The Russian Revolution Flashcards
RUSSIAN AUTOCRACY
Duma
- Russian Parliament
- legislative body
- constituted the imperial Russian legislature from 1906- March 1917
- established by Czar Nicholas II
- was dissolved shortly after its establishment
RUSSIAN AUTOCRACY
Nicholas II
- Czar of Russia 1891-1917
- last Czar of Russia
- forced to abdicate in 1917 by the Russian Revolution
RUSSIAN AUTOCRACY
October Manifesto
- solutions/ reforms put in place in Russia by Czar Nicholas II as result of the many problems occurring in Russia
- Czar promised freedoms
- Czar established duma
- Czar appointed Peter Stolypin as Prime Minister
RUSSIAN AUTOCRACY
Pogrom
- large problem in Russia under leadership of Czar Nicholas II
- mob attacks against Jews
- restricted where Jews could live
- restricted where Jews could be employed
RUSSIAN AUTOCRACY
Revolution of 1905
- workers striked
- peasants revolted
- cries of nationalists
- assassinations of public officials
- these resulted in Czar Nicholas II to be forced into sweeping reforms
RUSSIAN AUTOCRACY
Zemstvo
- locally elected government (didn’t work)
- part of the sweeping reforms in Russia as result of internal problems
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Bolsheviks
- group of revolutionary Russian Marxists
- took control of Russia’s government (November 1917)
- seized power in Moscow
- forced to consolidate their control of the Russian government
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command economy
- government makes all economic decisions
- production, investment, prices, and incomes
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Five Year Plan(s)
- Stalin’s economic policy to rebuild the Soviet economy after WWI
- command economy (government makes all economic decisions)
- build heavy industry (transportation and increase farm output)
- agriculture (brought under government control)
- collectives (large farms owned and operated by groups of peasants
- Kulaks (wealthy peasants were sent to labor camps)
- Stalin;s agricultural policies lead to terrible famine (as many as 8 million people starved to death)
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
The Great Purge
- A campaign of terror directed at eliminating anyone who threatened Stalin’s power
- Stalin’s attacks on anyone in the party/army he saw as a threat (eventually happened to ordinary citizens)
- given “show trials” where people were executed or sent to labor camps
- 4 million deaths
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Holodomor
- Stalin’s agricultural policies that lead to terrible famine
- 8 million deaths
- known as “death by starvation” in Ukraine
- USSR starved people of Ukraine
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Alexander Kerensky
- replacement of Czar Nicholas II after Revolutions of 1917
- led a provisional government
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V.I. Lenin
- first leader of the Soviet Union
- brother of assassin Aleksandr Ulyanov who plotted against Alexander III
- USSR
- established New Economic Policy (NEP)
- showed some success
- industrial output increased
- adapted Marxist thought to better fit the needs and conditions in Russia
- Supreme Soviet –> elected legislature
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March Revolution
Romanov dynasty was removed from power after 300 years of rule and replaced with the provisional government led by Alexander Kerensky
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NEP
- New Economic Policy
- government retained control of major industries and financial institutions BUT small businesses were allowed to operate for profit
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November Revolution
- Lenin and Bolshevik followers overthrew provisional government and took over the Russian government
- Treaty of Brest- Litovsk (March 1918)
- Bolsheviks seized power in Moscow
- land reform
- workers in control of production
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proletariat
- working class
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Rasputin
- Russian peasant monk who was able to influence Russian politics
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soviets
- A Russian council composed of representatives from the workers and soldiers.
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Josef Stalin
- “man of steel”
- leader of USSR
- battled for power against Leon Trotsky after Lenin died
- gained control of party infrastructure and leadership–> used this to defeat his rival claimants to the head of the USSR
- first goal of industrialization
- created the 5 year plan(s)
- caused Holodomor
- died in 1953
- left no official procedure for a successor
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Treaty of Brest- Litovsk
- treaty that ended Russia’s fighting with Germany
- treaty stating the withdrawal of Russia from WWI.
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Leon Trotsky
- Russian revolutionary and Communist theorist who helped Lenin and built up the army
- opponent to power against Stalin after Lenin died
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Whites
Anti-communists
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reds
communists
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What impact did the March Revolution (1917) have on the Russian government?
- a provisional government was created
- first Soviets (worker’s councils) set up
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What happened after the November Revolution?
- the Russian Civil War erupted
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How did the Bolsheviks gain complete control of Russia?
- The Bolsheviks took advantage of the political and social situation in 1917 to seize power during the Russian Revolution.
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
What was the political and social atmosphere of the USSR like under Stalin’s rule?
- NEP was created
- showed success
- industrial output increased
- more stable financially
MODERN RUSSIA
What problems led to the collapse of the USSR?
- failure of collective agriculture
- scarcity of consumer goods
- Runaway Reforms
- Chernobyl (nuclear accident)
- Afghanistan
MODERN RUSSIA
Mikhail Gorbachev?
- began reforms in USSR
- glasnost (openness)
- perestroika (restructuring)
- shortages, inflation, factories closing, unemployment, some Soviet reps. leaving USSR, conflict with hard-liners
- failed coup attempt in August 1991 for Gorbachev to “restore order”
- USSR disintegrated as other Soviet Republics declared their independence
- December 25th 1991 Gorbachev resigned
- USSR was gone
MODERN RUSSIA
Glasnost
- “openness”
- refers to lessening of hard-line Soviet censorship, secrecy
- open the government to debate, and criticism
MODERN RUSSIA
Perestroika
- “restructuring”
- restructuring of government and economy
- some free market ideas mixed with essence of communism
- led to shortages, inflation, factories closing, unemployment, some Soviet reps. leaving USSR, conflict with hard-liners
MODERN RUSSIA
Boris Yeltsin
- president of Russia
- first president of Russian Federation after dissolution of USSR
- problems
- change to market economy, inflation, unemployment, crime, terrorism, debt crisis, conflict with West, yearning for “good old days”
MODERN RUSSIA
Vladimir Putin
- president of Russia after resignation of Yeltsin
- former member of KGB
- returned “law and order”
- rebuilt economy
- constitutional term limits forced Putin into retirement
MODERN RUSSIA
What positive impacts did Putin have on Russia?
returned “law and order”
- real income increased by 250%
- real wages more than tripled
- unemployment and poverty cut in half
- “life satisfaction” rose
- rebuilt economy
MODERN RUSSIA
How has Putin assured himself the luxury of remaining in power for as long as he wants?
he continued to change the term limit while in office to assure he’s president until 2036
MODERN RUSSIA
In what ways is Putin’s rule similar to the “bad old days” of the USSR?
- there is no freedom of speech/ freedom of press
- not allowed to criticise or punishments are set in place such as fines and imprisonments
- took away freedoms
- wanting to wage war to expand territory
