The Russian Revolution

Russia from Empire to Soviet Union

In the early years of the century, the population was 133 million. Eighty percent of these
were peasants. The peasants becoming very discontented because they didn't own the land
on which they worked.
During this time the Russian industry started to develop quite rapidly and many peasants
left their villages to work in the industrial towns. Living conditions for many were dreadful.
The two most important towns were Moscow and St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg was the
capital. When the First World War started was renamed Petrograd. And then after the
revolution was renamed Leningrad.
The Government
Russia was ruled by the Tsar of the Romanov Royal family
(The Tsar was the Russian word for the Emperor)
He was ¨autocrat¨ that he had complete control of the government.
In 1894 Nicholas II became Tsar; he was too weak to manage the enormous problems from
which Russia suffered during his reign.

Effects of the First World War

· More peasants moved into the towns as more and more weapons were made in the
factories for fighting the war.
· Prices rose very steeply. The price of food in the towns was a particular problem.
· Millions of men and thousands of horses were drafted into the army. This had
serious effects on the production of food on the farms.
· The Russian armies suffered huge casualties. The Soldiers therefore became very
angry about the way the war was being manage.
· In 1915 the Tsar took over as Commander in Chief of the Russian armies, so he came
to be blamed personally for the defeats.

In 1905 there was a revolution. This was called Bloody Sunday.

This was partly caused because the incompetence of the government had led to Russia
being defeated in a war with Japan. (1904-1905)
It was in the great square in front of the royal palace that Father Gapon and his followers
strike in St. Petersburg decided to take their grievances to the Tsar himself rather than to his
corrupt and reactionary ministers.
When the procession of strikers reached the entrance to the square they pleaded with the
Cossacks to allow them to proceed, but were eventually fired upon, and many fell at these
points, staining the snow of the square with their blood.
The revolution was actually sparked off by the killing of hundreds of peaceful
demonstrators.
Over 1000 people died. People were appalled. The unrest spread rapidly.
Within weeks, there were strikes in many others Russian cities.

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Although there were many protesters, there was no one leader or political party to
coordinate the opposition

By this time, Nicholas and his wife Alexandra (the tsarina) were becoming very unpopular,
they were blamed for the sufferings of the country. At this time a strange holy-man named
Rasputin had great influence over the Tsarina. Rasputin had a very bad reputation and tried
to become more powerful through her.
Rasputin´s death was as strange as his life. Two noblemen plotted to kill him to save their
country from his influence.
Opposition
Different groups of people had different ideas about how to improve matters. Some decided
to use violence.
The government reacted by using their secret police, The Okhrana, to track down and arrest
people who were working against them.

The Tsar Reforms

In October a general strike by 3 million workers paralyzed the country (railway system,
factories and shop closed). In that moment Leon Trotsky became President of the First
Soviet (an elected council) in St. Petersburg, who told the workers to prepare for armed
revolution. In October the Tsar Nicholas issued what was called the October Manifesto
which contained certain characteristics: A Parliament (Duma) to be elected by workers,
nobles and the middle class; every law must be passed by the Duma; and freedom of speech
and to hold meetings. Some people doubted that the Tsar would keep his word and a
serious fighting broke out in December resulting in hundreds of people killed or arrested. In
1906 there was a vote for the Duma but the result favoured the middle class and landlords
and not the peasants. In the end the Duma was dissolved by the Tsar knowing that the
police and army would keep everything under control. After that, a few years later Peter
Stolypin, the Russian prime Minister from 1906 to 1911 had a solution. He gave the
landlords a greater share of the vote and ban the extremist, a new Duma suppressing any
further opposition to the Tsar. At the same time he introduced a number of impórtant
reforms for peasants to farm more efficiently as well as free primary schools, better
secondary schools and accident and health insurance for workers.

The Russian Revolution - 1917

· In 1914 – Worldwar I
· Russia was at war with Germany.
The Russian army made up of the working class and the peasants. They weren´t well
equipped or trained for the battles. Millons of Russian had been either killed or wounded.
· The Russian people were angry at Tsar Nicolas the second (II).
Causes:
For getting Russia into war.

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The Tzar taking personal command of the army.

Rasputin´s power over the Royal family.
Food shortages.
For the growing political opposition.

The First Revolution – February 1917

The first revolution came about in February 1917 in Petrograd, now a day St. Petersburg, the
capital of imperial Russia.
o The February Revolution was essentially a bread riot that spiralled out of
control.
● The women of Petrograd marched on the Winter Palace, demanding bread. Some
factories came out on strike in support and soon all the workers in the great
factories of the city were on strike. Soldiers sent to deal with the strikers joined
them.
● There was no leader, no ideological framework and no political movement.
o The army killed several protesters.
o The Tzar abdicated, bringing an end to the Tsarist.

Autocracy and a new government took over.

The Government was run by two political parties.
a. The Petrograd Soviet (powerful political body formed by Trotsky)
b. The provisional Government(official authority with formal power)

The Provisional Government had formal authority but the Soviet controlled
the actual levers of power, including the loyalty of the troops, and offered
only conditional support to the government.

The Bolshevik Revolution.

The provisional Government was also unpopular, it made the decision:
o To remain in the war.
o Failed to give the land to the peasants.

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The Russian Revolution

Vladimir Lenin and The bolsheviks eventually became the communist party of the Soviet
Union. They had a simple Slogan:
Peace – The end of World War I Russian´s involvement.
Bread – Solving food shortages.
Land – The land, which would go to the peasants.
Also all power to the Soviets, meaning that he would seize power in the name of Soviets.
On November 6th and 7th 1917 the Bolsheviks led by Lenin launched a coup d´etat against
the Provisional Government.
o They stormed the winter palace and arrested the Provisional government.
o After the revolution, the Bolshevik government existed the war by singing
a treaty with Germany, called ¨The treaty of brestLitovsk¨.
A civil war would erupt in 1918 by those who are against the new Bolshevik Government.
The white army and,
The Red army, the Bolshevik themselves.

State security: The Bolsheviks had many opponents, such as Kerensky’s Socialists, former
landowners, Russians still loyal to the Tsar and army officers who resented the humiliation
of Brest-Litvosk.
The opposition to the Bolsheviks turned into a full-scale civil war.
Opponents of the regime joined the White Armies gathering on the frontiers of the country.
After seizing control of Russia from the Provisional Government, the Bolsheviks had to
safeguard their fragile grip on the reins of power.

Lenin negotiated peace with Germany and therefore an end to Russia's role in World War
One. However he could not avoid a civil war.

The Russian Civil War was a civil war fought from November 1917 until October 1922
between several groups in Russia.
The two largest combatant groups were the Red Army, fighting for the Bolshevik form of
socialism led by Vladimir Lenin

and the loosely allied forces known as the White Army, which included diverse interests
favoring political monarchism, economic capitalism and alternative forms of socialism, each
with democratic and anti-democratic variants.
The workers and farmers supporting the communists organized themselves into the Red
Army. People opposing them organized themselves into the White Army.

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The Russian Revolution

Leadership of the Reds

The Bolsheviks were extremely fortunate in the quality of their leadership, particularly in
Lenin and Trotsky. Throughout the Civil War, Lenin provided the energy and drive needed to
inspire success, while Trotsky provided the organisation and charisma.

Trosky became Commissar for War with the Job of raising and training a red Army to defend
Bolshevik Russia. A new policy – war communism was brought in to support the forces
defending the homeland.
Trotsky built the Red Army into a fighting force. He toured the conrty in a train and used
propaganda to get the recruits needed. His efficient organization of the red Army played a
major part in the victory.
Role of Leon Trotsky

Trotsky became Commissar for War in the Bolshevik government in March 1918. A brilliant
organiser and improviser, Trotsky created the Red Army out of the Red Guards and from the
remnants of the old Tsarist army.

Trotsky imposed a very tough system of discipline and control over the Red Army. Officers
found guilty of cowardice or treachery were executed. However, men who showed initiative
and courage were promoted rapidly.

Trotsky travelled in an armoured train to the front lines to encourage troops. At times of
crisis, he readily assumed personal command of areas under threat. He successfully inspired
and encouraged troops to greater efforts, and to eventual victory.

Under Lenin's leadership, the Bolsheviks displayed total ruthlessness in making sure that
they did not face rebellion and revolt in the areas they controlled.

Leadership of the Whites

The White Armies appeared to have a number of advantages in the Civil War:

· Their leaders were experienced military commanders

· They controlled huge areas of Russia
· They had the Bolsheviks surrounded
· They had the active support of foreign countries, which intervened in the Civil War
on their behalf.

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The Russian Revolution

However, as the Civil War developed, the White Armies began to face major problems and
difficulties in organising their campaigns. Against the drive and ruthless energy of the
Bolsheviks, their campaigns faltered. By the end of 1920, the Bolsheviks were close to
achieving total victory.

The Red Army and the White Army fought this war on three main fronts. These regions
were located in the east, the south and the northwest of the Soviet Union.

There were also three main periods of the war. The outbreak of the Russian Civil War and its
big scale surprised Vladimir Lenin.
Soon after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the first period of the Russian Civil War began.
Most of the fighting in this period was on a small scale. But, the fighting started at many
places.
The second period of the Russian Civil War was a very important phase. It lasted from
January to November of 1919] At first the White Army was winning on all three fronts. Some
foreign countries were helping the White Army. But, Leon Trotsky reorganized the Red
Army. The Red Army fought back, and the White Army’s loss was heavy. The White Army
almost lost its fighting power.
Fighting in Crimea was the third and final period of the war. Many soldiers of the White
Army had gathered in Crimea. They had made their position very secure and strong. The Red
Army continued to fight with them. When the Polish-Soviet War ended in Polish
independence, more soldiers of the Red Army could reinforce their comrades in Crimea.
This action defeated the White Army in November 1920. Fighting continued against
nationalists in the Caucusus in the early 1920s.
The Red Army eventually defeated the White Armed Forces of South Russia in Ukraine and
the army led by Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak to the east in Siberia in 1919. The remains of the
White forces commanded by Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel were beaten in Crimea and
evacuated in late 1920.

White Army weaknesses

The Whites had a number of weaknesses that led to their defeat.

Divided leadership

While the Bolsheviks had Lenin as their leader, no one person was in charge of the White
forces.

The Whites had several leaders -. All wanted glory for themselves. While trying to defeat the
Reds, they were also often in competition with each other. They were all ambitious men and
each was determined to take control of Russia for himself.

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The Russian Revolution

As a result, there was virtually no co-operation between the various White Armies. They
fought independently and this made it easier for the Red Army to defeat them individually.

Brutality and corruption

White Army forces often behaved with great brutality and cruelty in the areas they
controlled. Towns were burned, property destroyed or stolen, and crops and livestock were
taken by force. If civilians objected, they faced torture and execution. Inevitably, the Whites
became hated and feared.

Corruption was widespread in White-controlled areas. White soldiers looted shops and
houses, and were often drunk. A black market was created for goods originally intended to
help fight the war.

The war ended in 1923 in the sense that Bolshevik communist control of the newly formed
Soviet Union was now assured, although armed national resistance in Central Asia was not
completely crushed until 1934.
The real loser’s were the million Russians who died, many of the them in cold blood.
Executed as Bolsheviks by white armies os as enemies of the State by the Red Army.

The New Economic Policy

When the Civil War ended, Russia was desperately needed new and effective solutions.
Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP). The peasants were free to sell any surplus
grain on the open market allowing small private businesses in the future. However the
heavy industry, power and transport would be run by the State only. These measures meant
the restoration of private property and the revival of the middle class which helped them to
recover from the Civil War. As soon as the NEP began, the cities came to life again.