1. BIRTH OF COMMUNISM RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

2. TSAR NICHOLAS II Under Nicholas II the country was beginning to fail Industrialization was lagging behind Soldiers were not prepared to fight and suffered great casualties The Tsar led troops in WWI and neglected his duties at home Alexandra and Rasputin

3. MARCH REVOLUTION March 1917: Quote 789 March 8, women’s day, women called for a strike and wanted “peace and bread” Alexandra says its not a big deal to Nicholas II Guards start to shoot at the women and men but then switch sides Duma comes back and meets and kicks out Nicholas II March 15 Constitutional Democrats led the Provisional Government Mostly middle class men they wanted a shortened work day, suffrage, and civil equality

4. THE SOVIETS Soviets, more radical group of workers, divide into two groups Mensheviks wanted a socialist democracy (like Fabian Socialists) Bolsheviks, Marxist group, was led by Lenin Shipped to Siberia early in life and then exile to Switzerland for leading underground Marxist groups

5. APRIL THESES April 20, 1917 Lenin made it back to Russia Lenin claimed that if they could get the backing of soldiers, poor and workers they could remove the provisional government Lenin promised “peace, land, and bread” and worker control of production

6. BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION July 1917, Alexander Kerensky becomes prime minister in the new government and releases Bolshevik prisoners Leon Trotsky helps popularize the Bolshevik movement with Lenin in exile Nov 6-8 Provisional government is destroyed with little bloodshed and Lenin made the ruler Breaks up the Constituent Assembly which had just voted a new congress by force

7. LENIN MAKES GOOD ON PROMISES First law Lenin makes nationalizes the land Alexandra Kollontai helps create more equality between men and women Zhenotdel Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed in March of 1918 officially withdraws Russia from WWI Fight between the Reds and Whites continues but Bolshevik red win and take territories

8. NO MORE TSAR Nicholas and family taken to Tobolsk, Siberia and then Ekaterinburg in July of 1918 and executed Whites inability to come to a consensus compared with the Red single minded effort allowed for Bolshevik victory Whites also seemed less patriotic relying on foreign powers War Communism acted like Total War efforts Cheka helped Bolsheviks maintain power with violence and terror