Unit 11 part 2: Revolution in Russia

I. Oppression under Alexander III- Ruled by Autocracy (Government in which the ruler has total control). 1881-1894 A. Believed that anyone who questioned the Czar’s authority, did not worship in the Russian Orthodox Church, or spoke another language other than Russian was dangerous. B. Alexander’s harsh measures 1. Strict Censorship 2. Secret Police 3. Political Prisoners sent to Siberia 4. Banned all religions but Russian Orthodoxy a. Led to Pogroms- Organized violence against Jews.

II. Nicholas II- like his father, Nicholas rules by Autocracy 1894-1917 A. Russia’s Economic Growth- Russia’s factories double 1. Russia becomes the 4th largest steel producer. 2. The Trans Siberian Railroad is built- the longest in the world.

B. Revolutionaries look for answers 1. Because of harsh working conditions, Russian workers became upset. Workers start following the ideas of Karl Marx, wanted to overthrow the Czar, have workers rule. 2. Two Marxists groups emerge. a. Menshiviks- wanted wide support b. Bolsheviks- supported a small group of Marxist willing to sacrifice everything for radical change. I. Vladimir Lenin- leader.

III. Time of Crisis A. The Russo-Japanese War- A loss to Japan cost Nicholas respect. B. Bloody Sunday- 200,000 workers and families peacefully marched on Nicholas palace to protest working conditions. Nicholas was not there, but his soldiers open fire killing almost 1000. (1/22/1905) 1. The result, Nicholas allows the Duma to form, Russia’s first parliament.

C. WWI- Poorly equipped and trained, Russia’s armies are C. WWI- Poorly equipped and trained, Russia’s armies are destroyed by Germany. 1. 1907- Grigori Rasputin asked to help the Romanov family. 2. While on the battlefield, Rasputin attempts to influence the Czar’s wife Alexandra. Making key political decisions. Rasputin was murdered by those loyal to the Czar.

So to recap, Rasputin was… Poisoned Shot Beaten Shot two more times Beaten again, and stabbed Tied up and Thrown into a river Where he drowned trapped under ice as he freed himself from the rope and almost escaped with his life.

IV. The March Revolution (1917) A. Workers revolt (200,000). Soldiers turn on their generals and fired on them in support of the workers. B. Local protest throughout the country exploded into a general uprising- The March Revolution. 1. Czar Nicholas leaves his throne (abdicates). He and his family will eventually be executed by the Bolsheviks. *Yes Anastasia too! 2. The Duma sets up a temporary government. 3 Soviets are formed- local councils consisting of soldiers, peasants, and workers. Sometimes more powerful than the provisional government. C. Lenin returns from exile to Russia (Germany laughing all the way!)

The March Revolution

V. The Bolshevik Revolution A. November 1917- Lenin leads the Bolshevik Red Guard to take over the Palace in Petrograd. Took a matter of hours. 1. Lenin distributes farmlands of peasant, and gives factories to the workers. 2. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk- Unpopular to most Russians due to the loss of land to Germans. 3. The Russian Civil War- Bolsheviks (Red Army) enemies form the White Army. a. Under the leadership of Leon Trotsky, the Red Army wins, but at a cost: 15 million more Russians die, the Worldwide Flu kills many, the country is starving.

VI. Lenin Restores Order- After the Civil War, WWI, the World Flu of 1918, Russia was in chaos and its economy was destroyed. A. The NEP (New Economic Policy)- A capitalistic policy that allows peasants to sell their own crops for profit. Eventually they are to sell them to government for the good of all the people. B. Lenin organizes Russia into several smaller self governing republics, with Russia as the Central Government. C. He renames Russia the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Also known as the Soviet Union. 1. The Bolsheviks rename their party the Communist Party after Karl Marx’s communism. Makes Moscow the new capital.

VII. Lenin dies (1924), the Communist Party struggles to find new leadership. Leads to uncertainty in Russia. A. Despite warnings in Lenin’s final testament, in which high demanded the removal of Stalin from his post of General Secretary of the Communist Party, Stalin retains his post and by 1927 has purged the Party of all political enemies.

Lenin’s Final Testament, suppressed until 1956… Comrade Stalin, having become Secretary-General, has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution…Stalin is too coarse and this defect, although quite tolerable in our midst and in dealing among us Communists, becomes intolerable in a Secretary-General. That is why I suggest that the comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post and appointing another man in his stead who in all other respects differs from Comrade Stalin in having only one advantage, namely, that of being more tolerant, more loyal, more polite and more considerate to the comrades, less capricious, etc. This circumstance may appear to be a negligible detail. But I think that from the standpoint of safeguards against a split and from the standpoint of what I wrote above about the relationship between Stalin and Trotsky it is not a [minor] detail, but it is a detail which can assume decisive importance.