Russian Revolution Mr. Marsh Columbus North High School

Weakness of Russia Russia was large, but slow to Industrialize 1890s Russia went through a crash program of industrialization Czars ruled as absolute monarchs, no voice of the people –Czars censored news, suppressed minority groups and had secret police

Romanov Family Crest

Nicholas II

WWI Czar Nicholas II entered WWI but Russia was not ready –They were using out of date weapons and the industry could not handle the demand –Over 4 million were killed in 1914 alone –By 1917 the economy was in shambles, huge shortages caused major riots

End of the Romanov Dynasty March of 1917, riots turned to revolution and the Romanov family abdicated the throne New provisional government was weak & decided to stay in WWI Conditions in Russia worsened & more radical groups vied for power

Bolshevik Revolution Germans secretly supported the Communist revolutionaries (Bolsheviks) who wanted to est. a nation run by workers Lead by Vladimir Lenin –By November 1917, Bolsheviks Red Guard attacked the Provisional Government & seized power

Lenin

Why did the Bolshevik Revolution Succeed? 1. Provisional Government problems –The Bolsheviks succeeded because the Provisional Government was weak and unpopular (remember that Government That’s Provisional Will Be Killed). When it was attacked, nobody was prepared to defend it. 2. Slogans –The Bolsheviks had good slogans such as ‘Peace, Bread, Land’ and ‘All Power to the Soviets’. Other parties claimed they could never deliver their promises, but their arguments were too complicated for people to understand. This meant that they got the public’s support. 3. Pravda –The party ran its own propaganda machine, including the newspaper Pravda (‘Truth’), which got their ideas across. 4. German money –The Germans financed the Bolsheviks because they knew that Lenin wanted to take Russia out of the war. This gave them the money to mount their publicity campaigns

Why did the Bolshevik Revolution Succeed? 5. LeninLenin –A brilliant leader – a professional revolutionary with an iron will, ruthless, brilliant speaker, a good planner with ONE aim – to overthrow the government. The Bolsheviks were well-led. 6. Army –A private Bolshevik army (the Red Guards), dedicated to the revolution, was set up and trained under Leon Trotsky. It gave the Bolsheviks the military power to win. Red GuardsLeon Trotsky 7. Organization –The Bolsheviks were brilliantly organized. A central committee (controlled by Lenin and other leading Bolsheviks) sent orders to the soviets, who gave orders to the factories. Membership grew to 2 million in 3 months. Unlike the Provisional Government, the Bolsheviks demanded total obedience from their members, so they were well- disciplined (members did what the leaders wanted).

Death of the Romanov's Many who supported the Romanov's where known as the Whites Civil War broke out in Russia between the Whites and the Reds Romanov's were killed and their bodies were destroyed

Russian Civil War ( ) Bolsheviks signed a treaty w/ Germany taking Russia out of WWI Opponents that supported the Romanov family started to revolt to the new Communist Government Over 15 million were killed during the Civil War Bolsheviks win & Lenin Created the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)