1. The Russian Revolution 1917 - WWII

2. Aftermath of WWI  There was widespread famine and economic collapse.  People didn’t want a war or a monarchy under the czar - non-elected monarch.  Karl Marx put forth the idea of Communism for the first time ( the collective ownership of property and the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members).

3. Social & Political Change  Peasants were over 80% of the population,  Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne in February, 1917 because of the hatred for the monarchy.  A short-lived provisional government still chose to involve itself in the war.  The intelligentsia (aristocrats) were HATED as was the class system.

4. The Revolution Begins  Involuntary labor in the armed forces (as conscripts) caused mutiny and desertion.  Soldiers gave their weapons to Socialist factory workers.  In 1917, the Bolsheviks were the majority party (of Socialists). Vladimir Lenin led the Bolshevik Communist Party.

5. Bolsheviks  They, the “Reds,” wanted to end anything related to WWII efforts.  They were at civil war with the Cossacks, “Whites,” until 1922. The “Whites” were supported by the Allied Powers.  Under their policy, there were no rival parties (Democratic Centralism) and no factions.

6.  The founded a secret police as a security force in 1917. It found counter- revolutionists and expelled them in the “Red Terror.” Hello, KGB.  They founded a newspaper called Pravda to distribute only their propaganda.  In 1922, they, together with the Ukraine and others, founded the Union of Soviet socialist Republics (USSR).  Lenin now adopted War Communism.

7. War Communism  It was the breakup of landed estates and the seizure of agricultural surpluses.  In 1921, under Kronstadt, rebels were crushed by Leon Trotsky who led the Bolsheviks under Lenin.  Lenin got the point and ended War Communism and instituted his New Economic Policy (NEP).

8. NEP  Under the NEP, the market was kind of open again.  USSR became the world’s greatest producer of grain.  With the extra money made on surplus being sold in the market, lower classes could afford to buy some of the old estates.  Unfortunately, Lenin died in 1924.

9. Trotsky v. Stalin  Trotsky didn’t like the NEP and lead the Left Opposition. He hated the fact that the NEP caused inflation, unemployment, and a wealthy class.  Joseph Stalin defeated him socially and politically and had him exiled and later killed by the secret police.  Later on, a letter from Lenin was found “warning against Stalin.”

10. Joseph Stalin  Stalin was a leftist in that he opposed market agriculture.  He was a rightist in that he promoted patriotism in Socialism and exporting to other countries.  He became a brutal, totalitarian dictator.

11. EVIL Stalin  He enlarged the secret police, ushered in the Cold War, and exported revolution.  Under his Gosplan, industrialization was accelerated. People worked 16-18 hour days. Treason and famine resulted, and 5-6 M died because of famine. Anti-Stalin supporters were put in labor camps as expendable resources.

12.  Stalin, in 1928, instituted “collectivization,” a plan where the state set the price for everything very low.  3.7 M were sentenced for counter- revolutionary causes. .6 M were sentenced to death.  2.4 M were sentenced to labor camps. .7 M were sentenced to expatriation.

13. Stalinist Propaganda  Employment rose  Social liberalization rose  And there was universal healthcare

14. What a wonderful leader...  Stalin had opponents assassinated in 2 Great Purges. He signed 40,000 death sentences personally.  Stalin signed a pact with Germany in 1939; Hitler invaded in n1941 after giving a warning to Stalin, which he ignored.

15. WWII’s Effect on the USSR  20 M Soviets died in WWII.  1 of every 3 deaths in WWII fighting was a Soviet citizen.  The policy of Stalin was a “scorched earth” policy where fleeing citizens were told to destroy their own resources rather than have the Nazis take them.  Eventually, the Soviets helped defeat Nazi Germany.