Chapter Fourteen Revolution and Nationalism 1900-1939

1. Chapter FourteenRevolution and Nationalism 1900-1939 Section One Revolutions in Russia

2. Czars Resist Change • In 1881, Alexander III succeeded his father, Alexander II, and halted all reforms in Russia. • He believed in autocratic rule, a form of government in which he had total power. • All Russian people had to obey his authority, worship in the Russian Orthodox Church, and speak only Russian.

3. Czars Continue Autocratic Rule • Czar Alexander III imposed strict censorship of all written materials. • He ordered his secret police to spy on students at secondary schools and universities. • He ordered political prisoners sent to Siberia, a remote region of eastern Russia. • He ordered that Russian be the official language and made the speaking of other languages illegal. • He ordered violence against Jews, destroying Jewish homes, stores, and synagogues. • When Nicholas II became czar in 1894, he continued with these policies.

4. Russia Industrializes • Between 1863 and 1900 the number of Russian factories doubled. • Russia still lagged behind western Europe. • In the 1890’s Czar Nicholas II sought foreign investments and ordered taxes raised to finance industrialization. • By 1900 Russia became the fourth largest producer of steel. • By 1916 the Trans-Siberian Railroad had been built, connecting western Russia with its ports on the Pacific Ocean.

5. The Revolutionary Movement Grows (Part One) • Rapid industrialization created many problems for the working class. • Poor working conditions, miserably low wages, and child labor. • Unions were outlawed by the czar, but workers went on strike anyway in hopes of improving their lives. • A revolutionary group that followed the views of Karl Marx established a following in Russia. • The Marxist revolutionaries believed that the workers would overthrow the czar and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat. • This meant the proletariat or workers would rule the country.

6. The Revolutionary Movement Grows (Part Two) • In 1903, the Marxists split into two groups. • The more moderate Mensheviks and the more radical Bolsheviks. • The Bolsheviks were willing to sacrifice everything for change. • The leader of the Bolsheviks was Vladimir Lenin. • He was a great public speaker and organizer. • He was also ruthless! • He fled Russia in the early 1900’s to avoid arrest and waited until he could safely return.

7. Crises at Home and Abroad • The revolutionaries would not have long to wait to realize their visions of proletariat rule. • Between 1904 and 1917, Russia faces a series of crisis. • These events weakened the czar and paved the way for revolution.

8. The Russo-Japanese War • In the late 1800’s, Russia and Japan competed for control of Korea and Manchuria (an area of north-eastern China). • The two nations signed a series of agreements over the territories, but Russia broke them. • Japan attacked Russian soldiers in these territories. • The fighting resulted in repeated Russian losses and created unrest back at home.

9. Bloody Sunday: The Revolution of 1905 • On January 22, 1905, 200,000 workers and their families carried a petition to the czar at his Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. • They wanted better working conditions, more personal freedom, and an elected legislature. • The czar’s generals ordered their troops to fire on the crowd. • Hundreds were killed and over 1,000 injured. • The event was named Bloody Sunday. • This provoked a wave of strikes throughout Russia. • In October of 1905 Czar Nicholas II created the Duma, Russia’s first parliament. • It met in May of 1906, but was dissolved by the Czar after only ten weeks, because he didn’t want to share power.

10. World War I: The Final Blow • In 1914 Czar Nicholas II ordered Russia into World War I. • Russia was unprepared to handle the military and economic costs. • Russian armies were easily defeated by German weapons. • In the first year alone, Russia had lost over 4 million men. • In 1915, Czar Nicholas II moved his headquarters closer to the front in hopes of rallying his troops. • He left his wife in charge of the government. • She fell under the spell of a man named Rasputin. • He claimed to have magical powers and helped heal her sick son. • He opposed reform and eventually was murdered in 1916. • Russian soldiers deserted and ignored orders. • The people of Russia demanded change.

11. The March Revolution • In March 1917, women workers in Petrograd led a strike. • Riots began to flare up over the next five days. • 200,000 workers swarmed in the streets shouting, “Down with the autocracy!” and “Down with the war!” • Soldiers soon joined the rioters.

12. The Czar Steps Down • The local protests soon spread and turned into the March Revolution. • Czar Nicholas II abdicated his thrown. • A year later, he and his family were executed by the revolutionaries. • A provincial, or temporary government was set up by the Duma. • It was led by Alexander Kerensky. • He continued to support Russia’s involvement in the war and soon lost the support of civilians and soldiers. • Conditions in Russia worsened. • Socialist revolutionaries formed soviets or local councils that competed for government’s power.

13. Lenin Returns to Russia • The Germans believed that Lenin would stir trouble in Russia. • In April of 1917, they arranged to have him return to Russia in a sealed railway boxcar.

14. The Bolshevik Revolution • Lenin and the Bolsheviks soon gained control of the soviets in all major Russian cities. • The people rallied behind Lenin and his rallying cry of, “Peace, Land, and Bread!”

15. The Provisional Government Topples • In November 1917, without warning, armed factory workers stormed the Winter Palace and other government buildings. • These workers called themselves the Bolshevik Red Guard and soon removed Kerensky and his government from power.

16. Bolsheviks in Power • Upon gaining power, Lenin ordered the redistribution of all farmland to the peasants. • He gave control of all factories to the workers. • In March 1918, he signed a peace treaty with Germany, giving away much Russian land. • Many Russians were angry at the humiliation this treaty brought and with the execution of the royal family.

17. Civil War Rages in Russia • The Russian people were divided. Some supported the White Army, others the Red Army. • The White Army had people who supported the czar, democracy, and even socialists. • The Red Army were the Bolsheviks led by Leon Trotsky, who was loyal to Lenin. • From 1918 to 1920 civil war raged in Russia. • 14 million people died. • Western Europe and the U.S. supported the White Army, but in the end the Bolsheviks won.

18. Lenin Restores Order • The civil war had destroyed the Russian economy. • Trade was at a standstill, industrial production dropped, and many skilled workers fled to other countries. • Lenin began to revive the economy and restructure the government.

19. New Economic Policy • In March of 1921, Lenin began the NEP or New Economic Policy. • Major industries, banks, and means of communication were under government control. • Lenin did, however allow peasants to sell surplus crops and allowed some small factories, businesses, and farms to operate under private ownership. • By 1928, Russia’s economy was better than it had been prior to World War I.

20. Political Reforms • Lenin organized Russia into several self-governing republics. • In 1922, the country was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR. • The Bolsheviks renamed their party the Communist Party. • In 1924 the Communists created a constitution based on socialist and democratic principles. • In reality, the Communist Party held all the power. • Lenin had created a dictatorship of the Communist Party.

21. Stalin Becomes Dictator • Lenin suffered a stroke in 1922. • He survived, but a struggle began over who would replace him after his death. • Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin were in the top leadership positions. • Stalin was cold, hard, and impersonal. • He quickly concentrated power by appointing his followers in top government posts. • In 1924 Lenin died. • By 1928, Stalin was in total command of the Communist Party. • In 1929 he forced Trotsky into exile. • Stalin now had absolute power as dictator of the USSR.