil golden roubles

May/Jun 1918

Full scale civil war begins and war communism (all large factories taken over by gov, strikers could be shot, food was rationed, free enterprise became illegal, army took all of peasants’ surplus, leaving them w barely enough to eat)

Who was involved in the civil war?

REDS (Bolsheviks) VS WHITES (SRs, Mensheviks, Tsarists, capitalists, Czech Legion (former prisoners of war,) USA, Japan, Britain, France.)
WHITE GENERALS: YUDENICH marching from west, DENIKIN, from south west, KOLCHAK from central south towards Moscow and Petrograd

Jul 17/07

Nicholas and family kidnapped and killed

Aug 1918

Lenin shot by SRs 3x

1919

Kolchak’s forces destroyed

1920

Peasants refused to produce more food than necessary so army wouldn’t take it- combined w bad weather widespread famine. 7 million dead, reports of cannibalism

1920 (Crimea)

Last major White army defeated in Crimea

Feb 1921

Kronstadt revolt- strongest Lenin supporters demanded 15 aims. Were met with Trotsky’s 60,000 troops.

Mar 1921

following this, NEP to boost economy (gov takes half of what you make, instead of all but necessary-more capitalistic)

1921 (Why did Bolsheviks win?)

Red Army well fed using peasants’ food and rationing
took over factories in Moscow and Petrograd- supply armies w equipment and ammunition
Red Terror- population under strict control
Propaganda (Trotsky’s train speeches and posters)
territory- small in west but well linked and communication across army was easy
whites were not united- different groups w different aims
whites spread widely and didn’t co-ordinate attacks
Russian pop. preferred Bolshs to Whites (whites caused more suffering to peasants than reds)

1922

Lenin suffers severe strokes.
Cheka into GPU

1923

Lenin left paralysed by strokes, supervised formation of USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
Trotsky falls ill- less able to lead, Stalin irrelevant atp, Lenin calls for his replacement

21/01/1924

Lenin dies

27/01/1924

Stalin chief mourner at Lenin’s funeral. Trotsky was tricked and wasn’t there

1924 (Rest)

Stalin becomes Commissar of Nationalities and General Sec. Stalin, Kamenev and Zinoviev form triumvirate dominating Politburo. Together, they cut off Trotsky and Bukharin

1925

Trotsky sacked as war commissar. Stalin introduces his idea of “Socialism in one country” (opposite of Lenin). NEP is a success

1926

Stalin turns against Kamenev and Zinoviev, allies himself w Bukharin

1927

Kamenev, Zinoviev and Trotsky all expelled from communist party.

1928

Trotsky exiled to Siberia. Stalin starts attacking Bukharin
Food shortages- 2 mil. tons short of grain

1928-32

5 YEAR PLAN NO.1- focus on heavy industry (coal, steel, electricity), targets unrealistic but massive growth, agricultural -> industrial

1929

Stalin becomes party leader. Trotsky exiled to Mexico; Bukharin expelled from Communist party
COLLECTIVISATION- joint farms (kolkhoz). Aim: to feed cities, export grain and control countryside. Better machinery, 90% of food goes to gov (collected by requisition party), 10% to feed peasants. Dekulakisation “liquidation of class”, deported, executed, sent to gulags because they didn’t want to collectivise (burnt crops, killed livestock)
Stalin’s 50th birthday- beginning of cult of personality

1930s

conditions- Stalin wanting to modernise Russia. Gulags founded. Stalin propaganda inc. films of him and Lenin, Stalin referred to as “Father of the Nations”. Censorship of the arts

1931

Stalin speech on modernising Russia. CULT OF PERSONALITY

1932

Holodomor (Ukraine famine) causes 3 million deaths also prominent in Kazakhstan, widespread famine affecting 14 mil due to collectivisation

1933

End of first 5-year plan. Most targets not met

1933-37

FIVE YEAR PLAN NO. 2- workers like Stakhanov glorified (everyone should be a stakhanovite!!), more heavy industry. 100,000 gulag prisoners build Belomor Canal

1934

all kulaks to the gulags 01/12: Kirov shot- beginning of purges and show trials (maybe staged) GPU into NVKD

1934-39

purges (18 million to gulags, estimated 10 million deaths)

1935

worker conditions- bad, overcrowding, wages fell between 1928-1937 however, more women in industry, literacy and education increased. Moscow Metro

1936

Constitution- gave basic human rights but put Stalin in more power. Only legal party was Communist

1936-38

Great Terror- show trials of Kamenev and Zinoviev, 500,000 party members arrested on anti-socialist charges (usually false) and forced to confess.

1937

peak of purges- Stalin liquidated army, 1 in 5 officers removed (25,000). 10 mil people killed due to purges. 18mil to gulags Bukharin show trial

Aug 1939

Hitler Stalin non-aggression pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop pact)

1939 (Rest)

Only 1 in 40 churches holding regular services, only 7 bishops (due to banning of religion)

1940

Trotsky killed Hitler and Stalin carve up Balkans: USSR invades Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia

22/06/1941

Hitler invades Western Front of USSR w 2mil troops (operation Barbarosa), ignoring pact. Start of Russia in WWII “Great Patriotic War”

03/07/1941

Stalin speech- makes him seem weak and vulnerable

16/07/1941

Stalin’s son Yacob captured by Nazis

Sep 1941

Leningrad and Moscow invaded. Stalin would kill army deserters

Oct 1941

Stalin stays in Moscow, despite danger- support for him increases. Hitler winning, Stalin starts scorched earth trials (moving factories beyond Ural mountains and burning crops/killing animals). Weather starts to get worse

Nov 1941

temps continue to fall, Hitler’s army slowed. Stalin starts deploying special snow trained from Eastern USSR 07/11: Stalin does a good speech, going over tactics ect, support increases

Apr 1942

end of siege on Moscow. Stalin parades captured German soldiers through city

Aug 1942

farthest German invasion, Stalingrad under attack. Marshal Zukhov (Russian) commands army
Jan/Feb 1943

Feb 1943

Hitler surrenders in Stalingrad.

1944

liberation of soviet states in Eastern Europe from Nazi control

06/06/1944

D-Day

1945

Stalin takes offensive- starts marching to Berlin

Feb 1945

Yalta Conference

Apr 1945

Stalin arrives in Berlin before allies

30/04/1945

Hitler commits suicide

01/05/1945

Stalin finds out abt Hitlers death he was paranoid and restricted release of the news

Aug 1945

USSR joins war against Japan

Sep 1945

WWII officially ends. 20 million civilians, 8 million soviet soldiers died during WWII. (20 million reasons!!)

1865

Nicholas II’s grandfather (emperor alexander) ‘frees’ slaves- freedom from serfs. However, peasants weren’t completely freed due to debt slavery to the landlords

1881

assassination of Alexander II (Nicholas II witnesses it- beef w peasants)

1894

Tsar Nicholas II becomes tsar (father, alexander III died) little father of Russia

1896 26/05

Nicholas II crowned. 1200 people crushed to death at coronation. Believed in AUTOCRACY, divine right to rule, was an absolute monarch. Secret police: Okhrana.

1900s

conditions of Russia at the start of Nicholas II’s rule

1. only ~40% of tsar’s subjects (imperial council-often corrupt) spoke Russian as a first language. Many different nationalities: COSSACKS, POLES AND FINNS. Not all were very loyal. 130 ethnic groups: over 100 languages spoken
2. Jews (5mil) often suffered racial prejudice and vicious attacks (POGROMS) sponsored by gov. Roman Orthodox Catholic Church was main religion. 23 Muslims also lived in Russia
3. keen to become an industrial power, helped by SERGEI WHITE. Industrialisation a lot more prominent in the west
4. 80% of population were peasants living in communes, MIRS, used ancient farming techniques (not very efficient), subsistence farmed, and were very poor and illiterate. KULAKS AND ZEMSTVAS
5. lots of urban migration. Workers living in poor conditions
6. middle class (capitalists) formed; clashes between workers and MC
7. Russian empire stretched over 6000 miles; bordered w German Empire, China, Finland and Afghanistan. Very big- hard to rule, communicate, lots of land unsuitable for farming, lack of railways and useable roads
8. aristocrats (1%, owned 25%), clerfy (0.5%), middle class (0.5%) urbanities (tradesmen, shopkeepers 11%), peasants (80%). Rapid population increase
9. growth of opposition- SRs, social democrats

1903

Years of the Cockrel- peasants would commit arson to landlord’s houses
1903

1904

90,000 strikes leading to violence

1904/5

Japan/Russia war- long term cause of revolution. Russia lost.

January 1905

09/01: Bloody Sunday- Father Gapon lead 150,000 workers in a peaceful protest with a petition to Winter Palace. Tsar was away, soldiers got scared and opened fire. 1000+ deaths.

February 1905

400,000 workers on strike in St. Petersburg

April 1905

Illegal trade unions forming in major cities; organised strikes

May 1905

First Soviets set up. Aim to seize control of factories

June 1905

Crew of Battleship Potemkin mutinied in support of strikers

October 1905

General strike- economy almost collapsed bc. Railway strikes and peasant rebellions in the countryside
OCTOBER MANIFESTO- ministers want reform. DUMA formed middle class governement- all laws had to be checked by duma before being implemented. More human rights.

1906

Stolypin appointed; carrot (allowed kulaks to opt out of mirs and buy land to prosper) and stick (harsh punishments-20,000 exiled and 1000 hanged) method. Killed off opposition (stolypin’s neckties)
Conditions: low worker wages, high cost of living, country debts

April 1906

FUNDAMENTAL DECREES-duma stripped of power; power back to autocracy

1907

tsar changed voting rules so his opponents could not be in duma.

1908

Rasputin summoned to help heal a bleeding episode of Alexei. Gets reputation of a healer

1911

Stolypin assassinated. Nicholas II was going to fire him anyways bc. He was changing Russia too much (wanted basic education for all)

1912

conditions: increasing unemployment and hunger

1913

300 years of Romanov rule. Little enthusiasm for celebration

1914

Jul: WWI begins (Russia enters). Tsar increases in popularity (patriotism).
WWI death toll: 9.5–13 mil soldiers. Aristocrat officers were not good.

Aug 1914

Russia defeated at Tannenberg by Germans

Sep 1914

Russia defeated at Masurian lakes by Germans

1915

conditions: food shortages, army badly supplied, huge defeats and losses.

August 1916

Discontent and famine throughout Russia. Tsar v. unpopular

November 1916

Council of United Nobility asks Tsar to step down

December 1916

Rasputin assassinated

March 1917:

07/03: 20,000 on strike. Workers locked out at Putilov Steelworks. In support, workers in other factories strike
08/03: 90,000 on strike (50 more factories close)
International Women’s Day- women join on the streets, socialist women demonstrating
09/03: 200,000 on strike
10/03: 250,000 on strike. No public transport/newspapers. Food shortages. Cossacks refuse to attack strikers
11/03: Duma President (Rodzianko) telegrams Tsar abt new gov. Tsar shuts down Duma
12/03: TIPPING POINT: full scale mutiny breaks out. Duma sets up a provisional gov (PG) of 12 people
13/03: Tsar telegrams Duma, suggesting shared power. Duma refuses
14/03: Tsar (500km away) tries to return to Petrograd
15/03: Tsar (250km away) is stopped by revolutionaries and is forced to abdicate
16/03: Nicholas II’s brother Michael abdicates after 24 hours of having the crown, ending Romanov rule. Russia is now a republic. PG or soviets? PG automatically in

April 1917

Lenin returns from Finland

16/04

April thesis- “peace, land bread”, “all power to the soviets”, proposing a 2nd revolution

June 1917

Russia suffer major defeat in Austria. Soldiers deserting army

July 1917

July days (3 days)- 100,000 Bolshevik soldiers mutiny, roaming streets shouting “all power to the soviets”. Wanted Lenin to revolt immediately. Mobs broken up violently by Kerensky’s army
Lenin accused of being a German spy. Flees back to Finland

September 1917

Kornilov Revolt. General Kornilov tries to overthrow Kerensky. Kerensky allows Bolshs to form Red Guards. Ended quickly bc Kornilov’s troops didn’t want to shoot red guards. Support for Bolsheviks increased as they are seen as heroes.

November 1917

06/11: Red guards gaining control in Petrograd
07/11: morning- Red Guards seize important buildings
evening- storming of winter palace (not violent)

November/December 1917:

08/11: BOLSHEVIK DECREE 1- Land belonging to Tsar, Church, and nobles handed to peasants
BOLSHEVIK DECREE 2- Russia asked for peace w. Germany
12/11: BOLSHEVIK DECREE 3- Working day limited to 8hrs, 48 hr week. Rules abt overtime and holidays
14/11: BOLSHEVIK DECREE 4- Workers insured against illness or accident

01/12: BOLSHEVIK DECREE 5- All non-Bolshevik newspapers banned

11/12: BOLSHEVIK DECREE 6- Constitutional Democratic Party (Cadets) banned, leaders arrested (opp. of bolsh)

20/12: BOLSHEVIK DECREE 7- Cheka set up to deal w spies and counter revolutionaries

27/12: BOLSHEVIK DECREE 8- Factories under control of worker’s committees

BOLSHEVIK DECREE 9- Banks under Bolshevik gov. control

31/12: BOLSHEVIK DECREE 10- Marriage could take place w/out a priest

BOLSHEVIK DECREE 11- Divorce made easier ///