The Winter palace 1917 Russian Revolutions

Background to Revolution—At home Food shortages, shortage of farm workers Railroads carrying war supplies, not shipping food to cities Price of goods up… inflation Coal & industrial materials in short supply so factories closed… unemployment up Winter 1916 train lines iced up and trains could not get into Petrograd Farming difficult… lacked horses

Background to Revolution—at the Front Lack of supplies for the army initially By 1916 training & supply had improved but generals would not work together Incompetent military leadership led Nicholas II to decide to take over control of the army & go to the front Government did not work with industry to improve efficiency Troops did not receive grain due to transportation problems

March 1917 Bread rationing had been instituted The average working woman was spending 40 hours per week in bread lines Many bakeries had closed; women slept over night outside bakeries that still operated to be first in line March 8 was International Women’s Day Women began marching for bread and an end to the war Husbands from factories joined them; a general strike shut down many of the factories

March 1917 March 11 troops were ordered to fire on the crowds and put down the marches The troops joined the demonstrators

March 1917 12th—Duma formed a Provisional committee Formation of the Petrograd Soviet… controlled at first by Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries Army Order #1 issued by Petrograd Soviet The Tsar abdicated in favor of his brother, Michael, who abdicated the next day The Provisional Committee became the Provisional Government, led by Prince Lvov—a Kadet

Abdicating Tsars Tsar Nicholas II Grand Duke Michael

Provisional Government & Petrograd Soviet Both were trying to be in charge PG believed Germany must be defeated so they continued the war PG freed political prisoners, gave civil rights, issued amnesty for political & religious offenses PG felt social changes & land reform had to wait until a national assembly was elected PS believed they must follow Marx’ stages of revolution strictly, so Russia needed a period of capitalism… had to have the stage of conflict between proletariat and bourgeois… controlled railroads, postal service, telegraph offices

Alexander Kerensky Member of the Duma (elected 1912), so in the PG Was a Social Revolutionary, vice-chair of the PS Picture taken 1938 in New York City

April 1917 Lenin returned to Russia; published April Theses Marx used the terms “socialism” and “communism” interchangeably 1880s communism was considered a stage after socialism Socialism… compensation for work Communism… no compensation for work; moneyless economy without wages or prices; things produced for free & distributed for free After 1917 communism meant the ideology of Marxism-Leninism

Lenin Disguise used in 1917

Lenin “This struggle must be organised, according to “all the rules of the art”, by people who are professionally engaged in revolutionary activity. The fact that the masses are spontaneously being drawn into the movement does not make the organisation of this struggle less necessary. On the contrary, it makes it more necessary. “ from What Is To Be Done (1901)

Lenin Lenin took two phrases from Marx which Marx used very little, but Lenin made central to his theory “Dictatorship of the proletariat”… the transitional phase from capitalism to a communist society “Vanguard of the proletariat”… the small, disciplined group of professional revolutionaries who would lead the proletariat and run the socialist state

Lenin Believed that capitalism could only be destroyed by violent revolution A socialist revolution was possible in a backward country… it was not necessary to have a bourgeois revolution first Slogan… Peace, Land, Bread

April Theses Opposed the Provisional Government Supported “all power to the soviets” Bolshevik control of the government War should become a revolution against capitalism Land, factories, banks should be nationalized Bolshevik Party should be called the Communist Party Other Bolsheviks did not agree with Lenin & thought the time was not yet right for revolution

May 1917 PG was reorganized; Kerensky became Minister of War and Navy New PG included members of the PS

June 1917 First All-Russian Congress of Soviets met A month-long speech event

July 1917 Kerensky Offensive… PG convinced the army to attack, but the army was defeated PG collapsed when four Kadet members resigned, unrelated to the military defeat, due to disagreement over land reform Kerensky became the PM July Days… soldiers & workers protested against the PG; supported by the Bolsheviks but was suppressed by the PG; Lenin fled to Finland

August 1917 Bolsheviks became the majority in the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets Kerensky called the Moscow State Conference to try to get support for the government before the elections for the Constituent Assembly

September 1917 Kornilov Affair… Kerensky believed Kornilov was trying to take over the PG PG asked Bolsheviks for help… released them from prison and gave them weapons Kornilov’s mutiny does not materialize in the end Lenin decided PG was weak and could be overthrown

November 1917 Trotsky became chairman of the PG Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets, Workers & Soldiers Deputies met Coup led by Lenin & Trotsky Congress taken over by Lenin’s supporters Lenin to be Chairman, Trotsky Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Stalin Commissar of Nationalities Elections were held for the Constituent Assembly; Bolsheviks received 25% of the vote

RESULTS OF THE REVOLUTIONS Cheka founded Dec. 1917 As Foreign Minister, Trotsky published secret treaties made by the Tsarist government Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, March 1918 Allies landed troops at Murmansk, Archangel & Vladivostok Trotsky appointed War Commissar March 1918 Russian Civil War 1918-1921 Comintern (Communist International) founded 1919

RESULTS OF THE REVOLUTIONS New Economic Policy (NEP) 1921-1928 http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1921nep&Year=1921&navi=byYear Helped found the People’s Republic of Mongolia 1924

Sources http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/historian/hist_figes_05_hope.html http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bolshevik.htm http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2003/apr/26/russia.stpetersburg.guardiansaturdaytravel section http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/Russian_revolution_1917/ http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSlenin.htm http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/photo/1895-1917/index.htm http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/ http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/lenin_25oct1917.htm