Background to Revolution
Worker unrest and the Russian czar’s failures in the
war led to revolution in March 1917.
Background to Revolution (cont.)
• The Russian military suffered heavy losses
during the war due to a lack of experienced
leaders and adequate weapons.
• Czar Nicholas II
insisted on taking
charge on the armed
forces, leaving his
wife Alexandra to
make the decisions
at home.
Background to Revolution (cont.)
• Grigory Rasputin gained Alexandra’s
confidence and began to influence her
political decisions.
Background to Revolution (cont.)
• After experiencing a series of economic and
military disasters, conservative aristocrats
assassinated Rasputin in December 1916.
• In March 1917, workingclass women led a series of
strikes in Petrograd,
shutting down all the
factories in the city.
• The czar ordered soldiers to
end the demonstration, but
many of soldiers joined the
protest and refused to fire on
the crowds.
Background to Revolution (cont.)
• The Duma, or legislative body, met and
asked the czar to step down. Without the
support of the army, Nicholas II agreed and
the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty ended.
• The new leader,
Aleksandr Kerensky,
decided to stay in World
War I, upsetting many
people who wanted an
end to the war.
Background to Revolution (cont.)
• Soviets began to form in army units, factory
towns, and rural areas to challenge the
government’s power.
From Czars to Communists
Lenin and the Bolsheviks gained control and
quickly overthrew the provisional government.
From Czars to Communists (cont.)
• The Bolsheviks were a small Marxist party
that turned to violent revolution under
V.I. Lenin.
• Lenin believed that the
Bolsheviks should gain
control of the soviet groups
throughout Russia and use
them to overthrow the
provisional government.
From Czars to Communists (cont.)
• The Bolsheviks promised to:
– end the war
– redistribute land
– transfer government
power to the
soviets
– transfer factories and
industries from capitalists
to committees of workers
From Czars to Communists (cont.)
• On November 6, Bolshevik forces took
control of the government and outwardly
turned over power to the Congress of
Soviets.
• The Bolsheviks
renamed themselves
the Communists and
began to focus on
peace.
From Czars to Communists (cont.)
• On March 3, 1918, Lenin signed the Treaty
of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, which gave
up eastern Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and
the Baltic provinces.
In this treaty Russia lost…
•Poland
•Finland
•one third of it's population
•one third of it's fertile land
•54% of it's industry
•75% of its coal mines
•73% of it's iron supplies
•85% of it's sugar production
From Czars to Communists (cont.)
• Civil war soon erupted in Russia.
• The Allies, who were concerned about the
Communist takeover, sent troops and
material aid to the anti-Communist forces
(White forces) to battle the Communists
(Red Army).
From Czars to Communists (cont.)
• The first serious threat to the Communists
came from Siberia, followed by Ukrainians
and the Baltic regions.
From Czars to Communists (cont.)
• The royal family was kidnapped and
imprisoned in the Urals where they were
eventually murdered by local soviets.
From Czars to Communists (cont.)
• Leon Trotsky played a major role in the Red
Army’s successes.
• War communism was used to ensure
regular supplies to the Red Army.
• The Cheka, or Red secret police, began a
Red Terror to instill fear and destroy any
opposition to the Communist regime.
From Czars to Communists (cont.)
• Foreign troops that were stationed in Russia
made it easy for the communist government
to call on patriotic Russians to fight foreign
attempts to control the country .
• By 1921, the
Communists were in
total control of Russia.
The civil war left the
Communists resentful
toward the Allied
Powers.
THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION and
THE END OF WORLD WAR I
• Russia’s failure in the war and
worker unrest led to the
Russian Revolution in 1917.
• Bolshevik overthrow of the
provisional government led to
civil war and eventual
Communist control.
• A defeated Germany signed an armistice with the Allies,
ending the war on November 11, 1918.
• The Treaty of Versailles punished Germany, formed new
nations, and created the League of Nations to solve
international problems.
The End
Next the End of WWI