Soviet Union and Red China

Major Communist Revolutions of the Early 20th Century

Review: Socialism• Socialism

– Political movement promote greater equality in society through the redistribution of wealth from the upper to the lower classes

• Social Democrats– Form political parties to work within political system to

advocate policies to help the lower class• Progressive taxation, social welfare legislation, unemployment

insurance, Government pensions

• Marxists– Overthrow the existing government through revolution and

replace it with direct rule by representatives of the workers (the leaders of the Marxist party)

• Nationalize all major industries (trains, telegraph, etc.); Confiscate property of the wealthiest citizens

Critical Terms• Bolshevik

– Russian Marxist party led by Lenin– Used as a derogatory term by Western powers to refer to radical

elements in their own countries

• Communist– Person who wishes to abolish private property and have society

share everything “communally”– Marxist groups were often called communists by friends and foes,

due to the title of Marx’s 1848 manifesto, so the terms are basically interchangeable

• Red– Official color of Marxist revolutionaries– Used frequently as an adjective for anything Marxist (Red Scare,

Red China, “reds” = Communists)

Critical Terms• Soviet

– Local union of urban workers in major Russian cities with Marxist sympathies that help drive Russian Revolution

– Communist Russia takes the name “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics” (USSR) as a propaganda technique to suggest these local workers are actually now in charge

• Totalitarianism– Political system in which only one party is allowed,

and regulates all aspects of life, especially forbidding dissent through control all press and speech

– Every Marxist revolution this unit is followed by the establishment of a totalitarian state

Russian Revolution

The Rise of the USSR

Russian Revolution: Review

• World War I– Russia is fighting on the side of the Allies -

Why?– Russia is experiencing massive defeats in

the fight against the Germans - Why?– Russia people are suffering greatly (like

most other countries) during the war - Why?

Russian Revolution

• March Revolution (1917)– Due to a mutiny by the army, the tsar is

forced to abdicate and a provisional government led by the Duma is formed to oversee a transition to democracy

• Problem– What do the people of Russia want? Why?– Why is the provisional government unable

to achieve this goal?

Russian Revolution

• October Revolution (1917)– Lenin leads the soviets in a

revolt against the Provisional Government

– Declares a new national government under the slogan “Peace and Bread”

– Lenin signs Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, removing Russia from WWI

• Significance– Why is Lenin’s revolt

successful? (Hint: Where is he?)

Russian Civil War• Russian Civil War

– Fighting immediately breaks out between Bolsheviks and coalition of anti-Communist groups supported by Western powers

• War Communism– Lenin takes steps to transform Russian society and

maintain power– Examples: State control of industry, crop seizures,

Cheka and the “Red Terror”, Red Army

• Result– Communists are victorious, reestablishing control of

most of old Russian Empire and renaming it the USSR

Lenin’s Russia• NEP (1921)

– After the Communist victory, Lenin advocates a retreat from strict communist economic policies

• Peasants can sell products in open market, pay taxes, and small businesses allowed to remain private

• However, government still runs major industries

• Comintern– International organization led by Soviets to support

Communist parties in other countries and encourage the further spread of Marxist revolution

– Importance: Leads to “Red Scare”, harsh persecutions of socialist groups in Western countries because of real or perceived ties to the Soviet Union

Leadership Changes• Rise of Stalin (1924)

– Lenin dies, leaving a struggle for control of leadership of the party

– In the end, the favorite (a guy named Leon Trotsky) is beaten out by a guy named Josef Stalin - Why?

• Significance– Stalin rules the USSR and the Communist Party with

an iron fist through WWII

Stalinist Russia

• Collectivization of agriculture– Replace peasant farms with large cooperatives run by

the state– Result: Peasants resist government, resulting in famine

and disease killing millions

• Industrialization– Series of Five-Year-Plans designed to help Soviets

catch up to the West– Industry focuses on heavy industry (steel, military)– Result: Clothing and furniture are ignored, further

reducing an already low standard of living, but military gap with West begins to close

Stalinist Russia

• Great Purge– Communist officials who had opposed Stalin were accused,

confessed, and executed or sent to prison camps

• Totalitarianism– Gulags: Dissenters against Stalin’s government are sent to

Siberia, much like in the days of the Tsar– Propaganda used to glorify the greatness of Russia and

encourage the worship of its leader, Stalin

• Significance– USSR becomes a totalitarian dictatorship with all power

concentrated in the hands of the Communist Party leader, who is Stalin

– CCOT: Although the name of the government has changed, the absolute rule of the Communists is essentially the same as the tsar’s government

Red China

The Rise of Communist China

Chinese Revolution: Review

• Chinese Revolution (1911)– Imperial government is overthrown and replaced

by a weak republic that is essentially ruled by a military general (Yuan Shikai)

– Most powerful group in this movement was the Kuomintang (AKA KMT or Guomindang or Chinese Nationalists) led by Sun Yixian (AKA Sun Yat-sen)

• World War I– Chinese government joins in on the side of the

Allies - Why?

Chinese Marxism

• May 4th Movement (1919)– Widespread protests

break out in Beijing to protest betrayal by Allies at peace conference

• Significance– Distrust of the west leads

some Chinese to turn to Marxism as a solution to its problems, especially a young librarian named Mao Zedong

New Leadership

• KMT– Jiang Jieshi (AKA Chiang

Kai-Shek): Seeks industrialization and greater ties to West

• Communists– Mao Zedong (AKA Mao

Tse-tung): Promotes idea of a Marxist revolution led by the peasants rather than industrial workers

Chinese Civil War• Shanghai Massacre (1927)

– Jiang orders the mass killing of all Communists in the city in order to check their rising power

• Civil War– Guerilla warfare breaks out in the countryside between KMT

and Communist forces (“Red Army”)

• Long March (1934)– Outnumbered 6 to 1, Mao leads Communists on a massive

forced march to avoid destruction by the KMT

• Discussion– Where are the power bases for each of the two groups? Where

do they get their support?

World War II

• Japanese Invasion (1937)– Invasion of Manchuria by Japan leads the KMT to focus

their efforts on Japan– Communists given time to rebuild, while also fighting

against Japanese

• Resumption of Civil War– After Japan’s defeat, the KMT turn their attentions to

eliminating the Communists yet again– Western powers pump millions into military aid for KMT

in order to avoid a repeat of Russia– Soviet Union also provides aid to Chinese Communists,

but it is not as substantial

Red China

• Communist Victory (1949)– Corruption among KMT generals and severe

economic problems lead to the loss of popular support for the KMT and gains for the Communists

– Communists overthrow Jiang’s government, who flees to Taiwain and sets up a rival Chinese government there, and set up a new government led by Mao

• Communist China– Communists establish control over not simply the

“Middle Kingdom” but add Tibet and frontier regions in the west to a new Chinese empire

Mao’s China

• Five-Year Plan (1953)– Mao encourages the rapid, state-sponsored

industrialization of China to close the gap with the West– Result: China finally experiences significant

industrialization, although all industry is either partially or fully owned by the state

• Great Leap Forward (1958)– Mao’s radical program of collectivization of agriculture,

peasants move to massive communes - “Hard work for a few years, happiness for a thousand”

– Result: Collectivization is a massive failure – millions die of starvation in resulting famine and program is abandoned

Mao’s China• Cultural Revolution (1966)

– Mao believes revolutionary spirit is lacking – encourages Red Guards, makeshift army of youths, to purify Chinese society of people perceived to be pro-Western or capitalist

– Result: Thousands of teachers, intellectuals, business leaders were imprisoned tortured or even killed over the span of ten years

• Significance– China establishes a totalitarian state just like Russia that was even

more absolutist than the imperial government that preceded it– CCOT: What are the changes and continuities between the

government of a Chinese emperor and the Communist government?

Compare and Contrast

• Similarities– Minority movements

(Success in gaining popular support)

– Unsuccessful intervention by Western powers (Funding opposition groups in civil wars)

– Move to totalitarianism (Purge and Cultural Revolution?)

– Rule of Mao and Stalin (Industrial and agricultural policies?)

• Differences– Chronology– Lenin and Mao’s

view of the Marxist struggle

– Role of the peasantry

Coach Lerch’s Final Thoughts

• The Communist revolutions in Russia and China had, and still have, an enormous impact on contemporary history

• Although they inspire various other “communist” movements that have significant historical import, these are the most critical