1. Revolutions in Russia
Chapter 1
The Fall & Rise

2. Oppressive Rulers in Russia
Russia had a tradition of oppressive rulers
Organized violence against Jews
Strict censorship (including on private letters)
Absolute authority
Only Russian language was to be spoken, except by the nobility who also spoke French
Only worship the Russian Orthodox Church
Secret Police

3. The Last Czar
In 1894, the last Russian Czar, Nicholas II came to power.
He was committed to keeping total control over Russia.

4. Who was Nicholas II? Personality
Uncharismatic, quiet, disliked large crowds
Lives the life of a private wealthy monarch
Politics
The Czar’s usual nickname: the people’s “little father” – Nicholas doesn’t act the part
Left most state affairs to his ministers

5. Who was Nicholas II? Religion Family
Strong Eastern (Russian) Orthodox faith
Family
Alexandra (czarina): wife
Alexi: son; heir to the throne, weak and sickly
Anastasia: famous “missing” daughter

6. Conditions Lead to Revolution
Rapid industrialization stirs up discontent
Bad working conditions, low wages, child labor, and no labor unions led to strikes 6

7. Conditions lead to Revolution
Marxism- radical form of socialism where all aspects of industry are owned by the government
Ideas of Karl Marx establish Revolt
Proletariat- working class
Marxist believed proletariat would overthrow czar
…this meant the working class would rule the country 7

8. Conditions lead to Revolution
Marxists split into two groups over revolutionary tactics
Mensheviks= moderates wanting popular support of revolution
Bolsheviks=radical revolutionaries willing to sacrifice everything for change 8

9. Vladimir Lenin Leader of the Bolsheviks Very organized Ruthless
Fled to western Europe to avoid arrest by the czarist regime
Maintained contact with the Bolsheviks
Father of the revolution 9

10. Chapter 2 Troubles a Brewin’
Revolutions in Russia
Chapter 2
Troubles a Brewin’

11. Workers were Growing Angry
Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin pushed for revolution
Lenin continued to build his influence until it was safe to return to Russia
…meanwhile…

12. Problems Nicholas Faced
Russo-Japanese defeat looked very bad.
Bloody Sunday
-Jan 1905, 200,000 workers and their families protested the czars winter palace
-Wanted job reforms
-Nicholas ordered soldiers to fire in the crowd
-1,000+ wounded several hundred killed
-Event provoked riots

13. WWI causes more problems
Suffering caused by WWI was the final blow against the czar’s rule
4 million Russian soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured
Czar lost control of Russia
Soldiers refused to fight
People were starving
Russia had withdrawn from the war…

14. The monarchy loses control
1915 Nicholas moved his headquarters to the war front- hoped to rally troops
His wife, Alexandra was left in charge of the country
Put all her trust and power in Rasputin- a self proclaimed “holy man”
1916 a group of nobles murdered Rasputin
Neither Nicholas or Alexandra proved capable of tackling these enormous problems.

15. Chapter 3 Losing Control
Revolutions in Russia
Chapter 3
Losing Control

16. Nicholas Loses Control!
Nicholas soon lost control.
Strikes, revolts and protests led to the March Revolution of 1917.
Czar Nicholas stepped down.

17. THE MARCH REVOLUTION
Women who worked in factories in Petrograd(St. Petersburg) stood in line after a 12 hour shift to purchase insanely priced bread.
10,000 women marched withthe slogan “Peace and Bread”
The women were joined by other workers creating a general strike.
Czar’s solution was to fire upon the crowds but the soldiers joined the movement instead!
&

18. Nic has to step down...
1917- Czar Nicholas is forced to abdicate his throne
The three century czarist rule of the Romanov’s finally collapsed
Year later revolutionaries executed Nicholas and his family
March Revolution succeeded in bringing down the Czar yet it failed to set up a strong government to replace it

19. Provisional Government
Someone needed to rule…
Provisional government was established,
(Provisional= temporary)
headed by Alexander Kerensky.
Continued fighting WWI
BAD idea lost support

20. Angry Peasants Demanded land City workers grew more radical
Soviets were formed local city councils consisting of workers, peasants, and soldiers
A political challenge erupted from local “Soviets”
Later, this group became stronger and were labeled as “Bolsheviks.”

21. Chapter 4 Bolshevik Revolution
Revolutions in Russia
Chapter 4
Bolshevik Revolution

22. Lenin Returns to Russia
German military leaders shipped Lenin to Russia from Switzerland by rail to “create disorder” within Russia.
Germany arranged Lenin’s return to Russia after many years in exile
April 1917: Traveled in a sealed railroad boxcar

23. BOLSHEVIKS REFLECT THE PEOPLES’ NEEDS AND DISCONTENT
Lenin revitalized slogans from the mad mother’s march to influence Russians
“Peace, Land, Bread”
Nov armed workers took control of government offices.
Kerensky’s reign had ended .

24. BOLSHEVIKS SEIZE POWER
A COUP WITHOUT BLOODSHED - Lenin takes over the provisional government at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg on
November 6, 1917.
Bolsheviks renamed themselves the Communists after Marxist ideas.
Lenin had promised peace so he signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk which took Russia out of WWI

25. Execution of the Romanovs
A year after the Czar abdicated
the entire royal family was murdered 25

26. Bolsheviks Have Power
Lenin ordered that all farmland be divided up amongst peasants and that workers take control of the factories.
He signed a truce with the Germans (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) in March The treaty got them out of the war, but it also meant a large loss of land. This made many Russians angry and they disliked the Bolsheviks and their policies.
This led to a civil war between the Bolsheviks and the people who wanted the autocracy (tsar) back.

27. New Economic Policy After the war the economy was a disaster.
In March 1921 Lenin began the New Economic Policy (NEP).
He allowed peasants to sell excess crops for profit instead of turning them over to the government.
Individuals were allowed to buy and sell goods for profit.
This went against the ideas of communism, but helped get the economy back on track.

28. Extra Credit Movie Recommendation: Dr. Zhivago
Based on a novel of the 1950s by Boris Pasternak
Tells the story of one man’s life and disillusionment with WWI, the Russian Revolution and subsequent Civil War
Classic, slow, beautiful; not a modern action film!