The Russian Revolution

I. Pre-Revolutionary Russia Last absolute king No democratic gov Nicholas II became Tsar in 1884 Divine right

II. The Revolution of 1905 “Peace, Land, & Bread!” Bloody Sunday Workers Bloody Sunday Peaceful protest Soldiers open fire Tsar can’t ignore problems Forms Duma: legislative body Tsar basically ignores

IV. Alexandra: The Power Behind the Throne Wife of Tsar Alexis: Son with Hemophilia Believes Rasputin has power to heal him Scandals around Rasputin discredits Tsar

V. World War I: “The Last Straw” Broke Russia economy Shows weakness of Tsar Kills thousands People upset

VI. The Collapse of the Imperial Government Alexandra and Rasputin throw the government into chaos Rasputin is assassinated

VII. The Two Revolutions of 1917 Food strikes The March Revolution (March 12) The November Revolution (November 6) Lenin in charge Communist revolution Class Struggle Redistribution of land Overthrow the Tsar

Stalin

Totalitarian State A government that takes total, central state control over every aspect of public and private life

Control Methods The Great Purge: campaign of terror against enemies who threatened his power Killed or sent to Gulags (death camps) Est between 8-13 million deaths

Propaganda Controlled all newspapers, radio, movies, and information Glorified the achievements of Stalin & communism

Religious Persecution Replace Orthodox teachings with communist teachings Destroyed churches & synagogues

Industrial Policies Command Economy: Government makes all economic decisions Five-Year Plans: high quotas (goals) for output of steel, coal, oil, & electricity Limited consumer production People faced shortages of housing, food, clothing, & other goods Made some industrial gains

Agricultural Policies Collective Farms: Seized all private farms and combined them into large, government owned farms Hoped to boost food production Resistance among “kulaks”, wealthy farm owners In Ukraine, Stalin forced a famine by confiscating all food from kulaks

Education Goal: build a stricter society that adhered to creating a much more communist state Education law of 1935: allowed teachers to use strict methods of discipline Communist History taught Girls allowed in schools