1917 the turning point year of WWI

1917… the turning point year of WWI

• The Russian Revolution• The U.S. entered the war

• Czar Nicholas II - “Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationalism”

• Unlike his predecessors, he was weak, incompetent

and • suspected of being under

the influence of his German-born wife Alexandra, and a half-crazed monk named Grigori Rasputin.

The Russian Revolution, 1917

• There were actually two revolutions:– The February (March-western calendar)- A spontaneous

insurrection against the Czarist government and its failures in the war

– The October (November…)- a planned takeover of the government orchestrated by Bolshevik revolutionaries

The November 6th Revolution…

• The second revolution was instigated and inspired by a radical socialist party then known as the Bolsheviks. Its leaders included Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky and Josef Stalin.

Political Causes

• Autocracy - weak and ineffectual ruler• Spread of Marxist ideas• Charismatic leaders such as Lenin and

Trotsky• Enormous losses in The Great War

Economic Causes

• Illiterate and oppressed peasant majority• Striking workers shut down industries • Inefficient transportation system • Food and fuel shortages

Social Causes

• Extreme differences in classes• Peasants’ desire for land• Deprivations resulting from the war

World War One: The Battle of Tannenberg, 1914

The Russian army: a Paper Tiger!

• In 1915, Czar Nicholas decided to go and direct the war from the front lines

• The Czarina allowed a crazed monk named Rasputin to run the homefront

Russian march, mainly women, bearing the red flag of revolution, Petrograd, March, 1917.

Czar Nicholas II's government ended when soldiers and

citizens united after riots on food lines

Czar Nicholas abdicated on March 15. a Provisional Government was established and continued the war- a big mistake that led to its undoing.

• The provisional government is often referred to as the “Kerensky Government”

because its primary figure was Alexander Kerensky.

Location of Bolshevik Leaders in February, 1917

Bolshevik Leaders Location

Lenin Switzerland

Radek Switzerland

Zinoviev Switzerland

Bukharin New York

Litvinov London

Antonov-Ovseenko Paris

Dzerzhinsky Moscow

Latsis Petrograd

Molotov Petrograd

Kirov Vladikavkaz

Stalin Kureika (Siberia)

Ordzhonikidze Pokrovsk (Siberia)

Sverdlov Turukhansk (Siberia)

Kamenev Achinsk (Siberia)

Rykov Narym (Siberia)

• Lenin was secretly aided by the German govt to return to Russia

Upon returning to Russia, Lenin promised “Peace, Bread and Land” …and “All Power to the Soviets.”

“The Bolsheviks didn’t cause a revolution, they captured it.”

Leon Trotsky- architect of the November Revolution

• Seized the headquarters of the Provisional Government; as well as key govt buildings, railway stations, telephone exchanges, electric generating plants

• Next morning, all soviets approved the takeovers.

• All power to soviets! Peace to all nations! Land to peasants! Factories to workers!

• " Lenin - the leader of the revolution"

Lenin. October.

Power to soviets. Peace to the nations. Land to peasants. Factories to workers.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, March 1918

• Lenin accepted Germany’s harsh conditions in order to focus on securing power…the real revolution was yet to come.

• Russia lost 1/3 of its population, 3/4 of its iron resources and 9/10 of its coal supply plus a huge indemnity to Germany.

• News of the treaty contributed to a civil war which lasted until 1921.

• Czar Nicholas II and his family were first exiled to Siberia but later, in July of 1918 were killed