The Russian Revolution: A Brief history of Russia to the

1917 Revolution

Objective:

To understand and examine the early history of Russia before the

Revolutions of 1917.

Part I:

A Brief History of Russia

I. Early History: The Russian Empire

• A. Early History and Empire

–1. first settled by Slavs

–2. 800s Vikings called Rus invaded and est. 1st state

–3. missionaries introduced:

• a. Orthodox Christianity (still followed today)

•b. Cyrillic: a form of the Greek alphabet (still used today)

• 1200 invaded by Mongols called Tartars• Muscovy became the

strongest state- push Mongols back East • Main city Moscow• 1400 Muscovy’s

prince, Ivan III, seized control from the Mongols

II. Muscovy Russia

III. Ivan the Terrible 1533-1584

• Expansion of Muscovy Russia- 1st tsar of Russia

• Violent control of a reluctant nobility- Reign of terror

• Married 5 wives and in a fit of rage killed his only heir and son Ivan 1581

• 1584 he dies plunges Russia into Time of Troubles

• 1603 select tsar from Romanov family

• Travel to West & fascinated with Western technology

• Determined to Westernize backward Russia (nobles shave their beards)

• Impose tax on Russian Serfs

• Establishes a Table of Ranks (all state positions graduated rankings)

• City of St. Petersburg (built on a marsh mocks French Style)

• Conscription of Russian serfs

• Invites military officials from west to help him set up army

• Built 1st Russian navy

• Expand Russian territory

• Encourage western thought and writings of the French philosophes

IV. Peter the Great1682-1725

V. Catherine the Great:

• Robust flirtatious woman

• Read Montesquieu & Voltaire

• Process of revising and codifying Russian law

• Reform

• Primacy of French culture and ideas

VI. The 1812 Invasion• June 1812 Napoleon leads Grand Army

of 600,000 men to Russia – confident Russia will be defeated

• Russians retreat on their vast landscape• Napoleon took Moscow in Sept. finds it in ruin

(Russian army had set it afire leaving few supplies and no enemy to fight)

• Napoleon decides to retreat (one of the most famous military disasters in history)

• Russian attacks and brutal winter = disaster • 40,000 of 600,000 make it back to France

VII. The Succession Crisis: • Russia emerges as a great

European power because of Napoleonic war

• Still very backward • Alexander I (1801-1825)

succession confusion • Nicholas I (1825-1855)

younger brother steps up after older brother Constantine declines throne

• The Decembrist Revolt – small group of military officers that stage a revolt in sppt of Constantine & put down

• Alexander II succeeds Nicholas I who ruled with an iron fist

• Alex II realizes Russia’s biggest problem is serfdom

• 1861 Proclamation freeing the serfs

• Reforms: – Zemstovs/ district assemblies

(usually gentry)– Revision of legal system (still

autocratic)– Rise on revolutionary orgs. One

assassinates him• His son Alex III (1881-1894)

new repression and weaken reforms of his father

VIII. The Russian Duma:

• Russia rang in 20th c. with Russo-Japanese War

• Creation of Russian Duma or parliament that would transform Russia into a constitutional monarchy

• Tsar Nicholas II agrees?

Part II: The Roots of the Russian Revolution

I. Quick Recap: Marx & Engels • Communism: – Karl Marx The Communist

Manifesto- all of human hist. class struggle between bourgeoisie (upper class) & Proletariat (working class)

– Lower class overthrown upper class- Socialist theory

• Socialism occur in an industrialized capitalistic society

II. The last of the Russian tsars:

• Incompetence of the tsarist Regime: – Nicholas II leaves Alexandra

head of state

– Russia enters WWI 1914

– Some soldiers thrown into war and told to grab rifles from fallen comrades

– Nicholas II assume personal command of the army

III. The Provisional Government

• The March Revolution:o Order collapses in St. Petersburg o Food shortage o Tsar abdicates o Provisional government becomes

authority made up of the duma

• Workers & Soldiers form soviets • 1903 split- Lenin & Bolsheviks

(small party of professional revolutionaries

• Mensheviks- revolution will proceed through historical stages

• Try to continue war effort •Attempt at democracy•Attempt to solve Russia’s economic problems • 80% of Russia’s population is peasants •Russian Communists benefit from discontent

IV. 1917: Rise of the Bolsheviks

• Fall of 1917 Bolsheviks Lenin & Trotsky overthrew Provisional Govt.

• Take over power and communication systems

• 1st step- pull out of war make peace with Germany (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk)

• Fought & won Russian Civil War (Reds vs Whites) in 1920

• From 1921-1924 Bolsheviks attempt to modernize the Soviet Union (following Marxist ideology- he saw revolution happening in industrialized Capitalistic society. What is the problem here?

Petrograd, 4 July 1917. Street demonstration on Nevsky Prospekt just after troops of the Provisional Government have opened fire with machine guns.

Much-publicized photo purporting to show the storming of the Winter Palace, October 1917. It is in fact from a Bolshevik re-enactment staged as a civic spectacle on the third anniversary of the action. The actual fighting at the Palace took place at night and there were no cameras present.

V. Major Figures of the Communist Party

Leon Trotsky

Vladimir Lenin

Josef Stalin

Greatest Feuds in History: Interesting Quotes

• “He understood principles but not people, whereas Stalin was a master at trading on emotions.” P. 99

• “While Trotsky wrestled in print with the arcane intricacies of Marxist theory, and began developing his theory of permanent revolution, Stalin concentrated on the nuts and bolts of power.”

• “Whereas Trotsky adopted an unctuous high-handed attitude to events, refusing even to lobby other members, Stalin city deals, cajoled and threatened, schemed his way into the heart of the party.”

• Stalin: “I curse and persecute everyone I have to.” P.91

V. Major Figures: • Lenin= godfather of the

Revolution• His New Economic Policy or

NEP called for the height of industry controlled by government while still allowing some private enterprise

• Trotsky-= permanent Revolution

• Stalin- Communism in 1 country

• Trotsky & Stalin power struggle to succeed Lenin

• Lenin’s Last Testament: – On Stalin, he warns of his

ambition & concentration of power

– On Trotsky, he says he is too confident in world revolution and industry

– On Bukharian- he is not fully Marxist if allowing peasants independent farms

VI. Stalin: One of the world’ most Brutal Dictators

• Climbs his way into heart of Communist Party as Gen. Secretary

• Works with Bukharin to get Trotsky out of pwr.

• Zinoviev & Trotsky expelled from Party

• 1932 Trotsky declared “Non-person”

• 1930s Great Purges/ Reign of Terror • Propaganda & cult of personality • 1936 trials of former opponents (torture

and confess to crimes of state) • 10 Million arrested or put into detention

camps (gulags) • Execution of 1 Million • After being in exile has Trotsky

assassinated 1940

Stalin: One of the world’s most Brutal Dictators

• 1928 Five -Year Plans: • Raise money by forced

collectivization of agriculture • Industrialize Russia and

transform it into a modern sate • Placement of all peasants on

state-run farms • Open war with kulaks (wealthy

peasants) kills any peasant who refuses

• Does modernize Russia but at steep penalty – Great famine– 4-6 million Dead

The Last Tsar

Bloody Sunday

The War:

The Revolution

A Struggle for Stability:

The Russian Revolution