The Rise and Impact of Authoritarianism

Emphasis on “authority of the state” Non-elected leaders Unregulated exercise of political power Limited civil liberties Lack of opposition CommunismNazismFascism

Ideology emphasising classlessness Inspired by Marx and Engels’ The Communist Manifesto One party only – the Communist party Collective and planned economy No private ownership Everyone is equal in wealth and rank

in Russia On hindsight, Communism is seen as an authoritarian system Russian leaders were not democratically elected, especially in Joseph Stalin’s time Opposition was forcefully silenced

Tsar Nicholas II –

What can you infer from this cartoon about Russian society? Many levels of hierarchy The poor (the ‘proletariat’) had to support many people Middle-class do not have much say Autocratic, insufficient political representation

MATI Makan no enough Not enough to eat, insufficient shelter, food and necessities not well distributed Army no good Lousy leaders, training, weapons and morale – led to lost men, resources and pride Trouble at work Workers diverted to the army - factories empty, production declines Inflation at home Basic necessities rise in price, Russians cannot afford goods

Political discontent Alienated middle- class who wanted to participate in government Socialist revolutionaries not pleased with autocratic system; wanted to create a socialist state Social discontent Long hours, low pay, terrible working and living conditions Periodic famines, insufficient to eat High cost of living

Inefficient and corrupt Tsarist regime Weak, indecisive Tsar obsessed with personal affairs (his son’s medical condition) Did not grant any political concessions to the people Unable to meet people’s needs Persisted with an unpopular war Poor economic conditions Poor harvests Economic adviser implemented high taxes, low wages

Outbreak of War 1915: Tsar personally took over the war Worsened socioeconomic effects Insufficient people to fill factories Caused loss of Russian pride Caused shortages of fuel and food

 Took over in March 1917  Known as the ‘February Revolution’  Forced the Tsar to abdicate

Did not carry out land or economic reforms Put in most of Russia’s resources into the unpopular war Disunited and weak – could not reach out to the masses

Postponed decision- making: did not implement reforms Peasants still as poor as before Did not carry out land or economic reforms Pledged to continue the war until victory was won Did not call for reparations anymore Continued socioeconomic strife Put in most of Russia’s resources into the war Initial head Lvov a puppet leader Kerensky government did nothing to save the economy Government was not backed by the army Democratic ideals not understood by the people Had to struggle with the increasingly popular soviets Disunited and weak

The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, established the new Communist government in November 1917.

Promised to help Russia regain military status and end the war Promised to reorganise and revitalise the economy Promised to meet the domestic needs of the people NAME: ______________________ [ ] CLASS: ________ “Peace, Land, Bread” “All power to the soviets”

 Bolsheviks managed to capitalise upon the unrest in the capital  Overwhelmed Kornikov (army general) completely  Seized power at a critical moment

Failure of previous government to carry out their functions Social factors Economic factors Military factors Political factors

 Think about short term and long term factors What set the conditions for Communism? What events made everything come to light? Who/what made the revolutions happen?