Russian Revolution

Question 1

Who was Nicholas II?

Answer 1

Nicholas II became czar in 1894 and ruled until 1917.
He was part of the Romanov dynasty which had ruled Russia since 1613.
Nicholas was a shy, quiet man who liked to spend time with his family and avoid politics.

Question 2

What were some crisis at home and abroad?

Answer 2

a. Nicholas II gave his secret police the power to persecute people who tried to change Russia’s old political and social system.
i. dissatisfied workers: Russia industrialized and a new workers wanted better working conditions.
ii. intellectuals and the middle class: wanted Russia to be democracy.
iii. ethnic minorities: didn’t like to be ruled by Russia.
b. Russo-Japanese War (1904): Russia loses and it’s humiliating.
i. the lost of the war led to the Revolution of 1905 and “Bloody Sunday”.
~Bloody Sunday: peasants and workers in St. Petersburg at the palace shot down peasants.
ii. Nicholas allowed the Duma (parliament) to be created but the czar soon took away most of its power.

Question 3

Who was the adviser to the czarina?

Answer 3

Rasputin (creepy) was a advisor and holyman to czarina because he was able to cure her son, Alexei, due to hemophilia. Rasputin died in 1916 because of exposure. However, minor royals tried to kill Rasputin with poison and gunshot but Rasputin died from exposure.

Question 4

What happened to the Russian Revolution during the WWI?

Answer 4

Losing the war made Czar even more unpopular.
i. Russia losing badly because of its weak generals, lack of supplies on the battle front and on the home front, and soldiers deserting.
ii. Nicholas went to the front to personally lead the troops and left tsarina Alexandra in charge of the government at the Petrograd (the capital).
~bad decision because Nicholas was not a good military leader and people didn’t trust Alexandra and Rasputin.

Question 5

What were the causes of the Fall of Romanov Dynasty?

Answer 5

i. February Revolution (1917): workers protested and rioted until Czar Nicholas II forced to abdicate (give up the throne).
ii. Provisional government: temporary government that decided to continue fighting WWI which made it very unpopular with the people because they were sick of war.
~leader of government Kerensky.

Question 6

Karl Marx and The Communist Manifesto

Answer 6

a. Russian Marxists split into two parties:
i. red (Bolsheviks): more extreme, wanted to quickly overthrow the czar.
~led by Lenin.
ii. white (Mensheviks): wanted more support from the people, allowed anyone to join.

Question 7

Lenin and the Bolsheviks (1917-1924)

Answer 7

i. became popular because he promised the tired people “peace, land, and bread!”
ii. October Revolution (1917): Lenin and the Bolsheviks took control of St. Petersburg without much fighting, got rid of Provisional Government.
iii. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1917): Russia signed a treaty with Germany to drop out of WWI.

Question 8

Civil War

Answer 8

a. different people began to oppose Lenin’s government and formed the White Army to fight against him (including: supporters of the Czar, people who wanted democracy and Mensheviks)
b. Bolsheviks won but 14 million people died from war and famine.

Question 9

Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP)

Answer 9

a. Russia was destroyed after WWI and the Civil War: deaths, destroyed property, low wages, inflation.
b. Lenin created the NEP: reintroducing limited capitalism.
~allowed peasants to sell their extra crops.
~small businesses and factories were reopened and privately owned.
~government kept control of major businesses and industry.
~allowed foreign countries to invest in Russia.
c. NEP was very successful and helped the country recover: productive industries (like they were before WWI), wealthy people.

Question 10

What were some political reforms of the Russian Revolution?

Answer 10

a. Bolsheviks renamed the Communist Party.
b. Russia renamed the Union of Soviet Social Republics (USSR).
c. created a new construction for the USSR but power was with the Communist Party.
(Lenin’s Political Reforms)
d. changed old tsarist policies:
i. passed laws that said some men and women were equal, didn’t allow rank or titles.
ii. church lost its land, money and influence.
iii. built schools and hospitals for workers and peasants.

Question 11

What is totalitarianism?

Answer 11

Government that takes total control over every aspect of people’s public and private lives.

Question 12

What did totalitarianism include?

Answer 12

a. has an ideology (set of ideas or beliefs) that all citizens are expected to agree with.
b. state control of individuals: denies basic liberties, expects people to be loyal and sacrifice for the good of the state.
c. state control of society: controls business, labor, housing, education, religion, art, youth groups, people’s personal lives.
d. enforces their power with:
~police terror: secret police, spying
~indoctrination: brainwashing people by teaching them the government beliefs, glorifying the leader and his policies to convince people to be loyal, start by teaching young children in schools.
~propaganda: info used to manipulate people.
~censorship: government decided what publication, news, film, art, music, etc. is allowed.
~persecution: government creates “enemies of the state” to blame for when things go wrong; government picks certain religious or ethnic groups to terrorize.
~uses modern technology: mass communication to spread propaganda and uses advanced military weapons.
~led by a dictator and single political party: leader is charismatic (having a special quality that makes people like you) and can unite the people.

Question 13

What does Stalin mean?

Answer 13

Stalin means “man of steel” in Russian.

Question 14

What happens after Lenin dies in 1924?

Answer 14

Stalin fights with Leon Trotsky for power. Stalin wins and exiles Trotsky.

Question 15

What happened in the Soviet Government: Communist Party?

Answer 15

a. only 15% of the population was in the Communist Party when Stalin was in power (even though it was the party of the working class).
b. party was corrupt and were in it for their own gain.

Question 16

What happened in the Soviet Government: Police State?

Answer 16

a. used secret police as informers and to listen to people’s telephone calls and read their mail.
b. children even reported their own parents, people reported others to get better jobs or homes.
c. anyone who knew an alleged traitor (someone who is not loyal) became a suspect.
d. stop riots, arrested, tortured and executed millions of people.
e. atmosphere of fear and suspicion- people lived in constant fear.
f. many people sent to forced labor camps (gulag) in Siberia as punishment: cold environment, harsh living conditions, high death rate.

Question 17

What happened in the Soviet Government: Propaganda and Censorship?

Answer 17

a. controlled all newspapers, movies, radio, art to constantly glorify communism and Stalin and his accomplishments.

Question 18

What happened in the Soviet Government: Indoctrination and Education?

Answer 18

a. Stalin developed a “cult of personality” had the Russian people worship him.
b. government controlled all education from nursery school to university to teach communist ideas (many schools did not have enough resources).
c. had state-supported youth groups to train future party members.
d. people became better educated, Stalin’s economic plans created demands for more skilled workers.

Question 19

What is the Great Purge?

Answer 19

Stalin turned against those in his own party from 1937 to 1938 to eliminated anyone who threatened his power; sent many of the old Bolsheviks to labor camps or executed them (1/4 of party).
~had show trials to serve as a warning to those opposing Stalin.

Question 20

What happened in the Soviet Economy: Communism and Economic Control?

Answer 20

a. Industrial Revolution
b. Agricultural Revolution: government seized over 25 million privately owned farms and combined them into collective farms (government owned farms)
c. peasants fought against this collectivization and had to be forced to work on the farms, some protested by killing their own livestock (animals) and crops.
~wealthy peasants (kulaks) were especially against this collectivation.
~10-12.5 million died because of Stalin’s collectivization.
-famine in 1932: 5 million died.
-by 1938: more than 90% of peasants lived in collective farms.

Question 21

What did the Industrial Revolution conclude in the Soviet Economy?

Answer 21

i. The Five Year Plan (1928-1933, 1932-1937): set high, unrealistic goals to increase output of steel, coal, oil and electricity by limiting production of consumer goods.
~people faced shortages of necessary goods (ex. housing, food)
ii. harsh punishment for those who didn’t fill their quota.
iii. though they did not reach all their goals, the Soviets did make huge gains and improvements in industry.

Question 22

What happened in the Soviet Society: Religious Perseuction?

Answer 22

a. Stalin wanted to destroy and wipe out religion because it was a threat to government- tried to make people believe in communism instead.
b. destroyed churches and synagogues, killed or arrested religious leaders, targetted the Russian Orthodox Church.

Question 23

What happened in the Soviet Society: Discrimination against Minorities?

Answer 23

a. Russian ethnic group dominated Soviet Life.
b. Stalin put down native cultures and used deportation to control the ethnic minorities.
c. Russians given the best jobs, house, benefit.
d. ethnic slurs, violence, unequal pay and poor treatment by Russian bosses.

Question 24

What happened in the Soviet Society: Women’s Rights?

Answer 24

It was supposedly equal.

a. Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 made men and women equal.
b. many women worked in same jobs as men and had new educational opportunities.
c. when Stalin took control- women’s rights were slowly taken away (divorces harder to get, abortion was illegal).
d. attitudes toward women working outside of homes were slow to change: women still responsible for housework.
e. motherhood was a patriotic duty and women were expected to have children so they could serve the state (state provided child care for all mothers).

Question 25

What happened in the Soviet Society: Housing?

Answer 25

Serious housing shortage in 1930s and 1940s, many people were homeless.

Question 26

What happened in the Soviet Society: Health Issues?

Answer 26

Health care focused on urban centers and places with a lot of ethnic Russians; many people were in hospitals because of malnourishment.

Question 27

What was the total death toll of the Russian Revoluion?

Answer 27

Unknown, but estimates range from 10-60 million people (20 million is an acceptable number).