Chapter 30

Revolution & Nationalism 1900 – 1939

Examining the Issues

   What situations might provoke some people to take violent steps to achieve change?

What strengths would a person need to remain nonviolent in the face of violent attacks?

How might armed and powerful opponents respond to groups committed to nonviolent action?

 Which strategy, violence or nonviolence, would prove more successful and bring more long lasting consequences? Why?

Revolution is Coming

 Russian Leaders cruel, oppressive rule cause many decades of social unrest leading to the Russian Revolution in 1917.

 In 1881, revolutionaries assassinated the Czar, Alexander II.

Alexander III upholds the Autocracy in Russia.

• • • Alexander III was determined to strengthen “ autocracy, orthodoxy, and nationality.” Alexander III was determined to wipe out revolutionaries. He followed a policy of Justification ( forcing the Russian culture on all peoples in the Russian empire)

Alexander III upholds the Autocracy in Russia

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 Anyone opposed to Alex III was sent to Siberia.   Jews especially felt his wrath.

Pogroms

– organized violence against Jews was widespread.

Nicholas II Resists Change (1894)

    Alexander's son Nicholas II tried to continue the past while ignoring the future.

Nicholas refused to surrender any of his power (changing of times).

Russia launches a program to build up heavy industries, particularly steel. By 1900, Russia became the 4 th ranking producer of steel.

Life under Nicholas II

 Foreign Finance Minister Sergey Witte boosted the growth of the steel industry and saw the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

 It connected European Russia in the west with Russian ports on the Pacific Ocean.

  

The Revolutionary Movement Grows

Industrialization has benefits, but also has disadvantages. 

What are some negative results of industrialization?

Grueling working conditions  Miserably low wages  Child Labor The gap between the rich and poor was enormous.

Poor living conditions stirred the revolutionary movement within Russia.

 

The Revolutionary Movement Grows

These revolutionaries followed the views of Karl Marx (a 19 th Century German philosopher) He is the author of the Communist Manifesto .

The Revolutionary Movement Grows

The Revolutionary Movement Grows

 Marx argued that the workers of the world would one day overthrow the ruling class and share equally in society’s wealth.   Therefore, the workers would rule.

1903, the Russian Marxists split into 2 groups, the Mensheviks or “minority” the Bolsheviks or “majority” party.

&

Majority VS Minority

    Bolsheviks  Mensheviks Actually not the majority party.

 Ruthlessly pursued power, using any means necessary in order to succeed.

Violence is just fine  Favored gradual, peaceful change, without the violence or terror advocated by the Bolsheviks.

Wanted more popular support.

The Revolutionary Movement

 The leader of the Bolsheviks was Vladimir Lenin .

 He was ruthless leader who lived in western Europe during the czarist regime to avoid arrest.

Crisis at Home & Abroad

   Russia & Japan were at odds over control of Korea & Manchuria. Russia broke the agreement over the two territories & Japan attacked the Russians. (Russo-Japanese War) Humiliating defeat for the Russians and did not help to stomp the revolutionary ideas.

    Bloody Sunday Revolution of 1905 Jan. 22, 1905 – 200,000 workers & their families approached the czar’s palace at St. Petersburg. They wanted better working conditions, more freedoms, & an elected legislature.

What they got was soldiers firing into the crowd & many unarmed people were killed on what become known as “Bloody Sunday” Lenin called the incident a “dress rehearsal.”

Bloody Sunday Response

 October 1905 Nicholas reluctantly saw the creation of the Duma = Russia’s 1 st Parliament.  Leaders wanted Russia to become a constitutional monarchy similar to Britain, but the Duma never had any real power

World War I: the final straw    Russia was unprepared to handle the war’s costs. 1 million soldiers died in the 1 st year.

Czar Nicholas II takes over the troops himself & proves to be inept.

The March Revolution

    Workers have had enough of the war & a riot erupts due to bread & fuel shortage.

Czar Nicholas II is forced from the throne & eventually killed. 3 centuries of Romanov rule was gone.

The Duma establishes a provisional gov’t or a temporary gov’t

  

The March Revolution

Alexander Kerensky & the provincial gov’t decides to continue fighting the war.

Why would this decision cost him the support of the Russian people?

Soviets – local councils of workers, peasants & soldiers began to take control.

The Germans actually help Lenin return to Russia

The Bolshevik Revolution

  Lenin’s slogan “Peace, land & bread” was gaining widespread appeal throughout Russia.

November 1917, Bolshevik Red Guards (armed factory workers) stormed the Winter Palace and took over the provisional government.

Communism Marxism Soviet

No state Dictatorship of the proletariat (workers) State > individual (totalitarianism) Dictatorship of communist party No command economy Workers produce & share what they need International = world wide socialist revolution Command economy State makes all economic decisions USSR – dominant political, economic & military power

The Bolsheviks in Power

 All farmland be distributed among the peasants.

 Ended their involvement in WWI with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk , & lost a great deal of territory.

 This triggered widespread anger among many Russians, and began to object to Bolshevik policies.

Civil War Rages in Russia

   The Red Army led by revolutionary leader Leon Trotsky the helped to defeat White Army (opponents to the Bolsheviks).

About 15 million Russians died in the three-year struggle and famine followed. Russian economy was left in ruins

Lenin Restores Order

  New Economic Policy (NEP) – put his state controlled economy to the side and allowed for small version of capitalism.

What is capitalism?

 Means of production are owned mostly privately, and any surplus could be traded for goods or profit in a free market

Political Reforms

    1922, the country was named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Moscow was the capital city Bolsheviks become the Communists.

A constitution based on socialist and democratic principals was created = the Bolsheviks obtained more power!

Lenin and  Lenin died in 1924, before the economy completely turned around = power struggle for control of Russia!

Part 2 Totalitarianism Stalinist Russia

Stalin

Joseph “

Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili”

Stalin Becomes Dictator    Totalitarianism  describes a gov’t that takes total, centralized state control of every aspect of life.

-This goes against every aspect of Western Society.

Chart on page 875

Totalitarianism

Stalin becomes Dictator

   Command economy – a system which the government made all economic decisions. Stalin seizes control of the economy and began an Industrial and Agricultural Revolution in which 10 million people were killed.

It becomes known as his 5 -Year Plans.

Five Year Plans

Stalin’s Agricultural Revolution   Collective Farm turned privately owned farms into government owned farms.

Kulaks – wealthy peasants who resisted Stalin.

Weapons of Totalitarianism

 Secret Police, Murder,Imprisonment

Weapons of Totalitarianism

   They used terror and violence to crush opposition. (Secret Police) Great Purge (1934)-it eliminated anyone who threatened Stalin’s power.

Everyone was suspect.  Ex. – Director of Moscow Zoo was arrested because his monkeys got tuberculosis.

 Historians believe Stalin killed 8-13 million people.

The Purges

Propaganda

      It was instruction in the government sets of beliefs.

Socialist realism was an artistic style that praised Soviet Life and Communist values.

Censorship The gov’t controlled newspapers, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

Religious Persecution Communism overtook Religion (pp779)

Propaganda

Daily Life Under Stalin

 Women were very successful in careers such as engineering, science, and were forced to become mothers and housewives (patriotic duty).

 Education  Kids learned the virtues of the Communist Party. Secret Police kept watchful eye on both teachers and students.