The Russian Revolution Causes & Events. Background Oppressive rule of the Romanovs (1613-1917)...
-
Upload
matthew-kelly -
Category
Documents
-
view
218 -
download
1
Transcript of The Russian Revolution Causes & Events. Background Oppressive rule of the Romanovs (1613-1917)...
The Russian Revolution
Causes & Events
Background• Oppressive rule of the Romanovs
(1613-1917) caused much social unrest in Russia
• Feudalism had been in place until 1868 & resulted in miserable treatment of the peasants
• Revolutionaries & secret societies developed through Russia to challenge the Czar
Background• Ethnic diversity contributed to
instability of imperial Russia
• Poles rebelled twice in 19th century
• Russia had largest Jewish population in Europe
• Only 45% of people in Russia spoke Russian
Background
• Moderate Czar, Alexander II, made some reforms
– Emancipated the serfs in 1868 in part to better their lives in part to create cheap labor for industrialization
Reforms were not enough to make the people happy
– Czar was assassinated in 1881
Background• Czar Alexander III followed his father to
throne in 1881• Halted all reforms & wanted to strengthen
“autocracy, orthodoxy & nationality”– Autocracy: rule of one person– Orthodoxy: believing in the traditional
religious views (Eastern Orthodox Church)
– Nationality: making everyone Russian
Background
• To enforce these new policies, Alexander III used:
• Censorship
• Secret police
• Torture
• Exile
• Pogroms
Background
• Pogroms: state sponsored, organized violence against the Jews in Russia
Nicholas II
• Followed same path against reform as his father
• Believed in tradition of autocracy
• Failed to see times were changing
Nicholas II• Under Nicholas the government:
• was corrupt
• Unavailable to the people
• Still spending too much
• Not doing enough to modernize Russia
Russo-Japanese War 1904-05
• Weakness of Russia exposed in Russo-Japanese War
• Japanese were better trained and led
• Russian supplies came across Russia on rail which was too slow to be effective
• Russian navy destroyed by Japanese fleet
• Embarrassing defeat caused popular uprising, the Revolution of 1905
Revolution of 1905• January 1905: 200,000 protestors outside
Winter Place in St Petersburg
• Guards feared revolution & shot into crowd killing 1000 people
• The “dress rehearsal” for the revolution resulted in the creation of the Duma or parliament
• Nicholas dissolved Duma after 10 weeks
World War I• At start of war had largest army, but
generals were incompetent, army lacked supplies & soldiers were poorly trained/equipped
• Russian army suffered defeat after defeat to Germans
• Too many men in army & not enough to run trains, factories or farms
World War I• People of Russia suffered from food &
fuel shortages in winter 1916-17
• Czar’s court just as luxurious as ever
• No help coming for the people
• No end in sight for the war
• Soldiers deserted in droves
• Revolutionaries gaining strength
March Revolution• In March 1917, riots broke out over
pricves, food and fuel shortages• Food ran out in St. Petersburg in early
March• Soldiers sent out to quiet the rioters joined
them• Soviets were created (small groups of
workers, peasants & soldiers)• Soviets took control of factories and
barracks
March Revolution• Nicholas II abdicated & Alexander
Kerensky formed a new Provisional Government
• Kerensky made decision to continue on in the war (possibly looking for help from the Allies afterward)
• Decision to continue in war enraged the people & cost Kerensky his support
Lenin & the Bolsheviks• Sent back to
Russia by the Germans
• Declared “Peace, Land Bread” would be his goals
• Wanted all power given to te Soviets
The November Revolution• November 1917: Lenin’s forces attacked
Winter Palace & arrested Kerensky, the Provisional Government & any & all rivals
• All private land was nationalized
• Peasants had to hand over all crops without compensation & many resisted
• Factories taken over by Bolsheviks & peasants forced into mandatory labor brigades
The November Revolution• Secret police, the Cheka, was created
to spy on people
• Bolsheviks sued for peace with Germany
• Signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk March 1918
• Terms of Treaty with Germans enraged the people of Russia and led, in part, to civil war
The Russian Civil War• Civil War lasted 1918-22• Fought between Reds (communists or
Bolsheviks) & Whites (Mensheviks or non-communists)
• Western nations sent troops to help White Army
• Approximately 15 million died in the fighting or as a result of the famine & disease caused by civil war
Problems Face the Bolsheviks
• By 1921 Russian economy was in ruins
• one-sixth of prewar levels
• Factories not producing
• Transportation not moving
• Farmland devastated & livestock killed
• Famine widespread
Problems Face the Bolsheviks• Lenin announced New Economic Policy in
March 1921 to address economic problems
• Was a mix of communism & capitalism:• Peasants could own land & sell crops for a profit
• Small businesses could operate on free market basis
• Large businesses controlled by state