Russian Revolution – World War II Unit 11 Vocabulary Russian Revolution – World War II

Causes of Russian Revolution Deaths and suffering brought on by Russian involvement in World War I Poor conditions and low wages for Russia’s working classes Czar Nicholas II did not understand how serious the problems facing Russia were.

Groups in Russian Revolution Bolsheviks Mensheviks Professional revolutionaries. Had a plan and wanted to form a new nation based on Communism Regular Russians who wanted reform of revolution simply because of the poor conditions they faced.

Leaders of Russian Rev. Lenin = ideological leader of the movement; planned and ran the soviets (committees) that pushed the provisional government out. Trotsky = follower of Lenin who led the Red Army during the Russian Civil War Stalin = leader who took power after Lenin had a stroke; took total control of the Soviet State.

Stalin’s 5 Year Plans Plans implemented by Stalin to get Russia caught up with European nations in the areas of industry, military, and technology. To accomplish this – Stalin established total state control over the economy. “Command economy”

Emperor Hirohito Supreme leader of Japan Japanese military and civilian population was bound by honor to serve the emperor. His military advisors ran the nation in the years before World War 2 – Hirohito simply approved of their decisions.

Benito Mussolini Leader who rose to power as the supreme leader of Italy. Gained power by promising to solve corruption and inefficiencies in the Italian government. Fascist leader = demanded total control of the nation and people’s devotion to the state.

Adolf Hitler Charismatic leader of the German Nazi Party. Originally an anti-communist party that eventually turned to fascism Begins to gain power beginning in the 1920s Becomes Chancellor of Germany in 1933 Made supreme leader of Germany by 1936.

Fascism A political system the spread throughout much of Europe in the 1920s and 1930s Belief in: The unquestioned authority of one political party or one leader Extreme nationalism (often turned into racism as well) Extreme militarism (often turned into aggression)

Sun Yat-sen Leader of Chinese nationalist movement. When rebellions caused the Qing Dynasty to collapse in 1911, Sun Yat-sen is elected president. “Three Principles of the People:” Nationalism = no foreign control of China People’s Rights = democracy People’s livelihood = financial security

Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) Led troops that overthrew the Ottoman Empire’s control of Turkey in 1923. Goals for his new Turkish Republic: Separate government from religion Law code based on European law Grant political rights to women Industrialize the economy Westernize fashion Given the name “Ataturk” (Father of the Turks)

Mohandas Gandhi Leader of the Indian independence movement Fought injustice using Civil Disobedience: Boycotts, fasts, strikes, peaceful demonstrations Helped gain partial self-rule for India in 1935 Tried to get Hindu and Muslim Indians to live in peace with one another. Assassinated by a Hindu nationalist in 1948

Blitzkrieg German tactic at the beginning of World War 2 Used airplanes, tanks, and paratroopers to take ground and defeat enemies very quickly. Used successfully to defeat Poland and France in 1939 and 1940.

Pearl Harbor Japan launched a surprise attack on America’s largest naval base in the Pacific Ocean. Results of the attack: 2,500 Americans dead American Navy in the Pacific was crippled by the loss of 18 ships and 300 planes America declared war on Japan and entered World War 2

Battle of El-Alamein Battle between British and German armies in North Africa After a long campaign, British forces defeated the Germans and drove the axis powers out of Africa. The allies would use bases in Africa to launch the invasion of Italy.