By Mary Caitlyn Burnham

TWO REVOLUTIONS

IN RUSSIA

Revolutionary Rumblings• The elected Duma set up after the Revolution of 1905 had no real power. Nicholas II blocked attempts to limit his authority. He relied on his secret police other enforcers to impose his will.

•Marxists tried to ignite revolution among the proletariat (the growing class of factory and railroad workers, miners, and urban wage earners). To outwit government spies and informers, revolutionaries worked in secrecy.

World War I•World War I quickly strained Russian resources. The transportation system broke down, delivering very little needed materials to the front. By 1915, soldiers had no riffles, no ammunition, and no medical care. In 1915 alone, Russian casualties reached two million.•Nicholas II went to the front to take personal charge. He left domestic affairs to the czarina, Alexandra. Many Russians distrusted Alexandra because she was German born. She relied on a “holy man” named Gregory Rasputin.

Death of the Mad Monk•Gregory Rasputin was an illiterate Siberian peasant. Time and again, he eased the suffering of Alexandra’s only son, Alexis. The boy suffered from hemophilia. When the doctors weren’t able to help, Rasputin stopped the prince’s bleeding, apparently through hypnosis. Alexandra claimed that he had been sent by God to save Russia and the Romanov dynasty. •He moved into the palace with many of his followers. Rasputin was known to his enemies as the “Mad Monk”. A group of five men hatched a plot to destroy Rasputin.

Gregory Rasputin: A Hard Man to Kill• On December 29, 1916, Prince Felix Yussoupov lured Rasputin to his palace. The prince fed him cake and wine laced with poison. He went upstairs to consult with the men and brought back a revolver. The prince shot Rasputin.•While being examined, Rasputin leaped up and grasped Prince Felix. One, of the men shot him once again. The conspirators dropped his body into the icy Neva River. Later, doctors discovered that neither poison nor bullets had killed Rasputin. He had died by drowning.

The March Revolution

Lenin and the Bolsheviks