1. Russian Revolution

2. Russian Government Before Revolution
Monarchy: The Czar (Tsar)
Until 1905 the Tsar's powers were unlimited.
Russia had no constitution,
no political party system to check the Tsar's power
A strong secret police which terrorized the people.

3. Royal Background Nicholas II
Created the first secret police in Russia, brutal leader, response to revolt of army officers in 1825

4. Czar Alexander II
He implemented important reforms, notably the abolition of serfdom,
In 1867, he sold Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to the United States.
Killed by the Revolutionary Group: The People’s Will

5. Czar Alexander III
Alexander III's reign was during an industrial revolution in Russia .
His reign was harsh, against revolutionaries and other liberal movements.

6. Setting the Stage for War
Political Cartoon
Setting the Stage for War

7. Setting the Stage for War
Political Cartoon
Setting the Stage for War

8. Czar Nicholas II (1894) Last Czar of Russia
Nicholas II was a harsh and weak ruler
The Russian economy was bankrupt because of the Russo-Japanese War and WWI Russia’s entry into WWI became very unpopular.

9. Czar Nicholas II and Family

10. Russo-Japanese War (1904)
Dispute over Manchuria with Japan
Shook national confidence in their progress and rule of Czar.

11. Bloody Sunday (1905)

12. Russia and World War I Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary
War becomes unpopular
Rationing leads to starvation
Nicholas II leaves St. Petersburg to war front

13. Weaknesses of Russia Setting the Stage for War Insufficient food
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Weaknesses of Russia
Insufficient food
Appropriate armaments; poorly equipped
Inadequate roads
Poorly led military
Corrupt, inefficient government
No faith in government or czar

14. Weaknesses of Russia Setting the Stage for War SECTION 1
Russia was ill-equipped to fight the war and suffered great losses – between over 6 million casualties - Russia also suffering inflation and hunger.
Tsarist regime led by Nicholas II pulled away from affairs – a supposed Holy Man named Rasputin became influential to the Tsar, which upset many in Russia – Tsar tried to hold onto autocratic rule

15. Weaknesses of Russia Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Weaknesses of Russia
Czar Nicholas II went to the front lines to help the troops, which left his wife Alexandra in charge (the people didn’t trust her since she was German)
The Czar was incompetent on the battlefront.

17. Rasputin

18. Rasputin with Admirers

20. Why was this time different?
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Why was this time different?
March, 1917, “Peace and Bread” protests in Petrograd
1917 – Royal palace is taken over.
Soldiers meant to disperse crowd joined in
Duma assumed responsibility and Tsar abdicated. Tsar Nicholas and his family were soon imprisoned.
New provisional government decided to carry on war to preserve Russian pride
Opposed by soviets who wanted to end the war – soviets largely workers and soldiers

21. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War

22. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
6th June 1906: In a cartoon called 'Peril!' in Punch, Liberty says to the Tsar, 'Give him his head, it's your only chance, and mine!'

23. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Two factions fought for control of the soviets.
Mensheviks
Bolsheviks

24. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
The Bolsheviks
Marxist Social Democrats led by Vladimir Lenin – dedicated to violent revolution – Lenin was in hiding until the provisional government came to power, then he was secretly shipped back to begin revolution and to seize power
Promised: end to war, redistribution of land, transfer of industries to worker councils, and government power to the soviets – gained popularity among the soviet groups

25. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Took control of the government on November 6, 1917 with the help of the Petrograd soviets led by Leon Trotsky
Lenin the head of the new Council of People’s Commissars – communist
Mensheviks - A member of the liberal faction of the Social Democratic Party that struggled against the Bolsheviks before and during the Russian Revolution. They were a minority group trying to appeal to the peasants. They lost out.

26. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Soviet = council
The leaders were socialists.
Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies

27. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Took control of the government on November 6, 1917 with the help of the Petrograd soviets led by Leon Trotsky Lenin the head of the new Council of People’s Commissars - communist

28. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Vladimir Lenin – revolutionary socialist
Their slogan was “Peace, Bread, and Land”
His version of Marxism formed the basis of communism.

30. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Civil War in Russia
I. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is signed with Russia giving up a considerable amount of land.
II. Communists faced great opposition – civil war breaks out early 1918 and lasts three years
Not everyone was happy with the new communist government and Allies wanted Russia back in the war
The Bolshevik Red Army fought anti-Bolshevik forced known as the White Army – White Army defeated
Red Army a disciplined unit while White Army was disorganized and not unified – wanted different ends
Red secret police, the Red Terror known as the Cheka, stopped any opposition

31. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Civil War in Russia
Tsar and his family murdered and burnt down in a mine shaft

32. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Peace and Civil War
Renamed Russia …. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the U.S.S.R. (Soviet Union)

33. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Peace and Civil War
Renamed Russia …. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the U.S.S.R. (Soviet Union)

34. Setting the Stage for War
SECTION 1
Setting the Stage for War
Bolshevik political cartoon poster from 1920, showing Lenin sweeping away monarchists and capitalists; the caption reads, "Comrade Lenin Cleanses the Earth of Filth"
Bolshevik political cartoon poster from 1920, showing Lenin sweeping away monarchists and capitalists; the caption reads, "Comrade Lenin Cleanses the Earth of Filth"