Transcript THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 1917-1939

THE
RUSSIAN
REVOLUTION
1917-1939
RUSSIA BEFORE THE REVOLUTION
THE ROMANOV TSARS
THREE RUSSIAN
PROBLEMS
– Autocrats - Ruled for 300 yrs
ALEXANDER III (1845-1894)
- Ruthless but strong
NICHOLAS II (1894-1917)
- Ruthless but weak.
- He & wife = extravagant
- Russia was changing.
- Foreign owned business
- No middle class & workers
revolting - Proletariat
1. Industrialization
a. Foreign owned &
poor proletariat
revolting.
2. Labour
a. Revolting workers =
Marxist ideas.
Strikes!!!
3. The Peasant Question
a. 3/4 of population =
peasants who were
heavily taxed
KARL MARX - MARXISM
COMMUNIST MANIFESTO
FEUDALISM =>CAPITALISM=> REVOLUTION=> DICTATORSHIP OF=>COMMUNISM
( Exploitation) Overthrow
PROLETARIAT
(Classless utopia)
RUSSIAN COMMUNISM
BOLSHEVIKS
Means Majority
Led by Ulyanov aka Lenin
Belief – Hard core revolutionary
leaders were needed to
win over he masses.
MENSHEVIKS
Means Minority
Led by Martov
Belief – Slowly & peacefully win
over the masses.
BOTH BELIEVED THEY WERE FOLLOWING MARX’S IDEAS
THE REVOLUTION OF 1905
‘Hope to Failure’
BLOODY SUNDAY – Jan. 22, 130 protestors killed
while begging Tsar for help.
1. Proved Tsar’s incompetence.
2. Masses joining revolution.
3. First Soviet / Marxist council established.
4. Japanese won Russo-Japanese War
OCTOBER MANIFESTO – Desperate Tsar created a Duma (Legislative
Assembly) => Later pulled its power.
- Radical revolutionaries were arrested.
- Revolutionary movement slowed
=> Hope for change diminished .
1905 Duma
Became Tsar friendly
RUSSIA & WW I
All of Russia’s political ,military, & economic problems showed
1. Food shortages got worse => anger continued.
2. Wage and working conditions disputes continued => more strikes.
3. Soldiers were sent to the front without weapons.
1. Orders – “Take one from a dead soldier”
4. Poor management by Tsar => several defeats.
5. Russian army = 1.65 million deaths / 1.5 million desertions.
6. Industrial output fell 50%
1. Unskilled peasants forced to factories.
7. Shortages of goods and food led to inflation.
8. While Nicholas went to the front his wife turned
to Rasputin.
Rasputin – Crazy monk who
Cared for Tsarina’s child.
- assassinated.
The weakness
of Tsar Nicholas II
The
discontent of
the peasants
The
discontent of
the workers
Russian
Russian
failures
failures
in the
in
the
First
First
World
World
War
War
The
failure
of the
Duma
Factors
ledtoto
Factorsthat
that led
thethe
Communist revolution
Communist
revolution
1917.
inin1917.
Rasputin and
scandal
Opposition
of the
Communists
The February
Revolution
1917
THE MARCH REVOLUTION
‘THE FIRST REVOLUTION’ Russian Calender =
13 days behind
March 8-10 Protest
(Feb. Rev.)
Workers Strike
Women in bread lines
TWO MAIN GOALS OF PROV. GOV’T
“Down with Tsar”
1. Make Russia a democracy.
2. Carry on with war
Cossaks sent to attack.
Others : legalize strikes,release
Joined the protest
March 14 – Moscow
Falls - Tsar abdicates.
Soviet & Duma declare
Provisional Gov’t
- Mainly moderates
- Trotsky, Stalin, Lenin
still in exile.
pol. prisoners, new constitution, take
tsars posessions.
MISTAKES OF PROV. GOV’T
- peasants = no land.
-People tired of war.
-Angered Gen. Kornilov who turned
his troops on soviet & socialists. =>
paved way for Lenin.
LENIN & THE BOLSHEVIKS
**During the March Rev. Lenin was in exile in Switzerland.
Stalin had control of this small & unimportant party, but Lenin
was not happy with his leadership.
**Lenin wanted to:
1. overthrow the Provisional Gov’t
2. end the war
3. give peasants land
4. seize factories
5. proletariat & peasant revolution
Lenin
“PEACE, LAND, & BREAD”
Despite old rivalries, Lenin & Trotsky would team up.
Germany even offered Lenin free passage by rail
through enemy territory!!!
WHY????
Trotsky
RUSSIA’S POLITICAL
PARTIES
Use page 43 of “The World This Century” to complete
the following chart:
POLITICAL
PARTY
Mensheviks
Bolsheviks
Social
Revolutionaries
Cadets
Constitutional
Democrats
LEADERS /
SUPPORTERS
BELIEFS
THE NOVEMBER
REVOLUTION
NOV. 6-7 – The Bolshevik Red Army takes over a
country wide soviet gathering and Kerensky and
his Provisional Gov’t collapse.
Left Wing
Russian Power Structure
Bolsheviks Menshiviks Provisional
(Lenin)
Government
(Kerensky)
Right Wing
Kornilov
Army
Tsar
Kerensky
Leader of the
Provisional Gov’t
Do H.O. “Lenin”
#1-5
1.
LENIN IN POWER
End the War
- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1917-24
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia lost: 26% of pop.
27% farms
74% iron/coal
- Land for peace => Controversy (see photo)
2. Land to peasants
- Problem - Peasants view = Private Plots / Bolsheviks = Collective
3. New Gov’t – Led by Lenin, Trotsky, & Stalin.
4. Nationalize - Industry
- Banks
- Trade
5. Ban all opposition.
6. Compulsory Labour
7. War Communism – all food to the state
8. Communism ended most foreign trade with the
rest of Europe.
Lenin felt hard times for hard gains –
Not everyone agreed!!!! => Civil War!!!
THE CIVIL WAR (1918-20)
WHITES
vs.
REDS
-Anti – Communist
-Tsarists, Cossaks (elite army), Opposition
- Bourgeoisie, Middle-Upper Class
- Allies (14 non-Commi Countries)
-Allies supplied weapons.
-
Other intervention and
leadership = weak.
- Whites appeared foreign/selfish.
-Whites started war well.
-Gave land back to landlords.
-
Turned peasants to Bolsheviks.
-Bolsheviks
-Peasants – Had land but non-committed
-Lower Working Class - Proletariat
-Outmanned & out-gunned
-Trotsky led army to victory.
- More unity & purpose.
-Reds controlled infrastructure
-Controlled the heart of Russia
NOTE
- Had Russia defeated Poland, Communists may have linked with
German communists. A whole new history????
LENIN’s ECONOMIC POLICY
At first Lenin’s communism was only supposed to
nationalize big industry like banks, RR, steel, iron, & coal.
The civil war forced Lenin into “War Communism”.
Farmers gave up surplus crops, workers told where
To work, & all firms with over 10 workers nationalized.
DID NOT WORK! Production = 18% of 1913.
Workers & Sailors revolted. => Trotsky crushed them.
NEW ECONOMIC POLICY – NEP
-Peasants hand over fixed portion of crops.
-Can sell left-over for $.
Smaller firms back to owners with incentives.
Results – Production Rose
- All opposition banned.
- Lenin ill & Stalin gained influence.
Stalin’s power ^
As Gen Secretary
LENIN’S RUSSIA
Comintern
Lenin wanted to spread communism
Throughout Europe.
Failed rebellions caused
Lenin to back-off.
USSR
Russia formally became the
Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics
‘The Soviet Union’
Treaty of Rapallo
Russia would build illegal arms for
Germany in return for manufacturing
Technology.
THE COMMUNIST PARTY
The Bolsheviks changed name
to ‘The Communist Party’
aka ‘The Party’
THE EMERGENCE OF STALIN
As General Secretary Stalin could appoint his
Stalin was a ruthless
supporters into powerful positions.
master schemer who
Slid his way into power.
Lenin did not like Stalin. “Find someone more
tolerant, more loyal, more polite, & more considerate.”
Trotsky was Lenin’s first choice.
Lenin died Jan. 24 1924. His legacy was
“Firm, fair, modest, cared for ordinary Russians.
Stalin was not!!!!
Lenin, having suffered multiple strokes
was held captive by Stalin in the month
before his death.
The cult of Lenin granted him godlike Status.
Lenin's body is still on display in Moscow,
Stalin’s simple demeanor was popular, Trotsky’s
Intellectual manerisms was not.
Trotsky was exiled
And killed with an
Ice pic in Mexico.
Stalin wanted ‘Socialism In One Country’ (Make Russia Strong)
Lenin wanted to spread communism to world => unpopular.
STALIN’S FIVE YEAR PLANS
“We are 50-100 yrs. behind the advanced countries. We must make
good this distance in 10 yrs. Either we do it or we shall be crushed.”
Stalin was convinced the west would take over the USSR if they did
not modernize quickly. Lenin’s NEP couldn’t cut it!
THE FIVE YEAR PLANS AGRICULTURE
COLLECTIVIZATION – Remove peasants from small private plots &
have them work collective or state farms (kolkhoz).
- 100 million landless peasants were happy.
- Kulaks – wealthy land-owning peasants furious to lose lands.
- destroyed crops rather than turn over.
- 5 million punished / died on forced marches.
- another 5 million starved due to production drop in 32-33
- Slow start but eventually modernized agriculture.
Production increased after tax 1st keep leftovers.
FIVE YEAR PLANS – INDUSTRY
‘The key to industrial power is coal,iron,steel, & oil.’
Stalin set unrealistic goals that would contain severe punishment if
Not met. (Labour camps, Siberia, work record book=> starvation)
FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN - 1928-32
- Triple heavy industry outputs.
- Did not achieve but did modernize
- Beat Brt. Output and 2nd to only Germany.
Stakhanov set unrealistic standards
That were to be met by everyone.
SECOND FIVE YEAR PLAN – 1933-37
- Goals - Heavy industry => 2 x 1932 levels.
THE THIRD PLAN
- Switch from heavy industry to light
consumer goods.
- Never reached 3rd stage due to WW II
economy.
-
POSITIVES
Production^
Pensions & benefits^
Dr.s /1000^
Ed ^
Pop. ^ / Urbanization^
5 YR PLAN PRODUCTION
CHART
‘MR. PARANOIA’
WAS THE MODERNIZATION
OF USSR WORTH:
-
5 Million+ Kulaks
5 million+ starvation
All opposition (3 million???)
Guilt admissions in exchange for family lives
Executions
NKDV (Secret Police / akaOGPU)
Cheka - Secret police for 5 yr. plan
Purges - army of competent leaders
- Would come to haunt him WW II.
- Censorship by his communist party.
- Gulags (Labour Camps)
Did the soviets stand a chance in WW II
Against Germany without him?
Poem written after
Stalin’s death:
Double or triple the guard
beside his grave,
So that he will not rise again,
and with him – the past
Stalin cutting the head
Off the snake.
Were Lenin & Stalin Heroes?