Russia “The Road to Revolution” Russia’s defeat to France,

England and the Ottoman Empire during the Crimean War (1853-1856) was a wake-up call for the country to modernize.

Czar Nicholas I had begun the war but was succeeded by his son Alexander II in 1855.

Russian leaders realized that they must modernize militarily and economically

The Crimean War

Czar Alexander II (1855-1881) Alexander was a reform minded and liberal czar who

saw the need for major reforms in Russia. Abolished serfdom with the Emancipation Act of

1861. Serfs were free to move and seek new occupations Serfs were allowed to purchase and own property.

Created assemblies called Zemstovs to administer local areas more efficiently.

Promoted industrialization through railroad construction.

Despite his reforms, Alexander was assassinated in 1881 by an radical anarchists when his carriage was bombed.

Czar Alexander III (1881-1894) Due to his fathers death, Alexander III ended all

attempts at further reform and returned to autocratic rule.

Industrialization expanded tremendously during his reign but conditions were poor.

Former serfs became the working class (Proletariat) and remained very poor.

A program of Russification was begun which required all minorities to adopt Russian culture and language.

Pogroms against Jews intensified under his rule. Ruthlessly suppressed socialists groups and other

revolutionists. Vladimir Lenin’s brother was executed during his reign.

Nicholas II (1894-1917) Continued the oppressive policies of his father. Revolutionary forces grew dramatically during his

reign. Socialist groups and ideals gained popularity. The most radical group was the Bolsheviks who

called for a violent overthrow of the Czarist government and would later establish communism.

In 1904, Russia went to war with Japan in the Russo-Japanese War and suffered a humiliating defeat.

On January 6, 1905, 200,000 unarmed workers marched on the royal palace to ask Nicholas for labor reform. Soldiers fired on the crowd, killing more than 300.

This became known as Bloody Sunday. It led to the Revolution of 1905.

Nicholas and Alexandra

The Romanov Girls

The Revolution of 1905 General strikes brought the country to a

standstill. Workers demanded a representative assembly

and formed councils known as Soviets. In October 1905, Nicholas issued the October

Manifesto which created a representative assembly known as the Duma.

The revolution ended when some reforms were enacted including freedoms of speech, assembly and press and the economy regained strength.

Between 1905 and the outbreak of WWI many problems persisted and revolutionary groups continued to gain strength.

Father Gregory Rasputin

Rasputin and the Royal Family A mysterious peasant holy man named Rasputin gained tremendous influence over the royal family. Their only son and heir to the throne Alexis

was hemophilic and often close to death. Rasputin was able to save his life on several

occasions when doctors couldn’t Rasputin grew close to the Czarina Alexandra

and there were rumors of an affair. Rasputin became widely hated by the Russian

public because of his decadent lifestyle. They were unaware of the health problems of Alexis and Rasputin’s role.

Rasputin was assassinated by a member of the royal family in 1916.

World War I and Revolution In July 1914 Russia mobilized troops after promising

support of Serbia following Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination

Germany declared war on Russia. Russians were at first enthusiastic as troops marched to

war. Early in the war Russia suffered heavy casualties and

food shortages developed on the home front. The war quickly became unpopular.

In March 1917, bread riots broke out in St. Petersburg. Nicholas was forced to abdicate. This was known as the March Revolution

A provisional government first headed by Prince George Lvov and later by Alexander Kerensky took over but remained in the war. This proved to be its undoing.

The Last Royal Family

Alexander Kerensky

The March Revolution

The Letter of Abdication

The Bolshevik Revolution (November Revolution) As war conditions worsened the provisional government

lost support. A leading Marxist and Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin

returned from exile to Russia in April 1917 and began preparing for a takeover.

His slogan was “Land, Peace, and Bread” By the fall of 1917, soviet councils of workers known as

the proletariat gained strength. In November, 1917 the Bolsheviks overthrew the

provisional government and took control. They redistributed all land to the peasants. In March 1918, the communist signed the Treaty of Brest-

Litovsk with Germany and withdrew from WWI. The treaty gave up a large part of Russian territory and

angered many Russians. This led to civil war.

The Russian Revolution and Allied Victory1917-1918 Revolution and Civil War in Russia,

1914-1920

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin

Lenin Arrives in St. Petersburg April 1917

The Bolshevik Revolution November 1917

The Russian Civil War and the Birth of the Soviet Union

Opponents of the Bolsheviks formed an army called the White Army and began a civil war in 1918. The war raged from 1918 to 1920.

The Bolsheviks were called the Reds and were led by a brilliant military leader Leon Trotsky .

In the summer of 1918, the entire Romanov family was executed by the Yuro Soviet before they could be rescued by the Whites. The Reds eventually defeated the Whites and took total

control. The Bolsheviks became known as the Communists. War Communism – Government control of all industry and

land. Production declined. In 1922 the country was divided into republics and named

the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics (USSR). In 1924 Lenin died of a stroke and a power struggle ensued.

CellsLocal organized units in factories, schools, offices

All Union Party CongressMet every four years

Central Committee

SecretariatDirected PartyWork

PolitburoDetermined Policy

GeneralSecretary

Dominated Party andSoviet Government

The Soviet Communist Party

Socialist Realism

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin A power struggle for control of the Communist

Party ensued between Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. By 1928, Stalin gained control and forced Trotsky

into exile. He later had him assassinated in Mexico. Stalin ruled the Soviet Union as a dictator and led

his country through World War II as a vital member of the Allies.

He industrialized Russia through two Five Year Plans.

Millions of Russians died in purges under his reign. He died in 1953 and was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev

The Cold War and Collapse of the

Soviet Union Stalin’s successor Nikita Khrushchev and his successors led the Soviet Union through a long Cold War with the United States after World War II ended.

After difficult economic, political, and social unrest, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 with the resignation of Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and the Russian Federation was created under President Boris Yeltsin.

Vladimir Lenin Josef Stalin Nikita Khrushchev (1917-1924) (1929-1953) (1953-1964)

Soviet Leaders

Leonid Brezhnev Yuri Andropov Konstantin Chernenko (1964-1982) (1982-1984) (1984-1985)

Soviet Leaders

Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991)

Boris Yeltsin (1990)