VCE Revolutions | Russian Revolution Unit 3 AOS 1

Tsar Nicholas II

caused instability through autocratic rule weak leadership and refusal to reform resulting in widespread discontent and eventual revolution

Institutional weaknesses and tensions in Tsarist Russia

caused by rigid hierarchy corruption and inefficiency within gentry bureaucracy church and army resulting in declining legitimacy and inability to modernise

Economic and social inequalities (workers’ grievances)

caused by poor wages unsafe conditions and overcrowding resulting in strikes and growth of socialist movements

Workers’ strikes

caused by industrial exploitation and police repression resulting in radicalisation of workers and coordination of protests

Bloody Sunday (1905)

caused by workers’ peaceful petition for reform turning violent when troops fired resulting in nationwide outrage and collapse of faith in the Tsar

Economic and social inequalities (peasants’ grievances)

caused by redemption payments land hunger and rural poverty resulting in peasant uprisings and destruction of noble estates

Peasant uprisings

caused by ongoing land shortages and unfair taxation resulting in repression by authorities and temporary concessions

Economic and social inequalities (soldiers’ and sailors’ grievances)

caused by harsh discipline poor pay and poor leadership resulting in mutinies and revolutionary sympathies

Soldier and sailor mutinies (e.g. Potemkin Mutiny)

caused by resentment towards officers and living conditions resulting in spread of revolutionary sentiment into armed forces

The Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)

caused by imperial ambitions and mismanagement resulting in humiliating defeat that discredited the regime

Liberal ideas and reforms (e.g. Union of Unions

demands for a Duma)

Workers’ protests (e.g. October 1905 general strike)

caused by widespread frustration over repression and economic hardship resulting in paralysis of government and concessions

October Manifesto (1905)

caused by strikes and unrest forcing the Tsar to promise reforms resulting in temporary appeasement but later betrayal of democratic hopes

The Fundamental Laws (1906)

caused by Tsar’s desire to reassert control resulting in restoration of autocracy and loss of reformist credibility

Limitations of the Dumas

caused by Tsarist manipulation and restricted voting rights resulting in political frustration and radicalisation of opposition

Socialist Revolutionaries

caused by peasant discontent and populist ideals resulting in terrorism and major opposition to the Tsar and later the Bolsheviks

Bolsheviks and Mensheviks

caused by ideological split in Russian Social Democratic Party resulting in two distinct revolutionary strategies for socialism

Octobrists

caused by moderates supporting the October Manifesto resulting in loyal opposition to the Tsar but declining influence after 1906

Kadets

caused by liberal constitutionalist movement resulting in calls for civil rights and parliamentary democracy that failed under autocracy

Pyotr Stolypin

caused by need to stabilise Russia post-1905 resulting in limited agricultural reform but widespread repression

Economic and social inequalities (limitations of Stolypin’s reforms)

caused by resistance from peasants and limited land availability resulting in continued rural poverty and unrest

World War I (defeats at Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes)

caused by poor leadership and supply failures resulting in mass casualties and loss of morale

Tsar Nicholas II (assuming command of the army)

caused by desire to restore prestige resulting in military failures directly blamed on him and political isolation in Petrograd

Tsarina Alexandra

caused by Nicholas’s absence and her influence over appointments resulting in political chaos and growing distrust of the monarchy

Grigori Rasputin

caused by his influence over the royal family and scandals resulting in loss of legitimacy and aristocratic alienation

Limitations of the State Dumas and liberal ideas (Progressive Bloc)

caused by wartime mismanagement and desire for reform resulting in growing opposition to autocracy

World War I (economic impacts)

caused by war strain shortages and inflation resulting in food crises strikes and protests

Worker protests (1917)

caused by food shortages and wage collapse resulting in strikes escalating into revolution

The February Revolution (1917)

caused by cumulative war strain and political incompetence resulting in abdication of the Tsar and end of autocracy

The Dual Authority (Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet)

caused by power vacuum after February resulting in political instability and conflict of legitimacy

Effectiveness of the Provisional Government

caused by indecision over war and land reform resulting in declining support and revolutionary opposition

Vladimir Lenin

caused by Marxist ideology and leadership ambition resulting in establishment of a disciplined revolutionary party

Marxism and Marxism-Leninism

caused by adaptation of Marxist ideas to Russian conditions resulting in justification for a vanguard-led revolution

Lenin’s return and April Theses (1917)

caused by opposition to the Provisional Government and continuation of war resulting in radicalisation of Bolshevik aims

World War I (June Offensive 1917)

caused by Provisional Government’s attempt to boost morale resulting in military disaster and loss of army loyalty

July Days (1917)

caused by frustration of workers and soldiers with war and government resulting in failed uprising and temporary Bolshevik suppression

Kornilov Affair (Aug 1917)

caused by conservative attempt to restore order resulting in collapse of government authority and rise of Bolshevik popularity

Alexander Kerensky

caused by leadership of the Provisional Government resulting in indecision and inability to balance revolutionary pressures

Vladimir Lenin (Oct 1917)

caused by belief that power had to be seized before it slipped to reactionaries resulting in planning of armed insurrection

Effectiveness of the Provisional Government (Oct 1917)

caused by failure to meet demands for land peace and bread resulting in loss of all credibility

Leon Trotsky

caused by his revolutionary commitment and organisational skill resulting in key role in preparing and executing October uprising

The events of October 1917

caused by Lenin convincing Bolsheviks to seize power through the Military Revolutionary Committee resulting in the overthrow of the Provisional Government and establishment of Soviet power