2. Pre-Revolutionary Russia
Russia had become the only
true autocracy left in
Europe.
Russia had no representative
political institutions.
Nicholas II Romanov became
czar in 1884; he believed in
the autocracy.
4. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov,
alias Lenin
Gravitated toward the Social
Democratic Workers Party—
later would become known as
the Reds—the Bolsheviks.
Believed in the necessity of a
revolutionary vanguard of highly
trained professional
revolutionaries.
Adopted the concept of
dialectical materialism--
modernization/capitalism to
catch up with the industrial
West.
5. The Revolution of 1905
Was partially the result of the
rapid growth of discontented
working class in Russia.
The vast majority of urban
workers were concentrated in
St. Petersburg and Moscow.
They received little help from
the countryside: impoverished
peasants.
7. Repression Continues: 1905-1917
Nicholas paid no
attention to the
Duma; political
parties were
suppressed – only
token land reform
was undertaken.
Nicholas was
personally a very
weak man; he
became increasingly
remote as a ruler.
Numerous workers’
organization—
soviets-- began to
appear to press for
change.
8. Alexandra: The Power Behind the Throne
Even more blindly
committed to
autocracy than her
husband.
She was under the
influence of
Rasputin—believing
that he could save her
hemophiliac son.
Scandals surrounding
Rasputin served to
discredit the
monarchy.
10. World War I: The Last Straw
The War revealed the
ineptitude and
arrogance of the
country’s aristocratic
elite.
Corrupt military
leadership had
contempt for the
ordinary Russian
soldier.
Average peasants had
very little invested in
the War.
11. The First World War
Russia was not prepared for an
industrial war: it’s soldiers
were ill-trained and poorly
equipped, officers ineffective.
The result were defeats on the
battlefield, mass desertions,
and 2 million casualties by
1915.
The inevitable result: chaos
and the disintegration of the
Russian Army.
12. The Collapse of the Imperial Government
Nicholas left for the Front in
September, 1915.
Alexandra and Rasputin threw
the government into chaos
back at home.
Alexandra and other high
government officials were
accused of treason.
13. The Collapse of the Imperial Government
Rasputin was assassinated in
December of 1916.
The government had completely
mismanagement the wartime
economy--industrial production
plummeted, inflation and food
shortages were rampant, and the
cities were overflowing with
refugees.
The urban areas became a hotbed
for political activism-- ignited by
serious food shortages in March,
1917.
14. The Two Revolutions of 1917
The March
Revolution
(March 12)
The November
Revolution
(November 6)
15. The March Revolution Origins: Food riots/workers’
strikes.
The Duma declared itself a
Provisional Government
on March 12.
Nicholas ordered soldiers to
intervene; instead they joined
the rebellion.
The Czar abdicated on
March 17.
Alexander Kerensky headed
the Provisional Government.
16. The Kornilov Affair
General Kornilov
attempted to overthrow
the Provisional
Government with a
military takeover.
To combat the coup,
Kerensky freed many
Bolshevik leaders from
prison and supplied arms
to many revolutionary
groups.
17. The Petrograd Soviet
Workers in St. Petersburg
formed the Petrograd Soviet,
which they claimed to be the
legitimate government.
Germany was aware of the
situation in Russia and began
to concentrate on the Western
Front.
Germany even played a role in
returning Lenin to Russia, in
April, 1917.
18. Soviet Political Ideology
More radical and
revolutionary than the
Provisional Government.
Influenced by Marxian
Scientific Socialism.
Two Factions:
-- the Whites--Mensheviks
-- The Reds: Bolsheviks.
19. Founder of Bolshevism: Vladimir Lenin
Had been exiled to Siberia in 1897.
Committed to Class Struggle and
Revolution.
Moved to London in 1902 and
befriended Leon Trotsky.
Wrote What is to be Done?
– A professional vanguard is required
to lead the revolution from above.
– This split the Russian socialists into in
two factions..
20. Lenin Steps into The Vacuum
Amnesty granted to all political
prisoners in March of 1917.
Lenin’s arrival in Petrograd--a
tremendously charismatic personality.
Peace, Land, Bread
All Power to the Soviets
The war was a capitalist/imperialist
enterprise that offered no rewards for
the peasants or workers; he also felt the
war was over with the czar’s
abdication.
Bolshevik party membership exploded;
they moved to consolidate their power.
21. Lenin Steps into The Vacuum
Lenin formed the Military-
Revolutionary Council.
In May 1917, he urged the
Petrograd Soviet to issue Army
Order # 1: gave control of the army to
committees elected by the common
soldiers.
22. The November Revolution
Nov. 6, 1917.
The coup itself was planned by
Leon Trotsky, who gained the
confidence of the army--the Red
Miracle.
In Jan. 1918 Lenin disbanded the
Constituent Assembly, terminating
Russian democracy.
The Council of People’s
Commissars was created.
All private property was
abolished—to be divided among
the peasantry.
The largest industrial enterprises
were nationalized.
23. The November Revolution
A political police was organized: the CHEKA.
A revolutionary army created with Trotsky in charge—the Red
Army.
The Bolshevik Party renamed the Communist Party in March,
1918.
24. The November Revolution
Lenin’s first task was to get Russia
out of the war so he could
concentrate on internal reform.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was
negotiated with the Germans, giving
them much Russian territory,
population, and resources.
25. The Civil War
Civil War followed, 1917-1920
Reds vs. Whites
Complete breakdown of Russian
economy and society.
The officers of the old army (the
Whites) organized opposition to
the Bolsheviks (the Reds).
26. Victory For the Reds
The Bolshevik victory was due to a
number of factors:
-Unity
-A better army
-A well-defined political program
-mobilization of the home front
-An effective secret police force (the
Cheka)
-An appeal to nationalism
27. Victory For the Reds
World War I brought the
conditions that led to the
Russian Revolution and a
radically new government
based on socialism and
one-party dictatorship.
28.
29. Interpreting the Russian Revolution
The official Marxist
interpretation: the importance
of a continuing permanent
international revolution.
Function of Russian History
and Culture.
Dictatorship of the Proletariat:
an imposed revolution on an
unwilling country.
A Social Revolution.
