Revolutions in Russia Chapter 14 Section 1 Objectives

Revolutions in Russia Chapter 14 Section 1

Objectives • To examine the causes of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia • To investigate the events of the Bolshevik Revolution and its effects

terms • Proletariat – workers or working-class people, regarded collectively (often used with reference to Marxism • Bolsheviks – a member of the majority faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party, which was renamed the Communist Party after seizing power in the October Revolution of 1917. • Lenin – The architect of Russia's 1917 Bolshevik revolution and the first leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. • Rasputin – was a Russian peasant, mystical faith healer, and trusted friend of the family of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of the Russian Empire.

terms • Provisional government – also called an interim or transitional government is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition, generally in the cases of new nations, or following the collapse of the previous governing administration. • Soviet – an elected local, district, or national council in the former Soviet Union. • Communist Party – is a political party that advocates the application of the social and economic principles of communism through state policy. The name originates from the • Joseph Stalin – Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition

Video

Reading • Chapter 13 Section 1

Homework • Chapter 14 Section 1 • 433 -439 • 3, 4, 5

• 3. How did world war 1 help to bring about the Russian Revolution? – Troop morale low, fuel and food shortages at home • 4. What groups made up the Red Army? – Red Army-the Bolsheviks – White Army-three factions of opposition to Red Army (czarists, democrats, anti-Lenin socialist • 5. Why did the Bolsheviks rename their party the communist Party? – Communism was Karl Marx’s name for a classless society and “dictatorship of the proletariat. ”

Russian Revolution handout Russian Revolution Causes • 1. Why was Russia considered a dinosaur by the 20 th century? – Russia was far behind the rest of Western Europe both political y (with an Absolute Monarchy), and economical y (with feudalism) • 2. What combined to create revolution in Russia? – The desire for improved conditions would combine with liberal thought and new political philosophy to create an earth-shattering revolution.

• 3. What was the political situation in Russia in 1900? – In the 1900 s, the Czar (Czar-from the word Cesar) • 4. why did the Czars resist change? – They did not wish to relinquish an ounce of their power. • 5. Which Czar made changes? – Czar Alexander II • What changes did he make? – He emancipated the serfs in 1861 • 6. What was the long range effect of the assassination of Alexander II? – The next Czars cracked down on any reform movements and fully utilized brutal police methods.

• 7. Describe the economic situation in Russia. – Russia was, for the most part, still feudal • 8. Where did most people work in Russia in 1900? – 90% of the people were peasant farmers, and therefore they were very poor. • 9. What percentage of the workforce was industrial? – In 1914, only 1. 6% of its workforce worked in factories • How did that compare to the rest of Europe? – 40% of the British workforce worked in factories.

• 10. What types of conditions did these industrial workers face – The working conditions in these factories were horrible. Laborers worked long hours for low pay with dangerous machines, and they had no job security. • 11. What was the 1905 Russo-Japanese war fought over? – Territory in Korea • What was the result? – Russia suffered a humiliating defeat-as only European nation to lose a war to an Asian nation in the Imperialist era?

• 12. What was Bloody Sunday? – A peaceful march to the Czar Nicholas II’s palace on January 9, 1905 to protest their dreadful working conditions. • 13. What was the result? – Thousands of men, women & children died.

Immediate Cause • 1. What was the Czar forced to grant in the wake of Bloody Sunday? – A Duma — or parliament • 2. Despite this, why did the people of Russia continue to have almost no say in government? – The Duma was often ignored by the Czar, or worse, was actually dissolved by the Czar. Therefore it had little power, and almost no ability to effect political change. • 3. What was the size of Russia’s army at the start of World War I? – 5 million men

• 4. Why were they poorly equipped? – Due to Russia’s lack of industrial development and disrupted supply lines, the soldiers were poorly equipped. • 5. Explain three major obstacles Russian soldiers faced. – a. Soldiers at the front had no weapons or ammunition, and they were encouraged to take whatever weapons they could find off of dead bodies. – b. Soldiers rarely had enough to eat, and were forced to forage for their food. – c. The Russian army was led by a series of incompetent generals. • 6. Describe Russian casualties by 1916. – The Russians had lost 1. 6 million men, with 2 million as prisoners of war and another 1 million missing for a staggering total of nearly 5 million.

• 7. What caused inflation in Russia? – The Russian government printed money in order to finance the war. • 8. How did this impact people? – The cost of products went up, but wages did not, and the people of Russia, who already suffered from terrible conditions, were forced to endure food shortages. • 9. How did peasants react to the inflation? – Peasants began hoarding grain, and using a barter system since they could not get enough money for their harvests. • 10. How did urban residents react to food shortages? – Riots broke out in St. Petersburg and Moscow, as food became scarce and residents began starving. People broke into granaries (storage places for grain) to steal stored food that the government had stockpiled.

• 11. What was the response of the police and army to the riots? – Police officials sent to stop the riots often ended up joining the rioters, and thousands of soldiers deserted the army daily in order to go home and protect their families. • 12. Why did the Czar abdicate his throne? – The protests were so widespread that the Czar was forced to abdicate (give up) his throne. • 13. What political structure was set up in the wake of the abdication? Who led it? – Alexander Kerensky led the Duma and headed what would be known as the Provisional Government.

The Provisional Government • 1. What changes did Kerensky attempt to make? – He promoted freedom of speech, and freed thousands of political prisoners. • 2. What problems did the Provisional government face? – The Provisional government faced the same problems as the Czarist government —namely food shortages, heavy military losses and traitorous groups seeking to overthrow them. • 3. What group was pressuring the new government? – The Bolsheviks.

• 4. What was their slogan? Why did it draw followers? – Land, Peace and Bread, the Bolsheviks were able to focus on Russia’s biggest concerns, and were able to draw many peasant followers. • 5. Why were the Allies pressuring Kerensky to stay in World War I? – The Allies wanted the Russians to continue to split the German war effort into two fronts. • 6. Why did Kerensky feel pressure from the Russian peasantry? – The government was under tremendous pressure from the Russian peasantry to enact some type of land reform. • 7. What decisions did Kerensky make, and what were his reasons for making them? – a. The government resisted making land reform right away – b. The government chose to remain in World War I.

• 8. Who was Vladimir Illych Lenin? – A dangerous revolutionary who had been exiled from Russia for seditious (treasonous) behavior. • 9. Who helped Lenin get back to Russia? – GERMANY!! • 10. Why did Lenin have to travel on a sealed • train? – He was so dangerous that Germany insisted on a sealed train! • 11. Why (do you think) Germany delivered Lenin to Russia? – To create problems for Russia… possibly revolution.

• 12. What happened when Lenin arrived in Russia? – Once he arrived in St. Petersburg, he began making trouble for the Provisional government. He called for an end to the war and a re-distribution of the land. Peasants flocked to his side. • 13. What were the Soviets? – Locally elected leadership councils. • 14. What was the Bolshevik symbol? What did it represent? – The symbol of the Bolsheviks and the soviets was the joined hammer and sickle, which represented the workers and peasants.

The Bolshevik Revolution • 1. How did the Bolsheviks go about overthrowing the government? – Small groups of Bolsheviks seized control of government buildings, telephone & telegraph buildings, railroad stations, electric plants, and other transportation stations in St. Petersburg (and later in Moscow). By holding the main buildings of these cities, they essentially held the government hostage and demanded they relinquish power. • 2. Why did the Provisional government relinquish power? – The Provisional government was unsure of their police or army support. • 3. What was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk? – It was the Treaty between Germany and Russia which withdrew Russia from WWI.

• 4. Why did the Bolsheviks sign it? – They had promised peace. It was a campaign promise. Plus, the peasants expected it. • 5. What was the cost of this Treaty to Russia? – They gave up an enormous amount of land (which housed 25% of their overall population), and 90% of their coal mines. • 6. Why did the Bolsheviks have to fight a civil war? – The Bolsheviks had control of the major cities in Russia, and had various soviets scattered throughout the nation, but were far from controlling the entirety of the world’s largest country. Opposition to the Bolsheviks was strong and scattered throughout the nation.

• 7. Who were the ‘whites’? – ‘The Whites’ and included upper and middle classes, many peasants, and foreign countries. • 8. Why were the Bolsheviks called the ‘reds? ’ – Since the Bolsheviks were communist, their supporters were known as ‘The Reds’, and their army was the Red Army. (Red is the color of revolution and often associated with communism. ) • 9. Why did foreign nations help the ‘whites’? – Foreign countries like the USA, Britain & France sent troops to defeat the Reds because communism was considered a major threat to world political stability. • 10. Why did the Bolsheviks kill the Czar and his family? – The Bolsheviks killed the Czar & his whole family so that they could not serve as a rallying point for his ’white’ supporters.

• 11. Who won? – The Reds (Bolsheviks). • 12. Why were western nations threatened by communism? – Marx had written about a world-wide communist revolution, and many western democratic nations feared that Russia would attempt to forcibly spread communism. • 13. Why did the worsening economic situation contribute to this fear? – The Great Depression fed into the fear that capitalism was failing. • 14. What was the Red Scare? – An era of the fear of communism.

The Soviet State Key • 1. Explain the economic dilemma Lenin faced in 1921. – Since Russia was not widely industrialized, Lenin’s dilemma was whether to adhere to the principles of communism by allowing public ownership of all things, or to promote rapid economic growth through capitalism (which was the opposite of communism in terms of private ownership). • 2. What was Lenin’s NEP? – The New Economic Plan (NEP) allowed for some capitalism to exist in small businesses and agriculture, but the state seized control of heavy industry and infrastructure. • 3. How did it represent a compromise of Lenin’s communist principles? – It allowed some capitalism in a communist system.

• 4. What touched off the struggle for power in ? 1924 – Lenin’s death. • 5. How did Stalin and Trotsky compete for power? – Stalin had become the head of the communist party structure, while Trotsky and others were positioned high up in the government structure. • 6. How did the competition end up? – Stalin used his power base within the party to isolate and then eliminate his enemies. Trotsky fled the country, but Stalin sent out assassins who caught up with him in Mexico in 1940. Stalin’s power was absolute. • 7. What is a cult of personality? – A cult in which the persona of the leader is glorified

• 8. Why did Stalin foster it? – To convince people that he was larger than life and universally popular. • 9. How and why did Stalin use the NKVD? – In order to maintain his popularity, Stalin carefully guarded himself from criticism. He used the NKVD, or secret police to arrest or kill any opponents. • 10. What is life like in a Totalitarian state? – Not good. Repressive, and fearful. People feared arrest at every turn. • 11. Why did Stalin scrap the NEP? – He wanted to move rapidly toward full industrialization and equality with the West. • 12. What were the 5 year plans? – The plans set a 5 year goals in agriculture and industry which were expected to be met.

• 13. How did the 5 year plans change agriculture? – Stalin ordered agriculture collectivized. The result was disastrous. • 14. What was the impact of this? – Many peasants resisted and were killed or sent to gulags (work camps). Others protested quietly by planting and working little. The state took all produce and left the peasants to starve. By 1933 an estimated 20 million had died of starvation in the Ukraine. • 15. What was the impact on industry? – Production in heavy industry did improve, but production of consumer goods suffered leaving people with very few amenities.

Project • Russian Revolution Web Quest

• 1. When did the Russian Revolution begin? – 1917 • 2. According to the website, why did Russian lose faith in the leadership of Czar Nicholas II? – Government corruption was rampant, the Russian economy remained backward, and Nicholas repeatedly dissolved the Duma, the Russian parliament established after the 1905 revolution, when it opposed his will. • 3. What was the immediate cause of the Russian Revolution? – The immediate cause of the February Revolution–the first phase of the Russian Revolution of 1917–was Russia’s disastrous involvement in World War I (1914 -18). Militarily, imperial Russia was no match for industrialized Germany, and Russian casualties were greater than those sustained by any nation in any previous war.

• 4. Briefly explain the events from March 8 th to March 15 th, which would eventually lead to the abdication of Nicholas II. (The February Revolution) – Demonstrators took to the streets of Petrograd (St. Petersburg) against the Czar. As the clash between the demonstrators and the police forces began to become violent, pressure began to mount against the Czar to give up his throne. Nicholas abdicated on March 15 th. • 5. What party was Vladimir Lenin the leader of? – Bolsheviks • 6. Lenin became the virtual dictator of the first Marxist state in the world. • 7. What did Lenin’s government do immediately following his rise to power? – His government made peace with Germany, nationalized industry and distributed land.

• 8. In the years before the revolution, Russia was ruled by a Czar (also spelled Tsar). Using the first paragraph of the reading on the website, explain how a Czarist government worked. – It was an autocracy: all political power and sovereignty was vested in a hereditary monarch. The tsar was bound by only two restrictions: adherence to the Russian Orthodox Church and the laws of succession. In all other matters, the tsar and his will were considered supreme. The Tsarist government was essentially government by decree: the tsar issued declarations or proclamations and his ministers, governors and bureaucrats implemented them. • 9. Why do you suppose ordinary Russians came to revolt against the Czarist Regime in Russia? – Russians resented the rule and authority of the Czar while they were struggling from economic crisis, food shortages and losses in WWI.

• 10. Using the first paragraph of the reading on the website, explain the basic events of “Bloody Sunday”. – Bloody Sunday 1905 began as a relatively peaceful protest by disgruntled steel workers in St Petersburg. Angered by poor working conditions, an economic slump and the ongoing war with Japan, thousands marched on the Winter Palace to plead with Czar Nicholas II for reform. But the czar was not present and the workers were instead gunned down on the streets by panicky soldiers. • 11. In what way did the events of “Bloody Sunday” impact the overall Russian Revolution? – At another time in Russian history, the mass killing of dissident civilians might have frightened the rest of the population into silent obedience – but the authority of the tsarist regime had been diminishing for months. Popular respect and affection for the tsar, already in decline prior, took a sudden turn for the worse. ‘Bloody Sunday’ triggered a wave of general strikes, peasant unrest, assassinations and political mobilisation that became known as the 1905 Revolution.

• 12. Overall, how did the Russian Revolution impact Russia and the citizens of Russia? Explain. – Russia changed from a Czarist government to a Marxist state with a dictator. Russian citizens became more financially secure and had better access to food. As well, soldiers returned from WWI after a treaty was signed with Germany.