Unit 12
The Russian revolution and the turbulent 20’s (2 weeks)
Objectives:
1.To understand the causes of the Russian Revolution and to trace the development of the Soviet government
2.To understand the impact of World War I on European society
3.To understand the efforts to secure a lasting peace in the 1920s
4.To understand the causes and results of the Great Depression
Causes
Tsar Nicholas II 1868-1918
Believed he was the Holy Father of the Russian people
Failure to implement political reforms in Russia brought down the Romanov dynasty
First revolution 1905 a popular uprising of the masses – forced an elected DUMA to play democracy and allowed freedom of the press.
1906 counter revolution reestablished the power of the Tsar and ended any reforms and placed restrictions on the DUMA the Tsar would replace three of them until he found one that agreed with what he wanted.
1914 Russia in the name of pan-Slavism went to war in Europe. The surprise of the growing socialist communist Bolsheviks – most socialist Russians supported the war.
By 1917 15 million Russians were drafted into the army most were uneducated simple farmers who had never fired a rifle before. Russian factories could not keep up with the demands of war time production. This coupled with poor leadership meant disaster on the battlefield.
Tsarina Alexandra – granddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of Germany. Her son Alexi had Hemophilia and trait from Victoria – this consumed all of Alexandra time and forced her to seek the council of a half crazed Russian monk – Grigory Rasputin who would become her closest advisor. In 1916 Tsar Nicholas II took personnel command of the Army and went to the front lines leaving the Tsarina and Rasputin in charge of the country – a fatal mistake- In December 1916 Nicholas order the assassination of Rasputin – poisoned – stab and shot he finally drowned.
December 1916 the Duma lead by Alexander Kerensky began to move against the Tsar
1917 February Revolution
St Petersburg now Petrograd because it sounds more Russian
In the city workers were starving they had no rights and the Tsar would not allow the DUMA to initiate reforms. Workers were housed in the poorer part of town and had little freedom of movement – this segregation made it a breeding ground for Socialist revolutionaries. A massive general strike was organized for February – 400,000 workers walked off their jobs in protest of the tsar.
The Tsar depended on the Army to maintain order – however this time the 160,000 home guard troops were of the people and had family members in the strike. – Bread riots occurred throughout February – by the 25th Tsar Nicholas II ordered the Army to disband the strikers. The army disobeyed and joined the strikers. The strikers took control of the armory and armed the peasants- and the Russian Navy mutinied in the Baltic Sea. Petrograd fell to the peasant army. The Duma created a provisional government to regain order in Petrograd. The Tsar remained at his vacation palace while the capitol of Russia was taken over by the people.
Feb. 27th the Petrograd Soviet of Workers and Soldiers’ Deputies was created – Soviets were then created in all of the major cities of Russia – laying the foundation for a Soviet based Government to take power.
By the end of February Moscow had fallen under control of the Revolutionary Soviets.
March 2nd 1917 – Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne to his brother who refused to accept it . The Petrograd Soviet then placed the Tsar and his family under house arrest.
The Provisional Government and the Soviets
Kerensky now ruled the Duma as a go between –between the liberals and the Soviets. This divided the country between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks – liberals and Soviets. The Duma began social reforms and lifted all restraints on civil liberties.
March 1st the Soviets took control of the Army with Soviet order Number One the army answered to the Soviet not the DUMA – Army desertion intensified in 1917 as the Revolution took shape – To prevent the Soviets from gaining power The U.S. – U.K. , Italy and France recognized Kerensky and the Duma as the government of Russia- The Duma promised to stay in the war but the Soviets controlled the Army.
The goal of the Duma was to keep the country together long enough to hold election and create a constitution as ethnic and national rivals broke out throughout the Empire.
Kerensky’s government recognized the existence of Poland but not the Ukraine. As a result the Ukrainians formed their own Soviet and created there own military. The Ukrainina RADA held a National Congress in Keiv to create a constitution.
Islamic Russian created there own Socialist Soviet in there perspective regions of the Empire. An all Russian Soviet met in Petrpgrad and becgan to dominate the Russian government creating a central executive commottee in which all other Soviets were to answer to.
By April 1917 oppositon to the war was growing throughout Russia. Russia would not pull oout of the war but would look for a peacful resolution with Russia gaining no territory from its enemies.
The Russian factory workers began to strike as working conditions worsened and peasents in the farmlands believed that the land now belonged to those who worked it. Lenin took advantage of this when he returned from exile in April 1917.
In the chaos of the formation of Kerensky’s government and the formation of countless Soviets Lenin came to power under 4 promised condidtions
1. Russian withdrawl from the War
2. no support of the provisional government
3. a call for revolution in other European nations
4. the seizure of large estates by the peasants
July Days
The Bolshevik Party attempted to overthrow the Kerensky government.
100,000 soldiers joined workers and farmers in a revolt against the provisional government – Most of the Army remained loyal to Kerensky
Kerensky’s government then arrested many of the Bolsheviks and closed down their party headquarters building and arrested the troops that betrayed the army. Lenin fled to Finland as Kerensky was reelected Prime Minister.
Kerensky’s government then used the July Days as a means to form a counter-revolution against the Bolsheviks. The Death penalty was reinstated – disloyal army units were disbanded and the Bolshevik paper Pravda was shut down.
The legal system and the unstableness of the provisional government could not enforce the arrests of the Bolsheviks and many leaders were never arrested those who went to jail were soon released as the Bolsheviks enjoyed support from the working class and those wanting change. This discredited the Kerensky government.
The Kornilov Affair
August 1917 – Kerensky appointed General Kornilov as commander and chief of the army. Kerensky’s second coalition government now believed that only a military dictatorship could save Russia from the Soviets and from having to pull of the war. Kerensky wanted Kornilov to become a dictator to defeat the Soviets – Kornilov called upon the Russian people to save Russia from the Soviets – the Soviets then armed themselves
October Revolution
Oct 10 Lenin returned in disguise
Kerensky’s maintained control of the Government but
1.could not get the economy under control
2. failed at the military dictatorship
3. did not get Russia out of WW I
The all-Russian executive committee demanded that an election take place and a democratic republic be declared and that the government exclude everyone except members of the preliterate and the peasantry of Russia.
Oct 24 Kerensky shut down Bolsheviks newspapers and order all bridges coming into Petrograd blocked
12,000 Red Russian soldiers lead by Trotsky then took to the streets and fought with soldiers loyal to Kerensky – it was a short skirmish that did not even affect the daily business of the city – most of the citizens were not even away that the Provisional government had been ousted from power. The Central committee of the Council of Soviets now controlled the city and the government – a similar insurrection of Reds occurred n Moscow.
Trotsky and Lenin’s new government began to dismantle the Kerensky government’s infrastructure – sized banks- closed all newspapers – and banned the liberal constitution party and the provisional constitution. Lenin created a secret police CHEKA - they arrested any one who was not a Bolshevik. He then created the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Trotsky the Peoples Commissar for Foreign Affairs, offered Germany an armistice – lead to Brest Litovsk taking Russia out of WW I and giving Germany all of the European Russian territory – Poland Ukraine Latvia Estonia Lithuania and Finland.
Civil War
General Kornilov and the anti-Bolshevik portion of the Army supported Kerensky and became the White Army against the Reds lead by Lenin and Trotsky.
The Reds controlled most of he Western Cities while the Whites controlled the Eastern part of Russia and Siberia and were allied wit the Czech Legion. The Whites used anti Semitic tactics to turn Russian against the Jewish Trotsky and supposed Jew Lenin.
Fearing that the Tsar might re take the throne of Russia the Bolsheviks executed the Tsar and family in July1918.
August 1918 British and American troops landed in Northern Russia to aide the Whites against the Reds. Archangel and Murmansk – Japanese and American troops landed in Vladivostok. The reds used foreign intervention as a source of propaganda to rally Russian the cause of the Reds – both sides committed acts of brutality against the Russian people the Red Terror killed any one who did not support the Revolution – the White Terror killed any Russian who did not support the Whites. Fighting would last until 1922 with the final defeat of the Whites.
1921 Poland attempted to unify the Baltic states along with the Ukraine and declared was on the Soviet Union (Reds) most of the fighting took place in the Ukraine Russia and Poland signed the treaty of Riga ending the war recognizing Poland as a nation and dividing the Ukraine. 5 million Ukrainians moved to Poland as a result.
1922 USSR created as the Civil war ended – terror became the weapon of Lenin’s government.
NEP New Economic Policy
1921-1922 7 million Russian starved to death – counter to communism as it allowed peasants to work the government land as if it were there own using capitalism to get their economy running and enough food grown to feed the Russian people. This was to be a temporary fix it allowed for groups known as the Kulaks (middle class) to become rich (counter to Lenin and the communist revolution) at the same time Lenin outlawed all political parties except for the Bolshevik this too was to be temporary until the country was stabilized. Under Lenin’s government a young Georgian began to rise through the Soviet ranks- Joseph Stalin. Stalin would take Russian interests to the extreme while all states in the Soviet Union thanks to communism were in theory equal – Stalin saw to it that the Russian Soviet dominated all laws and customs. The Constitution of 1924 was written for equality but the Soviet Union was dominated by the Russian Soviets all other Soviets were secondary – terror and free gave them the power.
1922 Lenin had a stroke he would die of heart failure in 1924 – Lenin did not want Stalin to gain power as he believed Stalin was not right for the Soviet Union – Lenin died without appointing a successor – Stalin would claim that Lenin told him to take power. Stalin seized power mostly because of all the “dirt” he held over the heads of the upper level of the Soviet government – Stalin would lead Russia away from communism and into totalitarianism
1920’s attempts at stability
The Great War saw the end of the German, Austrian/Hungarian, Ottoman and Russian Empires. The English and French Empires were on the verge of bankruptcy.
This caused political extremist groups to form throughout Europe
Britain and France sought to punish Germany for the war – demonstrated in clause 231 of the treaty of Versailles.
Revolution in Germany and Hungary
Germany – as early as October 1918 the Empire was falling apart form the inside – Sailors mutinied in the Baltic fleet demanding peace and the abdication of the Kaiser
In Southern Germany socialists lead by Kurt Eisner proclaimed Bavaria as an independent Soviet state.
Nov 1918 Kaiser William II abdicated – and Friedrich Ebert was named Chancellor a Left Wing Social Democrat – a country that had never practiced democracy was about to try in the aftermath of the Treaty of Versailles. (hard to do)
The German General Staff would only support the new Chancellor and government if they agreed to let the Army maintain order and the Bolsheviks be outlawed. The Right wing of the Army create the Free Corps which consisted of ex soldiers.
The Independent Social Democrats led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg (founders of the German Communist party) hated the Army and the new Free Corps police and demanded workers rights be a priority of the government – left government participation and began to riot and demonstrate in the streets of Berlin – called themselves Spartacists. The German Free Corps and police broke up the riot and hunted down and killed most of the Spartacists including its leadership.
1919 the first German government elections were held placing three political parties in power within the Reichstag- Social democrats (just left of center) –Catholic party (center) and the German Democratic party (just right of center) Ebert was elected president and Scheidemann was appointed premier of the new Weimar Republic