Russia - WW1 events and Bols Flashcards
Extent to which of NO social progress in Russia by 1914
Think of lower classes
- peasents declared unfit for military service
- ## Still widespread poverty despite Stolypin’s reforms
What was the Brusilov Offensive?
1st World War
- A Russian attempt to break Austro-Hungarian lines, however, this failed.
- Germany’s larger railway network helped as they could move their troops faster than the Russians.
What happened in Aug 1914?
WW1
Tannenburg would see 70k Russian troops killed, and 100k captured.
(Commander Samsonov shot himself due to humiliation!)
Some impacts of WW1 on Russia / events
Think about economy and militarily
- (1914) 2 rifles for every 3 troops.
- (By 1915) Transportation crisis for troops, and munition crisis.
- (1916) 1.5m desertions
- (Jan 1917) 30k strikes in Moscow + 145k in Petrograd
- (By 1917) Inflation at 200%.
- Short-lived successes.
- (1914-1918) War spending goes from 1,500m roubles to 14,500m roubles.
Feb 1917 events…
- 100k workers strike from 58 Petrograd factories.
- Strikes escalate and essentially go out of hand.
- A mutiny within the Volynskii
- Nicholas II leaves his military headquaters.
What was the Dual Power?
(1917)
- This entailed the PG and PS working together.
- PG led by Prince Lvov and the PS consisted of workers and peasents, consisted of Kadets and Octobrists.
- PG had liberals and influential elites
- PS had mass of workers, peasents and soldiers (only 7 of the first 42 committee members were workers themselves)
- PG derived from 1st Duma.
- PG promises involed basic civil liberties + right to strike and organise trade union + right to a constituent assembly
- (Mar-Jul 1917) Districts affected by peasent disturbances rose from 34 to 125
What was the April Theses?
(Apr 1917)
- Lenin delivered a speech that demanded power should be transferred to the soviets, and thhe should be brought to an end.
- ‘Peace, land and bread’.
Lenin returned to Russia on a sealed train paid for by the Germans.
What were the July Days?
- Due to problems with the economy etc, many workers went on strike, and this increased Bols threat due to their participation, uniting the PG and PS.
- 586 factories closed and 100k jobs lost.
- Bols arrested, and Lenin is chased out of Russia into Finland.
- Grain prices from (Feb-Jun 1917).
Kerensky replaces Prince Lvov as Prime Minister.
What was the Kornilov affair?
(Aug 1917)
- Jailed Bolsheviks released, and mass protests took place in favour of the PG.
- Bols crush the Kornilov coup, and support increases for them.
(Sep 1917) Bols win election
Dual Power successes:
(With additional information)
- Okhrana disbanded
- Tsar on house arrest, and died in July.
- Freedom of speech
- PG led by Prince Lvov.
- It was agreed that land issues were to be a problem.
(Jul 1918) Tsar and his family shot
What were some of the tsar’s mistakes during and in the lead up to WW1?
- (Jul 1914) Civilian authority suspended during the setup of military zones.
- (Jun 1915) The Tsar banned direct influence from thr All-Russian Union of Zemstva.
Evidence of increased Bols support after the Kornilov Coup…
- PG incompetence to govern displayed.
- Kerensky relied on Bols to crush the coup, and Lenin wants revolution, with Trotsky becoming chairman of the Petrograd Soviet in (Sep 1917).
- Trotsky’s ‘Military Revolutionary Committee’ had 66 members.
Trostky, Kamenev and Zinoviev wanted to wait for elections.
Pros and cons of Bolshevik revoltuion on 25th Oct 1917?
+ 200k supporters
+ Country in anarchy
- No democratic legitimacy
- Was not very dramatic.
What was the Sovnarkom?
‘Soviet of the people’s Commissars
- They issued decrees.
- A one-party executive body.
- Lenin was Chairman, Stalin took charge of nationalities, Trotsky controlled foreign affairs, and Rykov for Internal Affairs.
- Kamenev edits Pravda.
- Zinoviev was party organiser.
Sovnarkom activities….
- Banks nationalised
- Religion dismantled
- Military decree removed from class-ranks
- Private land ownership outlawed
- Workers permitted to supervise bosses
- Wanted to end the war!
Rulings via decrees!
