Chapter 2- Russia Flashcards
(30 cards)
causes of the Feb/March revolution
-unemployment
- starvation
- bread shortage
what event occurred before the revolution started?
150,000 Petrograd workers demonstrated on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday
Dates of the revolution
Monday 14th February-Tuesday 28 February
1st day of the revolution
14th February
-100,000 workers on strike from 58 factories
-News of bread rationing from 1st March led to queues and violence.
-Police were attacked.
2nd day of the revolution
22nd February
- 20,000 workers locked out of Putilov Steel works after pay talks collapsed
- workers from many factories went on strike
third day of revolution
International womens’ day
23rd February
- 90,000 workers on strike, 50 factories closed
- Militant students joined
-240,000 people on the streets
- order restored by police force
fourth day of revolution
24th Feb
-200,000 on strike
- overturning tsarist statues, waving red flags and singing La Marseillaise.
- no obvious organisation
8th day of revolution
25th Feb
- 250,000 people on strike
- factories closed and no newspapers or public transport
- Shalfeev, in charge of mounted police was dragged and shot.
- band of civilians killed by soldiers on Nevskii Prospekt
- Cossacks refuse to attack procession of strikers.
9th day of revolution
26th February
-Rodzianko, Duma President sends tsar a warning
- Tsar ignores warning.
10th day of revolution
27th February
- Tsar orders Major General Khabalov to restore order by force
- 40 demonstrators killed by military
- mutiny in Volynskii district, where Sergeant shot commanding officer dead.
- 66,000 soldiers mutineed and armed protestors with 40,000 rifles
- Police headquarters attacked and prisons opened
- Duma holds meeting and sets up Provisional Committee
- army high command gives full support
- revolutionaries set up Soviet
last day of revolution
28th Feb
-Nicholas II left his military headquarters at Volynskii to Petrograd. Offered to share power with the Duma.
- it was too late
who led the revolution?
It was spontaneous and leaderless.
Small bands of revolutionary activists who might have been able to influence the progression of events.
the emergence of Soviets around Russia suggests some organisation by Socialist leaders
where were the Bolsheviks during the revolution?
Absent
Lenin Zurich
Trotsky New York
what revolutionary groups were there in Russia at the time
Milyukov, Guchkov and others planned a coup but were alarmed by the revolution
revolutionary workers group in the Vyborg district
what did the Petrograd Soviet do after the Revolution?
under pressure from soldiers and the Kronstadt naval base, they agreed regiments could elect a representative to send to the Soviet.
It had 3000 members by 10th March and was led by Kerensky and other Socialist intellectuals.
What did the Soviet introduce
Order No.1
- all units elect a deputy to the Soviet and agree to its political control
- Duma commission only to be obeyed if it agreed with the Soviet
- all weapons controlled by elected soldiers’ committees
- all soldiers had full citizens rights when off duty
- no honorific titles
- no, ‘ty,’ form for soldiers
what happened to nicholas’
his train was stopped at Pskov and was under pressure to resign by Alexeev, his chief of General staff.
how did the throne fall apart?
The tsar was asked to resign in favour of Alexei becoming tsar with Mikhail as regent. Mikhail refused this, and Nicholas and his family were put under house arrest.
where apart from Petrograd did the revolution occur
Moscow and other industrial cities
Finland, Poland, Ukraine declared independence.
Peasants attacked landlords in the countryside.
‘All Russian congress of Soviets,’ met in Petrograd in June 1917 from 350 cities.
what was the Provisional Government?
influential elites, moderate socialists and kadets.
it was led by Prince Lvov, and members favoured the idea of a constitutional monarchy.
aims of the PG
to be temporary and to set up elections for a new constituent assembly
the old civil service, army and police accepted it as legitimate and they set up in the right wing of the Tauride Palace.
why did the Soviet dislike the PG?
they thought it was an extension of the old tsarist regime, and was a self appointed committee of the wealthy.
what did the Soviet do?
- set themselves up in the left wing of the Tauride palace.
Lacked confidence needed to take power, so with Kerensky’s influence, agreed to a dvoevlastie (dual authority)
makeup of Soviet
socialist intellectuals, Mensheviks, SRs, some Bolsheviks. Only 7 of 42 members were workers
