Revolutions in Russia The Russian Revolution officially happened in 1917 in the middle of WWI, but had been boiling over for nearly a century under the rule of the czars Czars Resist Change In 1881, Alexander III takes over after Russian revolutionaries assassinate his father Alexander III rules on the principle of autocracy He imposed censorship codes to monitor publishing, and forbade the speaking of any languages other than Russian, and any religion other than Russian Orthodox After Alexander III, Nicholas II took over and continued to rule under the autocracy even though times were changing

Russia Industrializes Under Nicholas, the Russian government invited foreign investors to help finance industrialization Russia became a major producer in steel In 1916, the Trans-Siberian Railway was completed Revolutionary Movement Continues As industrialization brought some of the same problems it did in Europe, the masses grew discontent Nicholas II outlawed trade unions, so workers resorted to striking groups of workers that followed Karl Marx Mensheviks wanted a wide base of support for the revolution; Bolsheviks wanted a small number of revolutionaries Vladimir Lenin became the leader of the Bolsheviks, who would flee to Germany to avoid being executed by the czar

Crises at Home and Abroad Between 1904-1917, Russia faced a series of crises that would expose how weak the czar was Russo-Japanese War Japan and Russia were competing for control of Korea and Manchuria The two signed agreements, which were later broken by Russia. Japan responded by attacking Russia, fueling discontent under the czarist regime Bloody Sunday Jan 22, 1905- around 200,000 workers and families march to the czar’s palace in St. Petersburg to demand better working conditions, more personal freedom, etc. Nicholas II generals fired on the crowed, killing and injuring over a thousand In response, Nicholas II created the Duma (Russian parliament), but later dissolved in ten weeks later after not wanting to share power

WWI: The Final Blow Russia was not prepared for WWI as evident in the numerous defeats, and the weakness in military leadership was evident After moving to the war front to rally troops in 1915, Nicholas II’s wife took over the government She ignored his chief advisors and fell under the influence of Rasputin because he “healed” her son In 1916, a group of nobles murdered Rasputin because he was corrupt On the war front soldiers were mutinying, deserting, and ignoring orders  people back home wanted an end to the war, but neither Alexandra nor Nicholas II were capable of ending it which led to their demise

The March Revolution In March of 1917, nearly 200,000 workers went on strike against the war and the autocracy Czar Steps Down A year after abdicating, Nicholas II and his family were executed The Duma established a provisional government under Alexander Kerensky (who continued fighting the war) As the war dragged on, conditions in Russia worsened Socialist revolutionaries formed soviets (local councils consisting of workers, peasants, and soldiers) Lenin Returns to Russia Germany believed that Lenin and his Bolshevik supporters would hurt the war effort against Germany, so they made his return from exile a reality

Bolshevik Revolution Provisional Government Topples In November of 1917, the Bolshevik “Red Guards” took over the provisional government, and Alexander Kerensky quickly disappeared Bolsheviks in Power Lenin gave all land to the peasants, game control of all factories to the workers, and signed a truce with Germany to stop the fighting  What treaty is this??? Due to territorial loss, the treaty was viewed as a defeat of Russia, which spread anger among many Russians

Civil War Rages in Russia The Bolsheviks opponent was the White Army Several western nations sent troops to support the Red Army Over 14 million died during the revolution, but in the end the Red Army reigned supreme Comparing World Revolutions The Russian Revolution was more like the French Revolution than the American Revolution because it was aimed at tearing down existing political and social structures rather than expanding political and social ideas

Lenin Restores Order New Economic Policy Lenin put his socialist economic plans aside, and adopted the New Economic Policy (NEP) Under the NEP, farmers were allowed to sell their surplus crops rather than hand them over to the gvmt It allowed small factories and businesses operate privately, and encouraged foreign investment Political Reforms In 1922, Lenin reorganized the empire into the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) Bolsheviks renamed their party the “Communist Party”

Stalin Becomes a Dictator In 1922 Vladimir Lenin suffered a stroke which allowed competition for the head of the Communist Party Joseph Stalin became the forerunner of the campaign By 1928, Stalin was in total command of the Communist Party