1. Terms to Know Vocabulary: Identify: Proletariat Soviet commissar
Nicholas & Alexandria
Rasputin
Bolsheviks
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2. Two Revolutions in Russia
Russian Revolution
Two Revolutions in Russia
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3. The Romanov Dynasty
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4. Russian Empire
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5. March Revolution Russia larges nation in the world even today! 1914 :
Backward nation dominated by landowning nobles and an autocratic Czar
Majority of population peasants that endured stark poverty
Industrialization was creating a new middle class and working class
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6. Long Term Unrest Czars had attempted reforms
Duma was set up after 1905 revolution – no real power
Too few to ease nation’s problems
Nicholas II – weak and ineffectual
Blocked attempts to limit his power
Relied on secret police to enforce his will
Government was corrupt
Czar Nicholas II
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7. Long Term Unrest
Proletariat – the growing class of factory and railroad workers, miners, and urban wage earners.
Revolutionaries hatched plots to overthrow the Czar.
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8. Impact of World War I Outbreak of WWI fired up Russian nationalism
War quickly strained Russian resources
Transportation system broke down
Factories unable to keep up with demand
By 1915, soldiers had no weapons or supplies
2 million soldiers died in just one year of war
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9. Impact of WWI Nicholas II went to front to take charge
Czar was as incompetent as his generals
Left Czarina in charge
Distrusted by people – she was from Germany
Knew little about government
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10. Rasputin Alexandra followed a self-proclaimed ‘holy man’
Illiterate peasant
Powerful personality with a reputation as a healer
Thought to have helped her son that suffered from hemophilia.
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11. Rasputin His influence over Czarina weakened the government.
Officials appointed or dismissed at his say so
Alexandra ignored warnings about him.
Russian nobles killed him in 1916
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12. Collapse of the Monarchy
By March 1917, monarchy on verge of collapse because of:
Disasters on the battlefield
Food and fuel shortages
Workers went out on strike
Women marched for bread
Troops refused to fire on protestors
Czar’s advisors urged him to abdicate .
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13. Collapse of the Monarchy
Duma set up a provisional government
Began preparing to set up Russian Republic
Continued war against Germany
Fatal mistake
Russians were tired of war
Soldiers deserting
Peasants wanted land
Workers demanded food and end to shortages
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14. Collapse of the Monarchy
Revolutionary socialist plotted their own course.
Set up soviets – or councils of workers/soldiers
Worked democratically at first
Bolsheviks took charge – (radical group)
Leader of Bolsheviks – V.I. Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
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15. Lenin and the Bolsheviks
Lenin was born in 1870; middle class family
Older brother arrested and hanged for plotting against the Czar.
Lenin developed a hatred of the czarist govt.
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16. Lenin
Adopted the works of Karl Marx and spread ideas among factory workers
1895 He was arrested and sent to Siberia
After released- went into exile in Switzerland
Worked around the clock to spread revolutionary ideas
Karl Marx
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17. New View of Marx Bolsheviks means majority
Marx predicted industrial workers would overthrow capitalism
Russia didn’t have a large industrial worker class or proletariat
Called on an elite group to lead the revolution and set up a “dictatorship of the proletariat”
He called this group “Bolsheviks”
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18. Western European View on Socialism
Socialism would be achieved through gradual and moderate reforms such as:
Higher wages
Increased suffrage
Social welfare programs
Bolsheviks rejected this – called for revolution to bring about changes.
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19. Lenin returns from Exile
Germans saw a chance to weaken Russia by returning Lenin
Greeted in St. Petersburg (Petrograd) by former prisoners of the Czar.
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20. The November Revolution
“Peace, Land, and Bread” – promised by the Bolsheviks and Lenin
Lenin was assisted by Leon Trotsky – another revolutionary
Russia launched a failed offensive against Germany
Troops mutinied
Peasants seized land from fearful landlords
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21. The Bolsheviks Take Over
November 1917 – the Red Guards – armed factory workers – attacked the provisional govt.
Members of the government were meeting in the Winter Palace –
Gave up to the Bolsheviks without a struggle
Moscow became the capital and the Kremlin their headquarters
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22. Bolsheviks in Charge Ended private ownership of land
Distributed it to peasants
Workers given control of factories and mines
New flag – hammer and sickle symbolizing peasants and workers.
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23. Bolsheviks in Charge
Millions thought they had at last gained control over their lives.
Bolsheviks – renamed Communist – would soon become their masters!
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24. Russian Civil War After Bolshevik Revolution:
Russia signed peace treaty with Germany
Given up big areas of territory
Cost were high – but Communist needed all their energy to defeat enemies at home.
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25. Opposing Forces Civil War raged for three years:
“Reds” – were the Communist
“Whites” – counterrevolutionaries loyal to Czar
Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania broke free from Russia
Ukraine, Caucasus and Central Asia subdued under the Communist.
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27. Opposing Forces Allied forces of WWI tried to help the “White” forces
Japan seized land in East Asia
Allied presence did little to help
Reds appealed to nationalism
Allied invasion fed Communist distrust of the West
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28. Questions to Ponder What were the causes of the March Revolution?
Why were the Bolsheviks able to seize power in November 1917?
Describe the opposing forces in the Russian Civil War.
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