Revolution and Nationalism1900-1939
Revolutions in Russia C. 30 S.1In 1881 revolutionaries
frustrated by slow change in Russia, assassinated czar Alexander II.
Alexander III takes over in 1881 and halts all reforms in Russia, ruled by AUTOCRACY- absolute power.
Many political prisoners killed or sent to Siberia, Jews were especially targeted.
Russia IndustrializesRussia becomes the fourth largest producer of steel
in the worldThe longest railroad in the world is completed (The
Trans-Siberian Railway)Laborers are treated poorly and forced to work
long hours, under harsh conditions, for little pay or food.
Revolutionaries in the labor movement wanted PROLETARIAT-workers would rule the country
The Bolsheviks- revolutionaries willing to sacrifice everything for change. Led by a ruthless organizer VLADIMIR LENIN.
Crisis In Russia and AbroadEvents that sparked the Revolutions
The Russo-Japanese War – late 1800’s Russian losses in Manchuria sparked unrest
Bloody Sunday, 1905- 200,000 Workers petition czar Nicholas II for better working conditions. He orders soldiers to fire, killing many and wounding 1,000.
WWI- over 4 million killed, missing, wounded, over 1 million killed. Weakened the country even further.
RASPUTIN- “The Holy Man”…ummmm. No!
The March Revolution 1917- 200,000 starving workers took to the streets, “Down with the czar.” “Down with the war” at first soldiers shot them..then sided with them
Nicholas II 1868-1918
“Read all about it..Czar Nicholas II abdicates the throne! He and his family are killed one year later! 300 years of the Romanovs rule is over! Down with the czar!”---July 1918
Provisional GovernmentProvisional Government- temporary
government.Led by Alexander Kerensky, he favored
staying in WWI. The Russian people did not and he lost support.
Soviets- local workers, peasants, and soldiers who wanted more land and better conditions; were formed and opposed the new government.
Lenin (who had been exiled for many years) returns to Russia to lead the Bolshevik Revolution.
“Peace, Land, and Bread”
Russian Revolution and Civil War 1905-1922
Bolshevik territory, Oct. 1919
Territories lost (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 1918)
Bolshevik uprisings, 1917–1918
White Russian andAllied attacks, 1918–1920Bolshevik counterattacks,
1918–1920Major civil war battle
areas, 1918–1920Boundaries of Russia, 1922
Lenin and the Bolsheviks gain powerNovember 1917 armed workers storm
Kerensky's palace and seize control.Lenin gives farmland back to the peasants
and orders factories to be run by the workersSigned a truce with Germany and pulled
Russia out of the warMany Russians mad with the terms of the
treaty, not everyone liked Lenin
Civil War in RussiaWhite Army Red Army
Many different groups that did not get along
No real leadershipSome wanted the return
of czarist Russia, some just did not like Lenin
Supported LeninLed by Leon TrotskyWon the 2 year warOver 14 million Russians
died from the battles, disease, and famine.
The USSR and Communist PartyLenin restores order in RussiaThe economy slowly recoveredIn 1922 the country was changed to the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to honor the Soviets
The Bolsheviks renamed their party the Communist Party- described a classless society that would rule when workers took over. Theory from Karl Marx
Essentially a dictatorship
Marx vs. LeninKarl Marx Lenin
• History was the story of class struggle.
• The struggle Marx saw was between
capitalists and the proletariat, or the workers. • The proletariat’s numbers would become so great and their condition so poor that a spontaneous revolution would occur. • The revolution would end with a “dictatorship of the proletariat”—the communal ownership of wealth.
History was the story of class struggle. • The struggle Lenin saw was
capitalists against the proletariat and the peasants. • The proletariat and the peasants
were not capable of leading a revolution and needed the guidance of professional revolutionaries. • After the revolution, the state needed to be run by a single party with disciplined, centrally directed administrators in order to ensure its goals.
Joseph Stalin becomes dictator
Lenin Suffers a stroke in 1922.Stalin a ruthless leader wants to rule the Communist PartyLenin dies in 1924 but said right before he died, “Comrade Stalin..has concentrated enormous power in his hands, and I am not sure that he always knows how to use that power with caution.”Stalin will rule the USSR with ABSOLUTE POWER.