1917 1939 The Russian Revolution Rise of Totalitarianism

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1917 - 1939 The Russian Revolution & Rise of Totalitarianism

1917 - 1939 The Russian Revolution & Rise of Totalitarianism

The Russian Revolution • Background: • What problems did Russia experience that made it

The Russian Revolution • Background: • What problems did Russia experience that made it ripe for revolution?

 • February (March) Revolution Causes: 1917 – Inept leadership (Duma had no real

• February (March) Revolution Causes: 1917 – Inept leadership (Duma had no real power) – Calls for a constitution – Corruption in Bureaucracy – World War I: • Strained Russian resources • Factories could not turn out enough supplies • Transportation system broke down • Many soldiers had no rifles and no ammunition • Large amounts of Russian causalities – Rasputin – Who, How?

February (March) Revolution 1917 • IMMEDIATE CAUSE: Petrograd Strikes in 1917 – Workers go

February (March) Revolution 1917 • IMMEDIATE CAUSE: Petrograd Strikes in 1917 – Workers go on strike in St. Petersburg (Petrograd) 1917 – WHY? ? ? ? What group starts the strikes? – Troops refused to fire on demonstrators so the government could not perform and was helpless – Czar abdicates

Effects of the February (March) Revolution • • Duma set up provisional government under

Effects of the February (March) Revolution • • Duma set up provisional government under Kerensky – Begin liberal reforms – Did NOT help the peasants – Did NOT take Russia out of the war Revolutionary socialists (Bolsheviks) plotted their own case – Set up Soviets – councils of workers and soldiers – in certain cities – Petrograd Soviet very influential and dominated by Bolsheviks

Vladimir Lenin • • At 17, Lenin’s brother was hanged for plotting to kill

Vladimir Lenin • • At 17, Lenin’s brother was hanged for plotting to kill the czar – hated monarchy ever since Adapted Marxist ideas to fit Russian conditions – Marx said that the industrial working class would overthrow capitalism, but Russia did not have a large urban proletariat – He believed the peasants could be included in the revolution – Lenin called for an “elite” to rise up – the Bolsheviks, or Majority” To set up a dictatorship of the proletariat – Rejected socialist revisionism (western Europe) they believed more could be achieved for workers through democratic means than revolution – Bolsheviks rejected this. • Lenin said that only revolution could bring about the necessary changes.

 • The October (November) Revolution Causes – Provisional government not helping the people

• The October (November) Revolution Causes – Provisional government not helping the people – Kept Russia in the war – Communism has been spreading throughout the cities by way of the Bolsheviks – Kronstadt Sailors and military begin to support the revolution

The October (November) Revolution • Events: – Lenin in exile in 1917 – Germans

The October (November) Revolution • Events: – Lenin in exile in 1917 – Germans rush him back to Russia – why? – Leon Trotsky assisted Lenin in planning the revolution – Lenin and the Bolsheviks promised the people “Peace, Land Bread” – 1917 provisional government launched a disastrous effort against Germany • Troops mutinied – Bolsheviks & squads of Red Guards take over and seize the provisional government – Moscow becomes the headquarters

 • The October (November) Revolution Effects: – First communist government in history –

• The October (November) Revolution Effects: – First communist government in history – Ended private ownership of land, and distributed land to peasants – Workers were given control of the factories and mines – Russian Civil war

Russian Civil War • • Causes: Civil war lasted three years – Reds –

Russian Civil War • • Causes: Civil war lasted three years – Reds – or communists who supported the Bolsheviks – Whites – counterrevolutionaries who remained loyal to the czar – Nationalist groups in some Russian territories broke free while others were not as successful – Allied powers in WWI assisted the whites in hope that they would eventually assist them in the fight against Germany This 1919 Bolshevik poster shows the three White generals Denikin, Kolchak and Yudenich as three vicious dogs who are under the control of America, France and Britain.

Effects of the Civil War • Effects: – Communists win – Cheka - executed

Effects of the Civil War • Effects: – Communists win – Cheka - executed ordinary citizens & killed the Romanovs – Lenin’s War Communism – tried to set up order • Took over banks, Mines, Factories, Railroads • • Peasants forced to deliver “surplus” food to hungry people in the cities Peasant laborers were drafted into the military or into factory work Commissars – communist party officials assigned to the army to teach party principles and ensure party loyalty Final result: Hunger, famine and disease plagued the country

 • • • Building The Communist USSR Government – 1922 Constitution • Elected

• • • Building The Communist USSR Government – 1922 Constitution • Elected legislature (Supreme Soviet) • Gave all citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote • All political power, resources, and means of production would belong to workers and peasants USSR – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics – multinational state that encompassed European and Asian peoples – In theory all republics shared equal rights Comintern (Third Communists International) --created in 1919 – Was to serve as the preliminary step of the International Republic of Soviets towards the world wide victory of Communism

Economics under Lenin’s NEP • Moved away from War communism – which almost collapsed

Economics under Lenin’s NEP • Moved away from War communism – which almost collapsed the economy • 1921 Lenin adopts New Economic Policy or NEP – Was it successful? – How do you know? – Why?

Effects of Lenin’s NEP • This was a compromise with capitalism, and it helped

Effects of Lenin’s NEP • This was a compromise with capitalism, and it helped the economy – 1928 – food and industrial production were back at pre-war levels – Standard of living improved – Lenin saw NEP as temporary

Lenin’s Impact on Soviet Society • Old social structure abolished – titles for nobility

Lenin’s Impact on Soviet Society • Old social structure abolished – titles for nobility ended • Loss of influence for the Greek Orthodox Church • Women gained equality (in theory) • Russians had greater expectation of freedom than they had during the Tsar's regime

From Lenin to Stalin • Lenin dies in 1924 suddenly • Contenders Trotsky and

From Lenin to Stalin • Lenin dies in 1924 suddenly • Contenders Trotsky and Stalin • Josef Stalin Became secretary in the Party • Lenin didn’t like him • Stalin shrewd politician able to get rid of Trotsky – fled in 1929 • Stalin – Totalitarian dictator

Totalitarianism • Totalitarianism is an attempt by a government to have total control of

Totalitarianism • Totalitarianism is an attempt by a government to have total control of society – Features: • Single party dictatorship • State control of economy • Use of police, spies and terror to enforce the will of the state • Strict censorship and government monopoly of the media • Use of schools and the media to indoctrinate and mobilize citizens • Unquestioning obedience to a single leader

17. 7 Stalinist Russia • Stalin’s Five Year Plans – What was the Goal?

17. 7 Stalinist Russia • Stalin’s Five Year Plans – What was the Goal? – Why did he move away from the NEP? • USSR developed Command Economy: – Definition?

Five Year Plans: Agriculture • What was the purpose of collectives? • How do

Five Year Plans: Agriculture • What was the purpose of collectives? • How do you think peasants felt about the collectives? • Who were the Kulaks? – Why would Stalin be nervous about them?

Results of the Five Year Plans: Industrial • Mixed Industrial Results 1939: – Positives:

Results of the Five Year Plans: Industrial • Mixed Industrial Results 1939: – Positives: – Negatives: • • Quotas: Standard of Living: International Trade: Quality: – How does this compare to the NEP?

Effects of Five Year Plans: Agriculture • How did peasants resist collectivization? – On

Effects of Five Year Plans: Agriculture • How did peasants resist collectivization? – On the collectives: – In regards to food: • Stalin’s response? – Forced Famine in the Ukraine – Liquidation of the Kulaks

Holodomor “Death by Forced Starvation” (Ukrainian) • • • Ukrainian genocide that began in

Holodomor “Death by Forced Starvation” (Ukrainian) • • • Ukrainian genocide that began in 1929. Man-made famine by Stalin’s government in reaction against the peasant and kulak response to collectivization and/or against Ukrainian nationalism Characteristics: – Massive waves of deadly deportations of Ukraine's most successful farmers, the Kulaks – Deportations and executions of Ukraine's religious, intellectual and cultural leaders – destruction of Ukraine's political leadership, the resettlement of Ukraine's depopulated areas with other ethnic groups, the prosecution of those who dared to speak of the famine publicly, and the consistent blatant denial of famine by the Soviet regime. – Early estimates of the death toll by scholars and government officials varied greatly; anywhere from 1. 8 to 12 million ethnic Ukrainians were said to have perished as a result of the famine. • Why do you think it is so hard to estimate a specific number of casualties?

Holodomor “Death by Forced Starvation” (Ukrainian) • On November 28 th 2006, the Verkhovna

Holodomor “Death by Forced Starvation” (Ukrainian) • On November 28 th 2006, the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine) passed a decree defining the Holodomor as a deliberate Act of Genocide. • Although the Russian government continues to call Ukraine's depiction of the famine a "one-sided falsification of history, " it is recognized as genocide by approximately two dozen nations, and is now the focus of considerable international research and documentation.

Holodomor DC Memorial

Holodomor DC Memorial

The Great Purges (1934) • Why does Stalin purge society? • Who is removed?

The Great Purges (1934) • Why does Stalin purge society? • Who is removed? • “Show Trials” – Many tired and convicted – sent to labor camps • Gulag System – Why did he have these? • What effect will this have on Stalin’s Army in World War II?

Soviet Foreign Policy 1917 - 1939 • Pursued 2 different types of goals –

Soviet Foreign Policy 1917 - 1939 • Pursued 2 different types of goals – Communists, They wanted to bring about the worldwide revolution that Marx predicted – As Russians, they wanted to guarantee their nation’s security by winning the support of other countries – Unsuccessful • What was the purpose of the Comitern? • Why was the West suspicious of the USSR? • USSR slowly gained recognition from western governments and were allowed to join the league of nations

Totalitarianism Under Stalin • Terror – How did Stalin terrorize society? – Why would

Totalitarianism Under Stalin • Terror – How did Stalin terrorize society? – Why would a government terrorize their own people? • Propaganda – How? – Why? • War on Religion: Atheism official religion – Why would communism foster atheism?

Society Under Stalin • Social Benefits: For all – Free education, medical care; daycare,

Society Under Stalin • Social Benefits: For all – Free education, medical care; daycare, inexpensive housing, public transportation and recreation – Positive or negative? • Changes in Soviet Society – Was there a social class system? – Who were the New Elite? • How did they benefit under Stalin?

Society Under Stalin • Education – Adult literacy – What was focused on? –

Society Under Stalin • Education – Adult literacy – What was focused on? – Why? • Women – Women won equality under the law of communism – Why? – Alexandra Kollontai – pushed for Women’s equality • Youth group organized - Kosomol

Arts and the State • Lenin: “Art must serve politics” • Socialist realism: Stalin

Arts and the State • Lenin: “Art must serve politics” • Socialist realism: Stalin forced artists to conform to socialist realism: boost socialism by showing Soviet life in a positive way • Is this an example of censorship?