The Russian The Russian Revolution Revolution Czar Nicholas II: was the leader of Russia as World War I broke out He had no military training but insisted on taking control of the Russian armed forces -there were no more competent military leaders Russia’s lack of industry kept it from being able to create the weapons and supplies needed for Total War -Russians soldiers trained with broomsticks -Many Russian soldiers sent to the front without rifles, hoping to find one from a dead comrade
Transcript
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionCzar Nicholas II: was the leader of Russia as World War I broke out
He had no military training but insisted on taking control of the Russian armed forces
-there were no more competent military leaders
Russia’s lack of industry kept it from being able to create the weapons and supplies needed for Total War
-Russians soldiers trained with broomsticks
-Many Russian soldiers sent to the front without rifles, hoping to find one from a dead comrade
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionBetween 1914 and 1916, over two million Russian soldiers were killed
Another 4-to-6 million Russian soldiers were wounded or captured
By 1917, the Russians had lost their will to fight
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionNicholas II relied on his army to maintain power
Alexandra: the czar’s German-born wife
-she was determined and stubborn
Rasputin: a Siberian peasant who had convinced Alexandra that he was a holy man and had some prophetic powers
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionWith Nicholas II away at war,
Alexandra made all of the important decisions
She insisted on consulting Rasputin, who did not hesitate to
interfere
A series of military and economic disasters made Russian population
upset with the monarchy
Rasputin was assassinated in December, 1916, but it was too late as revolutionary movements that had already begun could not
be stopped
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution
March 1917: price of bread skyrockets, bread is rationed by the government, and a series of strikes breaks out in Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg)
Many of the women who were striking were also factory workers who worked 12-hour days, many had sick and starving children at home
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionMarch 8, 1917: about 10,000 women marched in Petrograd
-they demanded “Peace and Bread”
-other workers joined them and a general strike was declared which shut down all of the factories in the city
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionAlexandra called on Nicholas for support
-he ordered troops to break up the crowds and shoot the strikers if necessary
Large numbers of soldiers actually joined the strikers and refused to shoot at the crowds
The Duma: the Russian legislature
-Nicholas had tried to dissolve this group
-they met on March 12 and set up a provisional government
-they urged Nicholas to step down as czar because he no longer had military or aristocratic support
March 15, 1917: Nicholas steps down, ended 300 years of Romanov rule
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionAlexander Kerensky: led the provisional government
He chose to keep Russia in World War I to “preserve its honor”
This was a blunder because neither the workers nor the peasants supported the war
-they were tired of years of suffering
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionSoviet: councils composed of representatives from the workers and soldiers
-were a threat to the new government
-soviets rose up throughout Russia, were mostly Socialists, and represented the more radical views of the lower classes
Bolsheviks: came to be one of the most powerful soviets
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionV.I. Lenin: took control of the Bolsheviks
He believed that violent revolution was the only way to destroy capitalism
Lenin had been out of Russia but saw this as an opportunity for the Bolsheviks to gain power
The German government helped return him to Russia, hoping he would create disorder there
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionLenin thought that the soldier, worker, and peasant soviets could help the Bolsheviks overthrow the provisional government
Lenin made the following promises which gave him support:
•An end to the war
•Redistribution of all land to the peasants
•Transfer of all factories and industries from capitalists to committees of workers
•Transfer of government power to the soviets
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionThree main Bolshevik slogans:
1. Peace, Land, Bread
2. Worker Control of Production
3. All Power to the Soviets
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionBy October, there were over 240,000 Bolsheviks
Leon Trotsky: leader of the Petrograd soviet
November 6, 1917: Bolsheviks seized power over the provisional government with very little bloodshed
Lenin turned over all power to the Congress of Soviets
Lenin headed the Council of People’s Commissars
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionThe Bolsheviks renamed themselves the Communists
In order to fulfill his promise for peace, Lenin knew he would lose much Russian territory
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: signed March 3, 1918
-Russia agreed to give up eastern Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic provinces to Germany
Lenin hoped this would bring peace to Russia, but instead the country sank into a civil war
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionMany people in Russia were opposed to the Communists
•Groups loyal to the czar
•Anti-Lenin socialists
•The Allies: were extremely concerned about the Communists
The Allies sent thousands of troops and aid to anti-Communists
The Communist (Red) Army also forced to fight on many fronts
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution
The anti-Communist (White) Army attacked and moved as far as the Volga River before the Reds pushed them back
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionIn 1919, White forces attacked from the Baltic and Ukraine regions and almost reached Moscow before they were stopped
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionBy 1920, the Red Army had pretty much defeated the Whites
-they retook Ukraine and the Caucasus states of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
Black Sea
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionThe Romanov family had been held captive since 1917
April, 1918: they were moved to a remote mining town
July 16, 1918: members of the local soviet murdered the czar and his family and burned their bodies
The Mystery of Anastasia: soon after this event, rumors spread that some family members survived. In 1921, a woman claimed to be Anastasia Romanov. This woman spent much of her life in German court trying to gain the inheritance of the Romanovs. She died in 1984, and DNA tests in 1994 revealed she was not Anastasia Romanov.
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionReasons why the Red Army was successful:
Trotsky insisted that soldiers were well-disciplined
-he reinstated the draft, and anyone who deserted or refused to obey orders was executed on the spot
The anti-Communist forces were distrustful of each other and lacked unification
-the Whites had no common goal
The Reds used war communism in which the government took complete control of most banks and industries, seized the grain supply from the peasants, and centralized local government under Communist control (very efficient)
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian RevolutionCheka: Red secret police that terrorized all who opposed or were not in total favor of the new regime
The installed fear
The presence of foreign armies on Russian soil enabled the Communists to appeal to Russian patriotism
-the Whites at one time had over 100,000 foreign troops on their soil (mostly Japanese, British, American, and French)
-Communists called on patriotic Russians to help fight off foreign attempts to control their country
By 1921, the Communists had complete control in Russia
-they were a highly centralized state dominated by a single party
-very hostile to the Allies because they aided the anit-Communists
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution Russian legislative body in 1917Russian legislative body in 1917
A.A. TrotskyTrotsky
B.B. DumaDuma
C.C. SovietsSoviets
D.D. War communismWar communism
E.E. BolshevicksBolshevicks
SMART Response QuestionTo set the properties right click and selectSMART Response Question Object->Properties...
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution Representative councils of workers and Representative councils of workers and
soldierssoldiersA.A. TrotskyTrotsky
B.B. DumaDuma
C.C. SovietsSoviets
D.D. War communismWar communism
E.E. BolshevicksBolshevicksSMART Response QuestionTo set the properties right click and selectSMART Response Question Object->Properties...
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution A small faction of the Russian Social A small faction of the Russian Social
Democrat PartyDemocrat PartyA.A. TrotskyTrotsky
B.B. DumaDuma
C.C. SovietsSoviets
D.D. War communismWar communism
E.E. BolshevicksBolshevicksSMART Response QuestionTo set the properties right click and selectSMART Response Question Object->Properties...
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution Red Army’s commissarRed Army’s commissar
A.A. TrotskyTrotsky
B.B. DumaDuma
C.C. SovietsSoviets
D.D. War communismWar communism
E.E. BolshevicksBolshevicks
SMART Response QuestionTo set the properties right click and selectSMART Response Question Object->Properties...
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution Temporary suspension of Communist Temporary suspension of Communist
practicespracticesA.A. TrotskyTrotsky
B.B. DumaDuma
C.C. SovietsSoviets
D.D. War communismWar communism
E.E. BolshevicksBolshevicksSMART Response QuestionTo set the properties right click and selectSMART Response Question Object->Properties...
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution Russia was unprepared for war in all of Russia was unprepared for war in all of
the following ways the following ways exceptexceptA.A. No competent military leadersNo competent military leaders
B.B. Weak armament industryWeak armament industry
C.C. Poorly armed militaryPoorly armed military
D.D. No czar, or government leaderNo czar, or government leader
E.E. Dominating navyDominating navySMART Response QuestionTo set the properties right click and selectSMART Response Question Object->Properties...
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution Women workers in Petrograd marched in Women workers in Petrograd marched in
protest, thenprotest, thenA.A. Organized a general strikeOrganized a general strike
B.B. Began to bake breadBegan to bake bread
C.C. Consulted with RasputinConsulted with Rasputin
D.D. Joined the czar’s armyJoined the czar’s army
E.E. Returned to work and produced record amounts Returned to work and produced record amounts of wartime supplies for the Russian armyof wartime supplies for the Russian army
SMART Response QuestionTo set the properties right click and selectSMART Response Question Object->Properties...
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution Outwardly, Lenin turned over power to the Outwardly, Lenin turned over power to the
all-Russian Congress of Soviets, thenall-Russian Congress of Soviets, thenA.A. Invaded Poland with a mercenary army of peasantsInvaded Poland with a mercenary army of peasants
B.B. Signed a peace treaty with the czar and became Signed a peace treaty with the czar and became deputy czardeputy czar
C.C. Passed real power to the Council of People’s Passed real power to the Council of People’s Commissars that he controlledCommissars that he controlled
D.D. Retired from politics and settled in the UkraineRetired from politics and settled in the Ukraine
E.E. Proclaimed himself as Czar of the SovietsProclaimed himself as Czar of the Soviets
SMART Response QuestionTo set the properties right click and selectSMART Response Question Object->Properties...
The Russian RevolutionThe Russian Revolution Military opposition or other forms of Military opposition or other forms of
challenges to the Red Army came from challenges to the Red Army came from all of the following all of the following exceptexcept
