the russian revolution

Russian Revolution

1917-1923: a period of intense political and social upheaval in Russia, culminating in the end of the Romanov dynasty and the establishment of the Soviet Union

Czar/Tsar

absolute monarch/ruler of Russia

proletariat

lowest class in a society, referring mostly to industrial workers

bourgeoisie

the middle class

Bolsheviks

communist majority faction of the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party

• led by Lenin

• Bolshevik Party renamed Communist Party in March 1918

Romanov

czarist royal family who ruled Russia for 3 centuries

totalitarianism

absolute unlimited power by a ruler and control over every phase of life

Soviet

elected local councils formed during the Revolution

description of pre-revolutionary Russia

• only true autocracy in Europe

• no representative political institutions for the people

• Marxist ideas become popular

  • popular Mensheviks vs. radical Bolsheviks

• Russia suffers humiliating defeat in the Russo-Japanese War → Nicholas blamed

autocracy

a system of government by one person with absolute power over the nation

Nicholas II

• became Tsar of Russia in 1884

  • steps down in 1917

• brings Russia into the Great War

Mensheviks

a member of the moderate non-Leninist wing of the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party

Russo-Japanese War

a conflict between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan

• result of competing imperial ambitions in Manchuria/Yellow Sea

• ended with a Japanese victory

• 1904-1905

Bloody Sunday

Jan. 22, 1905 → revolution against Czar

• thousands of discontented urban workers and poor peasants from countryside peacefully protest

  • sought to petition the Czar for better working conditions and suffrage

• Czar’s guards fired into the crowd

  • the shooting sparked widespread strikes and uprisings

• Duma allowed more temporary power, but Nicholas dissolves it in within weeks

*contributed to resentment and eventually, the Revolution of 1905

Duma

• Russian Congress/Parliament

• created as a result of the Revolution of 1905 and the October Manifesto

October Manifesto

created by Nicholas II as a result of the 1905 Revolutions

• promised to grant civil liberties, establish a broad franchise (the right to vote), and create a legislative body (the Duma)

• inital stability, but not properly implemented → 1917 Revolution

the Great War

WWI

what were the impacts of Nicholas II’s choice to bring Russia into WWI?

• war revealed the ineptitude and arrogance of the country’s aristocratic elite

• most peasants had very little invested in the war

• poorly supplied troops resulted in massive casualties

Czarina Alexandra

• ran the government (as an autocrat) while Nicholas II was at the Eastern Front for the war

• heavily influenced by Rasputin

Rasputin

the royal family’s advisor

• a mystical “holy man”

• scandals surrounding him served to discredit the monarchy

• assassinated in Dec. 1916

how does the imperial government collapse?

• Alexandra + Rasputin throw the government into chaos

• complete mismanagement of the wartime economy

• Alexandra + other high govt. officials accused of treason

• Rasputin is assassinated in Dec. 1916

March Revolution (also called February Revolution b/c of Russia’s Julian calendar)

1917 → people riot in streets

• starts with food riots, strikes, and protests against the war

• Duma declares itself a provisional government

  • led by Alexander Kerensky

• formed Soviets

• Nicholas abdicates the throne (steps down)

• Lenin + Bolsheviks return soon

provisional

temporary, can be changed later

Vladmir Lenin

• leading Marxist revolutionary (threat to autocrat leaders)

• committed to class struggle and revolution

• exiled to Serbia for anti-czarist protests

  • later fled to Western Europe

• returns to take the lead + implement socialist reforms in 1917

• dies in 1924 → Stalin in power

Marxism

like an early form of communism → developed by Karl Marx

• everything is shared equally

• aims to address class struggles → classless society

October Bolshevik Revolution

October/November 1917 (depending on calendar)

• Bolshevik Red Guards → workers take over govt. offices + arrest leaders of the provisional govt.

  • seize Winter Palace

• all private property of the wealthy was abolished and divided among the peasantry

• largest industrial enterprises nationalized

• political police are organized

• revolutionary army created → Red Army

• Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Red Guards

Bolshevik-led workers' militia formed during the Russian Revolution to defend the Soviets and eventually seize power

nationalization

a government takes control and ownership of an industry, business, or asset that was previously privately owned

• public → private ownership

Red Army

revolutionary army created as a result of the October Bolshevik Revolution

• Leon Trotsky in charge

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

signed on March 3, 1918, was a separate peace treaty between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers

• negotiated w/ Germany

• Russia leaves WWI + territorial concessions

civil war in Russia

1917-1920

• '“Reds” (Bolsheviks + Red Army) vs. “Whites” (army officers, bourgeoisie, Cossacks, and moderate revolutionaries)

• White gets support from England, France, USA, and Japan

• Reds are ultimately victorious

the death of the imperial family

• first placed under house arrest during March Revolution

• Czar Nicholas, Czarina Alexandra, and 5 kids executed in July 1917

what does Lenin do once the royal family is executed and he comes into power?

• implements the ideas of Karl Marx

• issues New Economic Policy in 1921

  • allows some capitalist policies

• reorganizes the country and renames it the “Soviet Union” in 1922

Karl Marx

developer of Marxism

New Economic Policy

implemented by Lenin in 1921

• aimed to help economy after Russian Civil War

• wanted to rebuild relations with peasantry

• market-oriented

Joseph Stalin

• Bolshevik revolutionary

• appointed General Secretary of the party’s Central Committee in 1922

• managed to consolidate power following Lenin’s death in 1924

Stalin’s rule

• viciously eliminated (executed, arrested) any opposition

  • secret police allowed no opposition or freedoms

  • ordered the execution of millions

• modernized the Soviet Union through “5 Year Plans” of industrialization

• created a fully communist state

communism

• no private ownership → collectively owned

• classless + stateless society

• need-based distribution

when does Germany declare war on Russia?

1914

when does Nicholas II take over the Russian army?

1915

why was Lenin unhappy with the results of the Feb/March Revolution?

Russia still in war + people still support Kerensky’s provisional govt. (Kerensky still planning offensives)

Cossacks

Russian soldiers