Feb/March 1917 revolution Flashcards
LT Russo-japanese war Cause
Determination that Russia should not be left out of the European ‘scramble for colonies’
Growth of Russian presence in Korea
Russia didn’t remove temporary troops from Manchuria in 1903
Russian apathy led to a failure to come to a peaceful resolution
Nicholas II encouraged into starting a war by German Kaiser
Starvation and high unemployment caused riots that the government tried to quel by starting a war.
LT Russo-japanese war Course
Surprise attack from Russia February 1904
Japan took over Port Arthur by May 1904
Russia attempted to take back port and failed (Battle of Mukden)
Russia’s key fleet suffered defeat in Battle of Tsukishima
20 ships sunk, 5 captured Japanese only suffered minimal loss
LT Russo-japanese war Consequences
Forced to accept defeat in Treaty of Portsmouth
Embarrassing (especially in the eyes of European great Powers) Russians thought they were racially superior to Japan
Military defeat was a disaster for the tsar and his government
Catalyst for revolution in 1905
Increase in discontent (saw the government as incompetent)
Worsened the economic plight
Food and fuel shortages, high prices and unemployment
Contributed to Bloody Sunday on 22nd of January 1905
LT Bloody sunday cause
Prices of essential goods rose so much that wages declined by 20%
4 members of the Assembly of Russian Workers were fired
Famine
LT Bloody sunday course
Father Gapon tried to personally appeal Nicholas II
1903 formation of the Assembly of Russian Workers by Father George Gapon
110,000 workers on strike in St. Petersburg
Father Gapon created petition outlining workers suffering (signed by 150,000 people)
Led procession of people to present petition to Nicholas II
When it reached Winters palace police and Cossacks shoot at them (around 100 wounded)
LT Bloody sunday consequences
Signalled the start of the 1905 revolution
Increased discontent
People lost faith in the government
LT 1905 revolution cause
Bloody Sunday
Regime turned of its own workers
Defeat in war against Japan
Witte’s industrialisation (greater pressure on workers & peasants: high taxes, low wages)
Refusal of Nicholas II to make concessions
Less oppressive rule = growing opposition
Bad leadership
Rise of reform and revolutionary groups
LT 1905 revolution course
400,000 workers on strike in St. Petersburg by the end of January
June 1905, mutiny on Battleship ‘ Potemkin’: sailors refused captains orders and took control of the ship, spread to other units of the military and the navy (majority still remained loyal to tsar)
Local peasant disturbances (30 million roubles in damages)
By the end of the year 2.7 million workers had been on strike
Railway workers’ strike almost brining economy to a standstill
LT 1905 revolution consequences
Severing of the bond between the tsar and his people
Loss of popular support for Nicholas II
National duma (brief era of parliamentary government in Russia)
Moderated his original concessions by 1906
Still resented the possibility of change
Minorities wanted greater independence
Opposition groups wanted to force autocracy to change
WW1 ST
Food, goods and raw materials in short supply
Hundreds of factories closed
Thousands of workers out of work
Inflation, lack of fuel -> people were cold & hungry
Urban workers hostile towards PG
Peasants angry about conscription
More advanced German army + supply issues
Soldiers forced to take clothes from dead for protection
Issues with railways -> lack of supplies back in the cities
ST Trotstsky
One of the main thinkers behind the communists
Got exiled and when he came back in 1905 he was the Chairman of the St. Petersburg soviets during the revolution (1917)
Organised the November Revolution (1917)
So important that Lenin was forced to work with him even though Lenin did not like him.
The chairman of the military revolutionary committee and leader of the Bolshevik Red Guards.
After the revolution, Trotsky became a member of the Politburo the committee of 5 Bolsheviks who ran the government
Claimed Bolsheviks were seizing power of the Soviets -> workers accepted them
When Lenin closed parliament they realised they has been fooled
Played key role in setting up and organising the Red Army & takeover of power
Excellent orator-> helped inspire the masses
ST Lenin
Appealed to workers
Unique
Revised Karl Marx ideologies
Inspired the masses to join part + revolution
Practical leader + good orator
Could adapt his policies
April thesis on train from Switzerland -> logans: “All power to the Soviets” and “Peace, bread and land”
Knew when to grasp the best opportunity to start the 1917 Revolution -> Kornilov Affair had armed them with weapons and good image -> presented him as a smart leader that had self-restraint
Other LT
Middle class wanted more political participation
Industrialisation: more workers, overcrowded cities, low salaries, bad working conditions, open to socialism & communism
Improved literacy -> People open to ideas
1905 revolution -> october manifesto -> fundemental laws
ST Provisional Government
Internal and External problems
PG not elected by the people (was only temporary -> not motivated to pass legislation)
Couldn’t hold elections -> WW1
Division between socialists and liberals blocked decisions
Soviets held all practical power (control over factories and railways)
Allowed freedom of speech -> opposition groups
Dismantled Okhrana (couldn’t stop uprisings)
-> 1. June offensive when the PG attacked Germany so the country would be in a better position in World War I. It ended badly and the PG was humiliated. Success for the Bolsheviks and other political parties who got increased support.
-> 2. July Days. It was a spontaneous uprising, which consisted of 500 000 soldiers, workers and sailors in Kronstadt. Later, they went to Petrograd to try and overthrow the PG. It was unsuccessful because the PG still had control over some loyal troops. This was also the event that caused Trotsky to join the Bolsheviks.
-> 3. The Kornilov Affair started in August 1917. General Kornilov was unhappy with the way the PG handled politics and World War I so he decided to go to Petrograd to overthrow it with his army. The PG panicked as they had no way to defend themselves so they armed the Bolsheviks to fight instead. However, Kornilov’s army never reached Petrograd because some of his soldiers rebelled and railway workers sabotaged the railways. This was a huge embarrassment for the PG and everyone lost respect for them. However, this was a big success for the Bolsheviks because not only were they seen as saviours they were also stronger than other political parties at no cost.
