Chapter 14 Section 5-Revolution and Civil War

Chapter 14 Section 5-Revolution and Civil War

1. How did unrest deepen after the Revolution of 1905?

Nicholas failed to solve Russia’s basic political, economic, and social problems. Elected Duma had no real power.

1. What type of ruler was Tsar Nicholas II?

A week and ineffective leader, relied on his secret police and other enforces to impose his will

1. What did Marxists try to do and why?

He tried to ignite revolution among the proletariat-the growing class of factory and railroad workers, miners, and urban wage earners.

1. What were Russia’s problems during WWI?

Strained Russian resources. Factories could not turn out enough supplies. Transportation system broked down and only a small amount made it to the front. By 1915, many soldiers had no rifles and no ammunition. Soldiers were poorly equipped and poorly led-died in staggering numbers.

1. Once Nicholas II went to the front to take personal charge, his wife was left in charge. Why was this a problem? What happened to Rasputin?

Alexandra relied on the advice of Gregory Rasputin, an illiterate peasant and holy man. She believed Rasputin had miraculous powers after he helped her son, who suffered from hemophilia. Many lost confidence in the govt. He was killed on Dec. 29, 1916.

1. What was Russia like in March 1917?

Disasters on the battlefield, combined with food and fuel shortages on the home front, brought the monarchy to collapse.

1. Once the Tsar abdicated (stepped down) from the throne, what was set up in his place?

Duma politicians set up a provisional government. Middle class liberals began preparing a constitution for a new Russian republic.

1. What did Revolutionary socialists do?

Revolutionary socialists plotted their own course and set up soviets, or councils of workers or soldiers.

1. What were the revolutions of March and November 1917 also known as and why?

February and October –Russia still used an old calendar, didn’t use Western calendar until 1918.

1. Lenin spread Marxist ideas among factory workers, what happened as a result?

He and Krupskaya were arrested and sent to Siberia. Got married during prison. After release, they went to exile in Switzerland.

1. What happened in March 1917?

Lenin returned from Exile with the help of Germany.

1. What did Lenin and the Bolsheviks promise?

“Peace, land, and Bread”

1. As World War I waged on, the Russian people grew tired of war and many soldiers were deserting. In July 1917, Alexander Kerensky, leader of the provisional government lead a disastrous offensive against Germany. As a result, what happened in November 1917?

Squads of Red Guards-armed factory workers-joined mutinous sailors from the Russian fleet in attacking the provisional government. In a few days, Lenin’s forces overthrew the provisional government without a struggle.

1. The Bolsheviks were able to quickly seize power in other cities and set up their capital in Moscow, with the Kremlin as their headquarters. What did the Bolsheviks do once in power?

Ended private ownership of land and distributed lands to peasants. Workers were given control of the factories and mines. A new red flag with an entwined hammer and sickle symbolized the union between workers and peasants.

1. After the Bolshevik Revolution, Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ending their participation in WWI. Why did they sign the treaty considering they gave up a huge chunk of territory and its population?

They needed all their energy to defeat enemies at home.

1. For three years, civil war raged between the “Reds” and the “Whites”. Who made up each side?

Reds: Communists Whites: armies were made up of tsarist imperial officers, Mensheviks, democrats, and others

1. Who did the Allied powers support during the Russian Civil war and why?

The Whites-hoped they’d overthrow the Communists

1. What did the counterrevolutionary forces do to the Tsar and his family?

Killed them to keep them from becoming a rallying symbol for counterrevolutionary forces.

1. What was the checka?

The Bolshevik’s secret police force

1. What was war communism?

The communists took over banks, mines, factories, and railroads. Peasants in the countryside were forced to deliver almost all of their crops to feed the army and hungry people in the city. Peasant laborers were drafted into the military or forced to work in factories.

1. Trotsky turned the Red Army into an effective fighting force through the use of commissars. What were they?

Communist party officials assigned to the army to teach party principles and ensure party loyalty.

1. What strategic advantage did the Reds have? When did they defeat the white?

They were in the center of Russia-if the Whites attacked they had to do so separately from all sides. By 1921.

1. What did Lenin do in 1922? What was set up?

He united much of the old Russian empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) or Soviet Union. An elected legislature. All citizens over 18 right to vote. All means of production belonged to workers and peasants.

1. What was Lenin’s New Economic Policy?

Allowed some capitalist ventures. State controlled banks, foreign trade, and large industries. Small businesses were allowed to reopen for private profit. Govt. stopped squeezing peasants for grain. Peasants held on to small plots of land and freely sold their surplus crops.

1. Was Lenin’s New Economic Policy successful? How did Lenin view this policy?

Yes-by 1928 food and industrial production climbed back to pre-war levels. Lenin saw this as a temporary retreat from communism.

1. Lenin dies in 1924 and Trotsky and Stalin vie for power. Who wins and what happens?

Stalin-Trotsky strips him of power. Trotsky fled the country in 1929-Stalins agents kill him in Mexico in 1940.