1. The Russian Revolution

2. And in the beginning…
Czars ruled Russia for centuries. The Czar and Czarina were equivalents of Kings and Queens. The word “czar” comes from “Caesar”.
Czar Alexander III succeeded his father in He continued the principles of autocracy (total power)
Enforced strict societal rules:
NO questioning authority of the czar
NO worshipping outside the Russian Orthodox Church
NO speaking a language other than Russian

3. Country of Fear
Censorship on published and written materials; including private letters
Secret police watched secondary schools and universities
Teachers forced to send detailed reports on all students
Political prisoners sent to Siberia
Oppressed non- Russian national groups
Made Russian the official language of the empire
Jews became targets of persecution (Pogroms-organized violence)

4. “Steel”-ing the Country
Factories, Investments, Steel
Trans-Siberian Railway
Factories more than doubled between and 1900
To finance industry buildup, gov’t sought foreign investments and raised taxes
1900: Russia was the 4th ranked country to produce steel in the world
Began building in 1891, completed in 1916

5. Growth of a Movement
Increase in industry = poor working conditions, low wages, child labor, and general discontent
Government outlawed trade unions; workers organized strikes
Birth of the Marxist Revolutionaries

6. The Marxists
Marxist revolutionaries believed the independent class of workers would overthrow the czar
The workers would then form a “dictatorship of the proletariat” (workers would rule the country)
2 groups formed: Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
The Mensheviks were moderate and wanted a broad base of support for a revolution
Bolsheviks were radical, preferring a small group that would sacrifice everything for change

7. V.I. Lenin Born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov
Adopted the name Vladimir Lenin
Educated, engaging, organized, ruthless
Leader of the Bolshevik party
Early 1900s, fled Russia to escape arrest by the czarist regime, remained in contact with the party

8. Russo-Japanese War Russia and Japan compete for Korea and Manchuria
Signed treaties, which Russia broke leading Japan to attack in February 1904
Russians suffer loses, morale falls, and unrest continues in cities

9. Bloody Sunday
Amidst unrest over working conditions, 20,000 workers storm the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg on January 22, 1905
Demanded better working conditions, personal freedom and elected national legislature. Czar’s generals fired on the crowd
Outcomes of “Bloody Sunday”
1,000 dead, unrest escalates
Czar forced to create the Duma

10. The Duma October 1905 approved the first parliament
Met in May 1906 with moderate leaders. Wanted constitutional monarchy
Czar Nicholas II feared consolidation of powers, dissolved the Duma after 10 weeks

11. WWI: The Final Blow?
Exposed the weaknesses of czarist rule and military leadership
Within the 1st year of fighting, more than 4 million killed, wounded or taken prisoner
On the home front, problems and unrest continue

12. The Romanovs Czar Nicholas II takes power in 1894.
Nicholas and wife, Czarina Alexandria have 5 children: daughters Olga, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia; and son Alexei
In 1915, Nicholas leaves family and puts Czarina in charge of government when he moves to the war front

13. Rasputin Grigori Rasputin, a self described “Holy man”
The Crown Prince, Alexei suffered from hemophilia and Rasputin was employed by the family because he eased the boy’s suffering
Czarina’s gratefulness translated to allowing Rasputin to make political decisions in her husband’s absence
In 1916, a group of nobles murder Rasputin in fear of his growing influence over the Czarina

14. The March Revolution and the end of the Czar
March, 1917: Petrograd textile workers lead a citywide strike, riots follow in the wake.
The “small” protest leads to nation-wide uprising and forces Czar Nicholas to step down. Bolsheviks move family into house-arrested exile in the Ural mountains.
Leaders of the Duma establish provisional government, Alexander Kerensky placed in charge
Kept Russian in WWI (loss support of both soldiers and civilians)
Peasants demand land, city workers become more radical, conditions worsen

15. Soviets and Lenin’s Return
Even under the new provisional government, the power rested heavily in the people of the cities and towns. “Soviets” were established.
The Germans, sensing an opportunity to force Russia to leave WWI, send Lenin back to Russia
Arrives in a sealed railway boxcar in Petrograd in April 1917
In the fall of 1917, the people rally behind Lenin and his promise of “Peace, Land and Bread”
November: armed factory workers (calling themselves the Red Guard) storm the Winter Palace and arrest the leaders of the Provisional Government

16. Bolsheviks in Power and the End of the Romanov Dynasty
All farmland be distributed to the peasants, control of factories given to the workers
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed to pull Russia from WWI
Large territory surrendered causing widespread anger
The Romanov family is murdered by the Red Guard in the basement of their exile house in the Urals
Many object to the decision to murder family
Lenin sees it as necessary to eliminate all threats to power
Video

17. The Anastasia Myth
Following the murders of the Romanov family, it was believed by many that not all members were killed- specifically the youngest daughter, Anastasia
2 years after the deaths, a woman claimed to be the young duchess
In the 1990s, posthumous DNA proved the falsity of her claim

18. Same Problems, Different Day-Civil War Breaks Out
Bolshevik opponents form the White Army
Comprised of multiple beliefs, only unified in their opposition of Lenin and party
Red Army led by Leon Trotsky
Lasted from
White Army aided by Western Nations
14 million die during the struggle and the famine that follows

19. The New Economic Policy
Lenin recognizes that the economy has been destroyed by war and revolution
March 1921, sets aside plans for state-controlled economy, institutes the NEP (New Economic Policy)
Peasants allowed to sell surplus crops
Small factories, businesses and farms operated privately
Gov’t keeps control of industries, banks, and means of communication
By 1928, farms and factories produce at pre-WWI levels

20. The End of Lenin Lenin dies after a series of strokes in 1924
The question of whom would take power loomed
Two men struggled against each other for control

21. Power Struggle Lenin’s right-hand man Secretary of the Communist Party
Leon Trotsky
Joseph Stalin
Lenin’s right-hand man
Secretary of the Communist Party

22. And in the End…
Joseph Stalin takes power