1. The Russian Revolution

2. Russia and World War I
War with Japan in 1905 and the Revolution of 1905 left Russia unprepared for total war during World War One.
- They were not equipped militarily or technologically to with stand the war
Russia did not have any competent military leaders
- This leads to Czar Nicholas II taking charge of the armed forces
- He himself did not have any military training
Adding on to this, Russian Industries were unable to produce the weapons needed for the war.
- Men were forced to train with brooms
- Many men were sent to the front lines with no rifles

3. Russia and WWI
Many men were told to pick up a gun from a dead soldier on the ground
Because of these conditions Russia suffered many losses during WWI
Between two million Russian soldiers were killed, and four million were either wounded or captured.
By 1917 the Russians had lost the will to fight in the Great War

4. The Beginning of the End
Russia was ruled under an autocracy with the leader being Czar Nicholas II
- relied on the army and bureaucracy to hold up his regime
He was often cut off from issues and events by his wife, who was German, Alexandra
- often described as willful and stubborn
Alexandra was heavenly influenced by a man named Grigori Rasputin
- she believed he was a holy man
Rasputin was an uneducated Siberian peasant who Alexandra believed healed her son
- The heir to the throne, Alexis, was a hemophiliac and the bleeding seemed to stop when Rasputin was around.

5. The Influence of Rasputin
During WWI the czar was often at the battlefront
This left Alexandra to make all the important decisions
She often demanded to consult with Rasputin on major decisions
- Rasputin’s influence on Alexandra made him the power behind the throne
He often took advantage of his influence and interfered in government affairs.
The government made several mistakes with the military and the economy
Due to those mistakes the Russian people became restless and upset

6. The Influence of Rasputin
Conservative aristocrats, supporters of the monarchy, felt like something had to be done.
They decided in December of 1916 to assassinate Rasputin, hoping it would save the monarchy
This was not an easy task

7. The Assassination of Rasputin
In December of 1916 the nobles lured Rasputin to the palace
- They gave him food and wine that was heavily laced with poison
- He showed no reaction to the poison which led the nobles to shoot him at close range
- He collapsed and they left him for dead
- Several hours later, however; he was revived and attempted to flee the palace grounds
- The conspirators caught him trying to flee, shoot him two more times, and beat him
- After all of this Rasputin was still alive so they tied him up and threw him into the freezing Neva River

8. The Assassination of Rasputin
Rasputin did eventually drown in the river, but not before he managed to untie the knots which bound him under the water
The assassination of Rasputin was not enough to save the monarchy, as the nobles had hoped.

9. The March Revolution
At the start of March in 1917 several strikes broke out among working class women
These strikes broke out in the Russian capital of Petrograd
Several weeks before the strikes, the government had started to ration bread, after the price of bread had increased drastically
Many women who stood in lines waiting for bread were also factory workers who worked 12 hour days.
On March 8 10,000 women marched through Petrograd demanding peace and bread, as well as shouting “down with autocracy.”
The women were soon joined by other workers, and by March 10th all factories had been shut down in the city.

10. The March Revolution
Czar Nicholas II ordered troops to stop the strikes by shooting the protestors if necessary
A large number of soldiers actually joined the protestors, and refused to shoot them
The Duma, the Russian legislative body, met with one another against the wishes of Nicholas II.
They established the provisional government
- consisted of middle- class Duma representatives
They urged the czar to step down from the throne, which he does on March 15, 1917
- This officially ends the 300 year reign of the Romanov dynasty

11. A Change in Government
The provisional government decides to carry on with WWI
The decision to remain in the war was a mistake for the new government
The Russian people wanted Russia to bow out of the war
- They were weary of the fighting, and suffering the war had caused
The new provisional government also faced opposition from a group called the soviets
- composed of representatives from workers and soldiers
- most soviets identified as socialists, and represented the radical interests of the lower class
- One of these soviet groups that played a crucial role were the Bolsheviks

12. The Rise of Lenin
The Bolsheviks start out as a small faction of a Marxist Party called the Russian Social Democrats
This group fell under the leadership of Vladimir Ilyich Ulianov, who becomes known as V. I. Lenin
Under Lenin’s direction the Bolshevik party became dedicated to violent revolution
Lenin believed only violent revolution could bring down the capitalist system
When the provisional government was established Lenin saw an opportunity for the Bolsheviks to take control

13. The Rise of Lenin
Prior to 1917 Lenin spent his time abroad in other countries.
In April of 1917 Lenin was in Germany, realizing how radical Lenin and his associates were, German authorities sealed them in a train and shipped them to Russia
- he was placed on a sealed train to prevent him from infecting Germany with his ideas
- they shipped him to Russia in hopes he would created disorder and chaos there
Lenin’s plan was for the Bolsheviks to gain control of the soviets of soldiers, workers, and peasants
- he wanted to use them to overthrow the provisional government

14. The Rise of Lenin The Bolsheviks promised the people:
- an end to the war
- the redistribution of land to the peasants
- the transfer of factories and industries form capitalists to committees of workers
- the transfer of government power to soviets
“Peace, Land, Bread” “Worker Control of Production” “All Power to the Soviets”

15. The Bolsheviks Seize Power
By the end of October the Bolsheviks made up a small majority of the Petrograd and Moscow soviets
The leader of the Petrograd soviet, Leon Trotsky, was a dedicated revolutionist
- He helped make it possible for the Bolsheviks to seize power
On November 6th the Bolsheviks seized the Winter Palace, the seat of the provisional government.
The provisional government collapsed with little bloodshed

16. The Bolsheviks Seize Power
While the overthrow of the provisional government took place, so did a meeting in Petrograd of the all Russian Congress of Soviets
- This represented local soviets from all over Russia
Outwardly Lenin turned over the power of the provisional government to the Congress of Soviets
- In reality the real power went to a Council of People’s Commissars which was led and controlled by Lenin
The Bolsheviks later rename themselves the Communists, and they knew they had to fulfill promises made to the people.

17. Russia Removes Itself from the War
Russia bowing out of the war came at a price
On March 3, 1918 Lenin signed the Treaty of Brestlitovsk
Under this treaty Russia was required to give up the territories of eastern Poland, the Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic provinces.
The heavy loss of land was of course humiliating to Russia
- Lenin, however, believed the treaty would be irrelevant once the spread of socialist revolutions took off throughout Europe
This was the attempt of the Bolsheviks to make good on their promise for peace
Peace, however, does not truly come because Russia soon goes into a civil war

18. Civil War in Russia
Many people in Russia opposed the new Communist regime
Such people included
- those loyal to the czar
- liberals
- anti- Lenin socialists
The Allied Powers also join on this side due to concerns about the Communist takeover
The Allies sent thousands of troops to several locations throughout Russia in hopes of bringing Russia back into the war
- they rarely fought in Russia, but provided anti-Communist forces with material aid

19. Civil War in Russia After 1920 the Communist regime regained control
The royal family were victims of the civil war
The royal family had been taken into captivity after Nicholas II abdicated the throne
In April 1918 they were moved to Ekaterinburg
On the night of July members of the local soviet murdered the czar, his wife, and their five children
- they buried their bodies in a nearby mine shaft

21. Triumph of the Communists
Lenin and the Communists triumphed over what seemed like overwhelming forces.
One reason they were able to do so was because the Red Army was well disciplined, and was a true fighting force
- Credit for the Red Army went to Leon Trotsky, the commissar of war
- He reinstated the military draft and insisted on rigid discipline for the troops
- He had soldiers who deserted or disobeyed orders executed on the spot
Disunity among the anti- Communist forces hurt their effort against the Communists

22. Triumph of the Communists
The Communists translated their revolutionary faith into practical instruments of power
War communism was used to ensure regular supplies for the Red Army
- government control of banks, control of industries, seizing of grain from peasants, and centralization of state administration under Communist control
The Communists also made use of revolutionary terror
They created a new Red secret police, or Cheka,
- started Red Terror aimed at the destruction of all those who opposed the new regime
Foreign troops being on the ground in Russia allowed the Communists to appeal to Russian patriotism

23. Triumph of the Communists
By 1921 the Communists were in total command of Russia
Over the course of the civil war the regime transformed Russia into a centralized state dominated by a single party
From this point on Russia becomes largely hostile to the Allied powers due to the help they gave to Communists’ enemies during the Civil War.