REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA ( ) BELL WORK #1

TWO REVOLUTIONS IN RUSSIA After the Revolution of 1905, Nicholas had failed to solve Russia’s basic problems. Discontent sparked new eruptions. In March 1917, the first of two revolutions would topple the Romanov dynasty and pave the way for even more radical changes.

Revolutionary Rumblings In 1914, the huge Russian empire stretched form Eastern Europe to the Pacific. During this time in Russia there was a lot of unrest. Under pressure, czars had made some reforms, but too few to ease the nations crisis. During WW1 Nicholas II went to the front to take personal charge. He left domestic affairs to the czarina, Alexandra. Many Russians already distrusted Alexandra because she was German born. She also knew little about government. So, she looked for advice from the notorious “holy man” named Gregory Rasputin.

Death of the Mad Monk An illiterate Siberian peasant, Rasputin was not actually a monk in the Russian Orthodox Church. In fact, he was amazingly corrupt and fond of worldly pleasures. But his powerful personality helped him gain a widespread reputation as a healer. No one believed in his “miraculous” powers more than the czarina. Time and again, he eased the suffering of her only sons illness.

A Threat to Russia By 1916, Rasputin’s influence over Alexandra reached new heights. At his say so, officials could be appointed or dismissed. Those who flattered him won top jobs for which they were wholly unqualified. Yet Alexandra chose to ignore all warnings about Rasputin’s evil nature. She insisted that he had been sent by God to save Russia and the Romanov dynasty. Members of the Duma, nobles, and the czar’s relatives saw the danger. To save the monarchy, a group of five men hatched a plot to destroy Rasputin.

A Hard Man to Kill On December 29, 1916, Prince Felix Yussopupov, a nephew of the czar, lured Rasputin to his palace. The prince fed the “mad monk” cakes and wine laced with poison. Rasputin polished them off and talked on for hours. Yussoupov hurried upstairs to consult his nervous co-conspirators. He returned with a revolver and shot Rasputin. As the plotters examined the body, Rasputin suddenly leaped up and grabbed the prince, who fled in terror.

MAD MONK

What! His not dead? Another shot felled Rasputin, who was then clubbed into stillness. The conspirators dropped the body into the icy Neva River. Later when it was found, doctors discovered that neither poison nor bullets had killed Rasputin. He had died by drowning.

Rasputin’s final Warning. Rasputin's prophecy of Alexandra and her children relations being destroyed in less than two years because of his death became true. Its downfall though was not due to Rasputin's murder, but to long unsolved problems and the strains of war.

The Mach Revolution By March 1917, disasters on the battle field, combined with food and fuel shortages on the home front brought the monarchy to collapse. Workers were going on strike. Marchers, mostly women, surged through the streets, shouting, “Bread! Bread!” Troops refused to fire on the demonstrators, leaving the government helpless. Duma politicians then set up a provisional, or temporary, government. Middle class liberals in the government began preparing a constitution for a new Russian republic Soviets- councils of workers and soldiers. Before long Lenin and the Bolsheviks would take charge.

Lenin and the Bolsheviks Lenin’s real name was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. He spread Marxist ideas among factory workers along with other socialists, including Nadezhda Krupskaya the daughter of a poor noble family. In 1895, Lenin and Krupskaya were arrested and sent to Siberia. During there imprisonment they were married. When they were released they went into exile in Switzerland. There, they worked tirelessly to spread revolutionary ideas.

Lenin He called for an elite group to lead the revolution and set up a “dictatorship of the proletariat.” Thought this revolutionary party represented a small percentage of socialists, Lenin gave them the name Bolsheviks, meaning “majority.” Many socialist believed socialism could be achieved through gradual reforms such as higher wages increased suffrage, and social welfare programs. The Bolsheviks rejected this approach. Only revolution, he said, could bring about needed changes.

An Exile Returns In March 1917, Lenin was still in exile. As Russia stumbled into revolution, Germany saw a chance to weaken its enemy by helping Lenin return home. On April 16, 1917, Lenin stepped off the train in Petrograd. A crowd of fellow exiles and activists recently released from the czar’s prisons met him at the station.

November Revolution Lenin threw himself into the work of furthering the revolution, assisted by another committed Marxist revolutionary, Leon Trotsky. Lenin promised “ Peace, Land, and Bread.” Bolshevik Takeover- In November 1917, squads of Red Guards armed factory workers joined mutinous sailors form the Russian fleet in attacking the provisional government. In a matter of days, Lenin’s forces overthrew a government that no longer had any support.

Bolsheviks in Charge The Bolsheviks quickly seized power in other cities. Moscow became the Bolsheviks’ capital, and the Kremlin their headquarters. Many Russians thought they had at last won control of their lives. In fact, the Bolsheviks renamed Communists would soon become their new masters. Under Siege- For three years civil war raged. The newly formed Red Army battled the Whites, counter revolutionaries who remained loyal to the czar.

Communists Communists adopted a policy known as “war communism.” They took over banks, mines, factories, and railroads. Peasants were forced to deliver “surplus” food to hungry people in the cities. Peasant laborers were drafted into the military or into factory work. They also unleashed a reign of terror and organized their own secret police called the Cheka.

Conclusion By 1921, the Communists had defeated their scattered foes. Although Lenin had triumphed, Russia was in chaos. Millions had died since the beginning of World War I. Famine stalked the land, killing millions. Lenin faced and immense job of rebuilding a nation and an economy in ruins.