The Russian Revolution

Russian Revolutions Revolutions were actually several protests (people revolting) against the Czar over a 12 year span, culminating with the October Revolution of It ended hundreds of years of oppression from the Czarist Regimes. It paved the way for the totalitarian communist regimes to exist for the next 70 years and created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R.)

Pre-Revolution Russia had been oppressed for centuries by autocratic czarist regimes. Ended with Nicholas II. From the beginning of Nicholas’ reign he failed; –Coronation-- hundreds were killed because of poor crowd control. –Poor harvest in the late 1890’s led to civil unrest, Many without adequate food or wages. –Ill-equipped for the Japan-Russo war

The Royal Family

Marxism: Due to Russia’s economic problems, the lower classes looked for an answer. No classes!

Bloody Sunday January A workers protest led by a priest at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg turned violent and left some 200 people killed when the czar’s guards opened fire on the crowd. Led to a general strike in which 400,000 went on to strike in the following months, brought economy to a halt. Small mutinies in the army and navy. Result was the October Manifesto and the creation of the Duma (Russian Parliament).

Bloody Sunday Newspaper January 9, 1905 Czar Nicholas II was actually out of town at the time and his troops mismanaged the whole protest.

Bloody Sunday: Jan. 1905, workers in St. Petersburg marched on the royal palace, the royal guards opened fire killing hundreds.

Rasputin Affair Grigory Rasputin(Street bumb) manipulated his way into the lives of Nicholas and Alexandra. Rasputin was a self proclaimed faith healer. To find a cure for the son Alexia who suffered from hemophilia Nicholas and Alexandra became desperate. This poor judgement of Nicholas and Alexandra led to the disintegration of support among the Russian people, especially from upper classes.

Rasputin goes in for a checkup.

WWI Problems: Russia was getting beaten by Germany, food was running out, jobs were few, and the people were mad.

February Revolution main causes for overthrow: –Economic collapse - increase in strikes shut down economy,. Sale of Vodka was banned. –Military collapse --failures in WWI. –Political collapse- series of errors and growing civil unrest finally led to the Czar being abdicated. The Czar was overthrown on February 26, 1917 and forces Nicholas and his family to flee the country; later to be executed.

The Duma: Russia’s parliament or governing body, like a congress.

Duma ---> Provisional Government Power struggle existed in the political anarchy for the next 6 months. Lenin and Trotsky both jockeying for power of revolutionary groups. Alexander Kerensky became the leader of the Provisional Government. WWI trudged on, Death toll continued to rise. Economy still in shambles. Peasants still without land. Workers were unhappy strikes persisted. Appeared as though it was democracy, yet still much civil unrest to take hold.

October Revolution October In a military coup Trotsky’s “red army” staged a military take-over of the winter palace in St Petersburg thus ending the Provisional government. Lenin seized power immediately with Trotsky and Joseph Stalin by his side. First 2 acts: 1. to end Russian involvement in WWI. 2. Give peasants land. “private ownership shall be abolished forever”.

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov or Lenin,. Spent time in jail and exile for preaching against the czar and pro Marx (Marxism or Communism) and plotting to overthrow the Czar. Weak Provisional Government (Duma) paved the way for Lenin to rise to power. Lenin appealed to the masses “ Peace, Land, Bread ”

Lenin Cont., Led group known as the Bolsheviks (Social Democrats) in the revolution. Person mainly responsible for communism being established in Russia “Red Terror”- Lenin was a radical and ruthless revolutionary calling for the execution of the Czar and his family as well as anyone else opposed to the revolution. He had a stroke in 1922 and was bed -ridden until his death in 1924.

Bolshevik Revolution (Nov. 7, 1917) : Lenin’s popular support from anti- Czarists let his people seize gov. buildings and arrest officials, taking power in Russia.

Lenin’s Body Preserved

Leon Trotsky Leon Trotsky founded “Red Army”, or MRC (military revolutionary council) in This supplied the force to the revolution. MRC was the group that actually facilitated the removal of the Duma thus completing the revolution. Trotsky allowed Lenin to seize power in the following years but was an vital member of the communist government. Later he would battle for power with Stalin after Lenin’s death.

The Czar could not be allowed to rule again.

So, the Bolsheviks took them to the basement of their palace, where they were prisoners, and shot them all.

Civil War “Reds Vs. Whites” Reds = Bolsheviks (majority) Whites = Anti-Bolsheviks or people against the communist regime. Actually supported by Western powers including the U.S. Whites were concerned with the creation of the Communist elite and return to the old order. Civil War was eventually won by Lenin’s Bolsheviks and the “red army”. Communist Gov’t, seized church lands and property. NEP (New Economic Policy) allowed peasants to grow crop for profit.

Civil War: Reds- The communists & Whites -moderate socialists, Duma supporters and western nations: U.S., England, France and Japan. The reds win. Vs.

Propaganda: Designed to influence and control peoples beliefs and information flow. The Bolsheviks used it and when they took over they forced it on people everywhere.

Propaganda Trains

Lenin’s Communist state Mass executions used to eliminate opposition to the communist state. Government assumed full control except for the NEP of industry, banks, and foreign trade. All political parties were banned, and the government controlled all districts within Russia. Union of Soviet Socialists Republic (U.S.S.R) All Church land and property was seized. Church schools were closed. State schools taught that God did not exist Government used censorship to silence any unfavorable foreign views. Also used propaganda to teach the Marxists philosophy.

The Secret Police: Terror police whose job it was to kill and eliminate all people thought to oppose the Communists.

Poster showing Lenin as the great leader.

The U.S.S.R. : 1922, The Union of Soviet Socialists Republic was formed to unite all Russian people under one government.

Propaganda cable cars

Traveling propaganda acting troop mocking the Czar and Rasputin.

Religious Persecution: Your heart should be given to Lenin and the Party not God. God did not exist. Many religious leaders were imprisoned. &

Two old “friends”

Joseph Stalin: Lenin dies in 1924 and Stalin fights for power. Lenin warns Trotsky to not let him rule. He takes power anyway.

Joseph Stalin “Man of Steel” Upon Lenin’s death in 1924 Joseph Stalin assumed power over Leon Trotsky. Lenin biggest fear was that Stalin and not Trotsky would assume power. Stalin was popular with the people and his views that it would not take a global communists state for communism to succeed in the Soviet Union Stalin’s first policies were his Five Year plans and the Collective farms. Appeared to be successful from outside but failed, people realized that no matter how hard they worked they would all benefit the same

“Great Wise Father”

Five Year Plans: Modernize the Soviet Union in five years no matter what the cost. It caused massive shortages and suffering for all.

Collective Farming: All farmers are forced to give up their own farms and work and farm in groups. It was a huge failure.

Kulaks: The prosperous farmers of Russia became Stalin’s target. “Liquidate them as a class” he said. Thousands were shot or sent to work camps.

The New Economic Policy: A policy of gov. control mixed with private industry to ease Russia into total gov. economic control (Communism).

Gulags: The prison work camps in Siberia that Stalin’s enemies were sent. Few ever returned.

The Great The Great Purge: Stalin killed off any and all political rivals. All of the “old Communists” were eliminated. Thousands were arrested, tried and executed.

Trotsky in Mexico: Leon Trotsky was hunted down by Stalin’s agents and killed in his hotel room in Mexico City with an ice pick.

Totalitarianism: Total and absolute rule, total domination of a people. By 1953 estimates are that Stalin killed 80 million of his own people.

Centralized Government: The Communists moved the capital from Petrograd to Moscow, The Kremlin. The leaders were called the Politburo.

Stalin Purges He proved to be even more ruthless than Lenin with his famous “purges”. Between 1934 an 1938 some 8 million people were convicted of crimes they possibly could not have committed. Many of the convicted were loyal party members and 50% were his own officers. People were executed or worked to death in labor camps.

Eric Blair, (George Orwell) Animal Farm 1945