The Revolutions of 1917 to World War II

The Revolutions of 1917 to World War II

Serenity Hughes

The Revolutions of 1917

The year 1917 is a political, economic, and social watershed.

Russia experienced two revolutions The 1st revolution served to break sharply with

an autocratic, monarchical, and feudal empire (brief periods of reform)

The 2nd revolution marked the beginnings of one of the largest socioeconomic and political experiments the world has ever witnessed.

Interpretation ohhhhhhhh

Three basic approaches to interpreting the vents of 1917: The Soviet Interpretation The Liberal Interpretation The Libertarian Interpretation

The Soviet Interpretation

Largely propagandistic Served to justify the existence and popularity

of the regime Relied heavily on Marxist concepts Claimed that the Revolutions of 1917 were

inevitable historical events

The Liberal Interpretation

Discounts the historically determined argument in favor of one that highlights the seizure of an opportunity created by the decay of the monarchy and the weakening of the Russian State and society during WWI.

Impact of WWI READ THIS PARAGRAPH YOURSELF BECAUSE

EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT!!!

The Libertarian Interpretation

Deemphasizes both the Marxist and liberal views in favor of one that highlights the ability of Russian workers and peasants to self-manage and self-organize.

Populists, anarchists, and libertarians perceive the resulting Soviet two-class system of rulers and ruled as a result of the Bolsheviks.

The Founding of the Provisional Government

In March 1917, Russian women and men organized a series of demonstrations, protests, and riots in the streets of St. Petersburg

Russian troops were sent to “handle that” but due to them agreeing with the protesters, they did nothing to end the protests

Ministers and government officials then went into hiding, resulting in the overthrow of the Russian government.

Cont….. On March 12, the PG was founded. Was headed by Prince George Lvov

Surrounded himself with a cabinet of reformers Attempted to institutionalize democratic

reforms, provide for the equal protection of all Russians before the law, and promulgate a set of socio-political liberties that all could enjoy.

Provided a host of labor rights Allowed the collective bargaining rights and

limited workday lengths

The Petrograd Soviet-HATED the Provisional Government-Had a radical and democratic approach to things-Challenged the authority and actions of the Provisional

Government, offering alternative or counter proposals to nearly every action taken. -Order Number 1 (A Proclamation to Russian troops that military units should by ran by elected committees with officers only serving to oversee tactical maneuvers).

-Populist appeal-Proved more democratic, nimble, and radical than its

provisional counterpart.

Struggles of the Provisional Government

Became desperate as time went on……. In 1917, a group of radical personnel,

peasant and worker mobs, and Bolshevik activists led an uprising against the Provisional Government.

FAILED but…… Lvov resigned YAYYYYYYY (but wait…….)

Cont…. (Kerensky, The Provisional Government)

A socialist named Kerensky acceded to power.

He organized the State Conference in August, and was committed to a more socialist approach to regime change (garnered broad appeal)

Soon after, the Provisional Government was undermined….. But WHY???? (hint: it’s on page 51)

The Great October Revolution

Bolsheviks captured convincing majorities in the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets, reflecting the rising tide of grassroots Bolshevik organizing.

Vladimir Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders returned from self-imposed exile in Finland to convince the Petrograd Soviet that it was time for a socialist revolution!!!!!!!! Began with the strategic occupation of various locations

throughout the capital by Bolshevik troops in the evening of November 7th. On November 8th, they arrested the Provisional Government.

Marxism-Leninism READ THIS SECTION YOURSELF BECAUSE

EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT!!!

Lenin’s Modifications to Marxism

Lenin advocated the creation of the Vanguard of the Proletariat, an elite intellectual group of professional revolutionaries, to organize, motivate, and lead the Russian population in a socialist revolution.

Lenin advanced the concept of democratic centralism as the guiding principle by which to organize the party and state i.e. the organization of the Soviet Union’s state

institutions He focused on promoting a global socialist

revolution.

Early Communist Russia, War Communism, and

The Russian Civil War, International Involvement

READ THESE SECTIONS YOURSELF BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT!!!

War with Poland Sought to capitalize on an obviously weakened and

transitional Russia In April 1920, Poland invaded Russia with the intent to

recapture portions of the Ukraine and what would become Belorussia

Initially, the Poles were SUCCESSFUL Then……the Red Army counter-offense pushed the

Poles back into their territory and nearly resulted in the capture of Warsaw (OH NOOOO)

BUT, Poland emerged victorious, acquiring nearly everything it wanted in the Treaty of Riga in 1921 (yayyyy)

National Independence Movements

The Bolsheviks found themselves struggling with Russia’s imperial legacy of being a multiethnic empire.

Several of Russia’s national territories sought to achieve independence from Russian rule

Most of these attempts at independence failed ( AWW MAN) BUT Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania all achieved independence.

Bolshevik Victory and the Founding of the U.S.S.R

Lenin and the Bolsheviks emerged from the Russian Civil War victorious despite essentially fighting multiple wars against multiple enemies

On December 30, 1922, the Bolsheviks moved ahead with the tasks of creating a socialist regime by formally constituting the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or the U.S.S.R, compromised of the federation of the Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian, and Transcaucasian Soviets.

The New Economic Policy (NEP)You should read this on your own, but I’ll discuss

the main points

Created by Lenin Was a strategic and temporary retreat from

institutionalizing real socialism. The NEP represented a significant rollback of

the economic programs of War Communism, but allowed the Communists to retain absolute control of the reins of the political institutions.

The NEP proved to be successful in accomplishing its goals. LOTS OF KULAKS- small business owners

The Stalin Era Emerged as the leader of the U.S.S.R in 1927

following a bitter struggle for succession among the Communist Party leaders.

He preferred the theory of Socialism in One Country, a realistic approach that avoided concerns for the development of communism beyond the borders of the Soviet Union and focused on promoting policies to secure the domestic welfare of the state.

Stalin foreshadowed events to come by forcing everyone who opposed his rise to power either to recant or leave the country.

Cont….Five year Plans

Designed to replace and destroy the remnants of the NEP, the 5 Year Plans were a series of centralized planning programs, frequently dictated by administrative fiat, which detailed goals for economic production and the development of the Soviet economy. 1st-

Stalin thought it was important for the Soviet Union to rapidly industrialize its economy

2nd Stalin introduced the policy of agricultural

collectivization by which all individually held land was consolidated into larger factory farms, essentially industrializing the agricultural process.

Cont….. Second Five-Year Plan

Focused on heavy industry with an emphasis on steel production and military hardware, the development of the Soviet infrastructure, and the completion of the project of collectivization

The Third Five-Year Plan Rapid industrial growth and output, but

with an emphasis on considerably expanding the Soviet Union’s military capacity.

IMPACT Shortages of quality consumer goods were

commonplace, forcing many Soviet citizens to participate in the illegal black market in order to survive.

Workers were punished to their physical and mental limits to meet their respective quotas and to avoid punishment.

Five million members of the kulak class were eradicated from Soviet society

The Great Purge Stalin embarked on a campaign in the early

1930s to eliminate ALL opposition, or potential opposition.

BASICALLY…HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WERE KILLED FOR NO REASON AT ALL!!!!!

THE NKVD AND THE NKVD TROIKA

A SECRET STATE POLICE FORCE AND TRIUMVIRATE PANEL OF JUDGES.

USED TO ENFORCE STALIN’S ARTICLE 58, A BROADLY DEFINED COLLECTION OF CONSTANTLY CHANGING LAWS THAT VAGUELY DEFINED TREASONOUS ACTIVITES

700,000 DEATHS

The 1936 Constitution In 1936, Stalin circulated a new Constitution

designed to modernize the Soviet political institutions while solidifying his own political authority.

This new constitution strengthened the official role of its vanguard, the Communist Party, in general, and Stalin’s role as a leader, in particular.