The Russian Revolution 1917 Like the French Revolution

The Russian Revolution, 1917 Like the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution sought not only to overthrow a government but to remake an entire society. Unlike the French Revolution, it succeeded.

INTRODUCTION • This mighty nation covered one-sixth of the land surface of the globe, and was populated by almost 150 million people of more than a hundred different nationalities. The Symbol for Imperial Russia

19 th Century Russia was…. . • • Only 40% ethnic Russians 80% were peasants – subsistence farmers 60%+ = illiterate Life expectancy = 40 Low tech and low investment Land ownership rare Land owned by OBSCHINA (Commune)

…still a feudal country. • Peasants could not leave the commune without the consent of the elders • Drought and crop failure common • 1891 = famine + cholera and typhus = 400, 000 dead • 1890 – 64 % of peasants called up for military service were declared unfit.

th 19 Century Russian Social Hierarchy

Russian Krestyanin (Peasant)

Cause 1: Suffering under Autocracy The people suffer under the cruel Czars, who use their secret police to kill or arrest anyone who dares to oppose his autocracy (=total power).

The oppressive rule of most 19 th-century czars caused widespread social unrest for decades. Anger over social inequalities & the ruthless treatment of peasants grew. The czar’s unfair governing sparked many violent reactions.

Nevertheless, many Russians worshipped the Tsar as God’s representative on earth. Peasants typically had a picture of the Tsar on a wall of their hut.

An engraving depicting the assassination of Czar Alexander II on March 13 th, 1881.

Alexander’s son witnesses his father’s assassination and becomes Czar Alexander III

Alexander III: The “Russian Bear” (1881 -94) “The Russians need the whip”

“Russification” under Alexander III l Mandatory Russian language in a multinational empire l Persecution (pogroms) of Jews

The victims, mostly Jewish children, of a 1905 pogrom in Dnipropetrovsk

Alexander’s Policies (Cont. ) l Elimination of zemstvos l Secret police generate mass arrests, deportations, executions l Here’s a typical secret police file

One radical hung in 1887 was this 17 -year-old’s brother: l He is Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, whom Alexander should have hung…

In 1894, when Nicholas II became czar, he announced, “The principle of autocracy will be maintained by me as firmly & unswervingly as by my father (Alexander III)” He Refused to surrender any of his power.

Czar Nicholas II

Cause 2: Suffering from Industrialization Factory workers suffer from: low wages, long hours, and brutal working conditions.

Broom Factory, 1910

Putilov Machine Works

Russian Steel Workers

Cause 3: Spread of Marxism With the help of revolutionaries like Lenin and Trotsky, Karl Marx’s idea of a proletariat (worker’s) revolution becomes increasingly popular.

Karl Marx, from Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts (1844) The worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces, the more his production increases in power and range. The worker becomes an ever cheaper commodity the more commodities he creates. With the increasing value of the world of things proceeds in direct proportion to the devaluation of the world of men. Labour produces not only commodities; it produces itself and the worker as a commodity -- and does so in the proportion in which it produces commodities generally.

Lenin

Leon Trotsky

Cause 4: Loss in Russo. Japanese War (1905) This humiliating defeat makes the Czar look weak and leads to widespread protests.

1904: How Russia expected to beat Japan

Russo-Japanese War [19041905]

The Battle of Tsushima, May 1905: Japanese Navy sinks Russian fleet

Russia Is Humiliated

Cause 5: Bloody Sunday (1905) The massacre of unarmed protesters outside the Czar’s palace leads to strikes throughout Russia.

Unrest Among the Peasants & Urban Working Poor Father Georgi Gapon: Leader of the People OR Police Informer?

January 9 th, 1905: 200 killed, 800 wounded, the first victims of the Russian revolution

Bloody Sunday January 22, 1905 The Czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg

“Bloody Sunday” (9 Jan. 1905)

3 months later: “Bloody Sunday”

Potemkin Mutiny, 1905

1905 Protests

General Strike (17 October 1905)

Cause 6: Suffering from WWI Millions of Russians die from battle, hunger, and disease. The economy is in ruins. People are desperate for change.

Russia cannot wage an industrial war

MAP: The Eastern Front

World War I: “The Last Straw” n n War revealed the ineptitude and arrogance of the country’s aristocratic elite The Russian “Steam Roller” Corrupt military leadership and contempt for ordinary Russian people Average peasant has very little invested in the War

World War I (cont) Poorly supplied troops n Result: Chaos and Disintegration of the Russian Army --Battle of Tannenberg (August, 1914) n Spreading Discontent n

World War I § § § Russia unprepared for war Not enough supplies (food, weapons, clothing) Army poorly organized Soldiers didn’t understand why they were fighting Tsar Nicholas II and his ministers provided poor leadership and organization

Devastation of War – Ukraine

In 1915, the Tsar will take personal command of the army • And that means leaving a Russia ruled by Alexandra and her closest adviser, Rasputin

The Collapse of the Imperial Government • Nicholas left for the Front —September, 1915 • Alexandra and Rasputin throw the government into chaos • Alexandra and other high government officials accused of treason

Alexis: The Tsarevich, or heir to the throne • Only Rasputin can stop the boy’s hemorrhaging, the product of the hemophilia inherited from his greatgrandmother, Victoria

Because of that strange power… • The starets, or monk, becomes, as Alexandra puts it, “Our Friend, ” and a powerful influence on the Romanovs • He is also a promiscuous drunk—but the Tsarina refuses to listen to any criticism of him

In 1915, Nicholas moved his headquarters to the war front. His wife Czarina Alexandra, ran the government while he was away. She ignored the czar’s chief advisers & instead she fell under the influence of the self-described “holy-man” Rasputin. Czarina Alexandra Rasputin claimed to have magical healing powers. “Wonderful tales were told of how the stares could look into every man’s soul, foresee the future, and heal the sick by a glance of his eyes or a touch of his hands. ”

Cause 7: Czar Nicholas II refused to share power Czar Nicholas II is a weak leader. He clings to power despite the obvious need for change.

The Last Tsar: Nicholas II (1894 -1917)

Nicholas II’s personality l Terrorized by his father: He wants to please Papa… l But he’s a gentle family man, lacks a forceful personality—Nicholas is eerily similar to Louis XVI—and to Charles I of England l Uh-oh.

Nicholas II’s disasters l One of them is his marriage—to Alexandra of Hesse, “that German woman; ” she, like Marie Antoinette, is hated by many Russians

The marriage itself… …is a ‘love match’ The two are deeply committed to each other, and they raise a beautiful family.

Their coronation (Seen here: Can you find the new Tsar’s Mom? ) is not a good omen

Alexis: Alexandra’s Son with Hemophilia

Hemophilia & the Tsarevich

Event 1: February 23 rd Female textile workers in Petrograd, go on strike because of a shortage of bread. Soon they are joined on the streets by half of the cities 400, 000 workers.

Petrograd

February Bread Riot (Painting)

St. Petersburg Bread Rioters, 1917

Armed citizenry

February 1917: Crowds in front of the Royal Palace

Event 2: February 27 Soldiers brought in to put down rioters instead mutiny, join the rioters, and arrest their commanding officers.

Petrograd, February Revolt of the Pavlovsky Guards Regiment

Arrest of generals

Event 3: March 1 The so called “provisional government”, led by Alexander Kerensky is formed.

Alexander Kerensky • Kerensky, a moderate socialist, will emerge as the leader of a February 1917 revolution against the Tsar

The Provisional Government

Event 4: March 2 Czar Nicholas II, is forced to abdicate (give up power) while sitting in a railroad carriage, ending 600 years of Czarist rule in Russia.

Abdication of Nicholas II

Event 5: March 8 The provisional government passes civil rights laws but decides to continue fighting WWI.

Provisional Government § Declared all Russian citizens equal § Freedom of speech, religion, press, and § § assembly given to all citizens Unions and strikes legal Planned on continuing war Provisional Government made these promises, but asked people to wait People tired of waiting and listened more and more to the revolutionaries

But Kerensky refuses to pull Russia out of the War—he will, in fact, launch disastrous new offensives

Event 6: April 3 Vladimir Lenin returns from exile and soon dominates the Bolsheviks.

Lenin Returns to Russia The Germans arrange for Lenin’s return to Russia after many years of exile. The Germans believe that Lenin & his Bolshevik supporters would cause unrest in Russia & hurt the Russian war effort. Traveling in a sealed railway boxcar, Lenin reaches Petrograd in April 1917.

Peace, Bread, and Land!

Lenin Addresses the Petrograd Soviet - 1917

Event 7: June Germans crush the Kerensky Offensive. Russia suffers 400, 000 casualties. Many soldiers mutiny and join pro peace Bolsheviks.

Kerensky at the Front

Event 8: July 3 An attempted Bolshevik coup (takeover) of the provisional government fails. Lenin escapes to Finland.

Event 9: August 25 General Kornilov attempts to overthrow the provisional government and form a military dictatorship. Kerensky (leader of provisional government) asks for help from the Bolsheviks and gives them weapons. Kornilov is defeated.

General Kornilov • Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov (August 18, 1870–April 13, 1918) • was a Russian army general best known for the Kornilov Affair, an unsuccessful military coup he staged against Kerensky's Provisional Government during the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Kornilov Affair n To prevent this takeover, Kerensky freed many Bolshevik leaders from prison and supplied arms to many revolutionaries

Event 10: October 25 Lenin and Bolsheviks make their move. They take over the major government offices in Petrograd. Kerensky and the PG flee. The revolution spreads throughout Russia.

Bolsheviks Storming the Winter Palace

Long Live World October!

What Did Lenin Do Upon Coming to Power? § Immediately proposed an end to War (WWI) (what peasants wanted most was peace) § Proposed the distribution of all land to peasants, landowners would not be paid for land taken from them § Lenin’s proposals adopted

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND THE WORLD • Lenin and Trotsky said that the goal of socialism in Russia would not be realized without the success of the world proletariat in other countries, e. g. without German Revolution. • Indeed, a revolutionary wave lasted until 1923.

Effect 1: The Promise Kept Lenin gives all land to the peasants and all factories to the workers

Effect 2: Brest-Litovsk By signing the Treaty of Brest Litovsk, Russia agrees to give Germany huge tracts of land in exchange for peace.

Signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918 Russia Estonia Germany . Latvia Lithuania Ukraine Brest-Litovsk Russian territory ceded to Germany

Effect 3: The Crack Down The Bolsheviks, now renamed the Communists, brutally crack down on anyone deemed an enemy of the revolution, killing thousands and sending thousands more to Gulags, prison camp. The Communists will rule over Russia until 1991.

“Red Terror, ” Summer 1918

Like the Czars he helped overthrow, Lenin established a secret police (the Cheka). He also created a system of Gulags (prison camps where he sent anyone who dared speak against the people’s revolution.

The Gulag Archipelago by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Effect 4: Civil War The Red Army (Bolsheviks) fight the White Army (Anti. Bolsheviks) for the future of Russia. Fifteen million die. The Red Army prevails.

November 1917 Election Results Party Votes Total (all Russia) 44, 218, 55 Socialist Revolutionaries 37% (48% including Ukrainian bloc) Peasant 0. 6% Bolshevik Social Democrats 24% Menshevik Social Democrats 3% Other Socialist Parties 1% Kadets 5% Cossack Party 2%

Civil War § After signing peace treaty, Bolsheviks § § § faced armed resistance to their rule Civil war lasted from 1918 to 1921 Some non-Russian nationalities took up arms to win independence from Russia Great Britain, France, and the USA sent troops to Russia to defeat Bolsheviks because they did not want these ideas of revolution spread around the world Fight by Bolsheviks to establish communism in Russia, which was renamed the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (USSR) in 1918 Bolsheviks changed their name to the Communist Part Bolsheviks defeated their enemy’s in 1921

Results of Civil War § Much of Russia in ruins § Cities, land, factories destroyed after almost eight years of fighting § Millions died or fled country § Bolsheviks had mammoth task of rebuilding country

And throw in the U. S. Army (1918 -20)

Effect 5: The Last Czar Fearing the White Army will rescue and then rally around the Czar, the Bolsheviks execute Nicholas, his wife, and five children.

During the Civil War, the Romanov family… …is kept under house arrest by the Bolsheviks

Olga

Tatiana

Marie

Anastasia

From the family album

Their last home; it was torn down in the 1970 s

Today, All Saints Church stands on the site of the home

Lenin worries that the family will provide hope to the Whites, some of whom want a return to monarchy • In the summer of 1918, he orders the Cheka, or secret police, to eliminate them.

Murder of the Romanovs, 1918

The basement of the home after the murders

The family’s remains, uncovered in 1991

Lenin himself will die only four years later • But not before the Bolsheviks have crushed the Whites—the Bolshevik revolution is secured.

Lenin was embalmed and put on permanent display in the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow.

Before he dies, Lenin warns the Bolshevik leadership about the treachery of one of their own: Joseph Stalin …and that is the quality that will enable Stalin to become the master of Russia, from 1928 until 1953

Power Struggle after Lenin’s Death and Stalin’s Rule n n n Forced collectivization “The Great Famine” “The Great Terror” Purges Gulag

THE NEW FLAG • Symbolized the union between the workers (hammer) & the peasants (sickle)

The first state emblem of Soviet Russia: “Workers of all lands, unite!”

Can you identify these important figures from the Russian Revolution AND briefly describe the role each played in the revolution? Note: These will be on the quiz.

Name: Czar Nicholas II Role: Last Czar / Refused to give up power

Name: Vladimir Lenin Role: Led the Bolshevik revolution of 1917

Name: Leon Trotsky Role: Led the Red Army to victory in Russian Civil War.

Name: Female Textile Workers Role: Their bread riot in March, 1917 began the Russian Revolution.

Name: General Kornilov Role: Attempted coup (takeover) of PG in August, 1917 failed.

Name: Rasputin Role: Controlled Russia through Czar’s wife while Czar was at front.

Name: Alexander Kerensky Role: Led PG (Provisional Government) from March. October 1917

Name: Karl Marx Role: His ideas of a worker’s revolt inspired the Russian Revolution.

End