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Industrialization
Russia had trouble with staying with the growing industrialization of Europe, but they still industrialized a lot over the course of 1864 and 1900. One such change was the number of factories doubled within this time. Also, in the 1890's, Russia launched a campaign to attract foreign investors and raise taxes. Both of these contributed to the growth of the steel industry, causing Russia to become the 4th leading producer of steel. -
Nicholas II becomes Czar
Nicholas II was the last Czar of Russia, and was the Czar until his forced resignation in 1917. He continued the Autocracy and it showed the people that an autocratic rule was bad for Russia as a whole. Alexander III, Nicholas II's father, established strict censorship codes and oppressed the national groups within Russia. Nicholas tried to continue this tradition, but he could not see that Russia was changing, causing the Russian citizens to start thinking differently about the autocratic rule. -
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Nicholas II Rule
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Marxist Revolution split into two groups
Split into 2 parties, the radical Bolshevics/Communtist party and the Moderate Mensheviks. The Mensheviks were more focused on gaining support for the revolution, and did not really stage any riots or anything. The Bolsheviks, later the Communist party, was more radical and supported a small number of committed revolutionaries willing to sacrifice everything for change. -
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Russia's Crises
These crises showed czars weakness and paved the way for revolution. The three crises included WWI, Bloody Sunday, and the Russo-Japanese War. The fallout from the crises was that it built up anger for the Autocratic government and eventually the March Revolution in 1917. -
The Russo-Japanese War
In the late 1800s, there was a war over control of Korea and Manchuria between the Russians and the Japanese. These fightings ended with an agreement. Russia later broke that agreement, and Japan had to retaliate by attacking the Russians at Port Arthur. This sparked unrest at home and led to a revolt on the verge of war with the Japanese. -
Bloody Sunday
200,000 workers stormed the Czar's WInter Palace, calling for better working conditions, more personal freedom, and an elected national legislature. The soldiers were ordered to fire upon the mass of people, killing hundreds and wouding thousands. A wave of violence and strikes spread across the country. The Duma was created because of the rise of violence, which was a legislative branch in Russia. The Duma was disbanded by the Czar 10 weeks after its creation. -
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World War I and Rasputin.
This was when Russia was dragged into the war, but Russia was unprepared, which basically sent any and all soldiers to their death on the western front. IN the end, more than 4 million Russian Soldiers were either killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. Meanwhile, Rasputin, a self proclaimed holy man, was manipulating Alexandria, Nicholas II's wife, into Rasputin gaining power. He was killed in 1916 by a group of nobles who feared his growing power. -
The March Riots and the Provisional Government
During the course of March, many riots broke out in Petrograd because of shortages of bread and fuel. Soldiers were told to shoot the rioters, but then they joined them. This Final blow caused the Czar to step down, and a year later, be executed along with his family. After Nicholas II stepped down, a provisional (Temporary) government was formed. It was not a strong government, and it continued to fighting in the war, losing the support of the citizens and the soldiers. Soviets were then formed -
Lenin Returns to Russia
The Germans believed that Lenin supporters would stir unrest in Russia and hurt the Russian war effort against Germany. They arranged Lenin’s return to Russia after many years of exile in a sealed railway boxcar. They were correct in that he helped stir unrest and he eventually came to lead Russia until his death in 1924. -
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Lenin's rule
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Bolshevik Revolution
After Lenin had gained widespread support from the soviets, local councils consisting of workers, peasants, and soldiers, Lenin decided to take action against the provisional government, and staged an attack on the Petrograd Winter Palace. They called themselves the Bolshevik Red Guards, which the name would come later during the Russian Civil war, and they arrested the leaders of the provisional government. Kerensky, who had been leading the provisional government, had disappeared. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed by both Russia and Germany, officially denounced Russia from the War effort in WWI. This was decided after the provisional government toppled and Lenin rose to power. Since Russia technically lost, they gave much of their territory to Germany in the name of peace, since Russia had already lost a huge number of soldiers in the war. The humiliating terms of the treaty caused widespread anger for the Bolsheviks, but they survived. -
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Lenin Restores Order
Lenin temporarily put aside his plan for a state- controlled economy to instead resort to a smaller version of capitalism called the New Economic Policy. This allowed peasants to sell their surplus crops. The government kept control of major industries, banks, and means of communication, but allowed some small factories, businesses and farms to operate under private ownership. -
The Communist Party
After many years battling the Czarist regime and even the provisional government, the Bolsheviks had won adn gained control of the entire state of Russia. The Bolsheviks then changed their name to the Communist party, after the term Karl Marx used to describe the classless society that would exist after the workers had seized power. This was only fair since the Bolsheviks original intention was to overthrow the Czarist regime for the proletariat class. -
Lenin's death and the Comunist power grab
After Lenin had died, there was a dispute of control between Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Before Lenin died, Lenin said that Stalin was a dangerous man and he didn't know how to use his power. 4 years later, in 1928, after many disputes between Stalin and Trotsky, who had commanded the Red Army against the White Army strategically and was a great candidate for the leader of Russia, Stalin had won. Stalin then ordered Trotsky into exile in 1929. Stalin was the undisputed ruler of Russia. -
The Agricultural Revolution
Because of the command economy Stalin had created, the government had to control the agricultural development of the country. To do this, the government seized over 25 million privately owned farms in the USSR, combining them and calling them collective farms. This was in an attempt to increase productivity and reduce the number of workers. People did not go quietly, though, some people fighting off the invaders and some burned their crops and their farmland, rendering it unusable. -
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Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism was the form of government that was used by Stalin to enforce his rule and keep Russia "peaceful." Some key traits that define a Totalitarian state include the Ideology, State Control of Individuals, Methods of Enforcement, its use of modern technology, State Control of Society, and Dictatorship/One party rule. Stalin exercised all these traits in his rule, including censorship of newspapers, and high quotas. -
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5 Year Plan
The 5 Year Plan was designed to increase Russian productivity at the expense of consumer goods. This plan set impossibly high quotas that was usually not reached, but it did yield results. The fallout from this was that the production of many commercial goods, such as steel and coal, increased by 25%, with the help of a second plan ranging from 1933 to 1937. -
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The Great Purge
Stalin launched a series of executions that purged "all enemies of the state." when in reality, it was all those who opposed Stalin's power. In the end. Historians estimated that 8 million to 13 million people were killed in the Great Purge. They were usually people who helped stage the revolutuion, and could possibly gain influence to combat Stalin for his position, but by the end, Stalin had gained total control of the Soviet government and the Communist party.
