Image BorisMikhailovich Kustodiev The Bolshevik- A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
The revolution in the Russian empire in
1917, in which the Russian monarchy
(Czarist regime) was overthrown
resulting in the formation of the world’s
first communist government.
A.Nair Dickerson
Russia’ Romanov dynasty had lasted 300
years but Nicholas II, who ascended the
throne in 1894, turned out to be the last
Czar of Russia.
How did such an ancient monarchy fall
so quickly in 1917?
A.Nair Dickerson
Rewind -1905
A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
Czar Nicholas II The Last Czar of Russia
• Descendant of the Russian Romanovs.
Absolute ruler with unlimited
powers-Ruled alone and
unquestioned.
• Weak personality.
• Ignored the needs of his people.
• Czarina Alexandra, wife of Nicholas
II was German.
• Both were very unpopular.
A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
• Majority of the Russians were peasants or factory workers.
• Most peasants did not own the land they farmed.
• Factory workers had to endure long hours, low pay, and
horrible working conditions.
• About 80% of Russians were poor.
• .
A.Nair Dickerson
• Economy was based on
agriculture.
• Russia was not as industrialized
as the rest of Europe.
• Russia’s war with Japan had
devastated Russia’s economy.
• Food prices went up, but the
wages remained the same.
• Many people were starving.
A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
Sunday, 22nd January, 1905
On a Sunday afternoon, a large group of over 200,000 unarmed workers, their families, and supporters along with Father Gapon, a Russian priest led a peaceful demonstration in St. Petersburg.
• Demonstrators wanted to present a petition to the Czar regarding better working conditions, more wages, and freedom.
• The unarmed demonstrators were shot by the Czar's troops.
Many innocent people were killed.
A.Nair Dickerson
• Bloody Sunday sparked
several protests and strikes
by the Russian people.
• The Czar was forced to
create the Duma-the
Russian Parliament.
• Nothing really changed,
Nicholas kept power and
if members of the Duma
disagreed with the Czar
they were sent away…
A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
The First World War proved
to be the last straw for the
Czar’s government.
• Millions of Russian troops
were getting killed.
• Soldiers were not well
prepared with proper
weapons, or supplies.
• . Nicholas left the
government in the hands of
his wife, the Czarina, and
the monk, Rasputin. A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
Weak leadership of Czar Nicholas II.
Rasputin
Russo-Japanese War
Devastation of World War I—high casualties, economic ruin.
Food shortages, widespread hunger
low wages, landless peasants.
Economic differences between social classes.
Bloody Sunday, the massacre of unarmed protestors outside the palace
in 1905.
Overview of Causes
A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
THE END OF RUSSIAN
AUTOCRACY
o Three centuries of Romanov
Dynastic rule comes to an
end. Czar Nicholas II
abdicates his throne.
THE RISE OF
COMMUNISM
Lenin leads the Bolsheviks to
power.
February 1917
Revolution
October 1917
Revolution
A.Nair Dickerson
• On February 28, 1917,
Czar Nicholas is forced to
abdicate (give up) the
throne.
• A provisional (temporary)
government takes over.
• THE PROBLEM:
• Provisional government
supports the war.
• Peasants are still without
land.
A.Nair Dickerson
• Bolsheviks gain
support from peasants
with promise of land.
• Led by Lenin with
slogans such as
“Peace, Land, Bread!”, the Bolsheviks take over
the provisional
government.
The Bolshevik Party will be later named
The Russian Communist Party.
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A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
In 1918, Lenin officially pulls
Russia out of WWI. Note: Russia stopped fighting in1917
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In 1918 Bolsheviks order the deaths of Nicholas II and his family.
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Russia shifts from the rule of one
(Czarist Regime) to a rule of a few
(Bolsheviks).
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A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
• Communism is the theory that all
people should be equal and there
should be no classes. Everyone
should work for the good of the
country and wealth would be
equally shared amongst all
citizens.
A.Nair Dickerson
In the following years after
the two revolutions, the
Bolsheviks or the ‘Reds’
defeat the Mensheviks or
the ‘Whites’ in a civil war .
By 1923 all areas of Russia
came under communist
control and is renamed the
Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR).
CIVIL WAR
A.Nair Dickerson
A few years after the
death of Lenin in
1924 the country
comes under the
control of dictator
Joseph Stalin.
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In the years to come, the USSR under
Joseph Stalin emerges as the world’s
leading superpower.
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A.Nair Dickerson
A.Nair Dickerson
1) A major cause of the Russian Revolution of 1917 was the
A. German defeat in WWI.
B. marriage of Czar Nicholas II to a German princess.
C. existence of sharp economic differences between social
classes.
D. Russian victory in the Russo-Japanese War.
A.Nair Dickerson
• • Led the Russians in a second revolution (1917)
• • Promised “Peace, Land, and Bread”
• • Redistributed land to the peasants.
2) Which leader is being described by these statements?
A. Czar Nicholas II
B. Vladimir I. Lenin
C. Nikita Khrushchev
D. Mikhail Gorbachev
A.Nair Dickerson
• “Czar Abdicates! Provisional Government Formed”
• “Peasants Promised ‘Peace, Land, and Bread’”
3) Which event is the focus of these headlines?
A. Bloody Sunday
B. October Revolution
C. February Revolution
D. Both B and C.
A.Nair Dickerson
A. World War I created conditions within Russia that helped
trigger a revolution
B. World War I postponed the Russian Revolution by restoring
confidence in the Czar
C. the Russian Revolution inspired the Russian people to win
World War I
D. World War I gave the Czar’s army the needed experience to
suppress the Russian Revolution
A.Nair Dickerson
4) In the view of this cartoonist,
Russia under Lenin’s rule was
characterized by
A. a continuation of traditional life
B. the introduction of capitalism
C. support for a constitutional
monarchy
D. rejection of the czarist system
A.Nair Dickerson
• A) the Bolsheviks
• B) the Duma
• C) the Cheka
• D) the Whites
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A. the Duma
B. the Winter Palace
C. the House of Windsor
D. Petrograd
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A. Nicholas II
B. Lenin
C. Stalin
D. Rasputin
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A. WWI
B. Russo-Japanese War
C. WWII
D. Bloody Sunday
A.Nair Dickerson
A. October Revolution
B. February Revolution
C. Bloody Monday
D. Bloody Sunday
A.Nair Dickerson