The Russian Revolution: Reading Flashcards
(19 cards)
What were the main causes of the February revolution in 1917?
War hardships, economic discontent and the unpopularity of Tsar Nicholas II
How did the February Revolution begin and what was the outcome?
Started with protests of women demanding brad in Petrograd, followed by strikes and army mutinies -> ended with Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, and Provisional Government was formed, creating a ‘dual power’ situation with the Petrograd Soviet
What were the challenges faced by the Provisional Government?
Lacked legitimacy, failed to end the war or implement land reforms, and its continued war effort led to public discontent
What did Lenin issued upon returning to Russia in April 1917?
He issued the April Theses, demanding “peace, land, and bread” and “all power to the Soviets”
What was the Kornilov Affar and why was it significant?
A failed right-wing coup by General Kornilov (ordered by Kerensky) -> it discredited the Provisional Government and increased support for the Bolsheviks
How did the Bolsheviks seize power in October 1917 and what were their immediate actions?
Oct 25th overthrew the Provisional Government in a relatively bloodless coup with support from the Red Guards and Petrograd Soviet -> immediately redistributed land, ended Russia’s involvement in WWI (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) and nationalised industry
Why is the October Revolution significant?
Marked the end of the Romanov dynasty, the start of Communist rule, led to the Russian Civil War, and the creation of the USSR
What did the 1917 Revolution represent to workers, soldiers, and peasants?
Hope for an equal society free of exploitation and justice against former elites through Soviet power
What were the Bolsheviks’ major reforms in early 1918 and why was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk significant?
They issued 116 decrees on land, peace, workers’ control, and legalise peasant land seizures. The treaty meant Russia lost 1/3 of its land; Lenin saw it as necessary for survival (showed Bolshevik’s willingness to compromise ideology)
How did the Bolsheviks deal with land reforms?
Legalised peasant seizures, adopting Socialist Revolutionary-style “socialisation” that reduced class inequalities but had uneven results
What happened to democratic institutions under the Bolsheviks in early 1918 and what challenges did they face by mid-1918?
They dissolved the Constituent Assembly, replacing democracy with the rule by the Council of People’s Commissar’s but faced backlash due to demobilisation, food shortages, unemployment, and suppression of rival parties like the SRs and Mensheviks
Where did Soviet power spread most effectively?
In urban areas and along the Trans-Siberian railway; rural areas resisted more
What made the Russian Civil War complex?
It wasn’t just Red vs White -> included SRs, nationalists, anarchists, and foreign interventions
What role did Trsoky play in the Red Army’s success and what advantages did they have over the whites?
He built a disciplined, conventional army using conscription, former tsarist officers and centralised command and had advantages due to centralised leadership, ideological unity, control of key industrial areas, and better transport
What was the legacy of the Civil War for the Bolsheviks and how did they change revolutionary ideals during the Civil War?
Resulted in a militarised governance, centralisation and the Ready Army as the regime’s core institution and they replaced ideals of mass mobilisation with militarised, top-down control to maintain power
How did the Bolsheviks approach national self-determination?
Policy was pragmatic; tolerated national autonomy only if it didn’t threaten socialist rule
What was Lenin’s stance vs Stalin’s on self-determination?
Lenin supported it in principle; Stalin prioritised class struggle and central control
How did regions like Ukraine, Transcaucasia, Central Asia and Muslim regions react to Bolshevik power?
Ukraine = chaos and shifting governments
Transcaucasia = collapsed by 1918 amid resistance
Central Asia and Muslim regions = initial alliances with Bolsheviks turned to opposition but were reorganised into Soviet republics by 1924
What was the result of Bolshevik national policy by 1922 and what kind of state did the Bolsheviks build by the end of the Civil War?
Empire reconstituted under a federal Soviet structure balancing central control with limited ethnic authority
The state was a centralised, authoritarian, one-party state with bureaucratic control
