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Chapter 28 Lesson 2: Russia Moved Toward Revolution

by: Jonathan Lin

 

Key Terms:

 

Soviet – councils; soldiers and workers began to gather to form soviets after the czar was overthrown.

Karl Marx – a German philosopher who advocated revolution among the working class against the ruling classes.  He also believed in socialism.  His beliefs were the basis of the Social Democrats in Russia.

Lenin – one of the leaders of the Social Democrats, he devoted his life to the revolution and hoped to spark a worldwide Marxist revolution.  He was exiled from Russia by the czar’s government but returned after the czar’s overthrow.

Bolsheviks – the Russian word for “majority”.  The Bolsheviks were Lenin’s followers.

Mensheviks – the Russian word for “minority”.  The Mensheviks were Lenin’s enemies.

Bloody Sunday – the name given to the day where Russian troops opened fire on a crowd of protestors near the czar’s Winter Palace.

Duma – a Russian parliament.  These were instituted and dissolved by the czar numerous times.

Alexandra – the czar’s wife.  She was German so people thought she was a spy during WWI.  She also placed a lot of trust in Rasputin which further ruined her reputation.  She had control of Russia during WWI because her husband was at the battle front.

Rasputin – a self acclaimed “holy man” who “cured” the czar’s son of hemophilia.  He got a lot of influence in the Russian government because of his good relations with the czarina.

Alexander Kerensky – the “leader” of the Russian government after WWI.  He was a prominent figure in both the Petrograd Soviet and the Duma.

 

Notes:

 

  • There were two radical parties: the Social Revolutionaries and the Social Democrats.
    • The Social Revolutionaries believed that the revolution would be led by the peasant class because Russia had so many peasants
    • The Social Democrats were Marxists and believed that the revolutionary would be led by the urban working class
  •  Important Person: Lenin
    • Lenin was a leader of the Social Democrats. 
    • He was eager to act and believed that while the working class of Russia was small and uneducated, they could pull off a successful revolution if they had a determined group of Marxists to show them the way.
    • He believed that after revolution, a temporary dictatorship would be instituted to manage Russia until the people were ready to take over.
    • Lenin’s idea barely passed amoung the SD’s.  When it did, Lenin named his party the Bolsheviks and his political enemies the Mensheviks
  • How the Czar screwed up
    • He resisted change despite a long series of crises.
    • The Russo-Japanese War
      • Russia failed to uphold a series of agreements with Japan over Korea and Manchuria.  The Japanese attacked Russia and Russia suffered shocking losses
    • The Revolution of 1905
      • January 22, 1905, soldiers opened fire upon protesting workers and their families.
      • The workers were petitioning for better working conditions and more personal freedom
      • Known as Bloody Sunday
      • Caused a wave of strikes
      • The czar was forced to institute a Russian Parliaments called a Duma.
      • Duma was instituted and dissolved several times; it never had any real power
  • How WWI really screwed it all up for the czar.
    • Russia was not prepared for war
    • The were slaughtered by the million and people were drafted against their will
    • Nicholas went to the battle front leaving Russia in czarina Alexandra’s hands
    • Bad things about Alexandra
      • She is German… the enemy is German… the people think she is a spy
      • Rasputin is a self claimed “holy man” who “cured” Alexandra’s son (the heir to the throne) of hemophilia
      • In reality, Rasputin was vulgar, uncivilized, and sly (probably why he was exiled to Siberia in the first place).  He got a lot influence in the government because he healed the czarina’s son.
      • The people hated Rasputin and murdered him. (poisoned him and shot him and drowned him… no kill like overkill eh?)
    • Russia ran out of supplies toward the end of the war.  They had no fuel or food and massive inflation had occurred. 
    • Strikes began
  • A Provisional Government Screwed Up Too
    • The czar was forced to abdicate because of the bread riots
    • A provisional government was formed by the Duma
    • Radicals ignored the Duma and the provisional government because they had had no part in the revolution.
    • Soviets
      • Workers and soldiers began gathering soviets which planned protests and demonstrations
      • Every factory and barracks in Petrograd sent representatives to the Petrograd soviet. 
      • The Petrograd Soviet was more powerful locally than the provisional government because the workers and soldiers obeyed its commands
    • Important Person: Kerensky
      • He had connection in both the Duma (he was a Duma deputy) and the Petrograd Soviet.  Because of this, he led the provisional government
    • The Provisional Government Screwed Up
      • The continued the war
      • No one wanted to fight anymore
      • Soldiers mass deserted the army
      • Germany snuck Lenin back into Russia
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