History - Russia

• Russia was a vast empire covering 1/6 of the world
• Tsar Nicholas II ruled
• It had many political, economic, social, religious and geographical problems
• Lots of discontent and growing opposition to the tsar
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• 20 different ethnicities, religions, beliefs, nationalities 
• For 60% of people Russian was a foreign language - 'subject nationalities'
• Many disliked 'Russification' where foreigners had to speak Russian, wear Russian clothes and follow their customs.

• Tsar led the autocracy, believed he was chosen by God and has the divine right
• The parliament - Duma - had very little power and he did as he pleased
• 70% who followed the Orthodox Church saw him as God's representative on Earth
• His council of ministers and civil servants had no decisions and were poorly paid -> corruption
• Russian people had little power - censored books + newspapers, strikes + unions forbidden
• Okhrana (secret police) used by tsar to destroy all opposition
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• Nicholas II wasn't a strong character
• He relied on the people complying with his rule and the government controlling them
• He and his wife believed they couldn't be challenged from their divine rule but were ignorant of the extent of opposition
• Their only son and heir Alexei had haemophilia and was expected to die young

• 85% lived in the countryside
• Agriculture was poor due to difficult terrain, only 5% could be used for farming
• The land was divided into villages - encouraging subsistence farming using primitive tools
• Resulting low food production and frequent famines

• Russia was rich in oil and minerals but industrialisation occurred very late
• Manufacturing output was very low until early 1900s considering its size and resources
• Undeveloped road and railway system and no effective banking system restricted industry growth
• Rapid industry growth (increased coal mining, oil extraction) when WWI started in 1914

• Society was divided into classes:
• Aristocracy:
• Just over 1% of population
• Owned nearly 1/4 of land, very rich
• Middle class:
• Growing due to development of industry and more jobs as bankers, merchants and factory owners
• Pleasant lifestyle, eating expensive food, going to theatre
• Peasants: 
• Biggest group, 80%
• Hard life in poor conditions, basic diet or porridge and cabbage soup
• Hit with starvation and disease from bad harvests
• Life expectancy of <40 from typhus and diphtheria

• Sunday 22^nd January 1905: Father Gapon led 200,000 on a peaceful march to the tsar’s Winter Palace in St Petersburg petitioning for better working conditions.
• The soldiers opened fire on the crowds, killing hundreds and wounding thousands – ‘Bloody Sunday’
• This event alongside discontent over the defeat of Russia in the Russia-Japan war (1904-05) sparked a revolution in Russia in February 1905 with strikes and mutiny in the army
• To avoid more chaos the tsar issued the October Manifesto promising freedom of speech an end to censorship and a national parliament – the duma
• The revolution acted as a warning to the tsar about the need for change, but he ignored it, contributing to his downfall

• After the 1905 Revolution the tsar appointed Peter Stolypin as prime minister
• He introduced some reforms of agriculture and education
• In his time anyone who opposed the tsar were punished severely – over 3000 were executed during his time as prime minister – giving the gallows the name ‘Stolypin’s necktie’

• In the years after 1905 the tsar ensured the duma (that he was forced to create) had very little power
• He declared that he had the power to dissolve it and to change the rules initially set out when it was created, whenever he liked
• There were 4 different dumas between 1906-14
• Nicholas went against the promises in the October Manifesto, didn’t share power and ruled autocratically.
• This then created further opposition, particularly amongst other political groups

• Political opposition grew further due to resentment about the increasing influence of Rasputin
• The tsar and his wife hired Gregory Rasputin for his help ad guidance to control the life-threatening haemophilia of their son Alexei
• His position and power in court became so much that he even helped to choose government ministers
• Stories and rumours spread about possible affairs with the tsarina and aristocrat women given his close contact to them so much of the time 
• He was another piece of ammunition for those against tsarism as they saw corruption and incompetence as another problem that Russia had to face

• The Social Democrat Party:
• Founded in 1901, Split in 1903 to Bolsheviks and Mensheviks
• Believed in workers' revolution to remove the tsar, leading to communist state
• Bolsheviks:
• Small elite party to organise the revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin
• Mensheviks:
• Party should have mass membership with sloe change, led by Julius Martov and Leon Trotsky
• The Socialist Revolutionaries:
• Founded in 1901 and led by Alexander Kerensky
• Believed in revolution of peasants to overthrow the tsar,  by terror or constitutional methods
• Wanted to share all land among peasants to have small farming communities
• The Octobrists:
• Founded in 1905 after the October Manifesto was issued
• Believed the tsar would carry out promises in limited change
• Mian support from middle classes, led by Alexander Guchkov
• The Constitutional Democratic Party (CADETS)
• Founded in 1905, as middle class grew more people wanted a democratic style government
• Wanted a constitutional monarch and elected parliament, some were prepared to set up a republic

• Lack of infrastructure:
• Not enough steelworks, explosives factories, shipyards and medical supplies
• Poor roads and inadequate railway system – supplies couldn’t reach the front line
• Outdated telegraph system – military orders got lost
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• Supplies and equipment:
• Not enough steelworks, explosives factories, shipyards and medical supplies
• Soldiers had no boots or winter coats in the harsh winter weather
• Sometimes 2-3 men shared a single rifle and they were usually short of bullets.
  
• Always needed more medical supplies

• Poor leadership of generals and officials

• Poor communication – sent wireless messages to each other which were intercepted by Germans and gave away their positions
• Outdated tactics – Believed the cavalry (aid) would be decisive and rode with sabres and lances, no match for the German machine gunners
• Lazy, incompetent, overconfident officers – Generals didn’t work as a team – in 1914 moved armies too fast into East Prussia and were too far ahead of support and supplies
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• Leadership of the tsar (from September 1915):

• Not capable – made no difference to the war effort

• Blamed for military deaths – the peasants (who provided most of the army recruits) had their image of a caring tsar shattered by the experience of the war

• Enthusiasm for the war faded as he casualties, deaths and poor equipment lowered the soldiers’ morale
• Desertion became common as they lost respect for their ineffective officers
• Many died without weapons and some didn’t even have boots in winter
• People were alarmed by the deaths and casualties, there was some violent resistance to conscription

• Inflation increased – 7 price rises between 1913-17:
• Less food produced due to shortages of labour (as 14 million peasants (farmers) had been called to the armed forces between 1914-17) and horses (as they were used on the front line)
• The lower production resulted in higher food prices
• Industry hit – shortage of workers, lack of fuel and essential supplies:
• Transport system couldn’t cope with both demands of war and providing the country with raw materials leading to shortages of coal, iron and steel
• Many factories closed and goods such as boots and cloth became scarce and expensive.
• Misery and poverty:
• Factory closures led to unemployment and greater poverty
• Prices were always rising but wages were hardly going up and workers had to work long hours
• Hardships were worsened by food and fuel shortages, even when available supplies couldn’t reach towns and cities due to the inadequate transport system and government’s incompetence
• Petrograd had the worst winter in history, temperatures <-30, not enough supplies for such weather

• Although initially the war seemed to strengthen the government as the tsar had to work with the duma, ultimately it weakened the tsar’s position
• It was a huge political mistake for the tsar to take command of the war and leave the tsarina Alexandra in charge as she refused to take the middle-class duma members’ advise which really frustrated them
• In the war people hated anything German and changed German St Petersburg to Russian Petrograd but it was rumoured that the tsarina was a German spy trying to sabotage their war effort
• Alexandra only listened to Rasputin and frequently took his advice on dismissing educated duma members to replace them with his incompetent friends.
• No-one was organising food, fuel and supplies to the cities and the railway system fell into chaos
• As times got worse, middle and upper classes lost support for the tsar, blaming him for leaving the country under a German woman and a mad monk, Rasputin was murdered in 1916 by members of royalty

• Early 1917: the country was on the edge of collapse, the murder of Rasputin in December 1916 did not help the stability of the Russian leadership
• There was an extremely severe winter affecting food supplies to cities and towns, prices rose and rationing caused more discontent - in Petrograd there were strikes and people began to demand food
• Tsar’s support diminished further, strikes became daily in Petrograd with huge numbers on the streets.
• Even soldiers garrisoned (stationed) in Petrograd mutinied and sided with the demonstrators
• Tsar’s position on front line meant he didn’t know Petrograd situation, people believed that soldiers would support the duma if it took over and the tsar still refused to listen to the duma
• Eventually events spiralled out of control in February 1917
• No support for tsar and government was incompetent

• 23rd February - International Women’s Day organised by socialist groups, lots of women join 100,000 strikers on streets protesting against food shortages.
• 24th February - 200,000 workers on strike
• 25th February - Strikes all over city, 300,000 people on streets, no newspapers/public transport, police show sympathy for protestors
• 26th February - Tsar orders army to restore order but lots of desertion, some shots fired on protestors
• 27th February - Buildings looted, most Petrograd soldiers joined protests, duma ordered to dissolve and does apart from 12 members that create a ‘Provisional Committee’, Kerensky demands tsar abdicates, Provisional Committee and Petrograd Soviet start to run the country
• 28th February - The Petrograd Soviet issues a newspaper with its intention to remove the old governmental system

• The discontent continued through to March 1917 and led to the tsar’s abdication
• The February Revolution = abdication of Nicholas, emergence of Provisional Government from the duma
• His role as Commander of the army and position on front line was blamed for failures
• Role of the tsarina and Rasputin in turning the general public against their rule
• Poor economy and poor country, food shortages and inflation, strikes in factories

• The end of tsarism took people by surprise and on March 3^rd 1917 the Provisional Government was set up to rule until elections for a Constituent Assembly (parliament) and a permanent government established.
• The Provisional Government was a cabinet of ministers led by prime minster aristocratic Prince Lvov, Kerensky chosen as the Minister of Justice and a Social Revolutionary
• Other ministers were chosen from Octobrist and Cadet parties meaning the new government was middle-class politicians who wanted a constitution and a democratic government
• Initially supported by the Bolsheviks as they believed it would benefit the working class but later believed they could seize the power from the middle class instead

• Many of the promised changes were made in the first weeks, pushed by Kerensky’s powerful speeches:
• Freedom of religion and speech, recognition of trade unions, introduction of 8-hour day for industrial workers, promise of elected parliament, abolition of secret police, amnesty for political prisoners
• Each reform tried to address an unresolved problem from the 1905 revolution or was created by the tsar to have tight control over the people
• Wide range of changes in hopes they would settle the middle and working classes

• It wasn’t a truly elected body and didn’t represent the people of Russia – didn’t have a political mandate

• There were defeats in the war and soldiers were deserting

• Peasants were looting landlords and seizing their land

• Soldiers and workers were setting up elected councils of workers, known as soviets, in towns and cities

• People were fed up with and wanted an end to the food shortages

• People of subject nationalities hoped for independence under them

• The biggest issue was the formation of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, by early March they had 3,000 elected members, revolutionaries such as Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks
• There were two separate bodies leading Russia from the same building – Dual Authority
• Initially they worked together as Kerensky was a member of both however they began to grow apart
• The Bolsheviks began to influence the Petrograd Soviet and they attacked the Provisional Government for continuing the war – the Soviet only wanted the German army out of Russia, but the Provisional Government were prepared to fight until Germany surrendered

• March 1917: Petrograd Soviet issued Soviet Order Number One, this meant the orders of the Provisional Government only had to be followed by the military if they were approved by the Soviet
• This weakened the new government’s authority significantly

• Provisional Government still decided to make decisions about the war as Germany would make heavy demands from Russia for peace.
• Kerensky (now Minister for War) persuaded the troops to support a new June offensive
• Surprisingly the Soviet agreed in hopes it would drive the German army out of Russia, some Bolsheviks – Stalin and Kamenev –  thought the war shouldn’t be stopped
• The decision to continue proved fatal for the Provisional Government, further defeats made them less popular and weakened them, the June offensive caused 60,000 deaths and more desertion
• In addition Germany sent exiled revolutionaries back into Russia to stir up rebellion, including Lenin (Bolshevik leader) who called for the overthrow of the Provisional Government
• However, the first meeting of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets gave a vote of confidence to the Provisional Government in June 1917

• Provisional Government still had problems – war was failing, opposition and soviets were very powerful
• Dual authority was increasingly strained, the Austrian front disintegrated, soldiers rushed back to Russia
• ‘July days’ = July 3-6, chaos in Petrograd when soldiers and some Bolsheviks tried to overthrow the Provisional Government

• Only resolved when Kerensky, the Minister of War, moved loyal troops to defeat the rebels. 400 were killed/injured and Lenin fled the country.
• Kerensky was appointed prime minister on July 8^th and became the most powerful politician in Russia
• He wanted to continue the war and wait until elections before making decisions about ending Russia’s participation
• Still growing discontent among people as nothing seemed to have changed after the tsar’s abdication

• General Kornilov – the new Supreme Commander in Chief of the military under the Provisional Government led a mutiny to replace the Provisional Government with a military dictatorship
• At the time there was a crisis with the war – Germans had advanced far into Russia and many soldiers were deserting, refugees also flooded into Petrograd
• Kornilov knew that to beat Germany there had to be stability in Russia, he didn’t want to end the war (unlike the PG) and wanted to restore order.
• Kornilov decided to march on Petrograd to ‘save’ the Provisional Government and issued a manifesto to gain support:
• He wanted to attack the Bolsheviks in the Petrograd Soviet, the war to continue and called for the meeting of a Constituent Assembly (like a democracy) 

• Kerensky disapproved of Kornilov and put him under martial law.
• For support against Kornilov, Kerensky (possibly wrongly) allowed the Bolshevik Red Guard to be armed and allowed Bolshevik out of prison (from the July Days)
• Railway workers prevented Kornilov’s troops from reaching Petrograd and printers stopped creating newspapers supporting the revolt
• As a result the attempt failed and Kornilov was arrested

• After the arrest of Kornilov, the army had lost its Commander – morale lowered, desertions increased even further and they were no longer in a position to set up a military dictatorship
• Kerensky’s government looked weak but the Bolsheviks who controlled the Petrograd Soviet were strong.
• Many Bolsheviks were armed, people were out of prison and they began to feel that it was their time to take over and Lenin started making plans to return from exile

• The problems facing the PG in March hadn’t gone and by October it had little authority
• Bolsheviks started to seem more attractive than Kerensky’s inaction, making Lenin take action for control

• Lenin was in Poland in 1914 when the war broke out and was arrested for being Russian
• He was helped by Austria to go to Switzerland when he and other Bolsheviks were forced into exile
• After the February Revolution in 1917 Lenin wanted to return to Russia to show that the Bolsheviks wanted to end the chaos and make life in Russia peaceful
• The Germans helped him return to Russia to wreak havoc and make it easier for them to invade and then move over to Britain and France
• He was moved in a sealed train to Petrograd and was considered a German spy and was given money to help his revolution

• It was clear that Lenin didn’t support the Provisional Government and wanted a workers’ revolution
• His manifesto was called the April Thesis: “All power to the Soviets” - slogan

- The war had to end

- Power had to be passed from middle classes to working classes

- All land had to be given to the peasants

- The police, army and bureaucracy should be abolished

- The capitalist system had to be overthrown with banks, factories and transport        nationalised

- Bolsheviks should take control of the Soviets in order to achieve their aims

• Bolsheviks became more popular as a result and membership grew from 24,000 in February to 100,000 in April and by June had over 40 newspapers spreading Lenin’s ideas
• They had their own ‘Red Guard’  by July with about 10,000 armed workers in Petrograd

• By July Lenin felt the Bolsheviks had grown enough to challenge the Provisional Government who had done little to deal with the problems they faced
• Kerensky accused the Bolsheviks of being German spies because of Lenin’s interaction with the Germans and being their revolution was supported with German money
• Many Bolsheviks went into hiding, some were arrested and Lenin fled
• Their newspaper, Pravda, was closed down and it seemed like the Bolsheviks’ chance had gone 

• However, Lenin then directed them from Finland and they were able to continue to function
• They created the slogan “land to the peasants” and gained more support in the countryside
• Lenin also knew that the Russian army could be attracted by his anti-war approach as many soldiers were peasants so the slogan, “Peace, Bread, Land” attracted even more support

• The Bolsheviks continue to thrive even after Lenin’s exile with membership going from 100,000 in April to 340,000 in October with 60,000 members in Petrograd
• Their participation in the Kornilov Revolt increased popularity as they were seen as the defenders of Petrograd and the Red Guard had weapons from Kerensky

• The All-Russian Congress of Soviets were due to meet in late October and it was possible the Bolsheviks wouldn’t have a majority in it but if they overthrew the Provisional Government before this they could present their new authority as complete which the Congress couldn’t reject
• Lenin knew the Bolsheviks were unlikely to win a majority of seats in the Constituent Assembly that Kerensky had called but if they were in power before this if the results were against them, they could be ignored
• The Bolsheviks were far more supported than the inactive Provisional Government

1.     On the night of the 24/10 the Bolsheviks captured key buildings such as telegraph offices and railway stations, and road blocks were set up on the city’s bridges and road surrounding the Winter Palace,

where the Provisional Government were in session and they were surrounded.

2.     There was little resistance and no disruption to the local people.

3.     Kerensky had escaped but the rest of the government were inside and only protected by the Women’s Battalion and the military cadets who all surrendered

4.     When the cruiser Aurora fired its guns, the Provisional Government  gave in and were all arrested, some were able to slip away unnoticed

5.     Only 6 soldiers died, 18 were arrested but the Provisional Government had collapsed

• The All-Russian Congress of Soviets was held and the Bolsheviks won the majority – 390 of 650 seats
• Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks rejects the Bolshevik takeover as it was not a Soviet one
• The Bolsheviks were strengthened because of their huge majority
• The next day Lenin was the head of government, Leon Trotsky was the Commissar of Foreign Affairs and Joseph Stalin was Commissar for Nationalities

• Trotsky was a Menshevik at the February Revolution but was concerned that the Mensheviks supported the Provisional Government and was arrested in July from revolutionary activities and in August became a Bolshevik party member
• When the Bolsheviks took control of Petrograd Trotsky was elected as its leader which was key to its success and in October he became the dominant member of the three-man Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) of the Soviet
• The MRC controlled 20,000 Red Guards, 60,000 Baltic sailors and 150,000 soldiers of the Petrograd garrison
• In October Bolsheviks began to reduce their massive demonstrations as the crowds were hard to control
• When they prepared for revolution they began to rely more on small units of soldiers and workers
• Trotsky made plans for seizing key buildings of the Provisional Government and their overthrow

• His role was crucial – he persuaded the Bolsheviks to oppose the war which gained lots of support in 1917
• He gave the Bolsheviks simple, effective slogans which were easily understood by normal people and gained them lots of support, for example, “Peace, Bread, Land” and “All power to the Soviets”
• Lenin was committed to revolution and spurred on the Bolsheviks
• He created the Red Guard funded by Germany to equip them and persuaded the majority of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik party to seize power in October
• Although Trotsky organised it, without Lenin they wouldn’t have even tried to remove the PG

• They were a weak and only temporary body and were not elected so didn’t represent the people
• From the start it shared power with the Petrograd Soviet
• They couldn’t overturn the Soviet Order Number One so couldn’t control the military
• Kerensky never totally removed the Bolsheviks and even armed them in the Kornilov Revolt
• The Provisional Government couldn’t win over support as other groups including Bolsheviks gained support through propaganda

• Trotsky claimed they were successful because the soldiers of Petrograd garrison didn’t side with the Provisional Government
• The creation of the MRC enabled them to control some armed forces at a critical time

• Many political parties didn’t offer clear leadership in 1917 and all became discredited because they supported the continuation of the war, this led to discontent within the army
• The elections to the Constituent Assembly were delayed and the peasants’ demand for land wasn’t solved
• Anarchy and seizing of land continued through 1917 as the soldiers’ morale decreased further
• Bolsheviks seemed like the only good party to support