RUSSIA

Under the Tsars, pre-1914 - 1917

  • Russia is a huge country.
  • Polyglot – many nationalities, languages, groups; heterogeneous population.
  • Hard for leadership.
  • Constant feeding into the war effort.
  • 80% of people were peasants.
  • Only 5% of the land was used for farming.
  • Romanov family was part of a 200-year-old dynasty.

Timeline of Events

  • 1895
  • December 20, Lenin is arrested and kept in solitary confinement, then exiled to Siberia for three years.
  • 1896
  • May 26, Nicholas II is crowned Tsar of Russia.
  • 1903
  • July 30-August 23, The Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) splits into two factions: Mensheviks and Bolsheviks.
  • 1905
  • January 22, Bloody Sunday starts the Russian Revolution.
  • October 30, The October Manifesto is issued by Tsar Nicholas II and promises civil liberties and an elected parliament (Duma).
  • 1906
  • May 6, a constitution is created that reflect the promises made in the October Manifesto.
  • 1914
  • July 28, WWI begins.
  • 1915
  • September 18, Nicholas II assumes supreme command of the Russian Army.
  • 1917
  • March 8-12, the March revolution begins in Petrograd.
  • March 15, Nicholas II abdicates and a provisional government is formed.
  • April 16, Lenin returns from exile and arrives in Petrograd via a sealed train.
  • July 16-20, The July Days begin with spontaneous protests against the provisional government; Bolsheviks fail in turning the protests into a coup; Lenin goes into hiding.
  • July 24, Alexander Kerensky becomes Prime Minister of the PG.
  • September 4-9, The Kornilov Affair: a failed coup by General Kornilov, commander of the Russian Army.
  • November 7, The November Revolution; the Bolsheviks take over Petrograd.
  • November 8, the Winter Palace (the last holdout of the provisional government) is taken by the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, who is now in control of Russia.
  • Elections to the Constituent Assembly.
  • December, establishment of the Cheka (a secret police force)
  • 1918
  • January, closure of the Constituent Assembly.
  • March 3, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Germany and Russia, is signed, taking Russia out of WWI.
  • March 8, Bolshevik Party becomes the Communist Party.
  • March 11, capital of Russia becomes Moscow.
  • June, Russian civil war begins.
  • July 17, Nicholas II and his family are executed.
  • August 20, assassination attempt on Lenin.
  • 1920
  • November, Russian civil war ends.
  • 1922
  • April 3, Stalin is appointed General Secretary.
  • December 15, Lenin retires from politics.
  • December 30, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established.
  • 1924
  • January 21, Lenin dies; Stalin to be his successor.

Divide of Wealth

  • Peasants were mostly illiterate.
  • Not able to own their own land.
  • Legal holds on marriage etc.
  • Worked in factories in the city.
  • The tiny upper class was fabulously rich.

Tsar Nicholas II

  • Autocrat
  • Secret police (Okhrana)
  • Censored literature.
  • Spied on political groups.
  • Arrested critics of the government.
  • Cossacks (from Kazahkstan)
  • Killed workers who disobeyed/refused to work.

Weaknesses of the Russian monarchy

  • Failure to match the military strength of European great powers such as Germany and France.
  • Failure to address widespread peasant poverty.
  • Failure to achieve the levels of industrialization such as those of Britain and Germany.

Karl Marx

  • German socialist (1848, Communist Manifesto)
  • Influenced Lenin who introduced communism to Russia
  • Russia split into different groups (liberals, socialists)

Dialectical Materialism

  • Marx’s theory of Communism
  • Iron Laws
  • Inevitability
  • At some (unknown) point, the gap between the rich and poor will be so large that a revolution will occur in an industrial state.
  • “There is a specter haunting Europe.”
  • “Workers of the world unite…you have nothing to lose but your chains.”

Bloody Sunday

  • January 1905
  • 200,000 marched to the Tsar’s winter palace in St. Petersburg.
  • Led by Father Gapon (leader of the workers organization).
  • Carried religious icons and images of Nicholas to show peaceful intent.
  • Authorities opened fire and killed > 500.
  • Lenin was happy with this occurrence.

October Manifesto

  • After Bloody Sunday, workers and peasants went on strikes.
  • Tsar Nicholas published the October Manifesto in 1905.
  • Creation of the Duma (elected parliament by the people).
  • First 3 were controlled by the Tsar
  • Lenin watching these affairs from his exile in Switzerland.

How did WWI affect Russia and the Tsar

  • 15.5 million young men drafted as soldiers.
  • Halved the number of people available to work in factories.
  • Coalmines were closed, causing starvation.
  • Depended on trains to supply food and raw materials.
  • Russia’s money loses value.
  • Nicholas appoints himself Commander-in-chief.
  • People felt abandoned.
  • Making a mess of things led the public to question the Tsar’s legitimacy.
  • Alexandra left alone; hated because she was German.

Factors affecting the fall of the Russian Empire/Romanov Dynasty

  • The Tsar himself
  • Considered to be incompetent by many, his personal actions in the fall of the dynasty must be considered.
  • As commander of the Russian Army, Nicholas II was linked to the country’s military failures and there was a decline in his support.
  • The Royal family and the role of Rasputin
  • Similarly to the Tsar, the role of the Royal family must be considered: Alexandra’s status as a foreigner, Alexei’s haemophilia and the presence of Rasputin.
  • The 1905 Russo-Japanese war and revolution
  • This was either a great opportunity to the Tsar or a great challenge to him.
  • WWI
  • What was a popular war turned nasty due to extreme expenditure – both human and material (10 million people in the army – “Steamroller”)
  • The social context of Russia; the peasantry, the nobles, the church, the workers, the middle classes and the economic stuation.
  • Proletariat
  • Bourgeoisie

Alexander Kerensky

  • Young man raised in Simbirske.
  • Accepted Minister of Justice position in provisional government.
  • Kerensky wanted to keep fighting the civil war.
  • Influenced by the soviet (many formed in other towns).
  • As the Bolsheviks gained popularity, Kerensky became PM.

Bolshevik Seizure, 1917

Causes of the 1917 Revolutions

Socio-Economic

  • Agricultural backwardness
  • Rural poverty remained a huge cause of social tension.
  • Chronic land shortage.
  • Rapidly growing population.
  • Low levels of literacy.
  • Burden of redemption payments.
  • Late but rapid industrialization
  • Both before and after the 1905 revolution, the rapid pace of industrialization caused huge strain on Russia as industrial workers crowded into the rapidly growing cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
  • It worsened the conditions of the peasants because they were being squeezed by high taxes, which the government used as funding.
  • Higher taxes meant that peasants were obliged to sell more grain, making them more vulnerable to famine.

Political

  • Autocratic power caused educated classes to feel alienated from the monarchy because of its refusal to share power with them.
  • Russia’s political system failed to change while other European monarchies were devolving power more widely.
  • Growing political opposition

March Revolution

  • 1917 protest rallies organized by socialists.
  • 385,000 workers went on strike.
  • Transportation/newspaper to be unavailable.
  • Troops refusing to attack strikers.
  • Feb 28, Tsar’s troops surrendered, ministers arrested.
  • Tsar Nicholas agrees to abdicate to his brother.

How did the Bolsheviks seize power in 1917

The failure of the Provisional Government

  • Its own reforms
  • The Soviets: “Dual Authority”
  • Continuing defeats in the war
  • Peasant land seizures
  • Created a power vacuum

Lenin

  • Upon Nicholas II’s abdication, Lenin was sent in a sealed train back to Russia in April 1917.
  • On April 4, Lenin delivered his April Thesis in which he argued that the soviets had the sole right to govern.
  • Lenin stated that the role of the Bolsheviks was to transfer power to the working classes.
  • Most Bolsheviks were convinced that a proletarian revolution was impossible due to the small size of the industrial working class.
  • Lenin coined the slogan “Peace, Bread, Land, all power to the Soviets”.
  • This appealed to ordinary Russians who became desperate to see an end to the war, high inflation and less food shortages.

November Revolution

  • Very little fighting; only 5 people were killed.
  • Provisional Government had very few loyal troops left. Most of the soldiers/sailors supported the Bolshevik rising.
  • Kerensky escaped.

Consolidation of the Bolshevik State

State Capitalism, October 1917- June 1918

  • Used existing structures.
  • December 1917 established the Supreme Council of the National Economy (Vesenkha).
  • Nationalized banks and railways and cancelled debts owed to foreign governments.

Closure of the Constituent Assembly, January 1918

  • January 5, 1918, Bolsheviks withdrew from the elections and Lenin sent in the Red Guards to close down the Assembly.
  • January 6, Lenin declared that the Assembly was permanently dissolved.
  • Lenin did not believe in democracy, and believed in a dictatorship of the Bolshevik Party to rule on behalf of the working class.

The Red Terror 1917-1918

  • One of the first measures of the Bolshevik regime was to close down the opposition press.
  • Centre
  • Right-wing
  • Socialist
  • Two leading Kadets from the Kadet Party were arrested and beaten to death by Bolsheviks. Socialist and Mensheviks followed suit into prison by the end of 1917.

The Cheka, 1917

  • The Cheka was a force of dedicated Bolshevik supporters that proved an effective mechanism for dealing with opposition formed in 1917.
  • The Cheka operated above the law, being independent and only reporting to Lenin.
  • It was granted unlimited powers of arrest, detention and torture.
  • Actively encouraged class warfare as a means of intimidating the middle classes.
  • The legal system was abolished and replaced by revolutionary justice, which was arbitrary and violent in character.
  • Assassination attempt on Lenin induced the Cheka to launch the Red Terror.

The Execution of the Tsar and his Family, 1918

  • The most significant victims of the Red Terror were the Tsar and his family.
  • Nicholas II, along with his family and servants, was shot on 17 July 1918.
  • Lenin claimed it had been carried out by the local soviet against their wishes, but the evidence points to orders from the centre.

List of actions during the terror

  • Throughout 1922, books, poems, articles and other writings had to be submitted to the Main Administration for Affairs of Literature and Publishing Houses before being published (censorship).
  • 1922, death penalties were handed out to the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church; thousands of priests were imprisoned.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

  • Lost 1 million square km of land.
  • 50 million people became German nationals overnight.
  • 27% farming land.
  • Lost Ukraine (the Bread Basket) where Russia got most of its grain form.
  • 74% iron, ore, and coal deposits.
  • Had to pay 3 billion roubles.
  • Upheld the Bolshevik promise of peace; Lenin knew that peace was vital to the survival of the Party.
  • Made it clear that Lenin had abandoned the idea of a worldwide Bolshevik Revolution.

Consequences of the Treaty

  • Russian patriots were horrified by the terms; antagonized Russia.
  • Caused more splits in the Bolshevik Party.
  • Left wing wanted a revolutionary war to encourage a European socialist revolution.
  • Seemed like a shameful peace that helped Germany.

Civil War

  • Opposition forces unite to form the Whites – supported by foreign countries to oust communists and bring Russia back into WWI.
  • Increasing attacks/attempts to overthrow the Bolsheviks.
  • SRs tried to seize power of Moscow Soviet.
  • Several assassination attempts on Lenin.
  • 50,000 prisoners of war (Czech) tale over the trans-Siberian railway.
  • Anger at the treaty directed at Trotsky.
  • Starvation meant growing opposition.
  • National minorities seized opportunities to get independence.

Events of the Civil War

  • May-August 1918
  • Initial phase marked by gains for Whites.
  • Czech legion attacked Bolsheviks.
  • Foreign powers began to send troops to Russia in June.
  • September-November 1918
  • The Bolsheviks counter-attacked against the Czechs and recaptured Kazan.
  • Admiral Kolchak took control of the White forces in the East.
  • 1919
  • Several White offensives.
  • Launched by Kolchak in March.
  • Launched by Denikin in August-October.
  • Launched by Yudenich in September-October.
  • Not coordinated.
  • Foreign powers withdrew their forces; gone by December.
  • 1920
  • Admiral Kolchak was captured and executed.
  • The last White army was evacuated by December.

Reds

Who

  • Agricultural peasants
  • Lenin
  • Bolshevik Party
  • Industrial workers
  • Trotsky

Aims

  • To stay in power to build the new Socialist society.

Leadership and Unity

  • They had a superb leader in Trotsky.
  • Built the Red Army.
  • Conscription for all 18+ (bigger army)
  • Appointed experienced leadrs for units of men.
  • Trotsky was personally very courageous.
  • Personally visited areas where fighting was the hardest.
  • Passion.
  • Organizational abilities.

Geography

  • Held the central area of western Russia, which contained most of the large industrial centres.
  • Were able to produce munitions and war supplies.
  • Control of the railway lines that connected Petrograd and Moscow. Quick transport.
  • Camped in Petrograd and Moscow.

Whites

Who

  • Industrialists
  • National minority groups (Cossacks in the Ukraine)
  • Landowners
  • Tsarists/Monarchists
  • Britain (war allies)
  • Middle-class liberals
  • Army generals
  • Social Revolutionaries (Kerenskyists)
  • Czech legion – Czech POW who were being transported home in 1918

Aims

  • The groups that made up the Whites all had different aims.
  • Some wanted the Tsar back.
  • Some wanted a military dictator.
  • Some wanted the constitutional government/revolutionary change.
  • The only aim they had in common was to defeat the Bolsheviks.

Leadership and Unity

  • Lacked good leaders.
  • Commanders were cruel and badly behaved.
  • No trust among generals; did not coordinate their attacks.
  • Fighting within the army due to different beliefs i.e. revolutionaries vs. Tsar supporters.

Geography

  • Scattered around the central area of western Russia often with hundreds of miles separating the different armies.
  • Communications were difficult when attempted.

Reasons why the Reds > Whites

  • The Whites lacked political unity or unified leadership
  • They were weakened by their diverse aims.
  • The Whites never coordinated their attacks.
  • The commanders had forces spread out over thousands of miles but failed to link up, straining their lines of communication.
  • The Communists were more united and had better leadership.
  • The Communist Party was united behind Lenin and they shared Marxist ideology.
  • Lenin and Trotsky were very effective leaders; ruthless and pragmatic.
  • The Communists controlled a more coherent/compact area
  • The Communist Party were defending a central region served by trains and their lines of communication were much shorter.
  • The Reds controlled the great industrial centres of Russia.

Conditions in Russia during Civil War/Lenin’s Domestic Policy

  • Life in Russia between 1918 and 1921 was a matter of survival.
  • Less than a third of the urban diet came from state-provided rations; the rest came from the black market.
  • Cheka tried to raid trains to stop bagmen and stamp out the free market.
  • Middle class in a worse position than the workers; most survived by selling clothes and jewellery.
  • 42% of prostitutes in Moscow were from bourgeois familes.

War Communism, May 1918-1921

Grain Requisitioning

  • The Bolsheviks had been sending units of Red guards and soldiers out into the countryside to find grain for the cities.
  • In May 1918, a Food Supplies Dictatorship was set up to establish the forcible requisitioning of grain as the standard policy.
  • The peasants resisted bitterly.

Banning of Private Trade

  • All private trade and manufacture were banned.
  • State trading organization was extremely chaotic and industry was not producing enough consumer goods.
  • An enormous black market developed.

Nationalization of Industry

  • All industry was brought under state control.
  • Single managers reporting to central authorities replaced workers’ committees.
  • This was the only way to stop the chaos caused by the committees who voted themselves huge pay rises and stole materials for illegal goods.

Labour Discipline

  • Discipline was brought back to the work place.
  • Fines for lateness and absenteeism.
  • Internal passports were introduced to stop people fleeing to the countryside.

Rationing

  • A class-based system of rationing was introduced.
  • Labour force was prioritized along with Red Army soldiers.
  • Small rations were given to civil servants and professionals such as doctors.
  • The smallest rations were given to the burzhui or middle classes.

The Crisis Year, 1921

  • By 1921, War Communism had brought the country to the verge of chaos.
  • Around 6 million peasants had died of starvation.
  • Riots broke out in Petrograd and Moscow.
  • Populations fell by 70% and 50% respectively.

Kronstadt Naval Rebellion, March 1921

  • Gave the regime its greatest scare and destroyed its credibility to the greatest degree.
  • Kronstadt was a naval town that was “the pride and joy of the revolution”.
  • By 1921, 16,000 soldiers and workers had signed a petition calling for “Soviets without Bolsheviks”.
  • The Reds reacted brutally, dissolving the Kronstadt Soviet, executing several hundred ringleaders, and expelling over 15,000 sailors from the fleet.
  • Described as “the flash which lit up reality better than anything else”.

New Economic Policy, 1921-1928

  • The Kronstadt incident led to the prompt replacement of War Communism with the NEP.
  • Nicknamed “state capitalism”, the policy lasted set to last until 1929.
  • It permitted private ownership of small-scale industry.
  • It ended grain requisitioning in favour of a tax in kind (10% of the harvest).
  • Peasants were able to sell their surpluses on the open market.
  • By the end of 1922, the crisis began to ease.
  • By 1923, grain production had increased by half.

Effects

  • As Lenin had predicted, a mixed economy had emerged, with the state controlling industry whilst agriculture and trade were in private hands.
  • Whilst agriculture recovered rapidly, industry did not.
  • As agricultural prices fell, industrial prices continued to rise.
  • Farmers could not afford to buy industrial goods and were tempted back towards subsistence farming.
  • Industrial prices were running at 3x the level of agricultural prices.
  • Trotsky compared the growing gap between agricultural and industrial prices to the blades of a pair of scissors.

Summary