Download The Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution
Use this handout, and your textbook, pages 477-483, to learn about the Russian Revolution. This
watershed event caused Russia to withdraw from WWI and resulted in the creation of the Soviet
Union, a country which would play a significant role in the events of the 20th century.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia was in many ways similar to the land that Peter
the Great had ruled hundreds of years earlier. Most of the population lived in the countryside as
landless peasants and the tsar was still an absolute ruler. There had been some modernization and
industrialization, but it was limited to the cities. Many people in Russia wanted change and reform
to take place.
In 1905, Russia had suffered a humiliating defeat by Japan in the Russo-Japanese War. This
loss led to a revolt by the people, which was brutally put down by the tsar’s army. As time went on,
the Russian people continued to lose faith in their government. Matters grew worse when Russia
joined World War I: the troops lacked weapons and were suffering massive defeats on the Eastern
Front, the people back home were starving, and the government, led by Tsar Nicholas II, was
corrupt and ineffective.
In March, 1917, the people of St. Petersburg (the capital) began a riot over, among other
things, bread prices. (Does this sound familiar?) The army, called in to stop the riot, refused to fire
on the unarmed crowd. As a result, the tsar abdicated. (That means he stepped down from power
peacefully) In his place a temporary government began to rule Russia. They were called the
Provisional Government, and they made a fatal error: they continued to support the fighting in
World War I.
With the tsar out of power and the Provisional Government
not acting as it had promised, another group began to gain momentum.
They were called the Bolsheviks and they were led by a man named
Vladimir Lenin. Lenin promised to enact change in Russia, and used
this slogan to win supporters: “Peace, Land, Bread!” Lenin and the
Bolsheviks were believers in the ideas of Karl Marx. They thought that
the people (workers, farmers, etc.) were being exploited and that they
should seize control of the country in order to put the people in power.
Though the Bolsheviks were a small group, they managed to overthrow the Provisional
Lenin
Government in October 1917.
Once in control, Lenin made many changes: peace was made with Germany, workers were
put in charge of the factories, peasants were given land, and many organizations were put under
state control. However, not everyone in Russia was happy about the Bolsheviks being in power, and
a civil war broke out between the Bolsheviks and their enemies. The civil war was very bloody and
lasted until 1922. The Bolsheviks killed the tsar and his family to try to stop people from
supporting the old government. The war itself was so devastating that millions of ordinary
Russians were starving by the end of it. In order to try to fix the damages, Lenin created the New
Economic Policy, which allowed people to own small farms and businesses. The New Economic
Policy incorporated elements of capitalism, which went against traditional Communist ideology.
By 1922, the Bolsheviks had won the civil war. They created a new name for Russia: the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It was also known as the USSR or the Soviet Union.
Though Lenin had promised to bring power to the people, in reality the power lay in the hands of
the Bolsheviks, who changed their name to the Communist Party. The Soviet Union’s industries,
government, media, and army were all controlled by the Party. Lenin also created a secret police to
repress any opposition to the new government. Though Russia had undergone a revolution to free
itself from an old authoritarian government, a new one had taken its place.
(Reading questions are on the back)
Questions from the reading and the textbook:
You may write the answers here or in your notebook.
-Why were Russians unhappy with their government in the early 1900s?
-What was the impact of World War I on Russia? (page 478)
-What was the big mistake made by the Provisional Government?
-Who is Vladimir Lenin and what role did he play during the Russian Revolution?
-What economic system did Lenin and the Bolsheviks follow?
-How did Lenin adapt Marx’s theories? (page 479)
-How did the Bolsheviks seize power? (page 480)
-What changes were made once the Lenin and the Bolsheviks were in power?
-Why did a civil war take place after the Revolution?
-During the civil war, who were the reds? Who were the whites? (page 481)
-What were the results of the civil war?
-What was the cheka? (page 482)
-Who is Stalin? How did he come to power after Lenin died? (page 483)