RUSSIA - the revolutions of 1917: 1 Flashcards
three threats to the tsar
- peasant
- town workers
- social democrats
how were peasants a threat to the tsar
- more land - they were in poverty
- 1905 they burnt land owners houses
- WW1 - the army took over the peasants crops
how were town workers a threat to the tsar
- AWFUL living conditions
- their strikes were stopped and ppl arrested
- WW1 the factorised closed and there was inflation
how were social democrats a threat to the tsar
Karl marx (wanted communism)
- BOLSHEVIKS - communist (town workers)
- MENSHEVIKS - needed to industrialise before communism
military effects of WW1
- lost of deaths
- lots of land lost
social effects of WW1
- starvation
- the peasants fighting couldn’t farm
- 6 mill refugees
- unemployment and business closures
economic effects of WW1
- germans blocked factories - tax rose
- inflation - prices rose twice as fast as wages
political effects of WW1
- duma criticised the tsar
- duma wanted tsar replaced
- taser wouldn’t share power with the duma
tsar as commander in chief
- took command in 1915 (no military experience)
- left Petrograd to go to army headquarters
- he was never around
- lots HUGE respect
three triggers for the feb revolution
- strikes and demonstrations
- mutiny in the army
- tsars absence
strikes and demonstrations triggering the feb revolution
- putilov steelworks - ‘lock out’
- international woman’s day (gov declared rationing)
- warm weather - HUGE crowds
mutiny in army triggering the feb revolution
- soldiers unhappy with officers bc they ordered for them to fire at demonstrations
- ppl refused to shoot - OUT OF CONTROL
the tsars absence triggering the feb revolution
- left Petrograd
- ordered and unrest = BAD IDEA
reason for the abdication of the tsar
- russia had no real government
- the duma set up the prov gov
- he wouldn’t share power with the duma
how did the tsar get abdicated
he met up with the duma and they suggested that he voluntarily gives up the throne to save Russia
the provisional government changes
- release political and religious prisoners
- democratic freedom
- no death penalty
- took over tsars land
- transferred power to the local council
Petrograd soviet was only in support of the prov gov if…
- there was rights to strike
- no class or religion privileges
- the local government was elected
Kerensky and mistakes
member of prov gov and Petrograd sov
leader of prov gov 1917 –> MISTAKES:
- continued to support the war
- acted against old ruling classes
- failed to control the Bolsheviks
weakness and failures of the prov gov
- dual power (no control of railways etc)
- no decisive leadership
- didn’t provide land for peasants
- no improvements to the economy
the June offensive
- Kerensky was war minister
- attacked Austrian and German forces
- 200K Russian casualties and loss of Russian land
- VERY BAD
what was the kornilov revolt
- in 1917 Kerensky made kornilov the head of the army - improve discipline
- kornilov though Russia needed military rule
- kornilov sent troops to end the Petrograd soviet
- Kerensky (RED GUARDS) to defend against Kornilov
- kornilov was convinced not to attack –> OVER
significance of the kornilov revolt
YES = bolsheviks
NO = prov gov
- ppl saw red guards as saviour not Kerensky
- bolsheviks won most seats in Petrograd soviet
what was the April theses
lenin sent our commands of how the working class should take control of Russia in a second revolution.
three commands of the April theses
- end the war (capitalist and imperialist conflict threatened the revolution)
- transfer all power to soviets (prov gov should not be supported)
- take land from rich landlords and give it to peasants
the July days
- riots and demonstrations against the prov gov
- because of food shortages and failure of June offensive
- bolsheviks joined - Lenin thought it was right time to overthrow prov gov
- soviet agreed to help prov gov and moves troops to Petrograd to stop the uprising
- bolsheviks arrested and blamed for the start of the uprising and Lenin escaped.
Lenin’s powerful messages
- “ALL POWER TO THE SOVIETS” (workers run factories)
- “PEACE, LAND AND BREAD” (stop war, stop food shortages and land to peasants
who made up the provisional government
- politicians from a mix of parties
- either liberals or SR (socialist revolutionaries )
who were radicals
wanted to overthrow the tsar and ruling classes
who were the SRs
- socialist revolutionaries
- wanted a new society based on peasant commune
who were the liberals
wanted more political freedoms to prevent the revolution
who were the conservatives
wanted to defend the interests of the rich ppl
who were ultranationalists
wanted to protect the Russian empire
- october revolution - lenins decision to seize power
- kornilov revolt increased bolshevik support and humiliated prov gov
- lenin secretely returned to pretograd and convinced colleagues to support his new attempt to seize power
- 340k supporters by october
who was lenin
bolsheviks leader
- October revolution - military revolutionary committee - supporting the bolsheviks
- rumours abt bolsheviks taking over
- kerensky tried to get rid of bolsheviks influenced arms out petrograd
- trotsky leader of pet sov - convinced soviet to set up MRC to bring all soviet supporting soliders to petrograd
- by october most petrograd regiments promised loyalty to the MRC
- controlled road and cannals // army headquarters // telegraph offices
- october revolution - kerensky trying to stop bolsheviks
- closed bolsheviks newspapers
- blocked rivers
- called for the MRC to be arrested
- october revolution - bolsheviks win
- at night 25 october - red guards took more key areas of city
- climed through windows of Winter Palace and arrested remaining members of prov gov
- lenin formed a bolsheviks government called Council of People’s Commissars
who were red guards
bolsheviks
who were the whites
anti - bolsheviks ppl
who supported the petrograd soviet
bolsheviks
