WWI and Feb Revolution Flashcards
Give a general timeline of key moments of WWI (1914-1915)
1914:
- enter war unprepared -> Navy wouldn’t be finished until 1916
- peasants are mostly conscripted soldiers -> lack of enthusiasm.
- Alcohol prohibited in army alienates peasant soldiers (only on Vodka, not wine and champagne) -> 25% of tax revenue came from alcohol production so whoops
1915:
- shit situation, evident German army could advance into Russia proper
- Economic impact: MOST fertile Ukrainian agriculture (25% of crops), also industrial centres like Warsaw (3rd largest city, 25% of industrial output).
Therefore lose military and domestic production capacity, situation in factories shit for workers
- August 1915, 1/4 of recruits sent to front WITHOUT GUNS -> scavenge from the dead.
- Creation of War Industries Committees and elected Workers Groups within these to prevent worker radicalization -> these become soviets
- Nick ASSUMES COMMAND of army and leaving civ government in hands of empress -> Rasputin
Give a general timeline of the February Revolution
Overall
- Feb brings down MONARCHY
- Oct brings BOLES to power / brings about Soviet Union.
- REVOLUTIONARIES NOT PART OF PROCESS: Monarchy is undermined because women in breadlines get sick of their situation. Joined by mutiness in armed forces. and UNDERMINES ITSELF
- Lenin in Switzerland -> NO BOLSHEVIKS in capital OR SRs (govt crackdown)
- SDs DIVIDED -> Plekhanov supports war, Lenin against
By Feb, refugees number 10m from front.
Feb 16 -> BREAD rationing in SPB. Super difficult for peeps. Loooong lines ON TOP of 12-14 hour days at work. Also no childcare. Like, 2-3am for bread.
Feb 23 -> international women’s day (marches)
like match to oil -> BREAD RIOTS , munitions
TALK TO OTHER WORKERS -> BIG FACTORIES BECAUSE OF GUARANTEES TO CAPITALISTS OF BUYING STOCK
Feb 25: general strike commences -> empror finally hears, hesitates. -> doesn’t take threat seriously because they’re mostly women
Feb 27: First regiments go over following crackdown -> HAND OVER WEAPONRY TO PROTESTORS> 10,000s of guns
SAME DAY -> TSAR ORDERS RESERVE TROOPS IN BUT THESE ALSO MELT INTO CROWD.
Also: Duma elects provisional committee -> becomes provo govt, Petrograd soviet reemerges
FEB 28 -> 120,000 total.
Delegation approaches Nick -> want abdication so that they can WIN WAR UNDER RENEWED LEADERSHIP -> EXACTLY LIKE PAUL I AND NOT REVOLUTIONARIES / political change.
- Nick abdicates himself AND ALEXEI -> pass to Michael (brother)
March 2 -> Provisional Committee of Duma becomes PROVISIONAL GOVT -> NOT ELECTED also super limited franchise -> CAN’T represent universal population. THEREFORE NOT SUPER LEGIT
- 3rd f March REFUSES throne
- Less than 9 days 300 year old dynasty falls BECAUSE OF HOSTILITY OF ARMY, SPONTANEOUS PEASANT WOMEN, AND INTERTIA OF EMPEROR
How did Nick II undermine autocratic authority and cause the February revolution via admin stuff?
Admin/control:
- 1914 NEW STATUTE -> Field Administration of the Army in Wartime
- Commander in chief gets executive control over military and civil govts throughout entire “war zone” -areas adjacent to front
- Advisors say too much of a risk TO HIM AND DYNASTY (AUTOCRACY) for him to be CiC -> therefore appoint Grand Duke Nicholas instead. too late
- Takes over in 1915 anyway, leaves civilian governance to empress Alexandra Feodorovna who was mistrusted by civilian pop (secretive over Alexei and illness, reliance on folk healer of Rasputin, cartoons appear in press)
Crackdowns:
- Troops face crowds of predominantly women who partake in bread riots of February following increase in bread rationing. This time largely defect on the 27/28 -> by 28 120,000 defect. ALSO because of war / poor morale
- evidence that army had lost faith in him -> figurehead to blame here GDNick had had to bear bad military situation in 1915, now just Nick and not getting any better
Explain Lenin’s take on WWI and how this tied into his emotional attachments
- Overall, shocked at European socialist response -> waves of patriotism
- International Socialists betray word: By August 5 SPD Reichstag votes unanimously for war credits
- Arrested in Austria 1914, powerful emigre socialists ( Adler of Austrian Soc Dems) gets him released by convincing authorities that he’s an enemy of the tsar
- Goes to Bern - Meets with Bole Emigres
- Develop theses about CENTRAL / “proper” reaction to war for socialists
- Decides that WWI is a great floodgate (imperialist war for civil war) for getting social democracy, but that soc dems across Europe have abandoned the charge in favour of “opportunism”
- Believes that Russia can now serve as spark to set off wave of socialist revolution worldwide, even if revolution in Russia is just political
By this point:
- MOST socialist leaders in other countries support home governments, and Lenin sees this as a betrayal of the 1912 Basel International Congress where said parties declared they’d use a war to disrupt capitalism and hasten it’s fall
- Lenin deeply involved in writing this -> personal reaction to betrayal of “word” then
- 1914 manifesto sees him decry “opportunist” leaders
OVERALL:
- Switzerland sees Lenin start to view Russian revolution as potential for GLOBAL socialist revolution
- “Task of proletariat in Russia…is to carry out Bourgeoisie democratic revoution which will IGNITE socialist revolution in Europe” - Oct 1915
- Use of heroic scenario here cements emotional connection to global as well as Russ revolution
How did Nick II undermine autocratic authority and cause the February revolution via econ stuff?
Economic:
- Fight this war dry -> prohibition on alcohol for soldiers -> 25% of tax comes from here, lose this, deepen class divisions wine/vodka
- Shift to wartime production means civilian pop can no longer produce for themselves
- Consumption (domestic) by 1917 at <50% of pre war level, income down at least 5% BECAUSE wartime production drains civilian production/consumption opportunities
- Industrial Workers’ Committees call for minimum wage, ignored and cost of living increses because of wrecked railroad
- Russian cities only recived 25% of expected grain supply in February -> spark bread riots after tighter rationing introduced in SPB
Give a general timeline of 1916-Feb
1916:
- Industrial Worker Groups (Soviets) demand increased Duma authority and MINIMUM WAGE,
- Wages DON’T increase because of wrecked railway and govt printing money = inflation
- Cost of living DOES rise
- Petrograd starved
- Strikes commence -> worker GROUPS push it to realm of POLITICAL action
1917
- February -> flour shortages in Petrograd / Moscow
- Bread riots
- Followed by munitions strike immediately -> 40,000 -> joined by Petrograd soldiers
- Storm Duma hall -> reluctant revolutionaries within
- Petrograd Soviet of workers and soldiers formed -> leads to abdication
- ARMY BETRAYS NICK BECAUS EOF VODKA, SCAPEGOAT FOR FAILURES, AND RASPUTIN
