1. The Russian Revolution
Section 23.3

2. How is Russia doing in the war?
Czar Nicholas insists on leading army
Not enough weapons
In two years
2 million soldiers died
4-6 million captured or wounded

3. Beginnings of Upheaval
Alexandra trusts this guy

4. The March Revolution
Series of strikes by working-class women in Petrograd
Guess what they’re out of?
Alexandra doesn’t see this as a problem
Nicholas tells the army to shoot if necessary

5. Alexander Kerensky The Czar steps down Head of provisional government
Decided to keep Russia in WWI

6. Soviets
Councils composed of representatives from the workers and soldiers
Made up of mostly socialists
Bolsheviks
Small faction of a Marxist party
Dedicated to violent revolution
Well-disciplined professional revolutionaries

7. Vladimir Lenin Sent to Russia by the Germans to cause chaos
Plan: Bolsheviks should use the soviets to overthrow provisional government
After the war they would
Give land back to peasants
Transfer capital to committees
Turn the government over to the soviets

8. The Bolsheviks Seize Power
Seized the winter place (little bloodshed)
Who’s in power now?
Council of People’s Commissars (Communists)
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Gets Russia out of the war
Forced to give up Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic provinces

9. Civil War in Russia Communists vs. Anti-Communists
Allies take the Anti-Communist side
Communists win and reconquer land
Sidenote: Royal family murdered and burned

10. Triumph of the Communists
Leon Trotsky
Organizational Genius
War Communism
Gov’t control of the banks, industries, & grain
Centralization under communist control