Thompson Chapter 11 Flashcards
Duma
Committee of liberal leaders which appointed Provisional government
First Duma was dismissed by Tsar (who wanted no restrictions to his power) and then Second Duma was elected
There were four Dumas (Tsar kept dismissing them because he wanted power and Dumas wanted reform)
Duma became a failed promise of the Tsar
Soviet
An elected council in the Soviet Union
Provisional Government
Temporary/transitional government consisting of range of political views
Stemmed from the Duma
Constituent Assembly
Democratically elected to decide Russia’s future goals
Bolshevik
Revolutionaries (Lenin)
Self-named “main party”
April Thesis
Lenin wrote to attack the Provisional government
July Days
Spontaneous mass uprising in Petrograd on July 16-17
Showed dislike of Provisional government
Military Revolutionary Committee
Charged with preparing defensive measures for German attack
Under Trotsky, it became a planning committee for the Bolshevik uprising
Council of People’s Commissars
Highest executive authorities of Soviet Union
Lenin turned it into essentially a one-party government
Nicholas II
Tsar during revolution
V. I. Lenin
Bolshevik leader and revolutionary
Victor Chernov
Socialist Revolutionary leader and Soviet member
Lavr Kornilov
General who ordered troops to march on capital
This coup was a fiasco
Alexander Kerensky
Socialist liberal prime minister
Wanted to restore army discipline and stop unrest
Leon Trotsky
Marxist revolutionary and politician
Joseph Stalin
Lenin’s successor
Dictator
Lev Kamenev
Soviet party leader allied with Stalin against Trotsky coming to power
Gregory Zinoviev
Soviet party leader allied with Stalin against Trotsky coming to power
Nicholas Bukarin
Moderate party leader
What is the nature of the February Revolution? (How could the old order be discarded so easily?)
Forceful modernization/industrialization of Russia
Trying to discredit old regime by attempting reform and forcing Tsar to abdicate, etc.
Disconnect and WWI made this fail
What sort of revolution was the October Revolution? How does it differ from the February Revolution?
More violent (ruling family killed)
More traditional/similar to French revolution model
*They learned the flaws of the democratic system
**It was more politically motivated and really only happened in St. Petersburg
How do the origins of the Soviet Union affect the shape the Revolution takes? (What sort of socialist society might have emerged?)
Something needed to fill power vacuum
Bolsheviks were well set up for it
Bolshevik origin led to elitist system (because they were elite and literate, etc.)
***
Bolsheviks/Lenin became Communists, not Socialists
They wanted very different government than that initially imagined by Socialists
They wanted government led by elite leaders, not by the people
What was the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
Russia pulled out of WWI under Bolshevik leadership
What are the implications of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
1) Germans recognized Bolsheviks by making treaty with them, so they gained recognition as the new ruling party
2) Russia gained recognition as a new country that just walked out of war
3) Russia isolated itself; they walked away from global involvement and coalition
4) They were hoping to spark similar revolutions in other places (spread ideology); “Russia did it, why can’t we?” philosophy. Didn’t happen in short term
What is the impact of a diverse population on the Revolution and ensuing Civil War?
All perspectives couldn’t be represented/too many different views for everyone to be satisfied with outcome
What are the main features of the New Economic Plan (NEP)?
Wanted to create stronger economy
Denationalized industry
Free markets
Less peasant tax
What is the Genoa Conference of 1922?
Entry back into global economy
What are the distinguishing characteristics of the time immediately after the 1917 Revolutions?
Political instability (post-Revolution, getting their feet under them)
Quality of life decreased significantly; too many people and perspectives, and the Bolsheviks didn’t care about representing the Commonwealth
