Russian Revolution and Imperial Russia

The Fall of Imperial Russia

• Tsar Nicholas II was the ruler of Russia during WWI and the lead-up to the Russian Revolution.
• Many Russian soldiers went to battle without rifles, and were told to defend themselves with their bare hands.
• The Duma was a legislative body established in 1905, which played a significant role in the Russian Revolution.

The Provisional Government

• Tsar Nicholas II left the capital city in 1915 and appointed his wife Alexandra as regent.
• Alexandra trusted Rasputin, a mystic, instead of political advisors, which led to protests.
• Protests in Petrograd turned violent, and Tsar Nicholas ordered the army to shoot the protesters, but they refused.
• The Duma declared a Provisional Government on March 12, 1917, and Tsar Nicholas abdicated.
• The event was known as the February Revolution.

The Provisional Government Changes

• Three significant changes made by the Provisional Government were:
  • Freedom of speech and assembly were granted
  • Capital punishment was abolished
  • A democratic electoral system was introduced

The Fall of the Provisional Government

• The Provisional Government fell apart due to its inability to address Russia's involvement in WWI and the country's economic woes.

Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution

• Lenin based his philosophy on Marxist ideology.
• Lenin believed that only a revolutionary vanguard party could destroy capitalism.
• Lenin thought that a Communist revolution was possible even in agrarian societies like Russia.
• Lenin believed that revolutions were driven by human will rather than historical laws.
• Lenin's group was called the Bolsheviks or "majority party," while the opposing party was known as the Mensheviks or "minority party."
• Germany helped Lenin return to Russia following the February Revolution in hopes that he would withdraw Russia from WWI.
• Lenin viewed WWI as an imperialist war and wanted Russia to withdraw.

Trotsky and the Seizure of Power

• Leon Trotsky was a key figure in the Bolshevik Revolution and led the Petrograd Soviet.
• Trotsky convinced the Petrograd Soviet to make him the leader of the Military Revolutionary Committee.
• On November 6, 1917, the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin and Trotsky, seized power in the October Revolution.

Reasons for Bolshevik Success

• Three main reasons for the Bolsheviks' success were:
  • The power vacuum created by the Provisional Government's collapse
  • The strong leadership of Lenin and Trotsky
  • Bolshevik policies that appealed to the masses, such as land reform and withdrawal from WWI

Dictatorship and Civil War

• The Bolsheviks won only 24% of the elected delegates in the Constituent Assembly, while the Socialist Revolutionary Party won 58%.
• Lenin dissolved the Constituent Assembly.
• The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty with Germany that allowed Lenin to focus on consolidating power.
• The "White Opposition" consisted of anti-Bolshevik forces, while the Reds were the Bolshevik Army.
• The Bolsheviks ultimately defeated the White Armies due to their more organized military and harsh punishments for deserters or disobedient soldiers.
• The Western Allies supported the Whites, but it had little impact.
• The Bolsheviks implemented War Communism, which included nationalization of industries and forced labor.