1905 Russian Revolution

1. 1905 Russian Revolution War and social unrest combined to push Russia to the edge of a revolution. The events that followed led to Russia’s exit from WWI and became a major turning point in world history.

2. A Chain Reaction • In the early 20th century the power of the Czars in Russia began to wane • A Czar is just like a King or Queen and had absolute power • Soon, the history of Russia would change forever

3. Causes of the 1905 Revolution Industrialization of Russia • The Czar used foreign investments to build factories • Poor working conditions led to unrest among commoners Revolution of 1905—”Bloody Sunday” • Russian soldiers fire on unarmed protesters • 500-1000 people were killed Russo-Japanese War • Russia was embarrassed by loss to Japan • People at home became more disillusioned with the Czar

4. Resistance Movements • Czar Nicholas II had promised reform after 1905 revolution (Bloody Sunday) • October Manifesto (issued by Czar Nicholas) promised basic rights and a legislature, but these promises were not fulfilled • Workers began to support the revolutionary ideas of Karl Marx • He believed industrial workers would overthrow the czar • Bolshevik party formed in 1903 • Led by Vladimir Lenin

5. Lead up to the Bolshevik Revolution World War I • Russia ill prepared for war • Russia was consistently defeated by Germany • Defeats destroyed the morale of Russia troops • Soldiers mutinied, deserted, or ignored orders Conditions in Russia worse than on battlefield • Food and goods scarce; peasants grew desperate • Unpopular Czarina relied on Gregor Rasputin • viewed as corrupt, immoral he undermined her authority • Shaky support for Russian monarchy dipped even lower

6. Adapted Marxist ideas of the overthrow of capitalism • Wanted an elite group to keep much of the power over Russia, but they also wanted to get rid of the Czar • As Russia’s problems grew more serious, the Bolsheviks gained more followers Bolshevik Plan

7. 1916: Russia is on the edge of a Revolution • Conditions in Russia continued to worsen and the people clearly wanted a change • St. Petersburg, March 1917 • Women led a city-wide strike • 200,000 workers joined the strike • Soldiers sent to stop the strike joined the strikers • Strike led to a general uprising in Russia • Government was helpless • Czar Nicholas ordered Dumas to disband • Dumas ignores the Czar oO • Czar is forced to abdicate his throne March 15, 1917 • Provisional government established • Led by Alexander Kerensky The Revolution Begins

8. Lenin and the Bolsheviks seize power in October 1917 • Motto was “Peace, Land, Bread” • Lenin became the head of the government • Immediate Reforms • Ordered all farmland be distributed to peasants • Control of factories given to workers (yay!) • Withdraw from WWI Bolshevik Revolution

9. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk • Made between the Bolsheviks and the Germans • Pulled the demoralized and defeated Russians out of WWI • Acceptance of the peace treaty angered many Russians • Opponents of the Bolsheviks and those against the peace treaty organized the White Army • Included army leaders, politicians, and wealthy Russians opposed to the Communist system—those who tended to be loyal to the Czar) • The Bolsheviks became known as the Red Army • Civil War • White Army received support from France and the US • The war lasted for 3 years • Millions of Russians died in the fighting and from famine • Bolsheviks triumphed in late 1920—left Lenin in complete control Russian Civil War

10. Brought on by civil war; pushed Russia to the edge of total ruin • Peasants and workers hit especially hard • New Economic Policy • Introduced by Lenin in 1921 • Promotes agricultural and industrial development through limited capitalist reforms • Made supporters of communism angry • Lenin dies • 1924 • Battle for succession between Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin Collapsing Economy

11. Goal was to create communist state envisioned by Bolsheviks • Collectivization • Eliminate private farms in favor of collective farms • Killed off millions of peasants • Secured Soviet control of the countryside • Instituted “Five Year Plans” • Set impossibly high quotas to increase the output of steel, coal, oil and electricity • The Great Purge • Attempt by Stalin to eliminate political opposition • Leading member of the Bolshevik party were executed or sent to labor camps • Stalin purged prominent military officials • 50% of military officers were purged • Historians estimate 10 to 20 million people died during the Great Purge Joseph Stalin

12. By the late 1970s the Soviet economy was shrinking • Mikhail Gorbachev, a visionary leader, came to power in the Soviet Union • Believed the only way to save the Soviet Union was to strike a deal with the US • He negotiated a treaty (Geneva Summit) with the US to reduce the number of nuclear arms and end the Cold War • Recognized that the Soviet Union could not remain isolated and that the Soviet system had to change if it was to survive Cold War Thaw

13. Glasnost • New era announced by Gorbachev—means “opening” • Lifted media censorship and allowed public criticism of the government • Soviet citizens slowly began to speak out • Complained about the price of food, empty store shelves, and their sons dying in Afghanistan • Perestroika • “Restructuring” the corrupt government bureaucracy • Dismantled the Soviet central planning system • Free elections took place in 1989 • Withdrew from Afghanistan • Visited with China to ease tensions between the nations • Attempted to cover up the Chernobyl nuclear accident Opening of the Soviet Union

14. Nationalism • The call for glasnost and perestroika awakened a spirit of nationalism in the former Eastern European nations • Collapse • USSR couldn’t support the individual failing economies • Gorbachev ordered a large troop pullback from Eastern European regions—warned leaders to adopt reforms • Market reforms were too slow—failed to keep pace with the crisis and individual demands • Attempts to reform the Communist party were a failure • Revolutions swept across Eastern Europe in the late 1980s • Individual countries began to declare independence Collapse of the Soviet Union

15. The Wall was a repressive symbol of Soviet communism • To calm protests in East Germany, the government opened the gates of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 • Thousands of East Berliners poured into West Berlin • Berliners began ripping down the wall with axes and sledgehammers and their bare hands • Less than a year later, East Germany and West Germany were reunified as one country Fall of the Berlin Wall

16. Radical Change • Reached the Soviet Union in August 1991 • Boris Yeltsin—the leader of the Russian Republic—foiled a coup against Gorbachev—the President of the Soviet Union—in 1991 • Gorbachev resigned as President and the Soviet Union dissolved • The Communist Party collapsed • The Soviet Union began reorganizing itself as a group of independent republics Super Power Collapse

17. Economic Change • Soviet Union fell • Communism ended in the former Soviet republics • In Russia, Boris Yeltsin began to campaign to alter the economy’s basic structure • Goal was to make the economy function like a capitalist system • More Freedom • Yeltsin began to allow private ownership of businesses and land • Business owners and workers were able to take advantage of economic opportunities • BUT they lost the guarantee of a government-backed job and other government supports After the Collapse

18. Some entrepreneurs prospered, but most ordinary Russians did not • Prices rose sharply • Many Russians could not afford to buy goods in stores • Some questioned benefits of market reform • In early 2000s Russia rebounded a bit from economic crises—path from communism to capitalism not easy Mixed Results

19. The collapse of the Iron Curtain brought new challenges and new opportunities as well as threats to peace. • Bosnian Serbs • Bosnia and Herzegovina at war • Herzegovina declares independence 1992 • Bosnian Serbs went to war to stop independence • Nationalism • Nationalism grew as tensions increased • Serbia tried to prevent the breakup of Yugoslavia and then moved to ethnic cleansing when that failed • Yugoslavia • Several Communist governments with strict control • Helped suppress tensions between various ethnic and religious groups living there Europe after Communism

20. Transition from communist to free market economy • Farming and industry are the main sources of income • Issues: • Russian natural resources are not fully developed due to climate, limited transportation, and vastness of country • Political and economic difficulties after the breakup of the Soviet Union • Foreign competition for investment in the region (oil pipeline) • Widespread pollution Russian Economy Today

21. At its peak, communism was practiced in dozens of countries: • Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan • Asian Countries: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Yemen • Soviet Controlled Eastern Bloc Countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia • The Balkans: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia • African Countries: Angola, Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Somalia • Currently only a handful of countries identified as communist remain: Laos, North Korea, Vietnam, People’s Republic of China, and Cuba Remaining Communist Countries