2. The Russian Empire was very large

3. It was ruled over by the Romanov Tsars ALEXANDER III The last of the true autocrats!

4. The tsars ruled as autocrats

5. Society was static

6. The Tsar was supported by the orthodox church who held sway over the peasants.

7. The Aristocracy

8. To the peasants (who made up over 80% of the population) the tsar was - The Little father of all the Russias

9. And most importantly of all! – The Armed Forces

10. And the Cossacks!

11. Jews were restricted to an area of Western Russia A good method for easing tension was to attack Jewish villages

12. A Pogrom in western Russia

13. Alexander II – the “tsar emancipator” – assassinated 1881

14. As a result all opposition was dealt with severely

15. During Alexander’s reign, Russia began the process of industrialisation Masterminded by SERGEI WITTE

16. This created a new group in Russian society THE PROLETARIAT!

17. The rot set in when Nicholas II came to the throne

18. Nicholas was weak, hated making decisions but was inflexible. He was also dominated by his wife ALEXANDRA A former German Princess

19. Political opposition to the Tsar began to grow. There were - THE LIBERALS Led by PETER STRUVE

20. The Socialist Revolutionaries Agrarian Socialists Led by Savinkov Chernov Carried out a policy of assassination including the Minister of the Interior Pleheve

21. LENIN MARTOV THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY

22. These were urban Communists followers of Karl Marx and believers in the idea of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat

23. In 1903 they split into two separate groups THE BOLSHEVIKS THE MENSHEVIKS LENINMARTOV

24. In 1904 the Tsar became involved in a disastrous war with Japan

25. After the humiliating defeat of the Baltic fleet at the Battle of Tsushima Russia was forced to make peace,

26. The defeat in the war was an important cause of

27. January 1905 – peaceful demonstrators fired on by troops outside the Winter Palace

29. Bloody Sunday led to a loss of confidence in the Tsar and strike happened all over Russia. In June the Tsar received another shock The Mutiny on the Battleship Potemkin.

30. The workers of St. Petersburg set up the St. Petersburg Soviet which became dominated by the Mensheviks led by Leon Trotsky

31. Alarmed by the events, the Tsar was persuaded by Witte to issue the OCTOBER MANIFESTO which gave some democratic rights to the people Hearing the news of the manifesto Witte

32. Nicholas was able to regain control of his troops and bring an end to the revolution in December 1905, According to Trotsky, the revolution had been “A dress rehearsal for revolution!”

34. Stolypin became prime Minister. The first two Dumas were closed down because they were too radical.

35. Stolypin attempted to win back the support of the peasants with agricultural reforms

36. Once again Russia seemed stable and the Monarchy might have survived if it had not been for

37. Military incompetence meant a very poor showing for Russia and constant retreat

38. Even worse was the Tsar’s decision to take command at the front and leave Russia in the charge of his wife, Alexandra was now completely under the influence of RASPUTIN

41. Discontent spilled over in the winter of 1917 leading to

43. In reality, there were two groups trying to run Russia after February The Provisional Government, representing the middle classes The Petrograd Soviet, representing the workers and soldiers Lenin referred to this situation as DUAL POWER

44. Lenin, who had been in exile in Switzerland arrived (with the help of the Germans) arrive back in Petrograd and began to stir up trouble for the Provisional Government

45. He set out his ideas in THE APRIL THESES where he called for an immediate second revolutions He also coined the phrases PEACE BREAD AND LAND ALL POWER TO THE SOVIETS

46. Lenin encouraged the peasants to seize the land and the workers to go on strike and seize control of the factories.

47. Meanwhile, the Provisional Government had taken the decision to continue with the war. In June there was a disastrous offensive commanded by General Brusilov

48. The disaster caused problems for the Provisional government and led to an attempt by the Bolsheviks to take over in July. JULY DAYS The incident was known as JULY DAYS

50. In the end the attempt failed – leading Bolsheviks were arrested and Lenin had to flee to Finland in disguise. However, all this was to change in August when the right wing general Kornilov attempted to take over. His troops were stopped by the Bolshevik RED GUARDS. The Bolsheviks were riding high in public opinion again.

51. Kornilov Regiment Badge The failure of the right wing to seize power meant that the Provisional Government was doomed – it was only a matter of time.

52. ВИТОК В ОКТЯБРЬ

53. Trotsky as head of the MILITARY REVOLUTIONARY COMMITTEE of the Petrograd Soviet, was given to job of organising the Bolshevik seizure of power.

55. The Bolsheviks had seized power – now they had to hang on to it! A major threat came from THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY - an elected body in which the S.R.s had the majority. In January 1918 Lenin closed them down.

56. Lenin also had to make good his promise of

57. Against the wishes of some of his own party, he brought about the end of the war with Germany with THE TREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK This caused Russia to lose huge amounts of land and industry.

59. Trotsky led the RED ARMY

60. DENIKEN WRANGEL YUDENICH SEMENOV KOLCHAK Leaders of the WHITE ARMIES

61. The White Armies were supported by Britain, USA France and Japan

63. Both sides also faced attacks from the Anarchists and the Greens led by Nestor Makhno

64. The whites had a number of disadvantages: They were split politically – some wanted the Tsar reinstated, others did not. Some were socialists, others were right wing. They were split geographically – Kolchak in Siberia, Deniken in the South, Yudenich in the Baltic states. They treated the workers and peasants badly and so lost valuable support.

65. The communists had a number of advantages The Red Army was brilliantly led by Trotsky The Communists were unified in purpose They were geographically united, controlling “Mother Russia” which gave them a psychological and economic advantage as well as controlling the main communication routes. Excellent propaganda won support for the Bolsheviks.

67. Ultimately the Bolsheviks were able to defeat the Whites and secure their hold over Russia by 1922. One of the major changes that helped them win was

68. The primary features of War Communism were: Uncontrolled inflationary printing press finance, ultimately leading to hyperinflation and nationwide reversion to barter Near universal nationalization of manufacturing; widespread nationalization of retailing Stringent price controls upon and forced requisitioning of agricultural products; state monopoly on grain purchases Forced labour for civilians as well as the military

69. War communism led to hyperinflation and famine

70. Dissatisfaction with War Communism led in 1921 to Lenin was forced to change his economic policy to

72. This was an attempt to revive the economy by allowing some private trade. It also allowed the peasants to farm their own land and sell their own produce on the open market, “From the NEP will come Socialism” It worked!

76. The struggle boiled down to a conflict between: TROTSKY STALIN v

77. Trotsky’s characteristics Seen as an intellectual There was a worry that he would use the Red Army to seize power Few supporters among the rank and file members of the Party There was a worry that his policy of “PERMANENT REVOLUTION” would destroy the stability brought about by the New Economic Policy

78. Stalin’s characteristics Seen as dull – “The Grey Blur” Good at administrative tasks A “man of the people” Easily underestimated Policy of “SOCIALISM IN ONE COUNTRY” seen as maintaining the stability of the New Economic Policy

79. Stalin formed an alliance with the left wing of the Party and had Trotsky removed from power and influence Stalin Kamenev Zinoviev

80. He then formed an alliance with the right wing of the Party against the left and had Kamenev and Zinoviev removed from power Tomsky RykovBukharin

81. In 1928 Stalin turned against his right wing allies over the question of ending the NEP. By this time, using his position as GENERAL SECRETARY he had built up a massive following among the bureaucracy of the Party and was able to use this to remove his opponents from positions of influence. By the time of his 50 th birthday in 1929 Stalin was the undisputed leader of the Party and therefore, the Soviet Union

84. Now in power, Stalin began to modernise The USSR rapidly. This was known as

85. COLLECTIVISATION PEASANTS WERE FORCED TO COLLECTIVISE THEIR LAND AND LIVESTOCK. THOSE THAT REFUSED WERE LABELED KULAKS

86. Many of the Kulaks were sent to the GULAGs ( labour camps) Some protested by slaughtering all of their livestock rather than let them go to the Collective.

87. A combination of sabotage and mismanagement led to food shortage which developed into

88. According to some estimates up to 10 million died as a result

89. Eventually, collectives prospered

90. Collectivisation was accompanied by a series of Five year plans designed to create a Modern Command Economy Designed to allow the Soviet Union to compete with the West

91. DESPITE A LOT OF INITIAL HARDSHIPS, THE PLANS DID BOOST INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION ENORMOUSLY

92. From 1932 to 1938 a series of purges took place, first of Communist Party members and then spreading to the Red Army and the population as a whole. No one was safe. Being denounced usually led to death or BEING SENT TO:

93. LABOUR CAMPS

94. No one was safe, even the leaders of the Party. In a series of “Show Trials” eminent Bolsheviks were accused of crimes against the state and theirs trials were given much publicity

95. Apart from Stalin, all dead by 1939 – executed Or suicide