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Revolutions in Russia
Chapter 30, Section 1
Introduction

The Russian Revolution was like a
firecracker with a very long fuse. The
explosion came in 1917, yet the fuse had
been burning for nearly a century. The
cruel, oppressive rule of most 19thcentury czars caused widespread social
unrest. Secret revolutionary groups
plotted to overthrow the government.

In 1881,
revolutionaries
angry over the
slow pace of
political change
assassinated the
reform-minded
czar, Alexander II.
Russia was
heading toward a
full-scale
revolution.
Czars Resist Change
End to Reform
In 1881, Alexander
III becomes czar and
ends the reforms of
his father, Alexander
II.
 Alexander III
institutes autocratic
rule, suppressing all
opposition and
descent.

Czars Continue Autocratic Rule
Government censors written criticism;
secret police monitor schools
 Non-Russians living in Russia are treated
harshly


In 1894, Nicholas II
becomes czar and
continues autocratic
ways
Russia Industrializes
Rapid Industrialization
Number of factories doubles between
1863 and 1900, but Russia still lags
behind other European countries.
 In late 1800s, new plan boosts steel
production and a major railway begins

The Revolutionary Movement Grows
Industrialization breeds discontent over working
conditions and wages.
 Growing popularity of Marxist idea that
proletariat (workers) will rule
 Bolsheviks—Marxists who favor revolution by a
small committed group

Lenin

Lenin—Bolshevik
leader—an excellent
organizer and
inspiring leader
Crisis at Home and Abroad
The Russo-Japanese War

Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War in the
early 1900s causes unrest in Russia.
Bloody Sunday: The Revolution of 1905
In 1905, 200,000
workers march on the
czar’s palace to
demand reforms
 The army fires into
the crowd, killing
many
 Massacre leads to
widespread unrest;
Nicholas if forced to
make reforms

The short lived Duma
The Duma,
Russia’s first
parliament,
meets in 1906
 Czar is
unwilling to
share power,
dissolves the
Duma after
only 10 weeks

World War I: The Final Blow
Heavy losses in World War I reveal
government’s weakness
 Nicholas goes to war front; Czarina
Alexandra runs government in his absence




Czarina falls under the
influence of Rasputin—a
mysterious “holy man”—
who she believes has the
power to heal her son.
Nobles fear Rasputin’s
influence and murder him
Army losing
effectiveness; people at
home are hungry and
unhappy
The February Revolution
First Steps
In Feb 1917, strikes expand; soldiers refuse to
fire on workers.
 Most of the tension is caused by Nicholas II
personally taking command of the military in
World War I, and the war going so badly.

The Czar Steps Down
Revolution continues & protests become
uprising; Nicholas forced to abdicate
throne
 Duma establishes provisional, or
temporary government
 Soviets—committees of Socialist
revolutionaries—control many cities

Lenin Returns to Russia

In April 1917,
Germans aid Lenin in
returning from exile
to Russia (pictured in
disguise with his
goatee shaved and
wearing a wig).
The Bolshevik Revolution
The Provisional Government Topples

In November 1917, workers take control
of the government
Bolsheviks in Power
Lenin gives land to peasants, puts workers
in control of factories
 Bolsheviks sign treaty with Germany;
Russia pulls out of World War I

Civil War Rages in Russia
Civil War between Bolsheviks’ Red Army
and loosely allied White Army
 Red Army wins three-year war that leaves
14 million dead

Comparing World Revolutions

Russian and French Revolutions are
similar—both attempt to remake society
and use violence against citizens who
resist these changes.
Lenin Restores Order
New Economic Policy
In March 1921, Lenin launches New
Economic Policy; has some capitalism
 NEP and peace restore economy shattered
by war and revolution
 By 1928, Russia’s farms and factories are
producing again

Political Reforms
Lenin creates self-governing republics
under national government
 In 1922, country renamed Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.)
 Communist Party—new name taken by
Bolsheviks from the writings of Marx

Stalin Becomes Dictator
A New Leader
Trotsky and Stalin
compete to replace
Lenin after Lenin’s
death
 Joseph Stalin—
cold, hard
Communist Party
general secretary
in 1922

Leon
Trotsky
Joseph Stalin
Stalin gains power
from 1922 to 1927
 Lenin dies in 1924
 Stalin gains complete
power in 1928;
Trotsky is forced into
exile.
 Trotsky is murdered
in Mexico City in 1940
by an NKVD agent.

Room where
Trotsky was
murdered
(above);
Trotsky’s
murderer,
NKVD agent,
Romón
Mercader
(right).