Chapter FourteenRevolution and Nationalism 1900-1939

Section OneRevolutions in Russia

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.