Pre-Revolutionary Russia Only true autocracy left in Europe No type of representative political institutions Nicholas II became tsar in 1884 Believed he was the absolute ruler anointed by God Russo-Japanese War (1904) – defeat led to political instability

The Revolution of 1905 Rapid growth of (discontented) working class Vast majority of workers concentrated in St. Petersburg and Moscow Little help from the countryside: impoverished peasants – Populist Movements of the 1870s and later had done little to improve their lot No individual land ownership Rural Famine

Conservatism Continues: 1905-1917 Tsar paid no attention to the Duma; it was harassed and political parties suppressed – only token land reform was passed Nicholas was personally a very weak man; he became increasingly remote as a ruler Numerous soviets (councils) thus began to appear Conservatism Continues: 1905-1917

Alexandra: The Power Behind the Throne Even more blindly committed to autocracy than her husband She was under the influence of Rasputin Origins of Rasputin’s power? Scandals surrounding Rasputin served to discredit the monarchy

Alexis: Alexandra’s Son with Hemophilia Did Rasputin cure the royal’s son of this blood disorder?

World War I: “The Last Straw” War revealed the ineptitude and arrogance of the country’s aristocratic elite Corrupt military leadership had contempt for ordinary Russian people Average peasants had very little invested in the War

World War I (cont) ill-trained, ineffective officers, poorly equipped (Russia was not ready for industrial war) – the result was mass desertions and 2 million casualties by 1915 Result: Chaos and Disintegration of the Russian Army Battle of Tannenberg (August, 1914) – massive defeat at hands of Hindenburg and Germans

The Collapse of the Imperial Government Nicholas left for the Front— September, 1915 Alexandra and Rasputin throw the government into chaos Alexandra and other high government officials accused of treason

The Collapse of the Imperial Government (cont) Rasputin assassinated in December of 1916 Complete mismanagement of the wartime economy industrial production plummeted, inflation and starvation were rampant, and the cities were overflowing w/ refugees they became a hotbed for politcal activism, and this was ignited by serious food shortages in March 1917, especially in St. Petersburg

The Two Revolutions of 1917 The March Revolution (March 12) The November Revolution (November 6)

VIII. The March Revolution Origins: Food riots and strikes Duma declared itself a Provisional Government on March12th Composition of the Provisional Government --Alexander Kerensky Very Popular Revolution The Petrograd Soviet--Order #1 Tsar abdicated on March 17th

Order Number One Soviet Order No. 1: 1. Committees to be elected immediately from the ranks of all military and naval units 2. One delegate from each company to be elected to the Petrograd Soviet 3. Armed forces are subordinate to the Petrograd Soviet in all their political actions 4. Orders of Military Commission of the Duma are to be carried out only if they do not conflict with the orders of the Petrograd Soviet

Order Number One Soviet Order No. 1: 5. All weapons to remain under the control of company and battalion committees, and in no circumstances to be handed over to officers 6. While on duty soldiers must observe strict military discipline, but off-duty soldiers enjoy the same rights as other citizens; saluting off-duty is abolished 7. Honorific titles of officers are abolished (Your Excellency) 8. All coarse conduct by officers towards soldiers (use of the familiar “ty” as opposed to “vy”) is abolished, and cases of it must be reported to the committee.

Order Number One Why do you think this is the first order of this new government?!? What is important about the tone of this order? Who do you think wrote it, delivered it to other soldiers, and ensured it was carried out? According to this order, who controls the military??? Why is this important? Who is now in control of the nation? Thinking back to last year about your understanding of power & authority, what might be important about what this order establishes?