Russian Revolution

Prior to WWI

• Defeat in Crimean war leads to rapid industrialization

  • Russia is more agricultural/feudal than the rest of Europe

  • Defeat in Russo-Japanese war

• Emancipation of Serfs

  • freed to provide labor source for factories

  • Little change in social position

• Rapid Industrialization causes revolts

  • Tsar forced to establish Durma

Russia During WWI

• Russia weak against industrial Austria-Hungary and Germany

  • highest number of war deaths (3.3 Million)

• War Increases instability:

  • increased production for millitary

  • food shortages (sent to soldiers)

  • Soldiers multiny against war

  • people call for end to war

  • Tsar at front lines/weak government

Rasputin

Who: Grigori Rasputin, a Russian mystic and advisor to the Romanov family.

What: He gained influence over the Russian royal family due to his alleged healing powers and charisma.

Where: Russia, particularly in St. Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo.

When: Early 20th century, during the reign of Tsar Nicholas II.

Why: Rasputin's influence over the royal family led to controversy and contributed to the decline of the Romanov dynasty.

Died: People (Romanov princes who were heirs to power) thought Rasputin and Tsarina were having orgies, so they lured him to a party and killed him [first tried to poison vodka, shot him, then shot him again, dump him in a river, then hits his head and drowns]

Abdication of the Tsar

• March 1917: Tsar forced to step down

  • ends 300 year Romanov dynasty

• Establish provisional Republic government

  • new gov. refuses to end war

  • Increased support of oppositional political parties

    • Bolsheviks = communist party

    • Gain large % of seats in parliament

November Revolution

• Germany sends Bolshevik leader back into Russia

  • Vladimir Lenin exiled by Russian government

  • “Peace, Bread, Land” slogan gains popular support

• Nov 1917: Bolsheviks storm government

  • Control given to Bolsheviks

    • Lenin is leader

• March 1918: Treaty of Brest-Litvosk →Russia surrenders to Germany

Bolshevik Changes

• Bolsheviks have power, but are not the majority

• 1918- Tsar and family executed

• “Red Terror” = campaign to expel all political opposition

• War communism: gov seizes all private land and businesses

  • supposed to be temporary during political transition

Russian Civil War

1917-1922

• Former aristocracy, land owners, high ranking officials rebel against Soviet Rule

  • White Army

  • Supported by Allies (US, GB, France, Japan)

• Peasants, workers, military support Soviets

  • Reds

  • Defeat whites

    • more people

    • control Russian factories

• 1922- Russia becomes USSR (United Soviet Socialist Republic)

  • Soviet= worker/laborer

Stalin

• Lenin dies 1924

• Replaced by Josef Stalin after political struggle with Trotsky

• 5 year plan

  • goal to rapidly industrialize

  • focused on infrastructure, not consumer goods

  • Lead to 0% unemployment

• Collectivism:

  • program to increase agricultural output to feed factory workers

  • Took private land and turned into state communes

  • Weather and peasants protests reduced production

    • 1931- ended with 3 million peasant deaths

    • Ukrainian genocide: Holodomor

      • forced deaths of 3.9 million Ukrainians via forced starvation

Great Purge

• Many Bolsheviks questioned failure of collectivism

• Stalin Removed:

  • 75% of government officials

  • 66% of military officials

  • Any people viewed as Anti-soviet

  • Intellectuals, Jews, ethnic minorities

    • 8 millions forced to gulags

    • 17 million killed

Rise of Totalitarianism

Italy and Fascism

• Italy was promised land and harbors if they joined the Allied forces

  • The treaty of Versailles did not grant them any

• Democratic governments were failing under the treaty of Versailles

  • Wiemar Republic in Germany

  • Worker strikes in England

  • Meiji democratic reforms fail

• The Italian democratic government couldn't control the post-war economic crisis

  • Trade constricted

  • Unemployment rose 28%

  • Banks failed

  • Starvation in Rural areas

• Political power struggles between Socialists, Communists, and Fascists

• Benito Mussolini blames the Treaty of Versailles for Italy’s problems

• Mussolini lead fascist party to power in 1922 using his military group —The Blackshirts—

  • promised more land, fixed economy, global power for Italy

• Mussolini appointed Prime Minister by King Emmanuel III

• In total control of Italy bu 1926

Germany and Nazism

• Germany was punished for WWI by the Treaty of Versailles

• Nazi party fights anti-Wiemar government groups for control (under leadership of Adolf Hitler)

  • Communist Party of Germany, Social German Democrats, and Catholic Centre Party

• Not successful initially: ~3% of vote in 1924-1929

• America’s Dawes Act (gave money to Germany) helps keep German economy doing well

• Stock market crash in 1929 leads to collapse of Germany’s economy

• The Nazi Party: 1930 won 18% of the popular vote, 37% in 1932, and 44% in 1933

• Hitler gains dictatorial powers in March 1933 with the passing of the Enabling Acts

• Party Platform: 25 point platform

  • Get rid of Treaty of Versailles

  • Get back territories and colonies

  • No citizenship for Jews

  • Immigrants after 1914 must leave

  • Nationalization of corporations

  • confiscate money from war profiteers

  • education controlled by the state

Japan and Imperialism

• The Treaty of Versailles granted Japan some territorial gains: German lands in China and South Pacific

• Japan wanted more land in Manchuria because of its overpopulation problem

• Japan was denied the Equal Race Provision they wanted in the Treaty of Versailles

• democratic Meiji government promised it would provide more

  land, economic opportunities, and be seen as an international equal to other industrialized nations

  • None of these occurred after 1919

• Democracy failed and groups started to rise up to take power

• Oppositional forces to Japan grew with socialist and communist groups that wanted power

• Japan’s economy gets worse in 20s and 30s

• unrest of the democratic government leads to civil conflict

• emperor Hirohito uses the military to put down all political resistance

• Without the United States military backing of the League of Nations, Japan continues its imperialism in Manchuria, China, and the Pacific

Hirohito frustrated with the Western powers and democracy.

Problems with the Treaty of Versailles caused all of these issues