THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION: Causes

LONG TERM CAUSES Russian Revolution

Cause #1 Lack of Industry

Lack of Industry By 1913 still manufacturing mostly clothing Lack of industrialization makes Russia culturally different from the west

Lack of Industry war losses 1853 Crimean war 1905 Russo Japanese war WWI Only recent wins were NOT due to military prowess—Turkey 1877 and Napoleon 1812

Cause # 2 Political Culture

Political Culture Large Multiethnic empire causes disunity Tradition of village communes with little imperial interference Czar seen as distant “father” 1900—1/4 of rural population was literate

Political culture Urban working class grew 4x in the 50 years after emancipation in 1861— alienated from peasants Elite noble class spoke predominantly in French—royal family often communicated in English

Political culture (Absolutism) Political Parties were repressed Duma (parliament) created in 1905 but Czar Nicholas II was unwilling to share power Czars had long tried to stop Russia from having a sense of Nationalism

Long Term Cause # 3 Isolation from the Rest of Europe

Political Isolation Russia seen as enemies of the world due to expansion and anti western ideas in Russia Russia was 1/6 of worlds land and tried to grow in 19 th century Powerful enemies—Germany and Austria Problems caused by having a land based and not overseas empire

Social Isolation Russia chose orthodoxy during the schism Cyrillic alphabet modeled after Greek Difference in language and religion from rest of Europe

SHORT TERM CAUSES Russian Revolution

Short Term Cause # 1 The Royal Family

The Family: The Czar Czar Nicholas II ruled Never wanted to be Czar— Seen as a weak leader

The Royal Family: Alexandra Married German Cousin Alexandra (a princess) Alexandra was a Catholic and a German—She never learned Russian but did convert to Orthodox Christianity Only son Alexei had hemophilia---hereditary disease passes through mother

Short Term Cause # 2 WWI

World War I Battle of Tannenberg Aug 1914 Russia Loses 250,000 men in days 1915 Nicholas goes to the front leaving German wife to run the country

Short Term Cause # 3 Rasputin

Rasputin Rasputin was a monk who promised he could heel hemophilia While Nicholas was at the front took spiritual and political advise from Rasputin The country assumes an affair is happening

Rasputin Friends of the Czar kill Rasputin to end the scandal Doesn’t work Rasputin's assassinationRasputin's assassination

The Revolution

The Revolution: Part 1 March

THE REVOLUTION MARCH Women march in Petrograd for bread Czar’s soldiers refuse to fire Military leaders convince Czar to resign Provisional government formed to write a constitution

KERENSKY—a fatal decision Kerensky was elected leader of the provisional government His choice—keep fighting WWI or not? He chooses to continue what he sees as Russia’s duty to allies

Meanwhile…

LENIN—A bullet from Germany Lenin’s older Brother had been exiled for attempting to kill Alexander III (1895) April 1917—Germans Put Lenin on a train from Germany to Russia hoping to cause a revolution Lenin arrives and promises “Peace Bread and Land”

The Revolution Part 2: November

November Lenin and Bolsheviks Lenin overthrows the provisional govt. Outlaws Private ownership 1918Treaty of Brest Litovsk ends the war Russian Royal Family killed

Civil War

Civil War Reds: The Communists Vs. Whites: People in Russia who didn’t like Communism (Royalists) Forces from Allies in WWI

QUESTION WHY DID COMMUNISM APPEAL TO RUSSIANS? WHY DIDN’T THE WEST WANT RUSSIA TO BE COMMUNIST?