The Russian Revolution1915-1924

An Introduction

Important FiguresTsar Nicholas II & Tsarina Alexandra

• These are the Russian emperor and empress at the beginning of the 20th century. Nicholas II takes over all control of Russia, even excluding the will of the legislature during World War I.

• Because Russia does poorly in the war and the people suffer things like poverty and famine while the royal family continues to live in luxury, the Russian people become very upset with the monarchy and revolt.

• It doesn’t help things that Alexandra was rumored to be having an affair with Rasputin while Nicholas was away commanding troops in the war, either.

Rasputin

• Rasputin was a Russian holy man and a notorious figure at the court of Czar Nicholas II.

• He was a semi-literate, self-indulgent, and immoral peasant who preached and practiced a doctrine of salvation that mixed religious fervor with sexual indulgence.

More About Rasputin

• Rasputin also claimed to have the power to heal the sick, though he was not a doctor, and gained favor with Tsarina Alexandra because he could stop the bleeding of her hemophiliac son.

• This close relationship with the Tsarina was a source of controversy with the peasants.

Leon Trotsky• Trotsky was a Russian Communist

revolutionary and one of the principal leaders in the establishment of the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR).

• Trotsky worked with Lenin as Lenin’s right-hand man until the two men began to disagree and Trotsky decided that he should be dictator.

• Trotsky tried to overrun Lenin’s government and to appoint himself as dictator. Lenin wasn’t very pleased, and after he captured and then exiled Trotsky from Russia, Trotsky fled to Mexico, where he ended up dead with an axe in his skull.

A Time of Change

• Russia, 1914– World War I united the Russian population

behind a common cause and a wave of patriotism focusing on loyalty to the Tsar swept the country.

– However, the Russian army had spirit and bravery but they lacked effective leadership or the benefits of modern technology and despite some modest victories were severely battered by the Germans.

Vladimir Lenin• Lenin was a Russian

revolutionary, the founder of Bolshevism and the major force behind the October Revolution of 1917.

• He became, mostly by manipulation and by lying to the people of Russia, the leader of the Bolshevik party and, eventually, the dictator of Russia.

• Lenin was ruthless in his efforts to control everything and everyone (assassinations, mass starvation, torture, propaganda, control of the press, etc.) – His government becomes the

stepping-stone for Communism in Russia.

1917: Problems in Russia• Increasingly organized and vocal opposition

from political groups.• Rapidly falling living standards - food

shortages, rising prices and fuel shortages.• Spiraling government expenditure – so the

government began to print more paper money – resulted in inflationary problems.

25 – 27 October, 1917• Lenin and Trotsky, wary of

anti-Bolshevik rumblings, quickly pushed the Revolution into action.

• 27 October – Lenin announced

that the Bolshevik led Petrograd Soviet had seized power in the name of all Soviets.

• Lenin explained that the Bolsheviks would now lead the way in constructing a “socialist society”, meaning that the government would be run by a committee of elected rulers

The Message of the Revolution

But It Didn’t End There• Although Lenin told the

people of Russia that the government would be a Socialist one, he really meant that he would be in charge and everyone would do what he wanted.

• Lenin used the Red Army as a secret police force to spy on people, torture people, force them to admit to crimes they didn’t commit, starve people (he kept the key to the grain silos in his pocket and bread on his own table, but not on the tables of the people.

Life Under Lenin• Many of the Committee

members took bribes or were blackmailed to vote in Lenin’s favor.

• He eventually controlled everything from the press and the people’s connection to the world, to the economy, to the military, to religion, even forcing the Orthodox Christian Church to work for him before he ultimately outlawed religion completely

War Between Lenin and Trotsky

• In 1919, Trotsky begins attacking Lenin’s Communist (Socialist) government and power by cutting off access to the railroads. The result of this was that millions of people who might have been able to get food (although they were already beginning to starve to death under Lenin’s government) died from starvation. Lenin blamed all of the famine of the Russian people on Trotsky.

The War Continues

• Trotsky also took control of the White Army and used it to attack Lenin’s army, the Red Army, as well as to do some ethnic cleansing in the northwestern regions of the nation while trying to destroy the Bolshevik party altogether. He blamed the violence of the White Army on Lenin.

The Victory Goes To..

• Lenin and his Red Army were ultimately victorious, but the price of this conflict was that Poland invaded Russia (1920) and there was a national civil war (1920-21).

• Lenin retained control of Russia until his death in 1924. He was succeeded by Joseph Stalin, a totalitarian dictator who was an even worse leader than Lenin, and who instituted, officially, Communism.

Stalin: Out of the Frying Pan…

• Stalin’s official title was General Secretary/First Secretary of the Central Committee of The Communist Part of the Soviet  Union. He was in office from April 3, 1922 until March 5, 1953.

• His position was not one that originally held a lot of power, but over time, and through crafty means, Stalin took more and more power for himself.

• He was the leader of the Communist Party before Lenin died; but he was not officially considered to be the leader of the Soviet Union until 1928.