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R.no. 112
PRE-REVOLUTIONARY
RUSSIA:
• Russia had a monarchial system of
government and was led by the
Romanov Czars.

• Nicholas II became Tsar of Russia

in 1894.

• Empess Alexandra Feodorovna

was Tsarina of Russia.

TSARINA ALEXANDRA AND

TSAR NICHOLAS II
CAUSES OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
• Tsarist autocracy and lack of representation of the
masses.
• Workers and peasants lived in poverty and hardship,
there was a long history of struggle against injustice
of the system.
• Economic conditions were unsatisfactory, because
industrial development was slow and in agriculture
farmers still used traditional methods of cultivation
• Taxes were very high
• The military had become weak due to corruption and
inefficient management.
• The Russo-Japanese War (1904) – defeat had a
huge economic impact on Russia and led to political
instability.

• In 1905, a revolution forced the Tsar to allow the

creation of a State Duma, or National Assembly.

• Though in practice, it had no control and limited

power

• The 1905 revolution got a kick start due to troops

shooting down unarmed demonstrators (Bloody
Sunday) in St. Petersburg in 1905.
 RUSSIA IN WORLD WAR 1
• Russia entered World War I in August 1914 in support of
the Serbs and their French and British allies. Militarily,
imperial Russia was no match for modern, industrialized
Germany. Russian participation in the war was
disastrous.
• Russian casualties were greater than those sustained by
any other nation, and food and fuel shortages soon
plagued the vast country.
VLADIMIR LENIN
Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov (Vladimir Lenin) was a Russian
communist revolutionary and head of the Bolshevik Party
who rose to prominence during the Russian Revolution of
1917.

The bloody upheaval marked the end of the oppressive

Romanov dynasty.

The Bolsheviks later became the Communist Party, making

Lenin leader of the Soviet Union, the world’s first communist
state.
 EARLY LIFE
• Vladimir Lenin was born in 1870 into a well
educated family in Ulyanovsk, Russia.
• As a teenager, he became politically radicalized
after his older brother was executed in 1887 for
plotting to assassinate Czar Alexander III.
• Later that year, 17-year-old Lenin was expelled from
Kazan Imperial University for taking part in an illegal
student protest.
• After his expulsion, Lenin immersed himself in
radical political literature, including the writings of
Karl Marx.
• In 1889, Lenin declared himself a Marxist.
THE TWO REVOLUTIONS OF 1917

• THE MARCH (february)

REVOLUTION
• THE NOVEMBER(october)
REVOLUTION
 The March Revolution of 1917

• Origin: Food riots/ strikes

• Duma declared itself a Provisional Government on
March12
• Tsar ordered soldiers to intervene; instead they joined
the rebellion.
• The Tsar was forced to abdicate the throne on March
17. Thus ending the Romanov empire and a new
government took over.
• This government was run by two political
parties, the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional
Government.
• Provisional Government, opposed violent social reform and
continued Russian involvement in World War I.

• Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks were a faction of the

Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party.

• Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks, began plotting an overthrow

of the Provisional Government.

• By fall of 1917, Russians had become even more war weary.

Peasants, workers, and soldiers demanded immediate
change.
Failure of Provisional
Government

• Duma officials set up a temporary government.

• Middle-class liberals planned to write a constitution
But they continued to fight in WWI.
• The new government implemented only moderate
reforms that did little to end the unrest among the
peasants and workers.
The Bolshevik Revolution
(october) OF 1917

• Following the March Revolution, exiled

revolutionary named Vladimir Lenin returned
home.
• Lenin and Leon Trotsky headed a revolutionary
socialist party, the Bolsheviks.
• Lenin and Trotsky followed the ideas of Karl
Marx and adapted them to the Russian situation
Lenin gained support by promising “Peace, Land, and Bread”

• An end to the involvement in war.

• A promise for land reform.
• An end to the food shortages.
 Lenin Takes Over
The provisional government lost support of the people.
In Nov. 1917, the Bolsheviks led soldiers and workers
in an uprising to overthrow the government.
The Bolsheviks, now called Communists –
-Distributed land to peasants.
-Gave workers control of the factories and mines.

The Communists still faced a struggle to maintain

control over Russia.
Lenin Rules Russia
Withdraws from WWI – Russia signed the treaty of
Brest-Litovisk. The agreement was costly for Russia,
giving Germany a large amount of Russian territory.
Lenin believed he needed to make peace with
Germany so he could face his enemies at home.
Russia’s Civil War (1918~1921)

Lenin’s Red Army battled the loyal forces to the czar,

called the Whites.
Nationalist groups in the Russian Empire also rose up
against the Red Army during this time, winning
independence for Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and
Poland.
Nicholas II and his family were executed during this
time as brutal tactics were carried out on both sides.
Trotsky led his inspired group to victory in 1921
One Party Government
Lenin’s government had a constitution and an elected
legislature. However, the Communist party had all the
real power.
The Communist Party was the only legal party.
Plus, only it’s members could run for office.
RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR: RED VS WHITE ARMY
New Economic Policy

During the civil war the Bolsheviks took over the

factories, mines, banks, and railroads.
Under the NEP the government still controlled those
businesses, but allowed some privately owned
businesses.
This helped the economy to recover.
 LENIN CREATES THE USSR
• Lenin’s Red Army eventually won Russia’s civil war. In
1922, a treaty between Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and
the Transcaucasus (now Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan) formed the Union of Soviet Republics
(USSR).
• Lenin became the first head of the USSR, but by that
time, his health was declining. Between 1922 and his
death in 1924, Lenin suffered a series of strokes which
compromised his ability to speak, let alone govern.
• His absence paved the way for Joseph Stalin, the
Communist Party’s new General Secretary, to begin
consolidating power. Lenin resented Stalin’s growing
political power and saw his ascendency as a threat to
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.localhistories.org/lenin.html
https://www.history.com/topics/vladimir-lenin

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/lenin_vladimir.sht
ml
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOK1TMSyKcM
THANK YOU!