Russia and WWI

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Russia and WWI
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Years Before WWI

• After the Revolution of 1905, Czar Nicholas II
  promised change
• The economic conditions that caused the
  Revolution got worse
• Another Revolution would soon occur

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The Years Before the War

• Bolsheviks- small Marxist organization
• They wanted to change life in Russia through
  revolution
• Leader Vladimir Lenin
• Wanted to overthrow the Czar so that the
  proletariats (industrial workers) could rule
  Russia

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Bolshevism

• Different from Marxism
• How?
• In Marxism, the industrial workers spontaneously
  rebelled and would rule themselves after
• In Bolshevism, a small group (the Bolsheviks!!)
  would lead a revolution and keep power afterward

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Russia and the War

• At the beginning of the 1900s, not very popular
• By 1914 economic conditions got so bad that WWI
  provided a great distraction
• Allowed people to unite and support Czar and his
  government

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Russia and WWI

• 6 million soldiers ready to fight- more joined
  later
• Patriotism rose- good for Czar
• Factories not able to make supplies quickly
  enough
• Transportation in Russia weak
• Hard to move supplies and men

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Russians In Battle

• Initially successful
• Losses soon outnumbered victories
• Millions of soldiers wounded and killed

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Conditions Grow Worse

• In 1915 Czar Nicholas II took personal control of
  army
• Knew nothing of military matters- BAD MOVE
• If he lost in battle, he would lose the right to
  rule in Russia

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Russian Situation Worsens

• Czar took command, conditions got worse
• Central Powers were able to stop a major Russian
  offensive
• Caused Russian soldiers to lose faith in leaders
• BAD news for Czar

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Conditions in the Rest of Russia

• Worse than in the battlefields
• Food and other supplies getting scarce
• Czarina Alexandra was left to rule Russia while
  Czar Nicholas was gone
• Alexandra was unpopular because she was German
• She also relied heavily on the advice of Grigory
  Rasputin
• Russians hated Rasputin

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Project

• Group 1 Rasputins Childhood
• Where was he born? What was his family life
  like? What were some things that happened that
  showed that Rasputin was special from an early
  age?
• Group 2 Rasputins Early Adulthood
• Marriage, Pilgrimage, association with illegal
  sect, influences, achievements
• Group 3 Rasputin and the Tsarina
• Why did the Tsarina ask for his help? Did he
  really help Alexei? What other advice was he
  giving out? Why was he able to have so much power
  over the royal family and government?
• Group 4 Controversy
• Why did people dislike/distrust him? What were
  some rumors that were going around about his
  behavior?
• Group 5 Rasputins Murder
• Describe the various attempts made to execute
  Rasputin. How did he finally die?

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Presentations

• 3-5 minutes in length
• Bring pictures because youll be making a poster
  with information on it

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Rasputin

• Self-proclaimed holy man
• Sexual deviant, wanderer, healer
• Gained trust of the royal family by healing
  Alexei (had hemophilia)
• His influence on royal family made monarchy even
  less supported by the people

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The Russian Revolution

• March 8, 1917
• People were protesting lack of food and fuel in
  the streets of Petrograd
• Not even police and soldiers stopped the rioters

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Czar Nicholas some more bad moves

• Dissolved the Duma- Russias parliament
• Duma refused to disband
• Showed that neither the people nor the government
  supported monarchy
• Duma forced Nicholas to abdicate on March 15, 1917

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February Revolution

• Happened March 8-15, 1917
• Russia used old calendar that was 13 days behind
  U.S. and Europes calendar
• Russia adopted the new calendar in 1918

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The Provisional Government

• Duma established temporary government
• Aleksandr Kerensky was the leader
• Russians not happy with new leadership
• New government wanted to keep fighting in WWI
• People were only concerned with food and fuel-
  new government not helping enough

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Bolsheviks Lead Opposition

• Bolsheviks were the main group opposed to new
  government
• Wanted immediate Marxist revolution
• Private property taken away
• Social equality would be enforced
• Believed this revolution would sweep the world

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Marxism-Leninism

• Bolshevism later called Marxism-Leninism
• Lenin had been kicked out of Russia because of
  his beliefs
• Came back in April 1917 with Germanys help
• Germany believed that Lenins return would weaken
  Russia

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The Bolshevik Revolution

• In mid-1917 Kerensky ordered final offensive
  against Germany
• Failure
• Russian army rebelled and fell apart
• Conditions were ideal for Lenin to take over
• October Revolution- when Bolsheviks took over
  government

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Lenin as Leader

• Established radical Communist program
• Distributed land to peasants
• Leadership of factories turned over to workers

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Life After the Revolution

• Lenin sent Leon Trotsky to end the war with
  Central Powers
• Peace treaty forced Russia to give up land
• Russians unhappy- civil war followed
• White Army military leaders, wealthy Russians,
  opponents of Bolsheviks
• Bolsheviks won

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New Economic Policy

• Civil war destroyed what was left of economy
• N.E.P. passed in 1921- allowed some capitalist
  activity
• Peasants could sell food at profit

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The Soviet Union

• 1922- Russian economy improved and lands given up
  after WWI gained back
• Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was the name
  of the new country
• Lenin died 1924
• No clear successor- leaders of Communist party
  fought over position

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