Russian revolution:

Tsar: emperor in Russian

Challenges to tsars authority:
• 1905 revolution: The Tsar decided to declare war on Japan to increase patriotism and moral in
Russia, He and his generals thought the war would be easy, However to their surprise they lost
against the better equipped and trained Japanese soldiers.
• Bloody Sunday: on January 22nd 1905 A priest and hundreds of other peasants came to the
winter palace to show a petition to Tsar Nicolas, they believed that he was unaware of the
suffering of the people, however to their surprise they were shot at by soldiers of the Russian
army, the people caught wind of this and this was one of the main catalysts for the 1905
revolution.
Describe tsarist Russia: Life in Tsarist Russia was very tough for a majority of the people, around 80% of
the people in Russia were peasants, They were kept uneducated and ignorant to ensure they were kept
under control, they were always on the brink of starvation and most had never seen money in their lives,
they were paid in raw resources like crops. The working class/Factory workers were mistreated and
worked in terrible working conditions. The middle class was the smallest group, they were mostly
doctors and lawyers, they had money but did not own land. They were jealous of the other nations in
Europe and how much liberties they had, in simple terms the middle class wanted more freedom and
representation in Russian politics. While their subjects were starving and dying, the ruling class who
were mostly nobles and land owners lived lavish lives and lived in huge houses and palaces, even though
they only made up 5% of the population they held around 90% of the wealth in Russia, they gave lavish
gifts such as diamond rings, jewelry and even emerald eggs to eachother, while in contrast their subjects
were impoverished and malnourished.
Why did the Romanov dynasty collapse: in 1917, the Tsars generals advised him to abdicate power, after
he abdicated, he made his way back to Petrograd but was arrested, his family and him were placed
under house arrest in a palace on the outskirts of Petrograd, they were still able to live their lavish life.
However Lenin moved them to Yekaterinburg in Siberia, more specifically the ipatiev house. However on
a faithful morning on July 17 1918, the entire family was murdered.
Examples of the Tsars failures
• Ww1
• Russo Japanese war
• Failed to share power with duma.
• Failed to modernize and liberalize and give people rights.
What happened to Rasputin: on December the 30th 1916, Rasputin was poisoned with 8x cyanide, shot 2
times, got beaten up, but he eventually died from drowning.
Timeline of 1917 revolution:
• Tsar abdicated and was replaced by the provisional government and the local soviets.
 • March 14th: Order no.1 (this declared that the soviets were more powerful than the provisional
government.
• June 1917: over 40 media outlets supported the Bolsheviks. And there are over 10k Red army
soldiers in Petrograd alone.
• July 1917: There was a failed coup, The Bolsheviks were forced to go into hiding to avoid capture
and arrest.
• Kornilov tired to seize power and establish a military dictatorship to keep Russia in ww1,
however his coup failed and the provisional government were forced to arm the red army
• Kornilov’s failed coup allowed the Bolsheviks to say they were the defenders of Petrograd, Lenin
soon ordered the revolution to begin
• 24th October 1917: Key buildings were captured, roads were blocked and the winter palace was
surrounded, the army surrendered and the Bolsheviks came into power.
• End of October 1917: The Bolsheviks had taken over Moscow and soon secuared control of all of
Russia.
Lenins rule:
Wanted peace with Germany immediately at any cost, redistribution of land, banks and businesses to be
fully under the control of the government.
Slogans: PEACE, BREAD AND LAND!
Treaty of brest Litovsk:
• Loss of land (independent Poland, Baltic states, Ukraine, Belarus and Finland.)
• 74% of iron and coal was taken.
• 50% of industrial capacity of Russia was lost, loss of around 20% of Russian farmland.
• Constitute assembly: Lenin promised free elections for the people, he held elections to elect an
assembly that will create the constitution. Lenin thought that the Bolsheviks would win in a
massive landslide, however to his surprised the SR (SOCIAL REVOLUTIONAIRES) won the election
and won around 58% of the seats, meanwhile the Bolsheviks only got around 25%.
Lenin’s response:
• Claimed that the CA (constitute assembly) was going against the will of the people
• Sent troops to shut down the CA
• Banned all other parties.

Civil war: fighting within a country (internal fighting)

Why the reds won the civil war: they were better equipped, more organized and had little to no internal
struggles meaning Trotsky and the reds could focus on the external threats.
How did Lenin die: 2 stokes and 1 assassination attempt resulted in his death
Why didn’t Trotsky become the next leader of the USSR: Trotsky was supposed to succeed Lenin,
however Stalin at this point was too powerful and had many allies, they soon exiled Trotsky.

Rise of dictators!
Dictatorship: a government in which only one person decides and creates decisions without any consent
from anyone.
Timeline of rise of dictators:
• 1918: end of ww1
• 1919: treaty of Versailles
• 1925: Mussolini becomes dictator of Italy
• 1928: Stalin becomes the total dictator of the USSR
• 1929: Wall Street crash (start of great depression)
• 1934: Hitler becomes the Fuhrer of Germany.
• 1939: Start of WW2 (invasion of Poland triggered this)
Karl Marx theory:
• All businesses and banks should be owned by the government
• Land is distributed evenly.
• Workers’ rights
• Wealth distributed evenly.
• Power is shared by all the people
Nationalism: identification of the country’s interest, not based on individuals. Glorification of a one state
above all and promoting its cultural and political interests.
Fascism: Similar to Nationalism, however there is a belief in a chosen race and that they are the superior
race to everyone else. The government controls everything and the state is run by one person.
Nationalism and Fascism are right wing parties.
Communism: a theory in which all property, wealth and land is evenly distributed among the population.
Capitalism: A economic and political system in which businesses and banks are run by private companies
without little to no government intervention to increase profit.
Political spectrum:
Left wing:
• Economy: heavy taxation on wealthy people, government intervenes to control economy to
ensure high employment and prevent recession
• Society: strive for equal society, provide support for people through welfare
 • Values: tend to support equality and take progressive view embracing change and development
of society.
Right wing:
• Economy: Low taxation, allow businesses to grow, leave market to its own devices.
• Society: believe inequality is unavoidable and plays a small role in peoples lives
• Values: tends to support traditional views, this includes gender role stereotypes, resistant to
change and progression of society.