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Problems of Tsarism
The crowd of 200 000 people protested against the poverty, famine and unrepresentation in politics that was in the country. The regime stopped this on Bloody Sunday when troops shot into the crowd and didn't bother with the issues that lead to a weak Russia in the Great war. -
The problems of the Great War
By 1917 with 4 million people dead or wounded and slow retreat from the Germans the conditions started to be unbearable. The majority of the country were peasants who coulnd't cultivate their lands because they fought in the war or worked in factories that produced amrament for the war. Living standards dropped and extremist voices strengthened -
The First Revolution
As a result of the unsolved social problems like poverty and famine, despotism and economy's weakening 1.5 million people protested for the Tsar's abdication, which was inevitable after the royal troops also joined the crowd. After this a dual power appeared with the Duma that appointed the Provisionary Goverment appealing the bourgeoise while socialist soviets appeared as well governing factories, soldiers, communities. -
The Second Revolution
Even though the Duma appointed a responsible goverment, it wasn't able to solve the problems as they tried to stay in the Great War. The Soviets however, with Lenin, winning over the "Mensheviks" in the front believed it was time for the rule of the prolatariat. Lenin and the "Bolsheviks" after taking the key positions in the capital occupied the startegic points and announced the transition of power to the Soviets. They dispersed the Duma and issued decrees that started a total state. -
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The Civil War
After the dispersion of the Duma Russia fell into civil war, with the Reds of Lenin and the Whites of the prior system. The Entente tried to help the Whites however they were after the Great war, and eventually Lenin won. During the war he introduced war communism that ceased private property and nationalised every tiny bit, which led to resistance like the Kronstadt rebellion, but the Soviets stayed in power. -
The Union of Socialist Soviet Republics
After the Civil War the USSR was born with a theoratically liberal constitution in 1924 concerning membership, however it just created the framework for the Communist Regime. However there was some relief due to the NEP that allowed peasants to sell their surplus and they started to trade with Europe as well. However in the same year of the appearence of the constitution Lenin died and his "capitalist" dejavu too. -
Stalin's rise to power
Stalin was a communist from Georgia, who after being imprisoned joined Lenin and managed to get into the inner circle, the Central Comittee. Even during Lenin he was powerthirsty, but after him he assured his position. He wanted unlimited power for himself, so he used propaganda, restricted economy and brutally cleansed his party and even the military. Terror was his ultimate solution, appointed enemies called kulaks and usually killed them off through showtrials or sent them to Siberia to work -
Planned Economic Policy
Stalin, after rising to power started to clear his way to unrestricted power. After the loosening of the NEP Stalin introduced five year plans to speed up the building of socialism, which meant forced industrialization, total lack of private property, nationalization of every factory and land. He especially invested into heavy industry, but also stayed self-dependent, meaning there was shortage from everything else however he forced this as he was also perparing for a war with the capitalists.
