nicholas ii and the end of the romanovs: Flashcards
who was tsar nicholas ii and what did he believe as a leader?
small, naturally reserved, weakling, referred to as a ‘girlie’, nicholas had been brought up to take his god given duties seriously; he aimed to maintain the principle of autocracy firmly and unflinchingly. he continued russification and support for ‘black hundreds’ organisations.
why was there demands for change following alexanders death?
the great famine meant russia had become more politicised. the failures of the government left the zemstva to handle the burden which led to further resentment. the years 1902 to 07 were marked by widespread disturbances in both towns and countryside. coined the years of the red cockerel referring to the leaping flames.
where was unrest at its worst?
central russian provinces, where the landlord/peasant relationship was still at its most traditional but it also spread to georgia, ukraine and poland. set fire to landlords barn, destroying grain, physically attacking, stolypin tried to deal with the problem (flogging, arrests, exile) but this just made the situation worse.
how did industrial strikes escalate?
industrial strikes escalated in towns, going from 17,000 to 90,000, in 1901 the Obukhov factor saw violent clashes between armed police and whip carrying Cossacks. the head of the Okhrana tried to organise his own police-sponsored trade unions to provide official channels through which complaints could be heard. only lasted until 1903, and Zubatov was dismissed and exiled after his union joined a general strike
what happened in the russo-japanese war?
Phleve is accredited with encouraging the tsar to respond to a japanese assault on the naval base at port arthur. with a short swift victorious war, which would distract unrest at home. however, russia had very little idea of their enemy and their inadequate forces. when phleve was assassinated in july 1904, crowds cheered and celebrated. renewed cries for a state duma
what happened at bloody sunday, 9th jan 1905?
the humiliation of the defeat of the japanese war added to the growing discontent and on 3 jan 1905 a strike began at the putilov iron works which amassed over 150,000 workers, Father gapon led a peaceful protest and wished to present a petition to nicholas ii, demonstrating the workers loyalty but also requesting reform. nicholas chose to spend the weekend at his summer palace, 150,000 unarmed workers marched, singing hymns, patriotic banners, crosses and pictures of the tsar. the troops were used to break up the demonstration and 150 were left dead.
how did nicholas respond to bloody sunday?
only after the assassination of grand duke sergei, the tsars uncle, did nicholas finally agree to meet the workers representatitves, he dismissed the moderate mirsky and brought in two officials were were prepared to follow a hard-line policy; bulygin and trepov. following unrest, the tsar issued the october manifesto
what was the october manifesto?
- to grant civil freedom
- to establish a state duma allowing a voice to all classes
- to give the state duma the power to approve laws
the manifesto was greeted with celebrations and workers rejoiced, however nicholas had no intention of becoming a constitutional monarch
what was a state duma?
members elected under a system of indirect voting by estates, heavily weighted in favour of the nobility. upper change - state council: half elected by the zemstva, half elected by the tsar.
what were the fundamental laws?
five days before the first duma, nicholas issued a series of fundamental laws reasserting his autocratic power, he claimed the right to:
- veto legislation
- rule by decree in emergency or when not in session
- appoint and dismiss government minister
- dissolve the duma as he wished
- to command ruussias land and sea forces
- declare war
- to control military and household expenditure
- overturn verdicts and sentences
what was in the first duma?
may - july 1906
boycotted by the bolsheviks and srs, it was therefore overwhemingly radical-liberal in composition with a third of the new deputies coming from the peasantry. it was strongly critical of the tsar and his ministers which brought wittes resignation; replaced by goremykin, the duma passed an ‘address to the throne’ which requested political amnesty, the abolition of the state council, the transfer of ministerial responsibility of the duma, compulsary seizure of the lands of the gentry without compensation, abandonment of the civil service. ten weeks later, the duma was dissolved and goremykin replaced by stolypin.
what was in the second duma?
feb - june 1907
stolypins government tried to influence the elections to the next duma but no. of left wing increased enormously because bolsheviks, menshiviks and the SRs. the second duma was even more oppositional. Stolypin struggled to find any support for agrian reform, passed emergency powers when duma was not in session. weight of peasants reduced and noble influence increased
what was in the third duma?
nov 1907 - june 1912
this produced a more submissive duma which agreed 2200 of 2500 govt. proposals, however it is a sign of how unpopular the tsarist regime had become had become that even this duma proved confrontational. there were disputes over naval staff, stolypins proposals to extend primary education and local government reforms. in 1911, it had to be suspended twice and by 1912 it was clear that the duma system was not working.
what was in the fourth duma?
1912 - 17
relatively docile body
he simply ignored the duma and its influence declined.
how was the political position of russia following 1905?
it seemed that the autocracy had largely recovered from 1905; stolypin had helped to restore order in the countryside, in aug 1906, the court system was improved with all cases concluded within two days. however, stolypin combined this intolerance and ruthlessness with a belief in radical reform of agriculture as the best, by 1914 agrain sit. was improving and the future looked bright for maintaining traditional governing classes. revolutionary groups significantly weakened.
what was the role of rasputin?
the courts distance from reality was epitomised by the rise of the peasant-born grigorii rasputin; a self styled clairvoyant and ‘faith-healer’. by the time rasputin drifted to st petersburg in 1903, he was claiming special spiritual powers and he found a receptive audience at a time when interest in spiritualism, astrology and the occult was strong among those of high society who preferred to ignore political problems. alexandra discovered that rasputin could heal her haemophiliac son, she was persuaded that he was a man of god. nicholas failure to take action despite rasputins obvious misdeeds and the damage caused to the royal family damaged the tsars reputation with politicians, bishops and officers. showed that tsars outlook was unchanged
how much did russias economy grow from 1894 to 1913?
more than 8% per annum
Why did the russian economy grow so much?
this impressive expansion was initially mastermined by Witte (1892 - 1903) taken over from vyshnegradsky. the progress was remarkable, railway trackage virtually doubled, coal output jumped from 183 to 671 million in 1900, foreign investment soared. 280 million to 2000 million in 1914
what did witte do to state manage industrial growth?
he sought capital, technical advisers, managers and skilled workers from overseas. he introduced a new rouble in order to strengthen currency and encourage foreign confidence in investment. - declined but remained an essential factor. the capital was to fund public works, and develop russias infastructure - railways, telegraphs and electrical plants.
by the twentieth century, how much did the state control of russias railway?
70 per cent, and held extensive holdings in the growing ‘heavy industry plant’, by the turn of the century, the state was buying almost two thirds of all russias metallurgical production and a further injection of money re-equipped the army. received 25 of its income
what did the state do for railways?
continued to buy out smaller railway companies, extending lines so that by 1905, russia had 59,616 km of railways, 66% state owned. still limited in comparison to the size of the country but the growth rate was impressive. allowed more extensive exploitation of russias raw materials. they also linked grain growing areas to the black sea ports, so reinforcing the export drive. the building of the railway lines was itself a stimulus to the development of iron and coal industries and permitted the development of new industries along the length of the expanding rail network. transport costs fell, bringing down the price of goods, while the government made money from freight charges and passenger fares. from 1908 - 13, the rate of railway building somewhat slowed, by 1913 russia had the second largest railway network in the world, with 62,000 km, although this fell short of the USAs 411,000 km.
the most acclaimed railway is the trans-siberian railway crossed russia from west to east,its building provided a huge industrial stimulus and the psychological boost it provided was even greater.
what did the state do for heavy industry?
originally, the lighter industries had led the way. however, witte believed that by concentrating production in key areas and by developing factory units of over 1000 units, big increases in heavy goods production could be achieved and this set the pattern for industrial development.
where were the main areas for industrial development?
st petersburg, moscow, provinces for vladimir, urals, donbas, caspian sea and poland.
the donbas region was supplying 87 per cent of all russian coal by 1913, produced 74% of pig iron. by 1914, russia was the fourth largest producer of coal, pig iron and steel.
russian oil production trebled from 153 mil to 570 mil. russia was internally self sufficient but also able to compete with the usa on a national market, 4th in gold mining.
putilov iron works
there was a growth in light industry - 40% of total industrial output. impressive industrial growth rate of 8.5%
by 1914, russia had the fifth largest industrial power, feared delaying war due to russia industrialisation to reach a point to strip the german economy.
what was the agriculture like before 1906?
although the rural economy provided a livlehood for 90% of the russian population, it was largely sacrificed in the interests of industrilisation until 1906, until stolypin was appointed minister of internal affairs. before 1906, most farming remained small-scale, in the hands of former serfs, tied to the local mir by redemption payments and heavily taxed and exploited by the state. the amount of land available did not. although there was a govt. initiative to sponsor emigration, this proved insufficient to alleviate the pressure of a growing population.
russia 1 : britian 4 - amount of farmland
some kulaks had prospered, stolypin aimed to produce more kulaks
what were stolypins land reforms?
stolypin wanted the peasants to become permanent owners of the land. he intended that each peasants land should be held in one peice, rather than scattered strips, and the mir should not interfere. demanded a complete transformation of the communal pattern of russian rural life. his reforms started in 1903, however it was not until the unrest of 1905 that major changes were undertaken. the most important legislation was introduced from 1906 - 1910:
- more state land is available for peasants to buy, encourage emigration to siberia
- peasants are granted equal rights in their local administration
- peasants are given rights to leave the commune
- collective ownership is abolished
- new peasants land bank is established
- redemption payments are officially abolished - 1907
- all communes which had not been redistributed since 1861 are dissolved
stolypin claimed that he needed 20 years of peace for his reforms to have effect. the coming of war prevented this, but legislation encouraged land transfers, hereditary ownership increased from 20% to nearly 50%. grain production rose annually from 56 mil to 90 million to 1914. by 1909, russia was the leading cereal exporter. helped to develop siberia.
what were the limitations of stolypins land reforms?
by 1913, only 1.3 mil out of the 5 mil applications for the consolidation and hereditary tenure of individual farms had been dealt with
by 1914, only around 10% of land had been transferred from communal to private ownership.
90% of peasant holdings were still in traditional strips
landowners were reluctant to give up land and difficulties of dividing common land brought legal battles. fifty percent of the land remained in the hands of the nobility.
probably fewer than one percent achieved kulak status, many of the rest were forced to leave their farms.
stats around working and living conditions in towns:
in russias major cities, the arrival of new large factories, swelled the urban population. there were two million factory workers in russia by 1900 and six million by 1913. between 1867 and 2917, the empires urban population quadrupled from 7 to 28 million, mainly the result of peasants looking for work in the cities.
what was the position of peasants in town?
some only settled temporarily, retaining their land and returning to their villages to help out their families. by 1914, three out of four people living in st petersburg were peasants by birth. half the population had arrived in the previous 20 years.
what were the facilities like in towns?
the facilities for the growing urban class were grossly inadequate. workers often found themselves living in barrack like buildings, owned by factory owners and dangerously overcrowded, lacking in adequate sanitation. wash in communal bathhouses. 40% of houses had no running water or sewage system. excrement was set in piles and collected in wooden carts. it is hardly surprising that 30,000 inhabitants died of cholera.
yet the demand for work and accom. was such that rents remained high, often taking half a workers wage. lay down by the machinery, workers wages varied tremendously, women were lowest paid.
conditions were perhaps the worst during the industrial depression in 1900 - 08, wages failed to keep up with inflation.
what laws were introduced?
prohibited night time employment of women and children
hours reduced to 10 hours
sickness and accident insurance
what also spread?
education also spread, there was an 85% rise in primary school provision between 05 - 14, and the government promoted the development of technical schools. investment in education was less and only 55% of children were in full time education by 1914.
what happened at the lena goldfields massacre?
workers went on strike in siberia for better wages and conditions (inedible horsemeat) in 1912, but repression followed and troops were sent in and 500 killed or injured.
what happened at the lena goldfields massacre?
workers went on strike in siberia for better wages and conditions (inedible horsemeat) in 1912, but repression followed and troops were sent in and 500 killed or injured.
what were conditions like for peasant farmers in the countryside?
conditions for peasant farmers did not improve substantially; strip farming persisted on 90% on the land and there was still widespread rural poverty. the gap between richest and poorest sections of the peasantry became wider as the wealthier peasants entrepreneurs or kulaks took advantage of the position of the less favoured. the poorest peasants found life getting harsher, a minority migrated to siberia. only 3.5 million took this opportunity.
where did living standards vary?
living standards varied in different parts of the country with prosperous commercial farming in western ukraine, the kuban, northern caucasus. the continuation of backward farming was mainly concentrated in the russian heartland (supported the bolshevik revolution in 1917)
what was the overall position of the peasants lot?
peasants lot remained a hard one and despite improvements in healthcare, a large proportion rate of the peasantry was turned down as unfit for military service. mortality rates in russia was higher than any other european countries. teachers and doctors were in short supply. few received basic education and there was around 60 percent illiterate. with large families, little possession and a monotomous daily diet, russias land hungry peasantry remained at the bottom of the social ladder; even though their sense of loyalty to the tsar was largerly unblemished.
how did the growth of education grow change?
govt. expenditure on primary education grew from 5 mil to 82 mil by 1914. by 1911, over 6.5 million between 8 and 11 were receiving primary education. spread was uneven with urban education better. 40% illiterate by 1914. secondary education remained elitist.
how did writers address change?
used their art forms to address problems in russian society during this period for example, anton checkov produced a stream of stories continuing the realist tradition of tolstoy. the relaxation of censorship produced the silver age. experiments in modernism showing russia was part of the modern world
what did the murder of bogolepov signify?
karpovich was a student rebel who killed the minister of education nikolay bogolepov. it signified the revival of a new style of populism
who was the SR party?
the sr party was founded as a rallying point for those who wished to appeal to the peasantry through a commitment to land socialisation and decentralised government. chernov = key thinker, fairly loose organisation compromising of a variety of views. accepted marxist teachings but combined this with populist ideas, favouring a russian revolutionary programme. the srs put forward the view that peasantry and workers were identical, and should work together to destroy autocracy.
yevno azef - murdered phleve
why did the SD party break up?
split between the bolsheviks and menshiviks -
menshiviks - open to all, impetus had to come from the workers themselves, bourgeois revolution that they believed had to precede the proleteriat revolution
bolsheviks - bourgeois and proleteriat revoltution could occur simultaneously, educate workers to lead them to the revolution, membership should be restricted, favoured control of central committee
how was moderate opposition appeased?
the state duma largely appeased the community in the hope of further constitutional reform. similarly there was no strong opposition amongst the nationalities after 1905. none wanted outright independence and policies of assimilation were effective in belorussia and ukraine.
the revolutionary sr and sd were weakened by the exile of their leaders in 1905, as well as a split within the social democratic workers party and rivalry between sr and sds. also suffered from the secret police who were very effective. membership declined. before 1914, opposition appeared weak and demoralised. most workers were politically apathetic, the trade unions failed to provide a popular base contained by repression.
the coming of war further diminished any support for action as a patriotic fervour swept through political groupings, save for the bolsheviks.
what was the problem with tsardom in wartime?
originally, tsars decision to go to war was initially a popular one supported by a wave of anti-german sentiment. strike activity ceased, extremists prisoned for lack of patriotism, the duma dissolved itself after war credits, declaring that it did not want to burden the country with unnecessary politics. a vast army was assembled , however national solidarity was dampened when intitial victories gave way to the defeat at the hands of germans in the Battle of tannenburg left 300000 dead. Masurian lakes forced the russian army into a temp. retreat. would not be a quick victory like they had hoped and reports of military discontent fueled discontent.
what were military zones?
places where all civilian authority was suspended and the military assumed command. this was opposed by the liberal zemstva who regarded the govt. as insensitive to the needs of the people i.e. prohibit the sales of vodka.
what was the role of the zemstva?
provided medical facilities in the union of zemstva, factory owners established a congress of representatives to help coordinate production. in june 1915, the zemstva formed the all russian union of zemstva and cities (zemgor) to help the tsar in the war effort. nicholas blamed it for stirring up trouble
what did members of the fourth duma request
demanded that tsar change his ministers and establish a government of public confidence. effectively asking for a constitutional monarchy but nicholas ii did not use this chance. however, he was not prepared to contemplate such a move and suspended the duma,
what was the disastrous decision nicholas made?
nicholas took on the role as commander in chief of the russian army and navy following defeats in galacia, to travel to the front line. the move did nothing to help his cause, nicholas had lost the confidence of russian general staff and did not possess the military experience to turn the war effort around. his new position made him appear more responsible for the varying disasters.
what did rasputin do under wartime?
he meddled in political appointments and policy decisions, rumours spread that nicholas wife was deliberately sabotaging the war effort. there were change in ministers due to rasputins influence and liberals began to lose patience and demand change. nicholas was warned about his unpopularity but nicholas did not take action. prince yusupov invited rasputin and murdered him.
nicholas seemed unaware, or unconcerned about the political demands. showed more anxiety about childrens measles and reassured alexandra that ‘young boys and girls running about and screaming that they have no bread.’ showing his lack of care
what was the economic problem during wartime?
there was a series of shortages of munitions and the prospect of a long war requiring lots of men was daunting.
what were the military issues during the war?
although they managed to mobilise around 15 million people, it provided unable to provide for them. the problems of early years grew steadily worse so soldiers were sent to fight without suitable weaponry and lacking basic, warm clothing and properly fitting waterproof footwear. experienced officers had already been killed. morale had plummeted, led to 1.5 million desertions
what were internal problems during the war?
spending on the war rose from 1,500 million roubles in 1914 to 14,500 million in 1918 but the real cost was far greater. the rural and industrial workforce was severely affected and production slumped. couldnt feed the army, naval blockades brought russia to a virtual standstill. in the countryside, some did well out of the war as conscription helped to relieve population pressure. prices offered by govt were low so some grain hoarded. inefficiences meant that food did not always reach its destination. life was hard for townfolk, financially crippled. 30,000 went on strike
what happened in feb 1917?
the february revolution - around 100,000 workers went on strike in petrograd, police struggled to keep order and were attacked.
22 feb - 20,000 workers locked out of iron works
23 feb - international womens day = 90,000 workers on strike, joined a march for women, sees no loss of life but 200,000 in the streets.
26 feb - nicholas notes that rodzianko wrote nonsense to which he will never reply
27 feb - tsar orders khabalov to restore order by military force, however a mutiny begins and command officer shoots his seargent dead.
what was order no.1?
a charter of soldiers rights was produced promising the following:
- all units to elect a deputy to the soviet and agree to the political control of the soviet union
- military commission of the duma to be obeyed, only if it agreed with the soviets orders
- all weapons to be controlled by elected soliders committees
- all soldiers enjoy full citizens rights
- no honorific titles to be used for officers
- officers are not to address solders in the ty form like a serf
nicholas never returned to petrograd.
what did the tsar agree?
the tsar was under pressure from the chief of general staff to resign, alekseev had been reassured by an agreement on 1 march that the petrograd soviet would recognise a provisional government formed by members of the duma and suggested the tsar resign in favour of his son. on march 2nd, nicholas agreed to their demand however he named grand duke mikhail should lead the country but he refused the throne, the tsar and his family were placed under house arrest and the 304 romanov dynasty came to an end.
what was the provisional government?
under prince lvov, its members represented the influential elites and those who had formerly favoured the constitutional monarchy. meant to be temporary. was accepted as legitimate.
what was the petrograd soviet?
the mass of workers soldiers and peasants regarded the provisional government as a self appointed committee of the wealthy, tainted by their previous association with tsardom . the petrograd soviet was the democratic organisation. the petrograd soviet was dominated by menshiviks and srs but also had a few bolsheviks. however it seemed to lack the confidence needed to assume direct control and an agreement was reached which laid the foundation for dual power, thanks to alexander kerensky. soviet made no attempt to demand land distribution or the nationalisation of industry but accepted their promise of:
- a general amnesty for political prisoners
- basic civil liberties
- abolition of legal disabilities based on class, gender etc
- the right to organise trade unions
- constitute assembly would be elected
what was the problem with the dual power in action?
rule by a mixture of radicals and liberals was never going to be easy. the soviets order no.1 had said that the soldiers and workers should obey the provisional government, but only when the soviet agreed with the provisional governments decisions and there were many points of disagreement.
provisional government tried to discipline deserters whereas soviet encouraged workers to defy authority and assert their rights
pg - win the war with an all out effort, workers strikes and desertions continued
how many desertions were there between 1914 and 1917?
there was 195,000 desertions but between march and may there was over 365,000 desertions.
what were the july days?
street riots in july (may or may not have been organised by the bolsheviks), 20000 armed sailors joined workers etc on the streets chanting all power to the soviets, looted shops etc
why were the pg alarmed?
changes made to the government i.e. prince lvov to kerensky alarmed them. july days exacerbated their fears, hopes transferred to kornilov - ordered 6 troops to march on petrograd. however the attempted coup failed when kerensky panicked. he released imprisoned bolsheviks and provided the soviet with weapons from the government supply
what was support like for the pg by 1917?
there was little support left for the government, food supplies were chaotic, real wages fell rapidly in 1917. prices were 300% higher. the continuation of the war and the govts failure to redistribute land also lost support in the countryside. peasants took the law into their own hands and simply seized lands anyway. the bolsheviks benefitted more from this disillusionment.
when did lenin return and why?
lenin returned from switzerland on 3 april 1917 because he was helped by the germans to seize power and make peace. he traveled in a ‘sealed train’. he greeted grounds in petrograd and issued his april thesis
what was the april thesis?
the april thesis was lenins demands when he arrived in russia, he demanded that:
- power should be transferred to the soviets
- the war should be brought to an immediate end
- all land should be taken over by the state and reallocated to peasants by local soviets
often summed up as peace, bread, land.
Lenin also stressed non-cooperation with the Pg giving rise to the phrase - all power to the soviets.
Lenin argued that the middle class were too weak to carry through a full ‘bourgeois’ revolution and the middle class would hold the proletariat back
what was the reaction to lenins april thesis?
the initial reaction was mixed:
- some bolsheviks feared that lenin was out of touch and his radical proposals would do more harm than good
- there were allegations that lenin was in the pay of the germans
- menshiviks feared lenin would undermine what they had been doing and would provoke a right wing reaction
- pg calls were unrealistic since bolsheviks only had 26,000 members and were a minority
- some bolsheviks divided - kamenev and stalin
how did lenin build support?
lenin gradually built support with his speeches - in which he claimed credit for what was already happening, not least the peasant seizure of land. by the end of april, lenin had won over the majority of the CC of the bolshevik party through his force of personality. winning wider support required persistence, all russian congress of soviets passed a vote of confidence in the PG. nevertheless, lenin had won a key adherent when trotsky decided to throw his full weight behind the bolshevik party. furthermore kerenskys determination to continue the war played into the bolsheviks hand, although the frustrations of workers, soldiers etc in july days threatened their work
what were the kornilov coup?
when bolsheviks were released from goals and soldiers, sailors and workers took again to the streets in defence of the provisional government, kerensky gave them supplies and bolsheviks seized the opportunity to organise bands of workers commanded by the red guards (military trained in secret)
how did the kornilov coup revitalise the bolshevik cause?
the bolsheviks were able to bask in the reputation of having been the only group to have opposed kornilov consistently, lenin sent orders to keep up the pressure etc. and committees were set up to save the country.
what was result of the kornilov coup for bolsheviks
bolsheviks were elected in increased numbers to soviets throughout and in the duma elections. support increased by 164% between june and dec. 23,000 to 200,000 - producing 41 newspapers, 10,000 red guards. the bolsheviks won a majority in september, 21 sept trotsky became chairman of the petrograd soviet.
what was the problem with the bolshevik party at this time?
not a tightly organised or disciplined group. tended to go along with events rather than initiate change change, when bombarding the central committee, zinoviev and kamenvev feared that russia was not yet economically ready.
timeline of the october revolution
10 oct - lenin attends a meeting and his call for a bolshevik led revolution is agreed
20 oct - military revolutionary committe of the petrograd soviet meet for the first time
24 oct - armed workers take over key buildings
25 - 7 oct - remaining of pg are arrested by bolsheviks, revolution is announced
dec - cheka is established
how did kerensky respond?
kerensky was aware of the revolution, he responded by sending some of the more radical army units out of the capital. provided an excuse for bolshevik - controlled soviet, kerensky was abandoning the capital to allow it to fall to the germans. military revolutionary committee compromised of 66 members - 46 bolsheviks
what was the purpose of the military revolutionary committee?
its declared purpose was to control movements however its existence also seemed justified by the fears that government ministers might support a right-wing coup.
what happened on the 10th october?
lenin harangued the central committee of the bolshevik party all night and finally succeeded in persuading them that an armed rising is the order of the day. kerensky tried to close down two bolshevik newspapers and restrict the military revolutionary committees power. however, bolshevik propogandists suggested that his actions were a betrayal of the soviet and an abandonment of the principles of the feb. revolution and used them as an excuse to act.
what was the role of trotsky in the revolution
trotsky had tremendous power and influence of the MRC to organise the final stages of the bolshevik revolution. through the 24 - 25th, 5000 sailors and soldiers moved into the city and the red guards seized key positions around the capital inc. telephone exchange, post office, railway stations. in the morning, a further 3000 troops arrived.
what happened on the 25th october?
a blank shot was heard at 9:00 which signalled the start of the bolshevik attack, kishkin demanded the surrender of the provisional government and the disarming of its guard.
how big was the october revolution?
the october revolution proved relatively small scale. trotsky claimed that 25000 - 30000 at the most were actively involved (5% of the workers population), there may have been around 10,000 to 15,000 , but original photos suggest those actually storming was quite small. however, the bolsheviks claimed it to be larger to present a popular revolution. much of petrograd was unaffected, even trotsky admitted that the revolution was essentially a series of small operations calculated and prepared in advance.
who had the bigger role trotsky or lenin?
lenin won over the forces in his april thesis, built up bolshevik membership and persuaded the CC to take action in october however…
trotsky organised the red guard, took command in petrograd soviet, dominated the MRC and organised the actual seizure of power.
trotsky
what happened on the 26th oct - the day after the bolshevik revolution?
670 delegates that had arrived for the congress held their first session. the bolshevik action of the day before had not been universally approved and even zinoviev and kamenev spoke against the coup detait. menshivik leader said it would last no longer than three weeks. those on the left congratulated him whereas those on the right accused him on seizing power illegally through violence. moderates walked out leaving a bolshevik and sr government. the executive committee established the soviet of peoples commissars or sovnarkom as the new government
what was the sovnarkom
the new govt. compromised exclusively of bolsheviks with lenin as chairman and trotsky as commissar for foreign affairs, lenin announced ‘we shall now proceed to construct the socialist order’. he introduced a series of decrees to fulfil his promises.
what were lenins early decrees?
- 27 oct = decree on peace promised to end war
- decree on land abolishing private ownership of land
- nov - workers control decree gave workers the right to supervise management
- nov - nationality decree promised self-determination to the peoples of the former russian empire
- new legal system of elected peoples court
- nov - gov outlawed sex discrimination and gave women the right to own property and become citizens.
- dec - military decree removed class ranks
- nationalised church and removed marriage and divorce from church control
- nationalisation of banks ended the private flow of capital
why did the bolsheviks look weak?
kerensky had set up headquarters at gatchina and rallied an army of cossacks and a small force of SR cadets. the bolsheviks looked weak, many had returned home in the countryside, since lenin had no direct contact with the troops, his forces were smaller in number than those of his opponents. 10 days of fighting followed
why was lenin forced to agree to inter-party talks?
ten days of fighting followed in moscow, kiev, kazan etc. railway communications workers protested against a one party govt. forced lenin to agree to inter-party talks and the bolshevik revolution was saved. by the end bolsheviks dominated the major twns and railways although the countryside was still outside of their control.
how far did lenin go with coalition govt?
he promised to consider coalition with the other socialist parties was barely fulfilled, he only went as far as allowing left wing SRs to join the sovnarkom, however it was made clear they would have to follow bolshevik control.
what were lenins other ways of controlling opposition
- propoganda campaign against class enermies
- closure of anti-bolshevik newspapers
- purge of the civil service
- establishment of the all russian commission for the supression of counter revolution, also known as the cheka
so effective they could only pin hope on the promise of a constitute assembly, srs won most seats but lenin said we must not follow elections. - bourgeois parliament, met for one day then lenin dissolved it. understood needs of proleteriat better than they did.
