http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=qn
06W-iBfkQ

The Russian Empire

Backward country compared to the
West: 80% of the Russians were
peasants and living in poverty.

Monarchy System
Ruled by an absolute monarch (one-man
show; the Tsar)

Feb 1917 REVOLUTION The

Fall of the Tsar!
A revolution --- one form of
government being replaced by another
very different form of government.

Feb 1917 Revolution

Feb 1917:
Series of strikes in Petrogard, the capital
city.
Soldiers refused to put down the revolt
Tsar decided to abdicate, knowing that
he did not have the support of the army
or his people
A Provisional Government was set up
to run the country in place of the Tsar.

Mistakes of the Provisional

Government
Chose to keep Russia in the war.
The longer the war dragged on, the
more unpopular the Provisional
Government became.

Rise of the Bolsheviks

Lenin (leader of the Bolsheviks)
campaigned against the
Provisional Government while
gaining support for themselves
Bolsheviks slogan: Peace,
Land, Bread.
Incited a series of riots and strikes
to break out.
Provisional Government ordered
for Lenins arrest, but he fled to
Finland.

The October Revolution

(1917)
Overtime, discontent and
opposition to the Provisional
Government grew.
Oct 1917: Lenin returned secretly
to Petrograd.
Led the Bolsheviks and the Red
Guards on a second revolution to
overthrow the Provisional
Government.

Lenin fulfilled his promise.

March 1918: Lenin signed the Treaty
of Brest-Litvosk with Germany,
even though the terms were harsh.
But he knew he had to take Russia
out of WW1.

Russian Civil War (Nov

1917-Oct 1922)

Civil war = war

between 2 (or more)
groups of people in a
country.
The Bolsheviks and the
Red Guards had to fight
their opponents, the
Whites for three long
years before they
eventually won the war.

Establishm
ent of the
Bolshevik
Dictatorshi
p

In 1924, the former territories of the

Russian Empire were combined to
form the Soviet Union or
(Union
of Soviet
USSR
.
Socialist Republics)

Moscow
became the
new capital
of the
USSR.

The
TheBolshevik
BolshevikParty
Partyadopted
adoptedaa
new
newname,
name,the
theCommunist
Communist
Party.
Party.
Communist
CommunistRussia
Russia
was
born.
was born.
Back

 By 1924, Soviet Russia governed by

one-party, centralized authoritarian
government.
The Communist Party controlled the
government and made all the
important decisions.