1. The Russian Revolution
Czar Nicholas II: was the leader of Russia as World War I broke out
He had no military training but insisted on taking control of the Russian armed forces
-there were no more competent military leaders
Russia’s lack of industry kept it from being able to create the weapons and supplies needed for Total War
-Russians soldiers trained with broomsticks
-Many Russian soldiers sent to the front without rifles, hoping to find one from a dead comrade

2. The Russian Revolution
Between 1914 and 1916, over two million Russian soldiers were killed
Another 4-to-6 million Russian soldiers were wounded or captured
By 1917, the Russians had lost their will to fight

3. The Russian Revolution
Nicholas II relied on his army to maintain power
Alexandra: the czar’s German-born wife
-she was determined and stubborn
Rasputin: a Siberian peasant who had convinced Alexandra that he was a holy man and had some prophetic powers

4. The Russian Revolution
With Nicholas II away at war, Alexandra made all of the important decisions
She insisted on consulting Rasputin, who did not hesitate to interfere
A series of military and economic disasters made Russian population upset with the monarchy
Rasputin was assassinated in December, 1916, but it was too late as revolutionary movements that had already begun could not be stopped

5. The Russian Revolution
March 1917: price of bread skyrockets, bread is rationed by the government, and a series of strikes breaks out in Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg)
Many of the women who were striking were also factory workers who worked 12-hour days, many had sick and starving children at home

6. The Russian Revolution
March 8, 1917: about 10,000 women marched in Petrograd
-they demanded “Peace and Bread”
-other workers joined them and a general strike was declared which shut down all of the factories in the city

7. The Russian Revolution
Alexandra called on Nicholas for support
-he ordered troops to break up the crowds and shoot the strikers if necessary
Large numbers of soldiers actually joined the strikers and refused to shoot at the crowds
The Duma: the Russian legislature
-Nicholas had tried to dissolve this group
-they met on March 12 and set up a provisional government
-they urged Nicholas to step down as czar because he no longer had military or aristocratic support
March 15, 1917: Nicholas steps down, ended 300 years of Romanov rule

8. The Russian Revolution
Alexander Kerensky: led the provisional government
He chose to keep Russia in World War I to “preserve its honor”
This was a blunder because neither the workers nor the peasants supported the war
-they were tired of years of suffering

9. The Russian Revolution
Soviet: councils composed of representatives from the workers and soldiers
-were a threat to the new government
-soviets rose up throughout Russia, were mostly Socialists, and represented the more radical views of the lower classes
Bolsheviks: came to be one of the most powerful soviets

10. The Russian Revolution
V.I. Lenin: took control of the Bolsheviks
He believed that violent revolution was the only way to destroy capitalism
Lenin had been out of Russia but saw this as an opportunity for the Bolsheviks to gain power
The German government helped return him to Russia, hoping he would create disorder there

11. The Russian Revolution
Lenin thought that the soldier, worker, and peasant soviets could help the Bolsheviks overthrow the provisional government
Lenin made the following promises which gave him support:
An end to the war
Redistribution of all land to the peasants
Transfer of all factories and industries from capitalists to committees of workers
Transfer of government power to the soviets

13. The Russian Revolution
Three main Bolshevik slogans:
Peace, Land, Bread
Worker Control of Production
All Power to the Soviets

14. The Russian Revolution
By October, there were over 240,000 Bolsheviks
Leon Trotsky: leader of the Petrograd soviet
November 6, 1917: Bolsheviks seized power over the provisional government with very little bloodshed
Lenin turned over all power to the Congress of Soviets
Lenin headed the Council of People’s Commissars

15. The Russian Revolution
The Bolsheviks renamed themselves the Communists
In order to fulfill his promise for peace, Lenin knew he would lose much Russian territory
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: signed March 3, 1918
-Russia agreed to give up eastern Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic provinces to Germany
Lenin hoped this would bring peace to Russia, but instead the country sank into a civil war

17. The Russian Revolution
Many people in Russia were opposed to the Communists
Groups loyal to the czar
Anti-Lenin socialists
The Allies: were extremely concerned about the Communists
The Allies sent thousands of troops and aid to anti-Communists
The Communist (Red) Army also forced to fight on many fronts

18. The Russian Revolution
The anti-Communist (White) Army attacked and moved as far as the Volga River before the Reds pushed them back

19. The Russian Revolution
In 1919, White forces attacked from the Baltic and Ukraine regions and almost reached Moscow before they were stopped

20. The Russian Revolution
By 1920, the Red Army had pretty much defeated the Whites
-they retook Ukraine and the Caucasus states of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
Black Sea

21. The Russian Revolution
The Romanov family had been held captive since 1917
April, 1918: they were moved to a remote mining town
July 16, 1918: members of the local soviet murdered the czar and his family and burned their bodies
The Mystery of Anastasia: soon after this event, rumors spread that some family members survived. In 1921, a woman claimed to be Anastasia Romanov. This woman spent much of her life in German court trying to gain the inheritance of the Romanovs. She died in 1984, and DNA tests in 1994 revealed she was not Anastasia Romanov.

22. The Russian Revolution
Reasons why the Red Army was successful:
Trotsky insisted that soldiers were well-disciplined
-he reinstated the draft, and anyone who deserted or refused to obey orders was executed on the spot
The anti-Communist forces were distrustful of each other and lacked unification
-the Whites had no common goal
The Reds used war communism in which the government took complete control of most banks and industries, seized the grain supply from the peasants, and centralized local government under Communist control (very efficient)

23. The Russian Revolution
Cheka: Red secret police that terrorized all who opposed or were not in total favor of the new regime
The installed fear
The presence of foreign armies on Russian soil enabled the Communists to appeal to Russian patriotism
-the Whites at one time had over 100,000 foreign troops on their soil (mostly Japanese, British, American, and French)
-Communists called on patriotic Russians to help fight off foreign attempts to control their country
By 1921, the Communists had complete control in Russia
-they were a highly centralized state dominated by a single party
-very hostile to the Allies because they aided the anit-Communists

25. The Russian Revolution
Russian legislative body in 1917
Trotsky
Duma
Soviets
War communism
Bolshevicks

26. The Russian Revolution
Representative councils of workers and soldiers
Trotsky
Duma
Soviets
War communism
Bolshevicks

27. The Russian Revolution
A small faction of the Russian Social Democrat Party
Trotsky
Duma
Soviets
War communism
Bolshevicks

28. The Russian Revolution
Red Army’s commissar
Trotsky
Duma
Soviets
War communism
Bolshevicks

29. The Russian Revolution
Temporary suspension of Communist practices
Trotsky
Duma
Soviets
War communism
Bolshevicks

30. The Russian Revolution
Russia was unprepared for war in all of the following ways except
No competent military leaders
Weak armament industry
Poorly armed military
No czar, or government leader
Dominating navy

31. The Russian Revolution
Women workers in Petrograd marched in protest, then
Organized a general strike
Began to bake bread
Consulted with Rasputin
Joined the czar’s army
Returned to work and produced record amounts of wartime supplies for the Russian army

32. The Russian Revolution
Outwardly, Lenin turned over power to the all-Russian Congress of Soviets, then
Invaded Poland with a mercenary army of peasants
Signed a peace treaty with the czar and became deputy czar
Passed real power to the Council of People’s Commissars that he controlled
Retired from politics and settled in the Ukraine
Proclaimed himself as Czar of the Soviets

33. The Russian Revolution
Military opposition or other forms of challenges to the Red Army came from all of the following except
Siberian anti-Communists
Italian royalists who supported Lenin
Allied material aid given to the White Army
The Ukrainians
American troops who fought in Russia following World War I

34. The Russian Revolution
Kerensky’s provisional government made the fatal mistake of deciding to
Continue the war
Sign a peace treaty with Germany
Assassinate the czar
Continue the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty
Surrender to the Austro-Hungarians