1917 Revolutions Flashcards
What were the mid term cause of the February Revolution in 1917?
WW1 - no political reforms (rejection of Dumas Progressive Bloc), tsar held responsible for military failures, difficult living conditions (lack of food and unemployment), Rasputin and Tsarina left in charge
Modernisation - difficult to modernise within framework of autocracy, pressure for political change
What were the long term causes of the February Revolution?
Russian people and Russification - hard to control Russian people under one rule, people were unhappy. Minorities felt suppressed under Russification - uprise and strike
Social Structure
Growing intelligentsia wanted a day
Land and agricultural methods were inefficient - overcrowding
Low wages for urban workers in industry
Peasants famine 1891 - continued discontent
What were the short-term causes of the 1917 February Revolution?
International Women’s Day - discontent became focused, large amount of people came together
Mutiny of soldiers - battle between soldiers and police
What was the effect of the 1917 February Revolution?
People began to look to the Duma to control the situation
Petrograd Soviet began forming
Tsar abdicated
Duma formed provisional government
Lenin’s return from exile - published April Thesis
What occurred during the February Revolution?
Protest was unplanned and uncoordinated
Daily demonstrations continued each one becoming more violent
Bought transport network to a standstill. Halted publication of newspapers and forced closures of shops and restaurants.
Over half the workforce was on strike and city of Petrograd was virtually immobilised
Soldiers - mutiny as they refused to shoot against Russian civilians
Tsars abdication bought temporary end to violence
What problems were faced by the PG and how did they deal with them?
Peasants wanted Land - nothing, waited for constituent assembly - resulted in land grabbing
War - launched ‘summer offensive’ - v.aggressive and failed
Economy - requisitioned grain which made peasants hostile
Made few concessions for minorities except some for Ukraine - discontent
What was the impact of the April Thesis?
‘Peace land and bread’ and ‘All Power to the Soviets’
Made October revolution Bolshevik
Dramatically increased Bolshevik support.
Trotsky joined Bolsheviks
What were the ‘July Days’?
Pro-Bolshevik units refused to be sent to the front, joined radical protestors on the street
Went to Tauride palace and demanded am end to the war and handover of power to the soviets
What was the result of the ‘July Days’?
Disturbances were not organised by Bolshevik leadership but PG shut down Bolshevik newspaper
Mere sky published letters showing Bolsheviks were getting funding for Germany which undermined their popularity.
Bolshevik leaders fled
How did the Bolsheviks survive after the July Days?
Kornilov (army leader) accused of staging a coup against the PG
PG gave Bolsheviks a pardon and weapons to the Red Army to use against Kornilov which they didn’t return
What did the Kornilov Affair result in for the Bolsheviks?
Raise In profile
Trotsky becomes Chairman of Petrograd Soviet
Second revolution in October
How did the Bolsheviks eventually seize power?
Bolshevik red guards and other troops loyal to the soviet took action. They seized key communication points in the city and met very little resistance. Only two recorded deaths.
Short term causes of October Revolution?
Impact of WW1 - peasants angry about conscription, urban workers hostile, necessities in short supply
Failure of PG - Kornilov Affair, failure of summer offensive, weak political body, allowed freedomof speech (easier to rebel), inefficient government
