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Russia “The Road to Revolution”
The Crimean War
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Russia’s defeat to France,
England and the Ottoman
Empire during the Crimean
War (1853-1856) was a
wake-up call for the country
to modernize.
Czar Nicholas I had begun
the war but was succeeded
by his son Alexander II in
1855.
Russian leaders realized that
they must modernize
militarily and economically
Czar Alexander II (1855-1881
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Alexander was a reform minded and liberal czar who
saw the need for major reforms in Russia.
Abolished serfdom with the Emancipation Act of
1861.
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Serfs were free to move and seek new occupations
Serfs were allowed to purchase and own property.
Created assemblies called Zemstovs to administer
local areas more efficiently.
Promoted industrialization through railroad
construction.
Despite his reforms, Alexander was assassinated in
1881 by an radical anarchists when his carriage was
bombed.
Czar Alexander III (1881-1894)
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Due to his fathers death, Alexander III ended all
attempts at further reform and returned to autocratic
rule.
Industrialization expanded tremendously during his
reign but conditions were poor.
Former serfs became the working class (Proletariat)
and remained very poor.
A program of Russification was begun which required
all minorities to adopt Russian culture and language.
Pogroms against Jews intensified under his rule.
Ruthlessly suppressed socialists groups and other
revolutionists. Vladimir Lenin’s brother was executed
during his reign.
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Nicholas
II
(1894-1917)
Continued the oppressive policies of his father.
Revolutionary forces grew dramatically during his
reign. Socialist groups and ideals gained popularity.
The most radical group was the Bolsheviks who
called for a violent overthrow of the Czarist
government and would later establish communism.
In 1904, Russia went to war with Japan in the
Russo-Japanese War and suffered a humiliating
defeat.
On January 6, 1905, 200,000 unarmed workers
marched on the royal palace to ask Nicholas for
labor reform.
 Soldiers fired on the crowd, killing more than 300.
This became known as Bloody Sunday. It led to the
Revolution of 1905.
Nicholas and Alexandra
The Romanov Girls
The Revolution of 1905
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General strikes brought the country to a
standstill.
Workers demanded a representative assembly
and formed councils known as Soviets.
In October 1905, Nicholas issued the October
Manifesto which created a representative
assembly known as the Duma.
The revolution ended when some reforms were
enacted including freedoms of speech, assembly
and press and the economy regained strength.
Between 1905 and the outbreak of WWI many
problems persisted and revolutionary groups
continued to gain strength.
Father Gregory Rasputin
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Rasputin
and
the
Royal
Family
A mysterious peasant holy man named Rasputin
gained tremendous influence over the royal
family.
 Their only son and heir to the throne Alexis
was hemophilic and often close to death.
 Rasputin was able to save his life on several
occasions when doctors couldn’t
 Rasputin grew close to the Czarina Alexandra
and there were rumors of an affair.
 Rasputin became widely hated by the Russian
public because of his decadent lifestyle. They
were unaware of the health problems of Alexis
and Rasputin’s role.
 Rasputin was assassinated by a member of the
royal family in 1916.
World War I and Revolution
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In July 1914 Russia mobilized troops after promising
support of Serbia following Archduke Ferdinand’s
assassination
Germany declared war on Russia.
Russians were at first enthusiastic as troops marched to
war.
Early in the war Russia suffered heavy casualties and
food shortages developed on the home front. The war
quickly became unpopular.
In March 1917, bread riots broke out in St. Petersburg.
Nicholas was forced to abdicate. This was known as the
March Revolution
A provisional government first headed by Prince George
Lvov and later by Alexander Kerensky took over but
remained in the war. This proved to be its undoing.
The Last Royal Family
Alexander Kerensky
The March Revolution
The Letter of Abdication
The Bolshevik Revolution (November Revolu
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As war conditions worsened the provisional government
lost support.
A leading Marxist and Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin
returned from exile to Russia in April 1917 and began
preparing for a takeover.
His slogan was “Land, Peace, and Bread”
By the fall of 1917, soviet councils of workers known as
the proletariat gained strength.
In November, 1917 the Bolsheviks overthrew the
provisional government and took control.
They redistributed all land to the peasants.
In March 1918, the communist signed the Treaty of BrestLitovsk with Germany and withdrew from WWI.
The treaty gave up a large part of Russian territory and
angered many Russians. This led to civil war.
The Russian Revolution and Allied Victory
1917-1918
Revolution and Civil War in Russia, 1914-1920
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin
Lenin Arrives in St. Petersburg April 1917
The Bolshevik Revolution
November 1917
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The Russian Civil War and the Birth of the Soviet
Opponents of the Bolsheviks formed an army called the
White Army and began a Union
civil war in 1918. The war raged
from 1918 to 1920.
The Bolsheviks were called the Reds and were led by a
brilliant military leader Leon Trotsky .
In the summer of 1918, the entire Romanov family was
executed by the Yuro Soviet before they could be rescued by
the Whites.
The Reds eventually defeated the Whites and took total
control. The Bolsheviks became known as the Communists.
War Communism – Government control of all industry and
land. Production declined.
In 1922 the country was divided into republics and named
the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics (USSR).
In 1924 Lenin died of a stroke and a power struggle ensued.
The Soviet Communist Party
General
Secretary
Dominated Party and
Soviet Government
Politburo
Determined Policy
Secretariat
Directed PartyWork
Central Committee
All Union Party Congress
Met every four years
Cells
Local organized units in factories, schools, offices
Socialist Realism
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
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A power struggle for control of the Communist
Party ensued between Trotsky and Joseph Stalin.
By 1928, Stalin gained control and forced Trotsky
into exile. He later had him assassinated in Mexico.
Stalin ruled the Soviet Union as a dictator and led
his country through World War II as a vital
member of the Allies.
He industrialized Russia through two Five Year
Plans.
Millions of Russians died in purges under his reign.
He died in 1953 and was succeeded by Nikita
Khrushchev
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The Cold War and Collapse of
the
Stalin’s successor Nikita Khrushchev and
Soviet
Union
his successors led the Soviet Union through
a long Cold War with the United States after
World War II ended.
After difficult economic, political, and
social unrest, the Soviet Union collapsed in
1991 with the resignation of Soviet Premier
Mikhail Gorbachev and the Russian
Federation was created under President
Boris Yeltsin.
Soviet Leaders
Vladimir Lenin
(1917-1924)
Josef Stalin
(1929-1953)
Nikita Khrushchev
(1953-1964)
Soviet Leaders
Leonid Brezhnev
(1964-1982)
Yuri Andropov
(1982-1984)
Konstantin Chernenko
(1984-1985)
Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991)
Boris Yeltsin (1990)