1. Russian Revolution
Miss Fisk

2. Czarist Controlled Russia
Czar Alexander III:
Came to power in 1881
Autocratic rule- the government had total control
To maintain autocratic rule:
Cracked down on political critics.
Censorship on published material
Wanted to maintain a uniform Russian culture:
Made Russian the official language-
Made Jews the target of persecution:
They could not buy land
Could not live among other Russians
Universities set quotas against Jews
Pogroms- organized violence against Jews.
Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra
Came to power in 1894 after the death of his father Alexander III
Upheld Autocratic rule

3. Economic Growth Sergey Witte- the Czar’s Minister
Launched a program to get the economy going
Number of factories doubled from
Enforced higher taxes
Foreign investments
Boosted the steel industry
Trans-Siberian Railway- World’s longest continuous rail line. Built from

4. Revolutionary Movement Grows
Reasons for the growth:
The growth of factories
Grueling working conditions
Low wages
Child labor
Trade unions are outlawed
Philosophy of Karl Marx
Workers should rule
Two groups of Russian Marxists
Mensheviks- broad base of support for revolution
Bolsheviks- small number of committed revolutionaries willing to commit to radical change

5. Revolutionary Movement Grows
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin)
Engaging personality
Great organizer
Extremely ruthless
Fled to western Europe to
avoid arrest by the Czar

6. Crisis at Home and Abroad
Russo-Japanese War:
Both countries are Imperialist
Wanted control of Korea and Manchuria
They signed a series of agreements over the territories but Russia broke them.
Japan attacks Port Arthur, Manchuria February 1904
Japan defeats Russia

7. Crisis at Home and Abroad
Bloody Sunday- January 22, 1905
Workers and families approached the Czar’s Winter Palace
The Czar wasn’t there but his generals and police chiefs were.
They fired on the crowd killing between 500 and unarmed people.
Czar Nicholas II promised one freedom
The creation of Duma- Russia’s first parliament
First meeting in May 1905
Constitutional monarchy-like Britain
Not wanting to share power, the Czar dissolved Duma after only 10 weeks.

8. Crisis at Home and Abroad
World War I:
1914 Czar Nicholas dragged Russia into the war
Russia was not ready for the economic or military costs of the war
After one year- 4 million Russians were killed, wounded or taken prisoner
1915 Nicholas II moved his headquarters to the front
He left his wife, Alexandra, to run the government while he was away

9. Rasputin Self-described “holy man”
The Czar’s son, Alexis, suffered from hemophilia
He seemed to ease Alexis’ symptoms
Rasputin was allowed to make key political decisions
He opposed reform measures
Gained positions for his friends
Spread corruption in the court
1916 he was murdered by a group of nobles. They thought he was getting to powerful in government affairs

10. March Revolution March 1917
Women textile workers led a strike in Petrograd
Riots flared up because of shortages in bread and fuel
200,000 workers swarmed the streets
Soldiers obeyed orders to shoot the rioters, but then joined in, firing on their superiors
Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate his throne
One year later, Nicholas and his family-wife, 3 daughters, one son, were murdered by Bolsheviks Revolutionaries
Rule of the Romanovs, which spanned over 3 centuries, was over.

11. March Revolution Czar removed from power
Set up a provisional government- or a temporary government.
Led by Alexander Kerensky
Kept Russia in war
Social revolutionaries, competing for power, formed soviets- local councils consisting of worker, peasants, and soldiers.

12. November Revolution Bolshevik Revolution
Germany arranges for Lenin to return to Russia.
Took control of Petrograd
November 1917, Lenin storms the Winter Palace in Petrograd.
Provisional government leaders were arrested and the government falls to the Bolsheviks

13. Russia under Lenin Distributes farmland to peasants
Gave control of factories to the workers
Signed a truce with Germany, starting peace talks
March 1918, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is signed giving Germany a large portion of land.
The loss of land sparked anger toward the Lenin and Bolsheviks

14. Civil War rages in Russia
Opponents to the Bolsheviks- White Army-Mensheviks
Leon Trotsky- led the Bolshevik Red Army
Civil War raged in Russia
U.S. and others sent aid to Russia to help the White Army.
15 million people died during the 3 year Civil War
Red Army Triumphs- shows it can seize power and maintain it.

15. Lenin Restores Order New Economic Policy- March 1921
Put aside desires for a state-controlled economy and resorted to a small scale version of capitalism
Peasants allowed to sell surplus crops
Could buy and sell goods for profit
Government still controlled major industries, banks, and communication
Small factories, businesses and farms were under private ownership
Encouraged foreign investment

16. Lenin Restores Order Political reforms
Many different nationalities in Russia posed an obstacle to national unity
Communist’s saw nationalism as a threat to unity and party loyalty
Lenin organized Russia into several self-governing republics under the central government
1922- Russia is renamed, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), honoring the councils that helped launch the revolution
The Bolsheviks renamed their party the Communist Party
1928 the USSR was finally producing what it had been before the war

17. Lenin Dies 1924 After suffering from several strokes
A new struggle begins for control of the party and the country
His body was embalmed preserving it to this day- continued treatment of the body is required to keep it looking fresh
He was placed in a bulletproof, glass walled coffin
A pyramid-Mausoleum was built to place the coffin in

20. Causes and Effects of the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
Effects
Widespread discontent of all the classes
Agitation from revolutionaries
Weak leadership of Czar Nicholas II
Defeat of Russo-Japanese War
Bloody Sunday
Losses of WWI
Strikes and riots
Abdication of the Czar
Failure of provisional government
Lenin’s return to Russia
Bolshevik takeover Under Lenin
Civil War
Czar and his family killed
Peace with Germany under Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Bolshevik Control of Government
Russian Economy in ruins