IGCSE History: Russia and the Soviet Union 1905-1924

2 features

Key Events of the Bolshevik Takeover

1. (24-25 OCTOBER 1917) little opposition in Petrograd —> Bolsheviks were able to take control of strategic areas BUT many from other revolutionary parties felt Bolsheviks had acted without their agreement —> left the Soviet in protest

2. Kerensky ordered a crackdown on Bolsheviks —> vlosed down newspapers, blocked river crossings, called for the arrest of MRC etc. BUT Trotsky was able to use the MRC to gain control of road and canal bridges —> Kerensky had to drive around to recruit support

The Kornilov Revolt

1. (24 AUGUST 1917) Kornilov sent troops to Petrograd to shut down the soviet

2. Kerensky used Bolsheviks’ help to fight Kornilov; blocking railways and armed Bolshevik supporters

July Days

1. started by anarchist revolutionaries who then convinced soldiers to join

2. government troops surrounded Bolsheviks headquarters —> 100s of Bolsheviks arrested including Trotsky but Lenin fled to Finland

Nature of War Communism

1. meet the needs of the military; food rationing —> most was going to the soldiers so no selling of crops

2. make the economy meet the needs of industrial workers —> Vesenkha made decisions to ban strikes and force people to move

June Offensive

1. Alexander Kerensky (minister of war) attacked enemies in hopes of a support-winning victory

2. it was a disaster and the army was pushed back 100s of km —> this showed that soldiers COULDN’T follow orders

Effects of War Communism

1. requisitioning turned peasants against Bolsheviks —> took so much from the peasants that there was nothing left —> crop production fell to 27% of what it had been in 1913

2. people forced to buy illegal black market products —> despite high prices —> supplies 70% of the food people ate under War Communism

Reasons for War Communism

1. fit ideological idea of a communist system

2. state control of food supply through requisitioning —> food shortagrs increased after 1917 and not enough food for everyone (increasing from 1 million to 6 million tonnes of food in 1920)

1917 Decrees

1. it had little effect —> only legalized things that were already happening; land owned by the state & would be given to those who farmed it and factories were under the control of the workers’ soviets

2. ended the war under HARSH circumstances —> no longer funding the war; Lenin believed European countries would soon lead revolutions which would make Germany keen to agree peace terms —> never happened & was considered unrealistic

The Kronstadt Mutiny

1. (28 FEBRUARY 1921) 15 000 “reddest of the red” supporters mutinied

2. sailors were unhappy that only the better-off/ richer people (Bolshevik bureaucrats) had food & furious that the Bolsheviks execute people WITHOUT trial

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

1. (3 MARCH 1918) the treaty was signed despite the HARSH terms —> negotiated by Trotsky

2. loss 27% of farmland and had to pay 300 million in gold roubles

Closing of the Constituent Assembly

1. Constituent Assembly rejected CPC’s proposal with all the key decrees —> Lenin claimed they were dominated by counter-revolutionaries who wanted to bring back capitalism —> opposed the will of the Soviets —> Bolshevik delegates walked out of the assembly in protest —> Red Guards prevented the assembly from opening

2. oppositions were banned with the leaders arrested as enemies of the people (Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, Kadets) —> only the Bolsheviks were safe from this ban

Impact of the Petrograd Soviet

1. limited due to the fear of tsarist forces regaining power & the belief that a socialist revolution required a bourgeois phase first

2. represented workers and soldiers —> advocated for reforms & influenced government policies (freedom for political prisoners & abolition of the police)

The Reds

1. organized, disciplined and ruthless army (more than 5 million members in 1921) with Trotsky

2. made up of the Tsar’s old army and Red Guard volunteers —> officers were threatened that if they ever betrayed, they would die & deserters killed

Lenin’s Role in the Success

1. April Theses introduced radical new thinking that everyone understood

2. clear thinking and strong attitude

3. convinced the senior Bolsheviks to seize by force and came up with the strategy

Trotsky’s Role in the Success

1. hero from the 1950 revolution who gave incredible speeches

2. gave Bolsheviks control of the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) as the president of the Petrograd Soviet —> easier to get military for the takeover of pwoer

3. set up the takeover like Soviets were taking over not just Lenin seizing power for himself

Failures of the Provisional Government

1. army and navy lost discipline —> no way of maintaining law and order

2. Kornilov Revolt made them lose support

3. German army were advancing which made the Bolsheviks claim that Kerensky was planning surrender

Reasons for the New Economic Policy (NEP)

1. daily struggle finding food to eat since peasants were not making enough —> (1920-1921) Volga region sufferend from crop failure which left 5 million dead and 20 million affected

2. (1921) Kronstadt mutiny showed it was destroying the people’s trust not to change policy

3. couldn’t blame the Whites anymore since the Civil War was over

Reasons for Bolshevik Victory

1. White weaknesses —> divided goals, not supported by peasants, far from everything and MUCH smaller than Reds

2. Red strengths —> common goal, disciplined, central location, HUGE army and spreading propaganda that Whites were taking land

Effects of the New Economic Policy (NEP)

1. agricultural production and food supply increased due to the motivation to earn money —> (1923) peasants were paying “tax in kind” with money

2. industrial growth increased

3. peasant revolts gradually ended

Nature of the New Economic Policy (NEP)

1. introducing capitalist ideas: allowing privately-owned businesses (with less than 20 workers) and a free market —> people could sell their produce but still had to pay 10% tax

2. grain requisition ended —> still required to give grain (through “tax in kind”) but it was less and they could sell the surplus which was motivation to make more

Opposition to the New Economic Policy (NEP)

1. went against communism and was more capitalist —> left some rich but many poor

2. favoured the peasants since they could control the price to be high —> bad for workers

3. living conditions in the factories did not improve

The Whites

1. VERY divided —> different groups wanting different stuff; Socialist Revolutionaries wanted the Constituent Assmbly but the conservatives wanted the Tsar

2. based outside of Petrograd —> hard to reach the supplies and railways & hard to recruit people

Key Events of the Civil War

1. (13 MARCH 1918) Trotsky appointed War Commissar which was crucial to the Reds’ success

2. (30 AUGUST 1918) Fanya Kaplan shot Lenin for not getting the Constituent Assembly which led to the red terror: Reds’ secret police ensuring support

Weaknesses of the Provisional Government

1. shared power with the Petrograd Soviet (dual control) and the Soviet controlled railways, post offices and had the final say in military orders (order 1)

2. had weak authority since it was NOT elected —> made up of deputies who had been elected to the duma under tsarism

Mistakes of the Provisional Government

1. continuing the 1st world war to keep the Allied countries investing

2. delaying elections because it was difficult —> seemed like they were trying to stay in power without elections

The Attitude of Nicholas to the first 4 Dumas

1. resentful/ obstructive as he was forced into creating it —> didn’t believe the people knew enough to have a say in running the country

2. threatened his autocratic power —> worked to limit it

The Growth of Opposition Groups

1. Tsar dissolved the first duma after only 10 weeks —> liberals were disappointed

2. revolutionary parties realised they would not achieve their aims through elections

Immediate Causes of the February Revolution

1. (23 FEBRUARY 1917) On International Women’s Day, 1000s of women protested against the lack of bread

2. Tsar was away which left the Tsarina in charge: horrible and hated sharing power

Setting Up of the Provisional Government

(2 MARCH 1917) Provisional Government set up to last 6 months until electrions —> done by 12 duma representatives

(3 MARCH 1917) manifesto was issued allowing more freedoms: freedom of press, speech and ability to form political parties, political prisoners and exiles to be freed, local governments to be elected, off-duty soldiers to have the same rights as civilians, etc.

Political Effects of WW1

1. (AUGUST 1914) 4th duma suspended to let the government focus on the war

2. worsening war caused duma members to demand they replace the government —> have duma deputies instead which the tsar refused —> Porgressive Bloc (centre of opposition to the government) set up

Stolypin’s Policy of Repression

1. Stolypin was given full control over law and order —> shut down trade unions and banned newspapers

2. allowed army to convict and execute people without protection by law —> immediately hung hence the name “Stolypin’s necktie“

Reasons why Nicholas Survived

1. military stayed on his side to defend him due to a large loan from France to pay them for their work in the war

2. opposition against the Tsar was not united; spontaneous riots

3. The October Manifesto pleased people

The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

1. both countries wanted the natural resources (coal and silver) in Manchuria

2. Japanese beat Russia due to their superior military tactics

Reasons for Discontent in Russia

1. Non-Russians were forced to confine into Russification

2. 85% of the population was peasants but they had no say in politics

3. MANY famines (1890s and 1901)

Abdication of the Tsar

1. Tsar urged by senior army officers and duma members —> happened in Pskov whilst the tsar was coming to Petrograd to enforce order on HUGE strikes

2. Michael (tsar’s brother) turned down the offer to be tsar as he was warned that the revolution would turn into a civil war —> leading to the end of the Romanov rule after 300 years

Influence of Rasputin

1. made the royal family look VERY bad to get all their advice from a Siberian peasant-monk —> increased hatred

2. many hated him due to his astonishingly high influence on the Tsar and Tsarina

How Russia was Run

1. as an autocracy; controlled by the Tsar who got all the blame and rare glory

2. little opposition and opponents were killed by the Okhrana; since it was illegal to oppose

The Setting Up of the Soviets

1. (SEPTEMBER - DECEMBER OR OCTOBER) the most popular one was the St. Petersburg Soviet which was formed to help organize general strikes

2. marked the first time workers were organising resistance which was VERY important

The Potemkin Mutiny (JUNE 1905)

1. sailors were forced to endure harsh conditions like rotten meat; they were shot if they didn’t eat it

2. sailors attacked the officers by killing and capturing them

Economic Effects of WW1

1. national debt increased —> government introduced prohibition even though tax from vodka made up 25% of receipts

2. important economic areas were captured and trade with the EU was blocked

Social Effects of WW1

1. not enough food for the army and the people; food for the people was left rotten because railways were only sent to armies

2. (by 1916) twice as many women as men in the countryside since MANY the men (of working age) were lost to the army to fight

The 1905 Revolution

1. (1905 - 1907) peasants rioted against their landlords; 3000 homes burnt down

2. (20 SEPTEMBER - 2 OCTOBER 1905) general strike organised including the workers and liberal middle classes

The October Manifesto

1. allowed an elected duma and provided more freedom of speech, religion, forming political parties & trade unions

2. only the liberal middle classes were pleased and it ended the general strike

The Army Mutiny

1. soldiers from the Pavlovsky Regiment refused to obey orders to fire on demonstrators because they had heard of the Russian citizens killed by soldiers

2. workers and soldiers joined together —> 150 000 soldiers which was almost the whole force

Stolypin’s Land Reform

1. it gave individual peasants the option to gain personal benefits

2. the political aim of no unrest failed —> (1917) unrest again by peasant communes

Lena Goldfield Strike

1. it showed that the people were still unhappy with conditions like the rotten horsemeat

2. it jump-started a storm of protests —> lead to 2000 strikes (after previously declining)

April Theses

1. “all power to the Soviets” —> ending co-operation with the Provisional Government and parties helping them (Mensheviks & the Socialist Revolutionary Party)

2. campaign to end the war —> seen as merely a war between capitalists that only made the working class [proletariat] die and suffer

3. nationalisation of all land —> landlords’ estates would all be taken and given to the peasants

Military Effects of WW1

1. resulted in massive casualties since over 15 million men were sent to fight —> either killed, wounded or taken as prisoners

2. loss of support for the Tsar —> he was the commander-in-chief when Russia lost

3. lacked modern equipment like transport systems —> railways were overwhelmed which affected the troops & supplies

Achievements of Lenin

1. April Thesis which changed the aims of the Bolshevik party —> easy to understand & gained a lot of support

2. treaty of Brest-Litovsk demanded peace with Germany at any price —> helped the Bolsheviks keep their power & not get thrown out like the Provisional Government

3. War Communism helped the Bolsheviks win the war

4. NEP was brought forward by Lenin —> allowed capitalist ideas that prevented the Bolsheviks from being thrown out of power