Russian Revolution

1905 Russo-Japanese War

PRE WWI- See Map A45 (stick scrap paper in as book mark. FIND Manchuria (part of China), Russia, Japan and Korea. Practice pointing to them on your blank map!

Read 812-813 4 Big Questions:

What did Japan offer Russia?

What did the Japanese do?

After defeating Russia, what did Japan do? (Read all parag. for full explanation it!)

How did they rule Korea? Exemplify!

Russian Revolution

An Overview

Life under the Czar

Most people in Russia were poor peasants called serfs who lived on land owned by wealthy landowners

Students protests, peasant revolts, and worker strikes were common

Life under the Czar

The Russo-Japanese War ended in a humiliating defeat for Russia and showed that Czarist rule was weak and disorganized.

(And this is before the Great War!)

Life under the Czar

World War I brought great suffering to the Russian people

It brought shortages in housing, food, and fuel

Russian armies were ill-equipped and were soundly defeated – 1.7 million killed, 5 million injured.

March Revolution 1917

Bread riots

Soldiers sent to end the violent protests side with the demonstrators

Czar Nicholas is forced to resign (abdicate)

Bloodless revolution

Provisional government set up with Kerensky in charge

Germany takes advantage of • Germany knows USA coming to

Western front; wants to get rid of Russians on Eastern front

• Helps exiled Lenin to return

November Revolution 1917

Wages increased between revolutions

Cost of food and other necessities increased at a higher rate

On an average, food increased in price 556 per cent., or 51 per cent more than wages.

On an average the above categories of necessities increased about 1,109 per cent, in price, more than twice the increase of salaries

November Revolution 1917

November Revolution 1917

Civil War breaks out – Reds vs. Whites

Bolsheviks prevail through shear brutality – even when out numbered.

Vladimir Lenin leads the revolution based upon his own interpretations of the writings of Karl Marx

Lenin signs Treaty of Brest-Litvosk with Germany to get out of war

November Revolution 1917

Marxism

Believed humanity was changing, Industrialization was to blame. Horrified by working conditions.

Capitalists were getting richer than workers creating a significant gap between the two

Believed one of the following would happen:

Rich must distribute wealth OR

A worker-led violent revolution would erupt

Leninism

Lenin fascinated by industrialization, wanted to bring that to Russia

Differed from Marx in his belief that the world wide communist revolution had to be led by a power elite forcing it forward – not just the

LeninismCommunist Party was the only party allowed.

The use of force and terror through the secret police (Cheka) was necessary and good for the cause

Used slogans, include “Bread, Land, Peace and All Power to the Soviets.” LOTS OF PROPOGADA

Lenin’s Death

Died in January 1924.

Believed Leon Trotsky should replace him as leader. Trotsky had successfully lead Red Army against the White Army. Had a vision of the Soviet Union in line with Lenin. He wanted to focus on agriculture.

Lenin’s Death

Lenin believed that Stalin could not handle the power that came with leadership. Stalin believed in the industrialization of the nation.

Stalin takes control, has Trotsky killed.

“Socialism in One Country”Stalin argued for a position that came to be called

“socialism in one country”

Without abandoning the global revolutionary

vision of Lenin, Stalin insisted that world

revolution was out of the question for present

Their duty was to create a strong socialist state, capable of defending

itself against counterrevolutionaries

Joseph Stalin

As General Secretary of the Communist Party, Stalin was able to consolidate his power by exerting total control over the details of party structure –

Stalin appeared to provide a sense of security and direction for the future

Stalin’s economic policies involved total state control

Political leaders identify the country’s economic needs and determines how to fulfill them

To modernize the Soviet state, Stalin ushered in revolutions in industry and agriculture

Industrial RevolutionIn 1926 Stalin outlined the first of

several Five-Year Plans for the development of the Soviet economyOfficials chose the workers, assigned

them jobs, and determined their working hours and wages

The secret police would imprison or execute those who did not contribute to to the Soviet

economyProduced fantastic economic results

– by late 1930s the USSR was the world’s 3rd leading industrial

power, behind the US and Germany

Agricultural Revolution

Stalin’s agricultural revolution was also successful–and far more brutal–than his industrial revolution

Combined 25 million private farms into large, government-owned farms called collective farms

Stalin used terror and violence to force peasants to work on the collectives

Between 5 and 10 million peasants died as a result of Stalin’s agricultural policies

However, by 1938 more than 90% of all peasants lived on collective farms and the country had produced almost twice the wheat than it had in 1928

Soviet Mentality

Brutality of the state was for their own protection

Checka, then NKVD, terrorized people – they were genuinely afraid

“Politicals” - Enemies of the people who were arrested for alleged spying, disloyalty, etc. Received worse punishments then common criminals

Gulags

Gulags

Gulags

Gulags

Gulags

The Purges 1936-38

•14 of 16 Army Commanders•60 of 67 Corps Commanders•3 of 5 Marshalls•8 of 8 Admirals•9 of 11 Cabinet Ministers•27 top drafters of Constitution•75 of 80 members of Supreme Military Council

The Terror

The Great Terror 1937-38

Arrests - about 7 million Executed - about 1 million Died in camps - about 2 million In prison, late 1938 - about 1 million In camps, late 1938 - about 8 millionOnly 10% in camps survived

The TerrorA worker who bungled a job, such as allowing a faultytransmission to pass through an assembly line wasconsidered to have wrecked “socialist property.” This wasconsidered sabotage and punishable by death.

5 years forced labor was considered a light sentence:What is your sentence?25 yearsFor what?nothingYou’re lying—in our country for nothing they only give you 5years!

Poetess Tanya Khodekevich was sentenced to 10 years forwriting, “you can pray freely, but just so only God can hear”

Indoctrination and PropagandaDespite having millions of Russians

killed, Stalin tried to create a myth that he was the country’s father and savior

Stalin relied on indoctrination = instruction in the government’s set or beliefs–to mold people’s minds and propaganda = biased or incomplete information to sway people towards certain beliefs or actions

Soviet newspapers, radio broadcasts, and art used to praise Stalin, Soviet life, and Communist values

Stalin also falsified history itself through censorship and manipulation of photos and video to project a positive image of himself and the nation

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Indoctrination and Propaganda

Indoctrination and Propaganda

Four... Three...

Two... One...

CriminalsGuilty of murder, assault, rape, thievery, etc.

Sentences usually under 10 years

Received all the privileges.

Give power to keep politicals in line

Victims- Political Prisoners

Enemies of the people - arrested for alleged spying, disloyalty, etc.

The “Terror” and “Great Purges”

Show trials, forced confessions

Public condemnations

Given no privilege – treated worse then murders

Terrorized by criminals

Kolyma Conditions

• Hunger – didn’t meet quotas = less food• Starvation most common cause of

death• Scurvy commonplace

Full Circle...

Changing History

Full Circle...• Stalin dies of a massive stroke

March 6, 1953• Many greeted his death with tears

and foreboding, having knownnothing but his all-encompassingleadership for 35 years

• Nikiita Kruschchev takes control ofthe Party and USSR

• “All of us around Stalin weretemporary people”

• Early in 1956 Khruschev delivers aspeech in which he severelycriticized Stalin for developing a“cult of personality”