By Victoria Wegman

How did the Russian Revolution affect America?

How did the US and the Soviet Union go from allies to mortal enemies in such a

short time?

MY RESEARCH PROBLEM

FEBRUARY, 1917, THE BEGINNING OF THE END

• February Revolution 1917• Czar Nicholas II and family killed- Bolshevik Revolution• October Revolution• Lenin takes over after Trotsky is banished and Bolsheviks

gain total control• Communist society• Lenin dies• “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION1917-1918

THE LEADERSHead Figures During the Revolution

THE NUMBERS

13/26 members murdered-1/2

4/26 members killed from war or suicide

IMPORTANT INDIVIDUALS

LENIN

• Leader of Bolsheviks• Was always a known head figure• Had several followers• Was exiled but came back during the revolution to be

commander• Major rebel leader• “Stalin’s boss”• Died 7 years into rule• 5 year period between leaders

TROTSKY

• Was in charge of communist troops during the revolution• Held power for a short time• People pleaser• Was overthrown• Exiled to Mexico• Lenin put in charge• Killed in 1940• Seen as scapegoat

STALIN

• Reigned 1929-1953• “Man of Steel”• Ruled with an iron fist• Tricked people when he was younger during the

revolution that he was dumb, when really he was using them to gain rank

• He fooled Truman• More like a dictator than a guiding leader• Started Cold War

THE AFTERMATHWWII-Cold War

SIDE-TAKINGWORLD WAR II

• America and USSR were allies• We disapproved of government system (duh)• Stalin, Stalin, Stalin- ruled for the entire 24 year period

including WWII• Purges• They did not like Britain, but they cooperated with them

for the time being• Fought against Nazism, Fascism• Rough years• Still trying to rebuild the country after the Revolution• Poor, hungry people everywhere

WHAT HAPPENED?

• Stalin started to disagree with Great Britain (Winston Churchill) about D-Day

• He wanted it to happen earlier so that the Soviet Union could focus on the rehabilitation of its country and people

• UK and US waited until when they thought was the right time• It worked, but Stalin was MAD at Britain and broke the alliance

with them• US didn’t like that• Stalin broke our alliance• We threatened with nuclear war• They threatened back….• Cold War• The same repetitive silent scares occurred for the rest of Stalin’s

rule (1953) and after

I interviewed my grandparents, and here is their recollection of the Cold War

• A generally happy time before the threats, between WWII-Cold War

• Constant silent threat from Russia- they were the “bad guys”• Possible enemy, no real fights• Bombing protection practices in school• Shelters built, food stocks, rations• The Civil Defense- a volunteer group to help people with

protection, like Homeland Security now• Siren/warning tests• “Communist” was the worst name you could say• Worries until the 60’s, thought of it as pointless afterward

THROUGH THE EYES OF A YOUNG AMERICAN

Without the Russian Revolution, WWII would have gone totally different, they

might still be under the rule of a Romanov, there would not have been a Cold War, and the Space Race may not have happened. All in all I think that even though it was not our revolution, America was very greatly effected by it

in the long run.

THE ANSWER TO MY QUESTION

• “Russian Revolution” www.wikipedia.org• “Cold War” www.wikipedia.org• Google Images• www.kuriostas.com• Oral Source

Robert and Margaret Nicholson• President Harry Truman. Televised. 9/8/61• Michael Kort. Russia. New York. Facts on File, Inc. 1995• Robert W. Thurston. Life and Terror in Stalin’s Russia. Yale University campus.

Yale University. 1996• Brian Crozier. The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire. Rocklin, California.

Forum. 1999• Author Unknown. Rise of the Cold War (1950-1980). Proquest LLC. 2011. Intro• Author Unknown. Joseph Stalin. New York Times. March 6, 1953. Page 22• Harrison E. Salisbury. Premier Ill 4 Days. New York Times. March 6, 1953. Page

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