RUSSIAUnder the Tsars, pre-1914 - 1917

Russia is a huge country. Polyglot – many nationalities, languages, groups;

heterogeneous population. Hard for leadership. Constant feeding into the war effort. 80% of people were peasants. Only 5% of the land was used for farming. Romanov family was part of a 200-year-old dynasty.

Timeline of Events 1895

o December 20, Lenin is arrested and kept in solitary confinement, then exiled to Siberia for three years.

1896 o May 26, Nicholas II is crowned Tsar of Russia.

1903 o July 30-August 23, The Russian Social-Democratic

Labour Party (RSDLP) splits into two factions: Mensheviks and Bolsheviks.

1905 o January 22, Bloody Sunday starts the Russian

Revolution.o October 30, The October Manifesto is issued by Tsar

Nicholas II and promises civil liberties and an elected parliament (Duma).

1906 o May 6, a constitution is created that reflect the promises

made in the October Manifesto. 1914

o July 28, WWI begins. 1915

o September 18, Nicholas II assumes supreme command of the Russian Army.

1917 o March 8-12, the March revolution begins in Petrograd.o March 15, Nicholas II abdicates and a provisional

government is formed.o April 16, Lenin returns from exile and arrives in

Petrograd via a sealed train.o July 16-20, The July Days begin with spontaneous

protests against the provisional government; Bolsheviks fail in turning the protests into a coup; Lenin goes into hiding.

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o July 24, Alexander Kerensky becomes Prime Minister of the PG.

o September 4-9, The Kornilov Affair: a failed coup by General Kornilov, commander of the Russian Army.

o November 7, The November Revolution; the Bolsheviks take over Petrograd.

o November 8, the Winter Palace (the last holdout of the provisional government) is taken by the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, who is now in control of Russia.

o Elections to the Constituent Assembly.o December, establishment of the Cheka (a secret police

force) 1918

o January, closure of the Constituent Assembly.o March 3, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Germany and

Russia, is signed, taking Russia out of WWI.o March 8, Bolshevik Party becomes the Communist Party.o March 11, capital of Russia becomes Moscow.o June, Russian civil war begins.o July 17, Nicholas II and his family are executed.o August 20, assassination attempt on Lenin.

1920o November, Russian civil war ends.

1922o April 3, Stalin is appointed General Secretary.o December 15, Lenin retires from politics.o December 30, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

(USSR) is established. 1924

o January 21, Lenin dies; Stalin to be his successor.

Divide of Wealth Peasants were mostly illiterate. Not able to own their own land. Legal holds on marriage etc. Worked in factories in the city. The tiny upper class was fabulously rich.

Tsar Nicholas II Autocrat Secret police (Okhrana)

o Censored literature.o Spied on political groups.o Arrested critics of the government.

Cossacks (from Kazahkstan)o Killed workers who disobeyed/refused to work.

Weaknesses of the Russian monarchy

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Failure to match the military strength of European great powers such as Germany and France.

Failure to address widespread peasant poverty. Failure to achieve the levels of industrialization such as those

of Britain and Germany.

Karl Marx German socialist (1848, Communist Manifesto) Influenced Lenin who introduced communism to Russia Russia split into different groups (liberals, socialists)

Dialectical Materialism Marx’s theory of Communism Iron Laws

o Inevitabilityo At some (unknown) point, the gap between the rich and

poor will be so large that a revolution will occur in an industrial state.

o “There is a specter haunting Europe.”o “Workers of the world unite…you have nothing to lose

but your chains.”

Bloody Sunday January 1905 200,000 marched to the Tsar’s winter palace in St. Petersburg. Led by Father Gapon (leader of the workers organization). Carried religious icons and images of Nicholas to show

peaceful intent. Authorities opened fire and killed > 500. Lenin was happy with this occurrence.

October Manifesto After Bloody Sunday, workers and peasants went on strikes. Tsar Nicholas published the October Manifesto in 1905. Creation of the Duma (elected parliament by the people).

o First 3 were controlled by the Tsar Lenin watching these affairs from his exile in Switzerland.

How did WWI affect Russia and the Tsar 15.5 million young men drafted as soldiers. Halved the number of people available to work in factories. Coalmines were closed, causing starvation. Depended on trains to supply food and raw materials. Russia’s money loses value. Nicholas appoints himself Commander-in-chief. People felt abandoned. Making a mess of things led the public to question the Tsar’s

legitimacy. Alexandra left alone; hated because she was German.

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Factors affecting the fall of the Russian Empire/Romanov Dynasty The Tsar himself

o Considered to be incompetent by many, his personal actions in the fall of the dynasty must be considered.

o As commander of the Russian Army, Nicholas II was linked to the country’s military failures and there was a decline in his support.

The Royal family and the role of Rasputino Similarly to the Tsar, the role of the Royal family must

be considered: Alexandra’s status as a foreigner, Alexei’s haemophilia and the presence of Rasputin.

The 1905 Russo-Japanese war and revolutiono This was either a great opportunity to the Tsar or a

great challenge to him. WWI

o What was a popular war turned nasty due to extreme expenditure – both human and material (10 million people in the army – “Steamroller”)

The social context of Russia; the peasantry, the nobles, the church, the workers, the middle classes and the economic stuation.

o Proletariato Bourgeoisie

Alexander Kerensky Young man raised in Simbirske. Accepted Minister of Justice position in provisional

government. Kerensky wanted to keep fighting the civil war. Influenced by the soviet (many formed in other towns). As the Bolsheviks gained popularity, Kerensky became PM.

Bolshevik Seizure, 1917Causes of the 1917 Revolutions

Socio-Economic Agricultural backwardness

o Rural poverty remained a huge cause of social tension.o Chronic land shortage.o Rapidly growing population.o Low levels of literacy.o Burden of redemption payments.

Late but rapid industrialization o Both before and after the 1905 revolution, the rapid

pace of industrialization caused huge strain on Russia as

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industrial workers crowded into the rapidly growing cities of St. Petersburg and Moscow.

o It worsened the conditions of the peasants because they were being squeezed by high taxes, which the government used as funding.

o Higher taxes meant that peasants were obliged to sell more grain, making them more vulnerable to famine.

Political Autocratic power caused educated classes to feel alienated

from the monarchy because of its refusal to share power with them.

Russia’s political system failed to change while other European monarchies were devolving power more widely.

Growing political opposition

March Revolution 1917 protest rallies organized by socialists. 385,000 workers went on strike. Transportation/newspaper to be unavailable. Troops refusing to attack strikers. Feb 28, Tsar’s troops surrendered, ministers arrested. Tsar Nicholas agrees to abdicate to his brother.

How did the Bolsheviks seize power in 1917

The failure of the Provisional Government Its own reforms The Soviets: “Dual Authority” Continuing defeats in the war Peasant land seizures Created a power vacuum

Lenin Upon Nicholas II’s abdication, Lenin was sent in a sealed train

back to Russia in April 1917. On April 4, Lenin delivered his April Thesis in which he argued

that the soviets had the sole right to govern. Lenin stated that the role of the Bolsheviks was to transfer

power to the working classes. Most Bolsheviks were convinced that a proletarian revolution

was impossible due to the small size of the industrial working class.

Lenin coined the slogan “Peace, Bread, Land, all power to the Soviets”.

This appealed to ordinary Russians who became desperate to see an end to the war, high inflation and less food shortages.

November Revolution Very little fighting; only 5 people were killed.

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Provisional Government had very few loyal troops left. Most of the soldiers/sailors supported the Bolshevik rising.

Kerensky escaped.

Consolidation of the Bolshevik StateState Capitalism, October 1917- June 1918

Used existing structures. December 1917 established the Supreme Council of the

National Economy (Vesenkha). Nationalized banks and railways and cancelled debts owed to

foreign governments.

Closure of the Constituent Assembly, January 1918 January 5, 1918, Bolsheviks withdrew from the elections and

Lenin sent in the Red Guards to close down the Assembly. January 6, Lenin declared that the Assembly was permanently

dissolved. Lenin did not believe in democracy, and believed in a

dictatorship of the Bolshevik Party to rule on behalf of the working class.

The Red Terror 1917-1918 One of the first measures of the Bolshevik regime was to close

down the opposition press.o Centreo Right-wingo Socialist

Two leading Kadets from the Kadet Party were arrested and beaten to death by Bolsheviks. Socialist and Mensheviks followed suit into prison by the end of 1917.

The Cheka, 1917 The Cheka was a force of dedicated Bolshevik supporters that

proved an effective mechanism for dealing with opposition formed in 1917.

The Cheka operated above the law, being independent and only reporting to Lenin.

It was granted unlimited powers of arrest, detention and torture.

Actively encouraged class warfare as a means of intimidating the middle classes.

The legal system was abolished and replaced by revolutionary justice, which was arbitrary and violent in character.

Assassination attempt on Lenin induced the Cheka to launch the Red Terror.

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The Execution of the Tsar and his Family, 1918 The most significant victims of the Red Terror were the Tsar

and his family. Nicholas II, along with his family and servants, was shot on 17

July 1918. Lenin claimed it had been carried out by the local soviet

against their wishes, but the evidence points to orders from the centre.

List of actions during the terror Throughout 1922, books, poems, articles and other writings

had to be submitted to the Main Administration for Affairs of Literature and Publishing Houses before being published (censorship).

1922, death penalties were handed out to the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church; thousands of priests were imprisoned.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Lost 1 million square km of land. 50 million people became German nationals overnight. 27% farming land. Lost Ukraine (the Bread Basket) where Russia got most of its

grain form. 74% iron, ore, and coal deposits. Had to pay 3 billion roubles. Upheld the Bolshevik promise of peace; Lenin knew that

peace was vital to the survival of the Party. Made it clear that Lenin had abandoned the idea of a

worldwide Bolshevik Revolution.

Consequences of the Treaty Russian patriots were horrified by the terms; antagonized

Russia. Caused more splits in the Bolshevik Party.

o Left wing wanted a revolutionary war to encourage a European socialist revolution.

Seemed like a shameful peace that helped Germany.

Civil War Opposition forces unite to form the Whites – supported by

foreign countries to oust communists and bring Russia back into WWI.

Increasing attacks/attempts to overthrow the Bolsheviks.o SRs tried to seize power of Moscow Soviet.

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o Several assassination attempts on Lenin.o 50,000 prisoners of war (Czech) tale over the trans-

Siberian railway.o Anger at the treaty directed at Trotsky.

Starvation meant growing opposition. National minorities seized opportunities to get independence.

Events of the Civil War

May-August 1918o Initial phase marked by gains for Whites.o Czech legion attacked Bolsheviks.o Foreign powers began to send troops to Russia in June.

September-November 1918o The Bolsheviks counter-attacked against the Czechs and

recaptured Kazan.o Admiral Kolchak took control of the White forces in the

East. 1919

o Several White offensives. Launched by Kolchak in March. Launched by Denikin in August-October. Launched by Yudenich in September-October. Not coordinated.

o Foreign powers withdrew their forces; gone by December.

1920o Admiral Kolchak was captured and executed.o The last White army was evacuated by December.

RedsWho

Agricultural peasants Lenin Bolshevik Party Industrial workers Trotsky

Aims To stay in power to build the new Socialist society.

Leadership and Unity They had a superb leader in Trotsky.

o Built the Red Army.o Conscription for all 18+ (bigger army)o Appointed experienced leadrs for units of men.

Trotsky was personally very courageous.o Personally visited areas where fighting was the hardest.

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o Passion.o Organizational abilities.

Geography Held the central area of western Russia, which contained most

of the large industrial centres.o Were able to produce munitions and war supplies.

Control of the railway lines that connected Petrograd and Moscow. Quick transport.

Camped in Petrograd and Moscow.

WhitesWho

Industrialists National minority groups (Cossacks in the Ukraine) Landowners Tsarists/Monarchists Britain (war allies) Middle-class liberals Army generals Social Revolutionaries (Kerenskyists) Czech legion – Czech POW who were being transported home

in 1918

Aims The groups that made up the Whites all had different aims.

o Some wanted the Tsar back.o Some wanted a military dictator.o Some wanted the constitutional

government/revolutionary change. The only aim they had in common was to defeat the

Bolsheviks.

Leadership and Unity Lacked good leaders. Commanders were cruel and badly behaved. No trust among generals; did not coordinate their attacks. Fighting within the army due to different beliefs i.e.

revolutionaries vs. Tsar supporters.

Geography Scattered around the central area of western Russia often with

hundreds of miles separating the different armies. Communications were difficult when attempted.

Reasons why the Reds > Whites The Whites lacked political unity or unified leadership

o They were weakened by their diverse aims.

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The Whites never coordinated their attacks.o The commanders had forces spread out over thousands

of miles but failed to link up, straining their lines of communication.

The Communists were more united and had better leadership.o The Communist Party was united behind Lenin and they

shared Marxist ideology.o Lenin and Trotsky were very effective leaders; ruthless

and pragmatic. The Communists controlled a more coherent/compact area

o The Communist Party were defending a central region served by trains and their lines of communication were much shorter.

o The Reds controlled the great industrial centres of Russia.

Conditions in Russia during Civil War/Lenin’s Domestic Policy

Life in Russia between 1918 and 1921 was a matter of survival.

Less than a third of the urban diet came from state-provided rations; the rest came from the black market.

Cheka tried to raid trains to stop bagmen and stamp out the free market.

Middle class in a worse position than the workers; most survived by selling clothes and jewellery.

o 42% of prostitutes in Moscow were from bourgeois familes.

War Communism, May 1918-1921

Grain Requisitioning The Bolsheviks had been sending units of Red guards and

soldiers out into the countryside to find grain for the cities. In May 1918, a Food Supplies Dictatorship was set up to

establish the forcible requisitioning of grain as the standard policy.

The peasants resisted bitterly.

Banning of Private Trade All private trade and manufacture were banned.

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State trading organization was extremely chaotic and industry was not producing enough consumer goods.

An enormous black market developed.

Nationalization of Industry All industry was brought under state control. Single managers reporting to central authorities replaced

workers’ committees. This was the only way to stop the chaos caused by the

committees who voted themselves huge pay rises and stole materials for illegal goods.

Labour Discipline Discipline was brought back to the work place. Fines for lateness and absenteeism. Internal passports were introduced to stop people fleeing to

the countryside.

Rationing A class-based system of rationing was introduced. Labour force was prioritized along with Red Army soldiers. Small rations were given to civil servants and professionals

such as doctors. The smallest rations were given to the burzhui or middle

classes.

The Crisis Year, 1921 By 1921, War Communism had brought the country to the

verge of chaos. Around 6 million peasants had died of starvation. Riots broke out in Petrograd and Moscow. Populations fell by 70% and 50% respectively.

Kronstadt Naval Rebellion, March 1921 Gave the regime its greatest scare and destroyed its

credibility to the greatest degree. Kronstadt was a naval town that was “the pride and joy of

the revolution”. By 1921, 16,000 soldiers and workers had signed a petition

calling for “Soviets without Bolsheviks”. The Reds reacted brutally, dissolving the Kronstadt Soviet,

executing several hundred ringleaders, and expelling over 15,000 sailors from the fleet.

Described as “the flash which lit up reality better than anything else”.

New Economic Policy, 1921-1928 The Kronstadt incident led to the prompt replacement of War

Communism with the NEP.

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Nicknamed “state capitalism”, the policy lasted set to last until 1929.

It permitted private ownership of small-scale industry. It ended grain requisitioning in favour of a tax in kind (10% of

the harvest). Peasants were able to sell their surpluses on the open market. By the end of 1922, the crisis began to ease. By 1923, grain production had increased by half.

Effects As Lenin had predicted, a mixed economy had emerged, with

the state controlling industry whilst agriculture and trade were in private hands.

Whilst agriculture recovered rapidly, industry did not. As agricultural prices fell, industrial prices continued to rise. Farmers could not afford to buy industrial goods and were

tempted back towards subsistence farming. Industrial prices were running at 3x the level of agricultural

prices. Trotsky compared the growing gap between agricultural and

industrial prices to the blades of a pair of scissors.

Summary NEP became a mythical golden age between the war and

Stalinism. The policy was a major concession to the peasantry. Lenin never intended for it to be permanent. It was a contradiction of Marxism: it aimed to encourage an

economic system at odds with the political framework.

Consequences of the Civil War

Political Both the Reds and Whites killed many civilians. The narrow win left the Communists fearful of foreign

countries wanting to return to Russia to take over. This suspicion led to years of mistrust.

Social It had a disastrous effect on the Russian people who were

already starving and destitute after 4 years of WWI. Starvation, dirt, and poor hygiene led to disease and death

due to lack of doctors. In 1921 there was a serious famine, which led to 5 million

deaths.

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Economic The fighting seriously effected agriculture and industry, which

led to starvation. 50% of land was being farmed and steel production went

down to 5%. People were living on 30g of bread a day.

Lenin to Stalin Lenin

Pushed the October Revolution forward. Great organizer. Great leader. Great personal qualities

o Strong, determined, dedicated, pragmatic. A good speaker/debater. Dedicated to politics at the expense of all else including

friendships. Did not seek riches. Could be ruthless and cruel.

o Ordered the execution of priests when others wanted to stop raids on churches.

Not personally brave.o Did not fight with weapons and blood.

Domination of the Party was vital. Held the Party together over arguments such as War

Communism, the Red Army, N.E.P., “socialism in one country”. A brilliant theorist.

o The idea of a small, dedicated revolutionary force taking control for the people.

o Modified Marxist laws such as a revolution occurring in an agrarian state instead of an industrial one and NEP.

Felt that coalition would destroy the revolution. Forced the Party to make peace (Treaty of BL), which was vital

to their survival. Persuaded the reluctant Party to give up war communism and

try the NEP.

Trotsky Most feared by other senior members. Intellectual, writer, orator, popular. Regarded equal to Lenin in abilities and contribution to the

revolution. Arrogant and uncompromising. Vital in winning the civil war. Refused to compete for leadership.

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Absent at Lenin’s funeral saying that Stalin tricked him but came off as lacking the political will to fight.

Exiled to Turkey.

Stalin Genuine working class background. Admired Lenin. Escaped Siberia 5 times. Tough, hard, “grubost”. “Great Russian Chauvinist” Editor of Pravda – the Party newspaper.

How did Stalin become party leader? Lenin’s death in 1924 left a power vacuum. Helped by the hiding of Lenin’s Testament that called for

Stalin to be removed from power. Stalin positioned himself as Lenin’s heir during the funeral and

slowly maneuvered himself into a position of control from 1924-28 beginning from General Secretary.

Isolated the left and right of the party. Exiled Trotsky.

Factors that influenced the power struggle When Lenin died, he left no clear successor. Lenin’s Testament criticized all the leading candidates.

o Stalin too “grubost” (rude, reckless)o Trotsky had excessive self-assurance.

A group of leaders emerged; a “collective leadership”. By 1929, Stalin had become a dominant force.

The Ban of Factionalism In 1921, a resolution was passed banning all groups within the

Party from putting forward ideas that disagreed with the official party policy.

Those who showed tolerance of factionalism would be expelled.

A Centralized Party Machine Traditionally, Communists did not believe in bureaucracy.

However, dealing with the complexities of government forced the government into becoming more centralized.

The party decided to have a General Secretary to organized matters.

The interlinking set of jobs and committees he was in charge of provided Stalin with massive power in the Soviet administration.

He was able to manipulate events by appointing those loyal to him and bringing the party into line behind him.

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Growth in Party Membership By 1933 there were 3 and a half million members. Many members were young, inexperienced, and uneducated,

making them easy to control.

No one clear leader within the Politburo/Contenders for Lenin’s Successor

Stalin (Centre) Trotsky (Left) Zinoviev (Right) Kamenev (Right) Bukharin (Right)

Stalin’s ideology To increase military strength. To achieve self-sufficiency. To increase grain supplies. To move towards a socialist society. To establish his credentials. To improve standards of living.

Collectivization Forced 25 million peasants into 240,000 collective farms. Traditional way of life and attachment to the Church was

destroyed. Millions died and millions fled into the industrial cities. Collectivization and rapid industrialization were inextricably

linked.

What was a collective farm? Kolkhoz Land was held in common and run by an elected committee. 50=100 households were put together. All land, tools, and livestock had to be pooled. Peasants farmed land as one unit. Each household was allowed to keep its own private plot of up

to one acre.

How was collectivization carried out? Force, terror and propaganda

o Ideological weapon of the ‘class enemy’.o Use of the term ‘kulak’o Identifying the kulak as a class enemy was to frighten

the middle and poor peasants into joining the collective farms.

Kulaks “Dekulakisation” was in effect a declaration of war against the

peasants.

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The term ‘kulak’ applied to any peasant who resisted collectivization (richer peasants).

December 1929, Stalin announced that the Party aimed to ‘liquidate the Kulak as a class’.

The elimination of kulaks was to step towards the creation of a ‘classless’ society.

Served as a warning to the peasantry of the consequences of not cooperating.

Forced collectivization, 1931 The Party reverted to forced requisitioning. Peasants permitted to retain small private plots of land and

some livestock. Peasants had to deliver to the state a fixed quota of produce.

The Famine of 1932-34 The state continued to requisition grain. State had collected 22.8 million tons of grain by the end of

1931 – enough to feed the cities and to export to finance the industrialization drive.

Taken place against a huge drop in grain production, largely caused by chaos and upheaval of collectivization.

o Lack of farming knowledge/skills.o Not enough animals to pull the ploughs (peasants had

eaten them) Drought over a large area of the USSR during 1931. From late 1932-1934, the USSR was subject to a famine that

killed millions of peasants. o 7 million

Soviet regime did not want to admit that collectivization had failed to deliver.

17 million peasants

Was collectivization successful?

YES (politically) The party had much greater control over the peasants and the

countryside. The state now had much greater control over the grain supply.

In 1928 the state procured 15% of the harvest; by 1935 it had risen to 35%. Peaked at 40%.

The increased grain procurements enabled the state to feed an expanded workforce (after 1935 – chaos resulting in food rationing).

o Higher grain procurements also meant more could be exported to purchase machinery.

o Russia exported 5 million tons of grain a year in 1931-32 and even during the terrible famine 2 million tons of grain a year were sold abroad.

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Collectivization led to a massive increase in the urban population, which grew by 12 million in the first 5 years of collectivization.

o This provided the workforce for Russia’s developing industries.

NO (socially and economically) Economically, collectivization appears to have been a disaster.

o Grain dropped dramatically in the early 1930s when it was most needed and did not recover until the latter half of the 1930s.

o Lost a huge proportion of the animal population. Human costs were horrendous.

o People that lost homeso Gulag prison campso 10 million peasants were dispossessed between 1929

and 1932o 7 million died

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