Russian Revolution Objectives Today we will be able

Russian Revolution

Objectives �Today we will be able to identify the main causes and phases of the Russian Revolution.

Causes �By late 1916, Russia faced rising prices and huge bread and fuel shortages. �Tsar Nicholas also lost the support of the people The Russian people did not trust his German wife, Alexandra, or the peasant healer Grigory Rasputin.

The February (March) Revolution � Women were denied bread, which coincided with International Women’s Day protests. � These two contingents banded together and created a demonstration 10, 000 strong. � They called for equal rights for women, a Russian republic and end to the war. � The tsar abdicated when he could not suppress the demonstrations.

The Provisional Government � Moderates from the political center and moderate left formed a government. They sought a free, liberal and democratic Russia. � They issued amnesty for political prisoners, codified equality for Jews and Muslims, promised to convene a constituent assembly and pledged to continue the war effort against Germany.

The Petrograd Soviet � There was a dual governmental system. The Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet. � The Soviet was made up of elected radicals, local worker and military counsels. � They demanded that military officers show respect for common soldiers and sailors and that no military orders were to be issued without approval by the Petrograd Soviet.

Political Amnesty �Political prisoners returned to Russia. �This included Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the radical Bolsheviks. �He published his April Theses. �Read analyze the April Thesis.

The October (November) Revolution �Lenin organized a takeover of Petrograd. �The Bolshevik party’s Red Guards executed the takeover. �They arrested the Provisional Government in the Winter Palace. �By the end of November, the Bolsheviks were in control of the largest country in the world.

The Bolsheviks in Power �The Treaty of Brest- Litovsk The Russian-German treaty ending Russia’s involvement in the war. Gave Germany ¼ of what had been imperial Russia. German troops occupied the Baltics. �The constitution of 1918

The Civil War � Imperial and Provisional Generals raised armies to fight the Bolsheviks. � These forces became known as the “whites” because they opposed the “reds” � The Allies supplied and supported the white army. British, American and Canadian forces landed on Russian soil on July 17. They claimed they were deterring Germany from taking Russian land. � Whites and Reds both engaged in terror campaigns. � The Reds defeated the Whites in 1920.

The Constitution of the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic �Read your section of the constitution. �Summarize your section and be prepared to report out to the class. �Present your section to the class while the class takes notes on the important aspects of your presentation.