Russian Revolution

Question 1

Who was the last Tsar of Russia?

Answer 1

Nicholas II

Question 2

When were the Russian Revolutions?

Answer 2

February and October (1917)

Question 3

Duma

Answer 3

a group of elected officials

The government’s corruption and ineffectiveness led to poverty, scarcity, and massive losses in World War I. Czar Nicholas II was forced to give up the throne in the February Revolution and power was given to a group of elected officials called the Duma. The Duma ruled until October, when it was replaced by the events of the November Revolution.

Question 4

Bolsheviks (red) vs Mensheviks (white)

Answer 4

Bolsheviks
-revolutionary (violence) and centralized
-Vladimir Lenin
-peasant, urban workers, soldiers
-“land, peace, and bread”
-Brest-Litovsk Treaty: peace treaty signed between the Bolsheviks and the Central Powers
-ended Russia’s participation in World War I
-Russia lost major teritories

Mensheviks
-peaceful/gradual and democracy (decentralized)

Question 5

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

Answer 5

The Bolsheviks set about transforming Russia into the world’s first Communist nation. They renamed Russia the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) or Soviet Union.

soviet- local ruling council elected by workers

Question 6

Emancipation Manifesto (1861)

Answer 6

Czar Alexander II freed all serfs in Russia (23 million)

By 1900, about 85% of the serfs made a living from agriculture

Question 7

Bloody Sunday

Answer 7

-peaceful march that ended in bloodshed

Working Conditions
-long hours
-bad treatment
-inedible food

Father George Gapon formed the Assembly of Russian Worker (1903); had 9000 members within a year. Workers called for a reduction in the working day to eight hours, an increase in wages, and an improvement in working conditions.

Question 8

Rasputin (1872-1916)

Answer 8

-showed government is corrupt
-born a peasant in Siberia and became a religious teacher (never ordained as a priest)
-The royals rely on Rasputin to relieve Alexei’s hemophilia (blood clotting disorder)

Question 9

Russo-Japanese War (1904)

Answer 9

-Japanese win
-lack of food/fuel

Question 10

The March Revolution

Answer 10

-discontent in the tsarist regime
-economic hardship
-military failure during WWi

Question 11

Lenin and the Bolsheviks

Answer 11

intelligentsia- highly educated
Leninism- educated leads uneducated
Checka- group of spies on the people (secret police)
-led Bolshevik Coup and got into power
-Alexander (brother) died from joining a group that attempts to assassinate Nicholas II
-educate himself from Karl Marx (Communist Manifesto)
-died from a stroke
-warned other Communists about Stalin’s leadership

Question 12

Socialism vs Communism

Answer 12

both call for a classless society

Socialism
-allowed for some private/public ownership
-government control over the means of production and distribute equally among the people

Communism
-total control over industry
-means of production are owned and controlled by the community as a whole; everyone has equal access to goods and services and government is unnecessary

Question 13

Call to Power

Answer 13

-written by Lenin
-states why the Bolsheviks and the Red Guards should attack the provisional government
-could only be solved through violent

Question 14

Red Terror

Answer 14

-mass killing, torture, and oppressing on those who oppose to the Bolsheviks

Question 15

War Communism and New Economic Plan (NEP)

Answer 15

War Communism
-government owns everything and divides it equally among the people
-negatively affected both agriculture and industrial production
Ideological Promises (land, peace, and bread)

New Economic Plan (NEP)
-temporary retreat from Communism
-allowed some private/public ownership; had control over some key industries

Question 16

Stalin

Answer 16

totalitarian dictator- rule with total control
-non-religious (atheism)
-command economy
-education
-family
-media (propaganda)

His family was poor and he was a frail child who had many injuries. The other village children treated him cruelly and Stalin began to develop a cruel streak toward those who disrespect him.

Question 17

“Five Year Plan”

Answer 17

collectivization- farming plan where all production are owned by the government
-command economy led to massive famine

Question 18

Great Purge

Answer 18

espionage- practice of spying
-eliminated threats to Stalin’s leadership

Question 19

Who were the leading candidates for replacing Lenin as the head of the Soviet government?

Answer 19

Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin

Question 20

Trotsky

Answer 20

Trotsky was a well-known and respected leader while Stalin was a lesser-known figure. Lenin called for Stalin’s removal and referred to him as “rude,” “disloyal,” and “capricious ” before his death.

Stalin allied himself with two other members of the party who oppose Trotsky and made Trotsky disloyal to Lenin by misleading him about the date of the funeral. Stalin expelled Trotsky from the Communist Party and exiled him.