1. Chapter 14, Section 5: Revolution and Civil War in Russia
Section Summary
At the beginning of the 1900s, Russia had many political, economic, and social problems. Tsar Nicholas II resisted change. Marxists tried to ignite revolution among the proletariat. World War I quickly strained Russian resources. By March 1917, disasters on the battle- field and shortages at home brought the monarchy to collapse, and the tsar abdicated. While politicians set up a temporary government, revolutionary socialists set up soviets, or councils of workers and soldiers. These radical socialists were called Bolsheviks and were led by V. I. Lenin.
Lenin believed revolution could bring change. Leon Trotsky, another Marxist leader, helped Lenin lead the fight. To the weary Russian people, Lenin promised “Peace, Land, and Bread.” In November 1917, Lenin and the Bolsheviks, renamed Communists, overthrew the government and seized power.
After the Bolshevik Revolution, events in Russia led to the
nation’s withdrawal from World War I. After the withdrawal, civil war raged for three years between the Communist “Reds” and the “White” armies of tsarist imperial officers. The Russians now fought only among themselves.
The Communists shot the former tsar and his family. They orga- nized the Cheka, a brutal secret police force, to control their own people. Trotsky kept Red Army officers under the close watch of commissars—Communist Party officials. The Reds’ position in the center of Russia gave them a strategic advantage, and they defeated the White armies.
After the civil war, Lenin had to rebuild a shattered state and economy. The new nation was called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union. The Communist constitution set up an elected legislature. All political power, resources, and means of production would now belong to workers and peasants. In reality, however, the Communist Party, not the people, had all the power. Lenin did, however, allow some capitalist ventures that helped the Soviet economy recover. After Lenin’s death, party leader Joseph Stalin took ruthless steps to win total control of the nation.
Objectives
Explain the causes of the March Revolution.
Describe the goals of Lenin and the Bolsheviks in the November Revolution.
Outline how the Communists defeated their opponents in Russia’s civil war.
Analyze how the Communist state developed under Lenin.
Terms, People, and Places
proletariat
soviet
Cheka
commissar
CHECKPOINT Questions:
What provoked the March Revolution? Why did Germany want Lenin to return to Russia in 1917?
How were the Bolsheviks able to seize power from the provisional government?
How did the Red army defeat the White army to end the civil war?
How did the government and the economy under Lenin differ from “pure” communism?
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2. Chapter 16, Section 4: The Soviet Union Under Stalin
Section Summary
Under Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union grew into a totalitarian state, controlling all aspects of life, including agriculture, culture, art, and religion. The state also developed a command economy, in which it made all economic decisions. Stalin’s five-year plans set high production goals. Despite great progress in some sectors, products such as clothing, cars, and refrigerators were scarce. Stalin forced changes in agriculture, too. He wanted peasants to farm on either state-owned farms or collectives, large farms owned and operated by groups of peasants. Some peasants balked. Stalin believed that the kulaks were behind the resistance. He took their land and sent them to labor camps, where many died. In 1932, Stalin’s policies led to a famine that caused millions to starve.
The ruling Communist party used secret police, torture, and bloody purges to force people to obey. Those who opposed Stalin were rounded up and sent to the Gulag, a system of brutal labor camps. Fearing that rival party leaders were plotting against him, Stalin launched the Great Purge in Among the victims of this and other purges were some of the brightest and most talented people in the country.
Stalin demanded that artists and writers create works in a style called socialist realism. If they refused to conform to government expectations, they faced persecution. Another way Stalin controlled cultural life was to promote russification. The goal was to force peo- ple of non-Russian nationalities to become more Russian. The official Communist party belief in atheism led to the cruel treatment of reli- gious leaders.
The Communists destroyed the old social order. Instead of creat- ing a society of equals, Communist party members became the heads of society. Still, under communism most people enjoyed free medical care, day care for children, cheaper housing, and public recreation. Women had equal rights by law.
Soviet leaders had two foreign policy goals. They hoped to spread world revolution through the Comintern, or Communist International. At the same time, they wanted to ensure their nation’s security by winning the support of other countries. These contradic- tory goals caused Western powers to mistrust the Soviet Union.
Objectives
Describe the effects of Stalin’s five-year plans.
Explain how Stalin tried to control how people thought in the Soviet Union.
List communist changes to Soviet society.
Outline Soviet foreign policy under Stalin.
Terms, People, and Places
command economy
collective
kulaks
Gulag
socialist realism
russification
atheism
Comintern
CHECKPOINT Questions:
How did Stalin take control of the Soviet Union’s economic life?
How did Stalin use censorship and propaganda to support his rule?
How did Communist schools benefit the state and the Communist party?
How did the Soviet Union’s foreign policy goals contradict one another?
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3. Chapter 10, Section 5: Russia: Reform and Reaction
Section Summary
By 1815, Russia was the largest, most populous nation in Europe. The Russian colossus had immense natural resources. Reformers hoped to free Russia from autocratic rule, economic backwardness, and social injustice. One of the obstacles to progress was the rigid social structure. Another was that, for centuries, tsars had ruled with absolute power, while the majority of Russians were poor serfs.
Alexander II became tsar in 1855 during the Crimean War. Events in his reign represent the pattern of reform and repression of previous tsars. The war, which ended in a Russian defeat, revealed the country’s backwardness and inefficient bureaucracy. People demanded changes, so Alexander II agreed to some reforms. He ordered the emancipation of the serfs. He also set up a system of local, elected assemblies called zemstvos. Then he introduced legal reforms, such as trial by jury. These reforms, however, failed to sat- isfy many Russians. Radicals pressed for even greater changes and more reforms. The tsar then backed away from reform and moved toward repression. This sparked anger among radicals and, in 1881, terrorists assassinated Alexander II. In response to his father’s death, Alexander III revived harsh, repressive policies. He also suppressed the cultures of non-Russian peoples, which led to their persecution. Official persecution encouraged pogroms, or violent mob attacks on Jewish people. Many left Russia and became refugees.
Russia began to industrialize under Alexander III and his son Nicholas II. However, this just increased political and social prob- lems because nobles and peasants feared the changes industrializa- tion brought. News of military disasters added to the unrest. On Sunday, January 22, 1905, a peaceful protest calling for reforms turned deadly when the tsar’s troops killed and wounded hundreds of people. In the months that followed this “Bloody Sunday,” dis- content exploded across Russia. Nicholas was forced to make sweep- ing reforms. He agreed to summon a Duma. He then appointed a new prime minister, Peter Stolypin. Stolypin soon realized Russia needed reform, not just repression. Unfortunately, the changes he introduced were too limited. By 1914, Russia was still an autocracy, but the nation was simmering with discontent.
Objectives
Describe major obstacles to progress in Russia.
Explain why tsars followed a cycle of absolutism, reform, and reaction.
Understand why the problems of industrialization contributed to the outbreak of revolution.
Terms, People, and Places
colossus
Alexander II
Crimean War
emancipation
zemstvo
pogrom
refugees
Duma
Peter Stolypin
CHECKPOINT Questions:
Describe the social structure that existed in Russia during the 1800s.
How did Alexander III respond to the murder of his father?
How did Russia industrialize?
Why was Bloody Sunday a turning point for the Russians?
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