The Russian Revolution Flashcards
(20 cards)
What caused Tsar Nicholas’ abdication
- Political Problems
- Economic problems
- WWI
- Peasant/Worker discontent
Politics: Incompetence of Nicholas II
- Ineffective leader who made poor decisions
- Refused to accept any reduction in his power
- didn’t understand the plight of the Russian people and alienated ethnic minorities
- Declared himself Commander in Chief of the army in 1915
- Went to fight on the Eastern Front & left Alexandra in charge
Politics: The war and Tsarina Alexandra
- Quality and effectiveness of the Russian Gov called into question
- Alexandra not very popular in Russia (reserved, awkward in public and German)
- People suspicious of where her loyalties lay in the war
- Appointed less threatening and sometimes incompetent ministers in order to protect her husband
Politics: Rasputin
- Imperial family brought into disrepute as Alexandra fell under the influence of Grigori Rasputin
- He advised her appointments of ministers & interfered in all decision making
- The court and the royal family became objects of ridicule who were despised
- Rasputin assassinated December 1916 by Russian Nobles
Economic Conditions
WWII Affected:
Industry
- Shortages of raw materials and finished goods (affected the army)
Transport
- Underdeveloped transport system taken over by war supplies - not enought transport for city supplies
Agriculture
- Already backwards agriculture
- Farmers conscripted - shortage of manpower → shortage of food → increase food prices
Social Conditions: Discontent among peasants
- Made up a large portion of army conscriptions
- “scorched earth policy” = destroyed farmland
- Poverty and poor living conditions among the peasantry worsened
Social Conditions: The workers
- War economy → increase of workers in the cities = city admin struggled to deal with housing and service provision
- Unemployment rose in industries that weren’t contributing to the war effort (no raw materials)
- Living conditions deteriorated – especially with the food shortages
- Resulted in social unrest
Impact of WWI
- Brought terrible suffering for soldiers and civilians
- Russia suffered a number of military defeats at the hands of Germany
Morale extremely low
* Russian people looked for someone to blame – Tsar was a suitable target for their discontent
* Food/weapons/medical/equipment shortages, transport problems all linked to the war
The February Revolution
Putilov/Women
- Putilov Worker’s Strike
- Women’s Woker Strike
- “Bread!” and “Our Children are Starving!”
- Wives of soldiers urged not to fire
New Provisional Government formed; Tsar abdicates
Provisional Government
Members of the state Duma formed the Provisional Government
* Only meant to have power temporarily until a Constituent Assembly was elected
* Shared power with the Petrograd Soviet
* Represented the cities workers and soldiers
* controlled the capitals transport, troops and communications
* much more Radical than the Provisional Government
Provinsional Gov and Lenin
- The new govt allowed political exiles back into the country
- The new Big Three (Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin) would be outspoken against the new govt.
- The Prov Govt did not deal with** land redistribution. **
- This govt also did not pull out of WWI.
- The people and the army were unhappy about this
The April Thesis
- Upon Lenin’s return to Russia, he issued his Theses:
- An end to the war with Germany
- For land to be given to the peasants
- An end to the food shortages
- For power to be given to the Soviets
- Lenin’s slogans ‘PEACE, BREAD, LAND’ and ‘ALL POWER TO THE SOVIETS’ won wide support
Lenin’s Plan & Charisma
- First the Bolsheviks had to gain control of the Petrograd Soviet
- Then they would take power in the name of the Soviet
- The process would then be repeated in other cities
- Lenin’s energy, charisma, and drive convinced the Bolsheviks to agree on this plan
Weakness of the Provisional Government
- Provisional Government was not elected by the people
- Did not deal with land issues
- Did not pull out of the war
- Shared power with the Petrograd Soviet (Social Revolutionaries & Mensheviks) – increased the potential for political disagreement
- Provisional Government only wanted moderate changes
- The Petrograd Soviet wanted to give power to the working class
Continuation of the War
Prov Govt feared that foreign investment from France and Britain would cease if they pulled out of the war
The June Offensive:
* attempted to push the Austrians back – failed miserably
* Caused protests in July
* further decline of army morale = increased levels of desertions = led soldiers into the hand of Bolshevik Propaganda
* Lenin was able to form his own army = RED GUARD (20 000 strong)
The July Days
Protests sparked by WWI continuation and June offensive
Widespread unrest in Petrograd between 3 – 6 July
Sailors from Kronstadt protested in the city
Soldiers & workers joined in BUT there was no form of direction and Lenin failed to take advantage of the situation
Provisional Govt crushed the rebellion & arrested Bolshevik leaders – Lenin fled to Finland
The Kornilov Affair
- In August 1917, Kerensky’s commander-in-chief, General Lavr Kornilov, attempted a coup of the Prov Govt
- Kerensky was forced to ask the Bolsheviks to help suppress it, and he provided them with arms.
- The Bolsheviks defeated Kornilov’s uprising and this helped to increase their popularity in Russia.
- The revolt resulted in increased support for the Bolsheviks
- they were seen as saving the revolution from a loyal Tsarist General
- By September, the Bolsheviks had gained control of the Petrograd Soviets
October
- Lenin returns to Petrograd
- Together with Trotsky, Lenin made plans to seize power
- Trotsky, with the help of the Kronstadt sailors and the Red Guard, seized control of Russia on 24-25 October
- Took over telephone exchange, the State Bank and all the bridges and railway stations.
- After storming the Winter Palace, they arrested Prov Govt ministers
Lenin seizes power
- Lenin then created the Council of People’s Commissars, or Sovnarkom, to rule Russia.
Lenin made the following reforms:
* The peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed with Germany
* Land taken from church and nobles and was redistributed
* Working conditions improved with an 8-hour work day and 40-hour work week + insurance
* Free Education was made available and an adult literacy programme established
- BUT: Many Russians were horrified that Lenin had abolished democracy and implemented the “Dictatorship of the Proletariat”
- Lenin then established a secret police (Cheka) force to arrest all the opponents of the Bolsheviks who were accused of planning a counter-revolution.
Lenin maintained control of Russia by:
* Banning opposition parties.
* Censoring newspapers.
* Eliminating the freedom of speech.
