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Introduction • The Russian Revolution was like a firecracker with a very long fuse. The explosion came in 1917, yet the fuse had been burning for nearly a century. The cruel, oppressive rule of most 19th-century czars caused widespread social unrest for decades. Army officers revolted in 1825. Secret revolutionary groups plotted to overthrow the government.
Czars Resist Change • In 1881, revolutionaries angry over the slow pace of political change assassinated the reform-minded czar, Alexander II. Russia was heading toward a full-scale revolution.
End to Reform • In 1881, Alexander III becomes czar and ends the reforms of his father, Alexander II. • Alexander III institutes autocraticrule, suppressing all opposition and decent.
Czars Continue Autocratic Rule • Government censors written criticism; secret police monitor schools • Non-Russians living in Russia are treated harshly
In 1894, Nicholas II becomes czar and continues autocratic ways
Rapid Industrialization • Number of factories doubles between 1863 and 1900, but Russia still lags behind other European countries. • In late 1800s, new plan boosts steel production and a major railway begins
The Revolutionary Movement Grows • Industrialization breeds discontent over working conditions and wages. • Growing popularity of Marxist idea that proletariat (workers) will rule • Bolsheviks—Marxists who favor revolution by a small committed group
Lenin • Lenin—Bolshevik leader—an excellent organizer and inspiring leader
Bloody Sunday: The Revolution of 1905 • In 1905, 200,000 workers march on the czar’s palace to demand reforms • The army fires into the crowd, killing many • Massacre leads to widespread unrest; Nicholas if forced to make reforms
The short lived Duma • The Duma, Russia’s first parliament, meets in 1906 • Czar is unwilling to share power, dissolves the Duma after only 10 weeks
World War I: The Final Blow • Heavy losses in World War I reveal government’s weakness • Nicholas goes to war front; Czarina Alexandra runs government in his absence
Rasputin • Czarina falls under the influence of Rasputin—a mysterious “holy man”—who she believes has the power to heal her son. • Nobles fear Rasputin’s influence and murder him • Army losing effectiveness; people at home are hungry and unhappy
The March Revolution • In March 1917, strikes expand; soldiers refuse to fire on workers. • Most of the tension is caused by Nicholas II personally taking command of the military in World War I, and the war going so badly.
The Czar Steps Down • March Revolution—protests become uprising; Nicholas abdicates throne • Duma establishes provisional, or temporary government • Soviets—committees of Socialist revolutionaries—control many cities
Lenin Returns to Russia • In April 1917, Germans aid Lenin in returning from exile to Russia (pictured in disguise with his goatee shaved and wearing a wig).
The Bolshevik Revolution • In November 1917, workers take control of the government
Bolsheviks in Power • Lenin gives land to peasants, puts workers in control of factories • Bolsheviks sign treaty with Germany; Russia pulls out of World War I
Civil War Rages in Russia • Civil War between Bolsheviks’ Red Army and loosely allied White Army • Red Army wins three-year war that leaves 14 million dead
Lenin Restores Order with a New Economic Policy • In March 1921, Lenin launches New Economic Policy; has some capitalism • NEP and peace restore economy shattered by war and revolution • By 1928, Russia’s farms and factories are producing again
Political Reforms • Lenin creates self-governing republics under national government • In 1922, country renamed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) • Communist Party—new name taken by Bolsheviks from the writings of Marx
Stalin Becomes Dictator • Trotsky and Stalin compete to replace Lenin after Lenin’s death • Joseph Stalin—cold, hard Communist Party general secretary in 1922 Leon Trotsky Joseph Stalin
Stalin gains power from 1922 to 1927 • Lenin dies in 1924 • Stalin gains complete power in 1928; Trotsky is forced into exile. • Trotsky is murdered in Mexico City in 1940 by an NKVD agent. Room where Trotsky was murdered (above); Trotsky’s murderer, NKVD agent, Romón Mercader (right).
