The Russian Revolution

Russian Revolution 1917

The Scientific Revolution (mid-1500’s)
• People begin to question preexisting beliefs and examine nature based
on observation, scientific process, etc.

The Enlightenment (mid 1600’s-mid 1700’s)

• Thinkers like Locke, Rousseau, Montesquie, etc. begin to apply scientific
process to society and government

Political Revolutions (American (1776), French (1789),

Haitian, etc.)
• Reovolutionaries challenge the existing political structure and apply
Enlightenment ideas to government.

Rise and Fall of Napoleon in France (1799-1815)

• France has a power vaccuum after the revolution because the Directory is
weak, paving the way for a strong ruler.
• Napoleon is defeated after conquering much of Europe.

Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna (1814)
•After Napoleon’s defeat, the rulers in Europe want to limit France’s power and divide
the empire. They do not divide Europe along ethnic lines-this will lead to Nationalism

Nationalism (mid to late 1800’s)

•Following the Congress of Vienna, national groups (based upon a common history,
language, etc) begin to form nation states.
•Five Elements of Nationalism, Nationalist Speeches, Germany, etc.

Imperialism (1884-1914)
•As Nations grow, they begin to compete for prestige and power. They exert and
demonstrate their power by colonizing Africa and Asia.
•Berlin Conference through WWI
•Colonization of Africa and The British Empire

World War One (1914-1918)

•There are Four MAIN Causes
•Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism

World War One is one of the many causes of the Russian Revolution
 Timeline of the Russian Revolution

November 1920:
November 1917: In
August 1914: After 3 years of
the Bolshevik
Russia enters fighting, the
Revolution,
WWI on the Russian Civil War
Communists led by
side of the ends with a
Vladimir Lenin take
Allied Powers Bolshevik victory.
over the Russian
Government

March 1917:
Russian citizens March 1918:
revolt and force The Bolshevik
Czar Nicholas II government December 1922:
to give up power. signs the The Soviet Union
A provisional treaty of is formed.
government is Brest-Litovsk,
established. which ends
Russian
involvement in
WWI
Russian Government Before the War
• Czar Nicholas II-Leader of Russia
• Czarina Alexandra-His Wife
• Rasputin-A self proclaimed healer and
friend of the Czarina
Years before the war
• Russia embarrassed by loss to
industrializing Japan in the Russo-
Japanese War
• Revolution of 1905- “Bloody Sunday”
– Russian soldiers fired on unarmed protesters
(500-1000 people were killed)
– Led to the creation of the Duma (legislature)
• 1914-Economic Conditions in Russia were
terrible
• The Czar hope WWI would unite the
country and people would rally around their
leaders.
Russia in WWI
• Russia had an enormous army of 6 million soldiers.
• Russia was unprepared for war.
– Factories could not produce enough military supplies
– Outdated military supplies
– Transportation system was weak (Remember the
Schelffen Plan?)
– Poor leaders who rose through the ranks by personal
connections and not ability.
• Russia suffered heavy losses in both victory and
defeat in the war.
– 4 million casualties in the first year alone.
• 1915-Czar Nicholas takes personal command of the
military despite no military knowledge and the
situation grows worse.
– Defeats cause the soldiers to lose confidence in their
leaders.
Rasputin
• An illiterate, disheveled
self-proclaimed holy man
and healer has the ear of
Czarina Alexandra
– She believes he “healed” her
son Alexis who had
hemophilia (uncontrolled
bleeding)
• While the czar is away,
Alexandra relies on
Rasputin for advice.
• The Russian people’s
confidence is shaken
further.
The Russian Revolution-The February
Revolution (Because of the old Russian
calendar)
• March 8, 1917: Citizens in Petrograd
protest in the streets protesting the lack
of food and fuel.
– Rallying cry of “Peace, Land, and Bread”
• Police and soldiers defy the order to shoot
the rioters.
• Czar Nicholas orders the Duma
(legislature) to disband-they refuse.
• March 15, the czar abdicates (leaves) the
throne
The Provisional Government
• The Duma establishes a temporary government led
by Aleksandr Kerensky
• Many Russians were unhappy with the new
leadership
• They were tired of the war and wanted land and
food.
• The Bolsheviks were the provisional government’s
main opposition
– They wanted a fundamental change in Russian
government and society
– A Marxist Revolution to abolish private property and
enforce social equality
• Leader of the Bolsheviks-Vladimir Lenin
– Lenin was forced out of Russia but returned in April
1917
– Germany arranged the return hoping Lenin would cause
unrest and weaken the Russian war effort in WWI
The Bolshevik Revolution
• Mid-1917: Kerensky’s government orders a
military offensive against Germany-it fails.
– Military units rebel, some even kill their own
officers.
• November 1917-The Red Guard (armed
Bolshevik factory workers) attack the
provisional government
– Becomes known as the October Revolution.
• The Bolsheviks gain power
– Institute a Communist program-makes private
ownership of land illegal, factories are controlled
by the workers.
After the Revolution
• Leon Trotsky (a Bolshevik official) negotiates a peace
treaty
– Russia had little bargaining power and was forced to accept a
harsh treaty.
–Withdrew from World War I in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
• Civil War breaks out.
– Anti-Bolshevik factions unite as the White Army (who ended
up getting help from France and the US).
– After 3 years, the Red Army wins and Russia is firmly
communist
• The faltering Russian economy is in ruins
– 1921-Lenin introduces the New Economic Policy which allows
some capitalist activity (example: Peasants could sell their
food for profit)
• The Soviet Union is created
– 1922-Russian economy improves.
– Russia reunites neighboring lands that had been part of the
empire pre-1917
– The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) is formed
• Lenin dies in 1924-his death leaves a power vacuum.
 Timeline of the Russian Revolution

November 1920:
November 1917: In
August 1914: After 3 years of
the Bolshevik
Russia enters fighting, the
Revolution,
WWI on the Russian Civil War
Communists led by
side of the ends with a
Vladimir Lenin take
Allied Powers Bolshevik victory.
over the Russian
Government

March 1917:
Russian citizens March 1918:
revolt and force The Bolshevik
Czar Nicholas II government December 1922:
to give up power. signs the The Soviet Union
A provisional treaty of is formed.
government is Brest-Litovsk,
established. which ends
Russian
involvement in
WWI