What could inspire a people to take over their government...?

How and Why: WASTE Wars –(in Europe & competition for colonies: markets and resources) Absolutism –(people wanted to replace it with representative gov’t & social contract) Social Class –(new social classes form ( bourgeoisie /;old ones are rebelled against) Taxes & Debt –(How do you pay for all those wars? Beg, borrow and steal [read: tax…]. Louis XVI was the King of Debt--get it? King of Debt. I’m hilarious.) Enlightenment –(there was no turning back after the philosophes …)

November 1917: The Bolsheviks have taken over Russia ! This incredible event has just happened ! But its causes go back many years… To find out how this event finally happened, here are a series of headlines from newspapers between 1904 and Draw this G.O. in your notes and use the newsflashes to fill it in! DateEventHow this event demonstrates a cause of the Bolshevik Revolution Key Details of this Event…

NEWSFLASH 1!—February 8, 1904 Japan Torpedos Russian Ship in Port Arthur!! War Breaks Out Between Russia and Japan!! Vying for control over the Korean peninsula and influence in China, Japan and Russia finally face-off. Of these two emerging industrial powers, who will be the victor? European governments and the United States say the safe bet is on the Russians—their fellow Europeans… Event: The Russo-Japanese War –

Newsflash 2! Sunday, Bloody Sunday!!—January 9 th, 1905 Unhappy about the cost of the losing war with Japan (and its effect on Russian society) Peaceful demonstrators arrived at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg to present a petition to the czar, leading was a priest named Georgi Gapon. The Imperial Guard fired on the crowd, killing around 200 and wounding 800!! Trust in the czar and the Russian Monarchy has never been lower…

NEWSFLASH 3! – September 5 th, 1905 Japan Victorious In Asia! It seems the Social Darwinism of the Europeans and Americans “spoke” too fast! Unable to compete with superior Japanese military technology and industrial production, Russia signs the Treaty of Portsmouth. In accordance with the terms of the Treaty, Russia has evacuated Manchuria, given Port Arthur to the Japanese and conceded that Korea is once and for all in the Japanese sphere of influence. Rumors of deep dissatisfaction among the Russian people abound…

NEWSFLASH 4! Revolt !!!!!—October 17 th, 1905 Angry about the loss to Japan, and furious about the violent suppression on Bloody Sunday, the Russians rise up and demand the government reforms! Overwhelmed by this opposition, the czar signs a constitution and establishes a Parliament: the Duma. However, many Russians suspect the Duma will be a puppet government, and the czar will continue to hold the real power… NEWSFLASH 4! Revolt !!!!!—October 17 th, 1905 Angry about the loss to Japan, and furious about the violent suppression on Bloody Sunday, the Russians rise up and demand the government reforms! Overwhelmed by this opposition, the czar signs a constitution and establishes a Parliament: the Duma. However, many Russians suspect the Duma will be a puppet government, and the czar will continue to hold the real power…

Newsflash 5! War Breaks Out In Europe!!! —June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated and Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary to protect its brother slavs in Serbia!! (Oh, you know about all this…) What you don’t know is that although the war is unpopular with the Russian people the czar forces his country to fight—proving once and for all the powerlessness of the Duma. The anger of the people is boiling over…

NEWSFLASH 6! Revolt Again!?!?!—February, 1917 Russians are angry about the loss of life in World War I and food shortages continue, so they are rioting to demand an end to the war and an end to the shortages!! The Bolsheviks (communists) are the only party that are against the war, so the rioters asked the Bolsheviks to lead them! But the government sends in troops against the rioters. Fearing persecution and execution, the leader of the Bolsheviks, Vladimir Lenin, flees to Europe. Czar Nicholas, wanting to regain total power dissolves the Duma, but they ignore him and set up the Provisional Government—a temporary government to see Russia through the chaos…and the czar abdicates. The Russian people are hopeful that the Provisional Government will support their goals… NEWSFLASH 6! Revolt Again!?!?!—February, 1917 Russians are angry about the loss of life in World War I and food shortages continue, so they are rioting to demand an end to the war and an end to the shortages!! The Bolsheviks (communists) are the only party that are against the war, so the rioters asked the Bolsheviks to lead them! But the government sends in troops against the rioters. Fearing persecution and execution, the leader of the Bolsheviks, Vladimir Lenin, flees to Europe. Czar Nicholas, wanting to regain total power dissolves the Duma, but they ignore him and set up the Provisional Government—a temporary government to see Russia through the chaos…and the czar abdicates. The Russian people are hopeful that the Provisional Government will support their goals…

Newsflash 7! Important decisions have just been made! March 1917: The Provisional Government’s decisions ! Decision 1: The Provisional Government will not end the war because the Germans would make the Russians pay too great a price (like giving up Poland) if they surrender! Decision 2: The Provisional Government will not give the peasants back their land. They worry that if they start giving back land, Russian soldiers will desert and return to claim their land!

Newsflash 8! Lenin Has Returned!! April 17, 1917 Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, has just returned to Russia! He is desperate to see the Bolsheviks take power ! He made an important speech from the train station as soon as he arrived ! Here is a painting showing him delivering his speech.

Lenin’s ideas are: “Peace, Land and Bread!” and “All Power to the Soviets” So he wants: An end to the war with Germany… Land taken from the nobles and given to the peasants Soviets (communist co-operatives) to take power “No co-operation with the Provisional Government!” These ideas come to be known as the April Theses! Is change on the way…?

Newsflash 9!—October 25th The storming of the Winter Palace!! At 9.00 pm the cruiser Aurora (below) fired a shell to signal the start of the takeover of the Palace! The Bolsheviks marched on the Palace … The defenders had either fled or gave up ! The Provisional Government was captured and the Bolsheviks had control !

NEWSFLASH 10! Revolt YET Again!?!?!—October 25, 1917 That’s right: inspired by the words of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, the soviets of Russia finally rise up in revolution (starting at the Winter Palace) and overthrow the czar AND the Provisional Government!! This great event is known as: The Bolshevik Revolution (aka: The Russian Revolution) They establish a new government—the Soviet Union, led by Lenin and start making changes like… NEWSFLASH 10! Revolt YET Again!?!?!—October 25, 1917 That’s right: inspired by the words of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, the soviets of Russia finally rise up in revolution (starting at the Winter Palace) and overthrow the czar AND the Provisional Government!! This great event is known as: The Bolshevik Revolution (aka: The Russian Revolution) They establish a new government—the Soviet Union, led by Lenin and start making changes like…

Epilogue Newsflash: Russia Drops Out Of War!! The new Soviet government of Russia has signed the Decree of Peace—promising an end to the war with Germany. And the Decree on Land— promising to take land from the Russian nobles and give it to the people… Long Live The Revolution!!! Everything is SURE to be better now…

How and Why: WAST-MC! Wars –(in Europe & competition for colonies: markets and resources) Absolutism –(people wanted to replace it with communist co-operatives [ Soviets ]) Social Class –(the working class and peasants [serfs] revolt against the monarchy, the nobles and the limited bourgeoisie, completely changing the social order ) Taxes & Debt –(How do you pay for all those wars? Beg, borrow and steal [read: tax…]. Czar Nicholas II played it just liked Louis XIV) Marxism-Communism –(there was no turning back after Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto …)

Test your partner… Describe the following events in the Bolshevik seizure of power, but without using the actual words! See how many they get right, then swap over. Winter Palace Kornilov Revolt Order no 1 Provisional Government July days Peace, bread and Land