Chinese and Russian Revolutions

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Chinese and Russian Revolutions

• Amanda Merritt

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Russian Revolution

• October and February

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Background

• Took place in 1917, and it involved three powers
• Tsarist
• Moderate Socialist
• Soviet Union
• Two parts
• February
• Fall of the Tsars
• October
• Rise of the Soviet Union

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February and October Revolutions

• October
• Led by the Bolshevik party
• Also known as the Bolshevik Revolution
• Overthrew provisional government and paved the
  way for the Soviet Union
• Socialism
• Changed Social Structure

• February
• Incited in the aftermath of WWI
• Focus on St. Petersburg
• Workers demand food
• Civil authority collapsed because civil authority
  joined the rebellion
• Tsar Nicolas II abdicated on March 2
• Sought to set up a democratic republic

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Major Players

• Tsar Nicolas II of Russia
• Last Tsar
• Grigori Rasputin
• Adviser to the Tsar
• Vladimir Lenin
• Leader of the Bolshevik party
• Peasants

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Political and Religious Causes

• Tsar Nicolas II
• Divine right of kings absolute monarch
• Blinding faith in father of people myth
• Deeply conservative and moral ruler
• Staunchly opposed to democratic reforms
• In order to preserve his authority, he limited
  the rights of his people as much as possible
• World War I
• Desire to restore Russian reputation in battle,
• to centralize his people under Russian flag,
• and to distract people from growing social and
  economic problems at home

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Economic and Social Causes

• Cities and industries were growing rapidly on the
  eve of revolution
• Rise of the middle class
• Lines between social status became blurred
• Discontentedness of people
• Famine, harsh winter
• Overcrowding
• No efficient septic system or running water
• Disagreement with WWI
• As war progressed, loyalty to Tsar faltered

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Short Term Effects

• Russian Civil War
• 1918
• Reds
• Liberalists, Socialist, Marxists
• Whites
• Conservatives and monarchists
• Had backing of Great Britain, USA, Japan, and
  France
• Russia war torn again

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Long Term Effects

• Soviet Union
• Communism
• Lasts till 1991
• Spread of Communism
• Cold War
• Space Race
• Briefly a superpower

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Chinese Revolution
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Background

• October 10, 1911
• Qing and Manchu dynasties
• Inefficient rulers
• No great Manchu rulers of the 19th century
• Incompetent administrative officials
• Corruption in government
• High taxes on poor to support upper classes
• Political decentralization because of corrupt and
  demoralized power

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Major Players

• Emporer Puyi
• Last emperor of dynastic China
• Abdicated February 12, 1912
• Sun Yat-sen
• Revolutionary
• First provisional president of the Republic of
  China
• Yuan Shikai
• Second provisional president of R.C.
• Emperor of Empire of China

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Political and Religious Causes

• Ideologically founded on Confucianism
• Manchus attempted to make their dynasty lawful by
  defending Confucianism
• Expel the Manchus! Restore the Han! movements
  among the people
• People wanted a republic like that of France and
  United States

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Economic and Social Causes

• Social Poverty
• Major population growth
• Land able to be cultivated was lacking
• No strong movement for industrialization
• Manpower was not being absorbed, unemployment
  rate sky rocketed
• Poor economic conditions of government
• Limited money to collect in taxes
• Large tax burden on peasants

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Short Term Effects

• Problems between northern and southern China
• Different loyalties which varied from Ming, to
  Han, to Manchu, to revolutionary
• Power struggles in the new government
• Sun Yat-Sen and Yuan Shikai
• Shaky government led to Empire of China
• Yuan Shikai, Emperor

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Long Term Effects

• Communism
• Puts large population to work in factories
• Allows for cheap exports and good trade with
  America
• Chinese Yuan
• Government controls everything
• All people equal
• The next Superpower

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Russian and Chinese Revolutions

• Compare and Contrast

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Similarities!

• Both began as an absolute monarchy
• Both rulers abdicated
• Both were a civil uprising
• Population growth was a major factor in both
  revolutions
• Both began in one city
• Both attempted a republic democracy
• Both ultimately resolved with a communistic
  government

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Differences!

• Russian revolutionaries knew Marxism and were
  definitely socialists
• Chinese wanted to try a democracy like that of
  France or the USA
• Communism fell in Russia, and it is still in
  place in China
• Russian Revolution was around 1917
• May have been affected by Chinese revolution
• Chinese was slightly before in 1911

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Works cited

• http//en.wikipedia.org
• http//www.thecorner.org/hist/china/chin-revo.htm
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinhai_Revolution
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Republ
  ic_of_China