Complete History Revision

8/3/2019 Complete History Revision

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JNS IBDP

2012

Entire HistoryRevision

IBDP grade 12Ashita Pillai Naik

[ T y p e t h e c o m p a n y a d d r e s s ]


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HISTORY NOTES

Contents

RUSSIA 3AII, AIII, Revolutions, Lenin, Stalin

GERMANY 28Bismarck, WW1, Weimar, Hitler

WW2 37Appeasement, major campaings

COLD WAR 43Causes, course and themes

VIETNAM 84French, US involvment, civil war


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RUSSIAN HISTORY 1815-DEATH OF STALIN

DATES

1801-1825: Alexander 11825-1855: Nicholas 1

1854-56: Crimean War1855:Alexander II comes to power1856: AII speech to nobility re. Emancipation and reforms, Treaty of Paris1857:Reform plan of action proposed1859: Representatives to Moscow, official emancipation decree, army servicereduced1861 onwards: Emancipation decree Military reform, educational reform1863: Polish revolt1864: Zemstva decree, judicial reform,1865: Censorship laws slackened1866: First assassination attempt1870: Marxism in Russia

1871: Great Power conference in London1873: Three Emperors League with Austria-Hungary and Germany1874: Populists in the country1875 onwards: Balkan issues-slavic uprising in Turkey1876: Serbian uprising1877: Russia declares war on Turkey1878: Treaty of San Stefano, Vera Zusilish trial1881: Alexander II dies, Alexander III comes to power, Russification begins1887:Universities statute1890 onwards: Period of industrialisation and urbanisation1891: Famine1894: Nicholas II comes to power

1896: Coronation celebrations1904 May:Russo-Japanese War1905 Aug 25:Treaty of Portsmouth1905 Jan:First revolution1905 Oct: October Manifesto1906 April: Fundamental laws1906 April-June: First Duma1907 Feb-June: Second Duma1907 Nov-June 1912: Third Duma1911 Sept: Stolypin murdered, end of land reform1912 Nov-Aug 1914: Fourth Duma1914: First World war breaks out1915: NII becomes supreme commander of the Russian Army1917 Feb: Second Revolution part one and even earlier...1917 March 2nd: Tsar Abdicates, beginning of PG1917 April: April Theses (surprisingly enough...)1917 June: PG go for major offensive and army gets wasted1917: August: Kornilov Affair1917 Oct: Second Revolution part two1917 Oct: Beginning of ideological period1918 Jan: Constituent assembly election and dissolution1918: RSFSR is formed1918 Aug: Lenin assassination attempt, Red Terror begins1918 3rd March: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk1918-1921: Civil War in Russia, Period of War Communism

1920 Feb: Kolchak shot1920 mid: Won Crimean region


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1921 March: Krondstadt mutiny1921: NEP, ban on factions1921: Famine1922 onwards, Lenins descent, Stalins rise1922: Red Terror1922: Treaty of Rapallo

1922: Stalin becomes Gen Sec1924: Lenin dies1924 onwards: Stalin consolidates his power1926: Trotsky is falling from power1927: Failed communist uprising in China, Britain and Russia break off diplomaticrelations, collectivisation pilotedlate 1927: Collectivisation is made official policy1929: Collectivisation introduced across Russia1931: Stalins 50-100 yrs speech1931-34: Famine1934: Purges begin1934 Dec: Kirov assassinated

1934: Decree against Terrorism act1936: Kamenev, Zinoviev, Rykov killed1936: Collectivisation is complete1936: Rome-Berlin Axis1936: The originally named 1936 constitution1937: Japan joins the Rome-Berlin Axis1938: Yezhow, Tomsky, Bukharin killed1939 August: Molotov/Ribbentropp pact1941: Trosky killed with an ice-pick in Mexico1946: Post-war five year plan is undertaken1949: Leningrad party leadership is purged1953 March: Stalin dies


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EVENTS and POLICIES

ALEXANDER I: 1801-1825AI was known for foreign policy, fights Napoleon for 14 years, victorious, Russia isa powerful and influential nation.

NICHOLAS I: 1825-1855Extremely reactionary, revolutions in 1821, 1830, 1848. Fights Crimean War andis losing when dies.

ALEXANDER II: 1855-1881.Became Tsar aged 38. Military education, political experience, seemed to be wellprepared for the job. Ideas moulded by the events of 1948-i.e. riots, liberalism,unrest. Made him more conservative, reactionary and traditional. He was morehumane ad sensitive than his father. Similar to Gorbachev in some ways. Wantsto reform everything except the autocratic system,so is basically doomed tofailure. Mild reforms in first year raised expectations. Tried to be autocraticwhen autocratism is dying, gave out freedom in very small doses, very nave,

didnt realise that repression only buys time and didnt judge the national moodvery well.PROBLEMS FACED IN 1855: Different cultural groups and nationalities spreadover huge country with communication difficulties. Poor relations with countrieson Western borders. In arctic circle so low agricultural productivity with land thatis frozen throughout much of the year, as is the sea. Agricultural nation, notindustrialising, low productivity, frequent land redistribution leading to noinnovation (odd system whereby land is split between all of the inheritors evenly,meaning that from generation to generation the amount of land available dropsdramatically), 144 million pounds in debt, expanding population with landlesspeasants. Crimean War, behind the western powers in terms of technology andmilitary capablility. Ineffective and poorly trained army. Noble officers and

peasant squaddies. 25 years conscription. Conservative and traditional peasantscontrolled by mir. Land split repeatedly through the nobility. Bureaucracy areextremely corrupt. Form 1/80th of the population (1 million of them in 1880).

SERFS:Basically divided on geographical linesi. State, pay by rent or obrok,ii. Private, owned by landlord, works on his land, pays by labour (barschina).Permission required to get married. Can be exiled or forced to join the army bylandlord. 99% of land workers are serfs. System ended in 1861. Ignorant andilliterate, make up 80% of the population. Russia is an agricultural nation,depends on these groups. Little migration, traditional and conservative group.Loves and wants his own land. Religious but dislike church which teachesobedience. Land was often redistributed and was divided up into small strips sothat each family had some good fields and some bad ones- this is also bad forproduction.

MIR:Elder peasant group, ultra-conservative. Landlord deals through the mir. Obeyedand respected by the peasants. Used by the nobles to communicate with thevillage people. Looks after its interests but also controls it. More important thanthe individual. The mir made all of the decisions relating to the land.

RUSSIAN CLERGY:


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Works with nobles and clergy. Catechism, urged obedience to Tsar. Church isviewed as an oppressive thing by the peasants. A reactionary force, eastern formof christianity.

EMANCIPATION OF THE SERFS:WHY: Catalyst of the Crimean War War is the locomotive of history-the war

exposes Russian weaknesses in terms of military strength as well as with industryand agricultural production. Russia is behind the West and it is a backwardscountry. Economic reform before military reform. Treaty of Paris (which endedthe Crimean War in 1855) condition-emancipation. The system is inefficient andthe people are conservative leading to low production. Emancipation could havecome earlier, were it not for the attitude of the peasants, who were extremelyfatalistic and conservative. They believed that the problems were on a localscale, and that it was not a national issue which needed to be dealt with centrally.THE CONDITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY was acrucial factor in the weakness of the country. It is an agricultural nation, andpeasants make up 80% of the population, pay taxes and are locked in serfsystem. They are vital since they produce grain, the most valuable export.

Serfdom is crap because productivity was not increasing with the population.This is a major issue since more than half the peasants are serfs. Poverty for thepeasants and debt for nobility were the results of this ineffective system. Did notencourage innovation. Less stability, not enough land, frequent peasant revolts.Serfs cannot leave land without landlords permission. Dominated by the mir,who are extremely conservative, as are the peasants. AII saw the discontent inthe countryside and realised that emancipation had to be from above not belowHOW WAS EMANCIPATION ACHIEVED?Emancipation seemed progressive (this had long since been the view of theintellectuals), he had to use the defeat in the Crimean War to underline the needfor change. He argued that if economic and social reform were to occur, serfdom

must end. Put full weight of autocracy behind emancipation. The serfs soonbegan to believe that emancipation was about to occur, meaning that after a timethere was no turning back. March 1856 made speech to nobility to try and getthem onside. Most hoped that he would drop his plans, but were convinced bythe from above not below argument. Nov 1857 plan of action.. 1861-Emancipation decree the right of bondage was forever abolished. Serfs toreceive land from nobility, nobility to receive compensation Redemptionpayments. Unwritten contract with Nobles, convinced them that he was on theirside. Mir held land collectively. He used the fact that there was serious unrest inthe countryside to convince the nobles that a revolution could come from below.Serfs free to move and trade.

RESULTS OF EMANCIPATION:PEASANTS: Riots followed decree, in 1861 alone there were 499 cases of riotswhich required army intervention to be stopped. Peasants forced to pay overinflated redemption payments (20% in the first year then 49 annual paymentswith an interest charge), but felt that the land rightfully belonged to them. Wagelabour turned out to be the most effective, particularly in fertile areas. 49 yearRedemption payments were too high, mir was a break on innovation, industrialexpansion not rapid enough to accommodate landless peasants, the land wasapportioned unfairly, the process of land transfer was too lengthy, money waspumped into industry not modernisation. People paid too much for bad land,particularly in non black soil provincesLANDLORDS: not content. Landlord in Poland got a worse deal, due to the 1863revolt, with redemption payments here being far lower. Began demise of nobility.

In short, too much for the nobility, not enough for the radicals, whilst the serfswere angered at being forced to pay redemption payments. The nobility began to


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rapidly decline, as did its ability to act as a stabilising force in Russian society.Progress was made, but when compared to the other nations of Europe, Russiawas still far behind.

DID EMANCIPATION CHANGE ANYTHING?Emancipation basically changed the legal status of many peasants. It did not

change the way they farmed the land. The system remained the same, withcommunal tender and strip farming- a system which had always worked okbecause it was implemented on a local scale, and the country is not dependant oninternal trade. But emancipation also didnt face the peasant demands- theywanted the transfer of land without being forced to pay compensation. The factthat the population was increasing so rapidly meant that the impact of this lack ofalteration to the system was greater.

REASONS FOR POPULATION GROWTHThe Zemstva had brought about some public health improvements in theprovinces- there was also a run of good weather and hence better harvests. Anunintended consequence of redemption payments was that it increased the

population. Villages were taxed communally at this stage, and it was left to themir to hand over the taxes. The tax burden could be decreased by forming morehouseholds and by allowing earlier marriage- this leads to a rapid populationexpansion. But the problem is that the system has not modernised enough todeal with the increasing demand.

OTHER REFORMS BY AIIMOTIVATION: To maintain stability, to modernise Russia and make it a worldpower once again. Underlying motivation was the need to modernise the armywhich had been crushed in the Crimea. This was the catalyst for reform. Also theneed for internal reform and modernisation. Political reform was not included,although above all Alexander wanted to remain in control without changing his

role. He was known as the Reforming Tsar, and he played an important role inpushing through these reforms, but he refused to alter his own role at all.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT 1864:MOTIVATION: Felt that there was administrative inefficiency, but did not wantto decentralise too much since this would have lessened his influence andrendered him less powerful.IMPLICATIONS: The decree establishing the Zemstva was published in January1864. Locally elected councils with jurisdiction over public education, health,local economic development, services. Liberals wanted them to have real power,and they did, but only over certain things. They did not have power for exampleover taxes as AII thought that this would undermine his own power. 45%nobility, 40% peasants, 15% townspeople and clergy. 1870 saw a similar urbansystem set up. Set up by Valuiev. Two tier system, district and province. Couldalways be overruled by the centre of the party. They had no real powers andbecame a forum for complaining, did ease the governing of the provinces andperformed well in the famine. This and the legal reform was not motivated by themilitary imperatives. Their success demonstrated that a central representativegovernment may also have been effective. Another implication was that it raisedliteracy levels in the provinces. In a village, if one person can read then thevillage can read, so peasants quickly start to formulate new ideas.

LEGAL REFORMS 1864:MOTIVATION: Before 1864, there were numerous different types of court withpoorly trained and often illiterate officials. Evidence was presented in written

form, with evidence from the nobility given far more credence than that of any


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other group. It was clear that a fair and just system was necessary, and that thiscould only be achieved through reform.IMPLICATIONS: Salaries set high to avoid bribery and corruption. Public trialsby jury, appeal courts, oral evidence, JPs for 3 years, judges nominated by Tsar,independent bar, lots of lawyers trained. Still some imprisonment without trial,initial shortage of well trained lawyers. Backfired as it was fair to political

prisoners and gave them a forum to get publicity (eg Vera Zasulish trial in 1878after which regular courts were not relied on to deal with terrorist cases). Thetraining of lawyers and judges led to the creation of a new very liberal and welleducated class, many of whom would go on to demand political reform. Theywere a dangerous by-product of the reforms.MILITARY REFORM 1862:MOTIVATION: Consumed 1/3rd of national income yet still got wasted inCrimean, shortcomings were exposed. Admin and command structure inflexibleand punishments in the army were severe and barbaric. Conscription lasted 25years, so it was basically a life sentence.IMPLICATIONS: Miliutin became Minster for war in 1861 and sought to

humanise the military and improve its efficiency.. 1862 regional commands setup. 1863, capital punishment ended, army schools set up in 1864. 1859conscription period lessened to just 16 years. The Prussian success helped him toconvince the sceptical nobles and conservative military leaders that a well-ledmodern army was necessary. Russia needed to protect itself and play a role indiplomatic affairs- not really a success as they got trashed in the Russo-Japanesewar and in WW1, however some improvements had been made, as wasdemonstrated by the performance of the army in the Russo-Turkish war of 1878.

EDUCATIONAL REFORM:MOTIVATION: Difficult balance had to be struck, since AII aimed to educate thepeople without causing them to think and question his regime. Up until 1861,

strict and repressive control had been maintained over education. Peasantswould be more effective with education, and industrial and economic reform couldbe effected more quickly with a well trained workforce.IMPLICATIONS: Golvonin in 1861, primary education set up in villages, X4primary schools 1961-1881. In 1862, schools were placed under the jurisdictionof the Ministry of Education rather than the chuch. Lead to more literacy,secondary education was open to all classes but most people could not afford togo, not controlled by church. 1863 University Regulations allowed freedom ofexpression and given autonomy in administrative matters. Outsiders werepermitted to attend lectures, foreigners were allowed to obtain degrees, scholarlytexts from abroad were brought in, and political literature was not subject tocensorship. 1866 assassination attempt by university student at Kazanuniversity, liberal education fosters radical ideas, Tolstoy comes in and is muchmore reactionary, introducing crappy subjects like classics. The centralgovernment also had more power to dictate the curriculum. Liberals saw thisclampdown as unreservedly reactionary. As with the local government reforms,AII was trying to strike a difficult balance. In 1887, the universities statute tookit all away.

REDUCTION TO CENSORSHIP:In 1863, responsibility for censorship was passed to Valuev. 1865-press laws,progressive, things freed from censorship such as periodicals, governmentpublications and publications in universities .New books published, more freedomof ideas and expression. In comparison to Britain, censorship was strict, butcompared to what had gone before in Russia it was pretty liberal.


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ECONOMIC REFORM: Reutern in 1862, unified treasury, centralisedadministration, exports improved thanks to railway expansion, 1878-278municipal banks, 727 loan and savings associations, 566 joint stock companies,33 commercial banks, foreign jews trading and living throughout empire.Least important and actually pretty boring. 1862 budgets were published, 1863system of excise duties replaced the old system.

IN SHORT: These reforms did not go far enough. AII had to reform his own roleif he was to successfully reform the country. Ironically, he was assassinated onhis way to signing a bill that would begin constitutional reform. Generallyspeaking, tried to please everyone, and ended up backfiring everywhere andalienating various groups

POLITICAL OPPOSITION TO ALEXANDER II:Often middle-class intelligentsia who had developed radical ideas due to theirexposure to Western literature and political writings.POPULISM: Made up of young radicals, negative, focussed on the peasants,believing them to have the most potential, if educated. Go into the country in1874-1875, 3000 of them dress up as peasants and try to enlighten the masses,

1600 are shot and the rest are arrested. Peasants dont understand what is beingsuggested to them. Split into two factions- the milder land and liberty and themental peoples will. Believe in terror as a means of overthrowing the system.NIHILISM: Accept nothing, question everything, criticise anything, middle classintelligentsia group, highly theoretical, very negative want everything to bechanged but are not terrorists.

ALEXANDER IIS FOREIGN POLICY:EUROPE: Governed by the internal state that Russia was in. Wanted toencourage Franco-Austrian rivalry, aimed for closer links with France, againsttradition, French then supported the Poles in 1863, ending all co-operationbetween the two. Only ally was Prussia, Black Sea became neutral in 1871

following the great power conference in London. In 1873, recognising the threatthat Germany was likely to pose, he joined the three emperors league. Held aconservative attitude which generally didnt offend anyone too much and workedout alright. Ideological differences with these non-autocratic nations. Severaltreaties were made later on, 1894 with France, 1904 with Britain and France and1907 with Britain.ASIA: Policy of sustained expansion. Conflict in Caucasus region, eventualvictory in 1864, looked towards Persia and Afghanistan and gradually extendedinfluence eastwards. Gained land in Japan and China, maintained relations withUS though sale of Alaska $7 million in 1867. Was a means of getting rawmaterials, consolidating borders and looking well ard.PAN-SLAVISM: Idealistic, saw Russia as leader and protector of the Slavpeoples. Aimed to protect Baltic Christians under Turkish rule. In 1875, Bosniansrebel against Turkish rule, given financial support by Russia. Spread to Bulgaria,Serbia in 1876. Russia declared war on Turkey in 1877 but hoped that the Turkswould back down. Treaty of San Stephano improved Russias position in Europe,Berlin- treaty was revised (took away sea access in Bulgaria). In this region,Austria is the main rival with another mixed nationality empire. Ottoman Empireis collapsing leaving a power vacuum which both nations were trying to fill.

POLISH REVOLT OF 1863:Poland had become part of Russia during 1815, all Tsars are therefore also king ofPoland. 1830 revolt, lose constitution and parliament, regime becomes moreoppressive, they become much more pissed off, 1863 they revolt again, 1/3 oftheir land given away to peasants to punish the landlords during the

emancipation, doesnt make them much happier, Russification occurs, people


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start to seriously dislike AII. Result is that AII becomes more repressive. Andthen he gets killed, so that is that.

ASSESS ALEXANDER IIHIS AIMS: To maintain stability and create a strong Russia. Ultimate aim was tocreate a military and industrial power through reform but to remain autocratic.

Wanted to emancipate the serfs to increase productivity and industrial growth andend serfdom, from above, not below.EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS: Geographical/physical issues which faced all Russianleaders, the huge population, corrupt and massive bureaucracy, mir, nobles,landowners. All of these are very conservative and present a barrier to reform.Also has some conservative ministers. Has some nasty opposition within thecountry (see later on) and has to deal with the Poles.HOW EFFECTIVE WERE THE REFORMS? Education- Primary schools muchimproved, universities lead to free thinking, so are only given limited freedom fora limited time. Local government- Zemstva have power on local scale and aresymbolically important. Military reforms- Turkey 1878 lookin good, then getwasted against Japan and in WW1. Emancipation- Serfs were emancipated, but

alienates the nobles. Redemption payments remain an issue for absolutely ages.He gives people a taste of what they could have and then refused to give anymore, thus creating more problems. He refused to reform his own position, andthis was the main problem with the whole reform thing.

ALEXANDER III: 1881-1894Extremely reactionary following fathers assassination and assasination attempts,makes education expensive and elitist, bans foreign literature. Changed judicialsystem, no open trials, trial by jury, more state police. 1890 Russia was a policestate, freedom of speech, freedom of ideas all suppressed. Lots of people gotsent to Siberia, good practice for Stalin. Came to power in very badcircumstances. The Okhrana was given more power, and censorship was

tightened up, universities were brought under much stricter control in 1887. Washelped by Pobedonovstev, chief minister between 1881 and 1905 who believedthat democracy is the great lie of our time. He had a policy of Russification,which aimed to bring national minorities under stricter control, Russian becamethe only official language, and there was increased racism and victimisation.National identities in Baltic states were attacked. It was also a period of intenseanti-Semitism, and the mini purges on the Jews were known as the Pogroms.

WITTE: 1893-1903 Finance minister.Finance minister who brings about the rapid industrialisation of Russia. Equatedeconomic power with military power. Wanted to industrialise along Western lines.Recognised the importance of communications but had a serious railways fetish.

WITTES ECONOMIC REFORMS:AIMS AND MOTIVATION: Modernisation of economy, industry and agriculture,leading to military modernisation, end economic slumber. Exploited by Westernnations, unbeneficial trading relationship, selling goods and raw materials verycheaply. Needed economic independence. Need to exploit natural resourcewealth, primitive methods, boost heavy industries and improve export potential.Needed an economy to compare with other Western European nations, whomthey are around 150 years behind. They are being exploited by these Westernpowers, and Russia needed to become economically independent, not justpolitically independent.HOW IT WAS ACHIEVED: Infrastructure had to improved first. The processwas very uneven and severely limited. Through improvements to infrastructure,

particularly transport with projects such as the Trans-Siberian railways. 1890-1900, coal production increased from 5.9 to 16.1 million tonnes per year, pig iron


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went from 0.89 to 2.66, oil went from 3.9 to 10.2 million. Also increasedagricultural production, due to mechanisation, more grain production. 1891-1913railway length in km grew from 31,219 to 70,156. Foreign experts were alsobrought in. With huge loans that had to repaid. The emphasis was on heavyindustry and exports, leading to huge trade deficit. System of state capitalismwith the expansion of basic raw materials. Between 1880 and 1913, grain

production increases from 34 million to 90 million tons.EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIALISATION: Less emphasis on agriculture, peasantsleft land. Urbanisation occurred at a very rapid rate, facilities in towns and citiesnot sufficient to deal with this, leading to overcrowding and disease due to poorhygiene, after 1900 as industrialisation slowed down, there was widespreadunemployment. High tax and currency value, as well as government emphasis onheavy goods led to a shortage of consumer goods at high prices, workers had nounion representation, at the mercy of their employers. Exports increased butthere was still a huge debt problem and inflation within the country. Depressionbegan at the beginning of the century.Some people called it a great spurt, but it was more of a dribble. It was mostlydue to private enterprises being sustained by government policy, and

industrialisation was viewed solely as a means of improving the economy. Thehuge loans led to very high taxes within Russia, and this was not very popular.There was a huge amount of direct investment into the railways. Also came aspart of a World-wide boom in the 1890s which was ending by the 1900s. Normalpeople and workers did not really benefit from the industrial expansion. Led todepression and unemployment as the population increased at a faster rate thanproductivity. Industrialisation was far too rapid and brutal and the use of moneywas extremely uneven with consumer industries being completely neglected.Debt: 116 million in 1897 and 155 million by 1913, the biggest in the world. In1902, troops were used to put down riots 365 times. A working class is alsoformed, and they are politicised for the first time.THE DEPRESSION: Started at the turn of the century and was a world-wide

thing. Urbanisation had been too rapid, there were no facilities for the newworkers leading to overcrowding. With the recession came widespreadunemployment, and people no longer accepted the poor conditions. There issocial unrest, and the authorities began to find it increasingly difficult to deal withthe problems. The workers dont gain from the slight recovery and still are notrepresented by trade unions.

MARXISM:First introduced to Russia in 1870. Plakhanov wrote Society and the PoliticalStruggle in 1897, first Russian Marxist book. This and Das Kapital are notbanned because no-one understands them. Utopian. Not like populism becauseit centres on the workers not the peasants. Class and ruling class are always inconflict. Dialectic- history evolves through conflicts at various stages indevelopment. This idea had in fact first been put forward by the philospherHegel. He and Marx subscribed to the theory that, in every argument or theory,there is a thesis (argument), antithesis (counter-argument) and a synthesis(brings together the best bits of both), but there is a never ending cycle since thissynthesis is itself then subjucted to antithesis, and must also evolve, ending,Marx believed, in Communism. Hegel believed that History had progressedthrough a series of dialectics. Marx basically took this idea and expanded itslightly, relating it to the class struggle. Marx stated that every society has aruling class which exploits the ruled class. (The status of any one group in societyis determined by its wealth- this is known as economic determinism) Periodicallythe ruled class with rise up and overcome the ruling class (think dialectic, thesis,synthesis etc). There were several stages which every society must pass through

before communism, but when in Capitalism the proletariat overthrows the rulingclass, Communism could be achieved. In a Communist community, so the theory


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went, everything would be distributed evenly among the people from eachaccording to his ability, to each according to his need. Eventually the state, andall its institutions would no longer be necessary, and hence would wither away.Ta-daa, perfect communist state. As you can see, very like how Russia turnedout or not.

By 1890s, Marxists are one of many opposition groups. Social Democrats, later

to split into Menseviks and Bolsheviks. Economics is the most important thing,economic determinism. Primitive Communism, Empire, Feudalism, Capitalism,Socialism, Communism, led to Trotskyism permanent revolution (these are thestages through which a society must pass).

RUSSIA 1881-1890Alexander III is not a reformer, particularly after seeing the assassination of hisfather. He is helped during this reactionary period by his chief ministerPobedonestev who describes democracy as the great lie of our time. 1881brings the Statute of State security which extends the powers of the secret police.Pipes states that during this period Russia could be categorised as a police state.Russification occurs from 1881 onwards- national identities are attacked in the

Baltic states, Russian is the only official language, only Russian religion ispermitted. He is also very anti-semitic, carrying out the pogroms and introducing600 new laws against the Jews.

FAMINE OF 1891:36 million people affected in 17 provinces (area 2X larger than France) diseases,people are weakened by starvation. Crisis response was very bad,Vishnygradskys let us starve but let us export policy of absolute denial, neededproof before aid could be sent out, word famine is banned. People of all classesare shocked, government passes the buck to Zemstvas which do very well leadingfor calls for a nation-wide Zemstva. Transportation methods are not sufficient toget food to the needy. Strengthens the potential revolutionary movement, it is

this famine that makes Lenin revolutionary. The famine was also caused in partby the completion of the railroad across the US, which meant that cheapAmerican grain from the prairies could be exported. The global wheat priceplummets, leaving the Russians with nothing to export.

NICHOLAS II: 1894-1918 (Abdication 1917)Good husband, crap politician. Limited intelligence, couldnt speak very goodRussian, spoke good French, had no military experience, hated the Japanese afterhis grand tour, didnt want to be leader of Russia, did his own paperwork and hadno sense of the big picture. Taking over the Russian army was a seriously badmove, as it left Russia in the hands of Rasputin and the Tsarina, who wereunpopular as you like.

THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAROccurred between 1904 and 1905. Japan a rapidly modernising power in the fareast with imperial interests in Korea and China. This expansion threatenedRussias interests in the area. NII underestimated the strength of this nation.Internally, Plehve suggested that a war might take peoples minds off of the crisis(the economic depression following the over-the-top, brutal industrialisation). TheRussians were very poorly equipped for this war , had out of date techniques, andwere trying to organise it from 6000 miles away. Infantry was soon defeated inManchuria, whilst the fleet was beaten at Tsushima. The unrest triggered by theconflict meant that there were calls for reform. NII was not willing to meet these,leading to Bloody Sunday.

THE REVOLUTION OF 1905CAUSES: The war, see above


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Unrest since 1861 emancipation:This changed the status of the peasants, but didnot change the system which they worked in. When you live in an agriculturalcountry with little internal trade this is ok, but when industrialisation begins,industrial production must increase. In addition to this, redemption paymentswere dispisedPopulation growth: Partially as a result of the zemstvas which had improved the

conditions in rural areas. More households reduced the tax burden, so thezemstva encouraged people to marry younger. The population is expanding, butthe modernisation isnt occuring with it.Famine: 36 million people were affected in 17 provinces, and distribution remainsa really serious problem.Zemstva: Raised literacy levels and hence allowed the spread of ideas andopposition to occur more rapidly.Industrialisation: Urban conditions were awful, and labour unrest had increaseddramatically. Despite the St Petersburg textile workers strike of 1896 theworkers still werent really politicised.Bloody Sunday massacre (when 150,000 workers go to the winter palace todeliver a petition to the Tsar, and then get shot), the feeling that politics is failing

and force is the only solution, cross class outrage. Not aimed at Nicholas,although he is an out of touch loser implementing an anachronistic system-badly.There are many more workers due to the rapid industrialisation, and many ofthem have a bad standard of living.DEMANDS: Liberals was national parliament with democratic elections,constitution, freedom of speech, political amnesty. Peasants want food and anend to redemption payments. Workers want trade unions, better conditions,shorter hours and better pay, at this stage no-one wants to abolish Tsarism,which was definitely the case in 1917. Obviously these demands are not exactlycompatible so there is not a great deal of co-operation.EVENTS: Localised and sporadic countryside violence, peasants get more wellorganised and form some unions, All Russia Peasant Union (which makes up 65%

of the Russian Population). Troops put down these uprisings (2700 of the bloodythings). Middle classes and liberals are frightened of peasants and have verydifferent demands to them. Establish a Union of Unions under Milyukov in May1905. Workers have spontaneous riots but little is planned. General strike byOctober. Black sea fleet mutinied, and troops were sent in to Odessa to sort itout.NICHOLASS RESPONSE: Had done nothing by Sept, August published a vagueplan for Duma. October manifesto, satisfied the liberals legislative powers,freedom of assembly worship and speech. November NII dropped the redemptiondues. Put down strikes and urban uprisings with force. Backtracked completelywith Fundamental laws of April 1906, which stated that he still had ultimatepower. The workers got nothing, although they are too disorganised to reallycare. The perception of the Tsar had also completely changed, he is no longerseen as the little Tsar.WHY HE SURVIVED: Most importantly had the support of the army thanks tothe Treaty of Portsmouth. Troops were able to put down worker unrest whichwas localised and not organised. All spontaneous and fragmented plus none of itwas actually targeted at the Tsar and the autocratic system. Opposition isdivided and have different demands which he is basically able to meet.Government was relatively decisive and acted quickly. He was lucky in that atthis stage he still had something to offer people.HISTORIOGRAPHY: Did the 1905 revolution and the Tsars reaction to it make theevents of 1917 somewhat inevitable?

TREATY OF PORTSMOUTH:

August 1905, negotiated by Witte and brought about an end to the Russo-Japanese war. Very favourable to Russia, did not have to pay war indemnity, did


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not surrender all of their territory in Manchuria, army retained faith in Tsar andgovernment. Russia still got absolutely shat on in this war, particularly at thebattle of Tsushima.

THE OCTOBER MANIFESTONII offered state parliament with legislative powers, freedom of assembly worship

and speech, legal rights for trade unions, and government positions to moderateliberals. In November he also dropped outstanding redemption dues. Thesedivide and rule/carrot and stick tactics were very effective. The fundamental lawsof 1906 backtracked completely from what had been promised. They stated thatthe Tsar would remain autocrat, with the power to dismiss or appoint anyofficials, middle classes were to have the most power in the Dumas, he chosemost of the people (50%) of the people in the Upper House. He could also vetoany legislation, and dismiss the Duma at will. However, 1905 had some importanteffects: Middle Classes decide that tyranny is better than anarchy, people reallybegin to sort out their demands, and each of the groups becomes more wellorganised. Most importantly, the role of the army was absolutely crucial.

DUMA ERA:First Duma-April-June 1906. As with all of the Dumas, it was composed of twochambers, one which was elected and one above it consisting of membersselected by the Tsar. Hence the first duma met in a mood of bitterness since itspower had been completely cut and it demanded more influence so the Tsardisbanded it. Dominated by liberals and does absolutely bugger all.Second Duma: February-June 1907. Very few Kadets as a result of the Vyborggroup, more Socialist Revolutionaries, who would become the most popular party.Considerable disagreement within Duma as the right was better represented.This duma also opposed Stolypins reforms.Third Duma: November 1907-June 1912. Lasted longer, made Russia look goodfor the triple entente of 1907, heavily dominated by right wing parties thanks to

Stolypin. Rubber Stamp Democracy , got on better with Stolypin as the balanceof power was more in his favour.Fourth Duma: November 1912-August 1914. Period of social unrest wasbeginning once again. Whole period was a lost opportunity, Dumas had somepotential, had war not occurred, perhaps Stolypin would have sorted out Russia(he had claimed give me 20 years and you will not know Russia or words to thateffect, the war meant that he didnt get these 20 years). Too much repression,people were already beginning to lose faith. The failure of the Dumas disillusionsthe liberals. The most frustrating thing is that they had real potential, and itshould be seen as a period of missed opportunity. If the Tsar had allowed it afew more powers, he may have allowed his own survival, but as he was sounwilling to change his position he ironically brought about his own demise withthe loss of the liberal support.

STOLYPIN: 1862-1911Came from the provinces: Saratov. Famous for his necktie and carriages,Minister of interior for 1906-1907, PM 1907-1911. Believed in economic reformand political repression, in his view peasants are clearly the key to futureeconomic success in Russia. He worked with the last two dumas to get thingsdone as these were more conservative.

STOLYPINS REFORMS:Wanted an agricultural revolution, and felt that he needed 20 years (needed waylonger and plus there was the small problem of WW1). Had faith in the newgeneration peasants like those in Lithuania and Poland, who were more

enterprising and there was no mir. He wanted peasants to break from the mirand convert their strips to private land, set up bank to help them do this. Plans


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fail dismally because the peasants are just too conservative. Most of them dontopt out of the mir. Russia is still in an economic depression at this stage whichdoesnt help. Simultaneously, he was implementing a scheme of politicalrepression. Summary courts, prisons 100% over-filled, also ended pogroms,sought to regulate police, supported compulsory primary school education, soughtto improve factory conditions. In the short-term, there was chaos in the

countryside, in the long term there was discontent as a result of the repression.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR:00191817 million roubles spent on it, army reforms had helped but it was still inflexible,artillery renovation, equipment shortages, 10 days worth of shells, 10 shots perday per soldier, 679 cars and 2 ambulances. Supreme commander (Duke Nikolai)had never fought before, on 22nd August 1915, Tsar took personal control of armyand this meant that he could be personally blamed when it screwed up. Between1914-15, the army lost 4 million men (50% conscripts). Officers got shot easilyas they went into battle in full uniform. Disease, disillusionment, desertion.Army started to hate Tsar-key factor was lack of army support in 1917. Rail

network still couldnt cope, Rasputin was appointed and was very unpopular,there was a serious lack of continuity in the Duma, leading to a slow decisionmaking process. Inflation quadrupled up to 1917, there were shortages ofabsolutely anything and everything, no jobs, loads of crime, loads of death, bothinternal and external problems, everything was crap, it was the man catalyst forthe 1917 revolution.Sparked off loads of opposition. Strikes in 1915 over price of bread, by 1917people began to target the Tsar himself. Revolutionary leaders were not involvedat this stage. 63 factories in Oct 1916 went on strike. Petrograd garrison (hadbeen key in 1905), whom NII was relying on were all viciously anti-war.

THE IMPACT OF WW1

ECONOMIC IMPACT: The regime has had to mobilise 12 million men- armthem, feed them and clothe them. The government at one stage attempted toprint money to pay for all of this, leading to inflation, although wages do not rise.There is also uneven economic growth, as there is a demand for certain products,although there is a dramatic shift away from consumer industries. Grain cannotget from the countryside to the cities- infrastructure problems and issues withhoarding (as there is no point selling it). The railways are crap, and there areshortages in the cities.SOCIAL IMPACT: The growth of the working class is accelerated. Amenities arenever provided and it is a very grim life. The peasantry is also empowered, manysoldiers are peasants, and there is a major garrison in Petrograd. Also a refugeeproblem, as there are many minority groups displaced around Russia. There is aserious polarisation of the classes, as the poor recognise how well off some of theindustrialists are.POLITICAL IMPACT: Undermines the legitimacy of the regime-why shouldpeople obey the Tsar? The educated people also have more influence, and clashmore with the bureaucracy. After the Tsar takes personal control, he can bepersonally held responsible. Rasputin is also unpopular, and people become moredisrespectful of the Tsar through him. The lower classes become politicised andthe Tsars legitimacy is undermined. The officer core also suffers huge losseswhich pisses off the nobility immensely.

POLITICAL INEPTITUDE PRIOR TO 1917Duma reconvened in July 1915, and only the Bolsheviks refused to support thewar (everyone else was caught up in this crazy wave of patriotic fervour). NII

didnt like this new duma, and dissolved it by September. With NII off buggeringthings up on the front line, the Tsarina was left to appoint lots of crap ministers,


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as well as putting immense faith in Rasputin, who everyone was very suspiciousof. By 1916, she was known as the traitor, and in December he wasassassinated.

ECONOMIC/SOCIAL INEPTITUDE PRIOR TO 1917Inflation quadrupled prices between 1914 and 1917. There were food and goods

shortages, distribution of food was dodgy, there were labour shortages due toconscription. There was no rationing until 1916, peasants didnt bother toproduce surplus since there were no goods for them to buy. The governmenttried to requisition grain from the peasants but did not have the manpower to dothis. In Jan 1917 food deliveries to Moscow fell 60% short of need, infantmortality doubled and the crime rate tripled.

THE FIRST 1917 REVOLUTION:CAUSES: The war. This meant that Stolypin could not finish off his reforms (andhe was dead too). More importantly, it meant that the army no longer supportedthe Tsar, who was the subject of criticism haven taken personal control of thearmy. He could no longer rely on force. The scale of the conflict was huge,

millions of casualties and Russian soil occupied. It placed economic strains on thecountry, leading to shortages. He no longer had anything to offer to the people.The dumas had been a failure so the liberals and the middle classes wereunimpressed, the workers were also a far larger and more well organised group.Land reform had ended in 1911, so by 1916 tension levels in the countrysidewere very high once again, particularly with the added problems of shortages dueto the war. Left behind the inept politicians, Rasputin and Alexandra who no-oneliked and who dismissed every single vaguely good prime minister or foreignminister. The workers were far more organised as were the peasants- this timeits personal and he has nothing to offer them- he is also lacking the support ofthe nobles and the elites. Lenin et al were not involved- it was a spontaneousrevolution.

EVENTS: Jan 9th

150,000 workers go on strike in commemoration of BloodySundayJan 14th Demonstration in support of the Duma as it re-opened.Feb 18th Putilov workers went on strikeFeb 22nd Nicholas returns to the frontFeb 23rd Demonstration confronting soldiers v. PopularFeb 26th Last instance of soldiers shooting at demonstratorsFeb 27th Duma blamed by Tsar, Kerensky tries to sort something out.Feb 28th Red flag raisedMarch 2nd Tsar abdicates, 1st Provisional Government is set up.

BOLSHEVISM: BP was formally part of the Socialist Democratic party whichthen split into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks, under Lenin did notbelieve in revolution as a mass movement, and couldnt wait for Russia to gothrough the capitalist phase. In contrast, the Mensheviks (Trotsky was a formermember) had theories which were closer to Marxist theory, but were not as wellsupported or represented in the Soviets.

THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT MONTHS: MARCH-OCTPROBLEMS FACED: WAR. Wanted to have some success before quitting, andneeded to maintain support from the allies (Br and Fr), this was in conflict withpublic opinion, people wanted to see an end to all of their families being dead.June offensive means they lose even more support, and army discipline collapsesyet further. LAND. Peasants wanted it and began to take it illegally. PG doesnothing much, needs peasant support too. There is still chaos in the countryside,

and the mir remains the controlling factor. DUAL AUTHORITY. Soviet drainssupport from PG, have practical control over Petrograd which is the important


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thing. People in both begin to lose credibility. Bolsheviks gain support as theywere never involved in the PG, bided their time. The country was in completechaos as a result of the war.EVENTS: April war continues as the provisional government seeks recognitionfrom the West. The Soviets bide their time, believing themselves to be in thebourgeois phase.

3rd April- The April theses, Lenin writes that capitalism must be overthrown andthat the time is now.May-July 1st coalition. And the failed June offensive3rd June meeting of all-Russia congress of Soviets, mostly SRs and Menshevikswho are the big two at this stage. Bolsheviks had grass roots support however.3rd July Kronstadt naval officers revolt, supported, but not organised byBolsheviks.July-Sept 2nd coalition.Kerensky was the leader of it, Bolsheviks were denounced by him.August Kornilov affair, general tried a military coup to take away the power ofthe Soviets, Kerenskys involvement damaged his reputation. Led to furthercollapses in army discipline.

Sept 29th Oct 25th 3rd coalition.

KERENSKY:Led the Provisional Government, got a bad reputation from his dealings withKornilov, played everybody off against one another and was a member of allpolitical groups. Failed to see the real threat that the Bolsheviks posed in late1917.

APRIL THESES:Made by Lenin. Said that capitalism must be overthrown, no support should begiven to the provisional government, power should lie with the Soviets, land andbanks should be nationalised. First suggestion of a second revolution, also

contradicting Marxist theory.

LENIN: Died in 1924, was not really in control from 1922.April Theses was the first suggestion of revolution, he was important as it wasanti-Marxist, he wanted to force a revolution to occur, and doesnt believe in theneed for a mass movement. He was extremely influential.Between 1918 and 1922 he was a dictator, almost personally responsible for theconclusion to WW1, the ban on factions, the end of the assembly, WarCommunism, the NEP and Red Terror.From 1922 onwards he was still important as he influenced the power struggle,believing that there should not be one single successor.He was an ideological pragmatist that thought that politics just got in the way ofspreading the Marxist message, which was his main aim. Russia came beforeMarxism, hence the NEP. Made sacrifices for the safety of the revolution, and hedidnt care about individuals. At the time of his death, this was the issue thatsplit the party. The revolution achieved an end to the provisional government,but led to a whole lot more shit.

SECOND 1917 REVOLUTION:PG had done no better than the Tsar- just another Rubber Stamp democracy.They had continued the war, and there was chaos in the countryside. Kerensky isa complete dickhead, had lost credibility due to his role in the Kornilov coup andthe failed June offensive. Working and living conditions were still terrible, Sovietshad more power than PG and Trotsky had the brilliantly organised Red Army.OCTOBER 1917- Incited by the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks did not believe that the

time was right. It was not a revolution involving the masses, but was undertakenby a number of professional revolutionaries under the leadership of Lenin and


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Trotsky. It was not spontaneous- it is a coup carried out by an elite group.Thought that Europe was on the brink of Revolution, and that Russia could set itoff. Kerensky didnt believe that it was actually going to happen. On the 25th

October the Bolsheviks occupied the Winter Palace, and proclaimed that arevolutionary socialist government would be formed. The next day, Lenin issuedhis peace and land decrees.

THE TRADITIONAL VIEW OF LENINS ROLE IN THESE EVENTSTraditionally there was unanimity about Lenins importance- he was presented asthe maker of the revolution. People thought that hed founded and developed astrictly controlled and disciplined party, made in his own image. This view alsostates that the Bolsheviks gained support legitimately in the Soviets, and that thelower classes were aware of what Bolshevism stood for.

THE MORE RECENT VIEWModern opinion is quite different. In fact, the Bolshevik party was not a strict,disciplined party- it was very loosely organised. Regional leaders often disobeyedthe central party line, and did not follow the policy dictated by Lenin. It certainly

was not a robotic organisation with Lenin in some kind of all powerful role at itshead. Lenin himself was not present between April and October, and hissuggestion for an earlier revolution was ignored. He was not always the activeleader, and there was a lot of talent at the provincial leadership level- not just inthe central committee. Many of the members of the party didnt even know whathe looked like, and he also rarely wrote in pravda.

HOW IMPORTANT WAS LENIN?Must not downgrade him too much. He was quite a modern politician in terms ofhis ability to manipulate people and appease all kinds of audiences. With fellowMarxists, he talked about the need for terror, and a dictatorship over theproletariat, whilst with workers, he toned his ideas down and talked about

freedom for the workers. He was also far less arrogant than someone likeTrotsky or Zinoviev. He had the common touch. He didnt really have controlover the whole party, but critically was dominant in Petrograd. He knew that theparty would not reject a seizure of power if it was already underway, meaningthat he did not need widespread support, even among the party. Also set up thefirst modern dictatorships, which in time would go on to cover almost 1/3rd of theglobe.

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE SOVIET STATE:Summer of 1918 a state was set up that remained in power until 1985. 1917-1918 could be called the idealistic period. People still believed in the ideas ofworld revolution at this stage. There is a period of artistic, cultural and socialfreedom, and country become RSFSR. The constituent assembly meets for oneday in January and is dissolved by Red Guards as the Bolsheviks only gain ofthe seats.

THE END TO RUSSIAN INVOLVEMENT IN THE WAR:Peace was important as to create economic and political stability. Trotskymeanwhile is trying to get the Germans to follow the Russian example and have arevolution. This gives the Russians more time, but also aggravates the Germans.Lenin is typically pragmatic, believing that sacrifices such as a crap treaty have tobe made in order to secure the safety of the revolution. On 16th Feb, Germany isgetting so impatient that it re-declares war, so the Russians are forced to acceptthat a treaty is necessary. Brest-Litovsk March 3rd. Russia loses 32% of its land,34% of its population, 54% of its industry and 89% of its coal. Poland, Ukraine,

Finland and Baltic states all gain independence.


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THE CIVIL WAR:Bolsheviks v. Tsarists, SRs, Mensheviks, Liberals, Cossacks, Peasants, NationalGroups, British, French, Americans, Japanese and the Czech regiment. 3 mainwhite armies:Western: Yudenich-on PetrogradSouthern: Kornilov and Deniken (Ex-Tsarists)

Eastern: Kolchak.The allies are involved because they are afraid of Communism, in addition to this,the Bolsheviks were refusing to pay back huge debts to the French. However,they never fully commit to the war effort.Those in the South probably had the most success, threatening supply lines andgenerally being really annoying. Kolchak was shot in Feb 1920, following asteady retreat into the Urals. The Crimea was the last white stronghold in April1920, and eventually the whites gave it up.REASONS FOR OUTBREAK OF WAR AND WHITE CAUSEBy 1918, large portions of the Russian population had been alienated, but theydid not have united aims. The Whites were those from other revolutionarygroups, former imperial officers angered by the Betrayal of Brest-Litovsk,

nationalist groups seeking independence. Most of the generals were Tsarists likeDeniken, Kornilov, Krasnov, who wanted to restore the Provisional Government.There were also Kadets such as Miliukov, SRs such as Chernov and Nationalistgroups such as the cossacks.

CAMPAIGNSIn S- Deniken with British and French support, had cleared the Don and Kubanregions of Bolsheviks. In the E, a coalition eventually formed between thoseholding the Trans Siberian railway. In the N, Tsarist general EK miller with Britishsupport controlled Murmansk. In the W, there were Germans and hostilenationalities. In Russia, individual uprisings led by the SRs occurred.DEFEAT OF KOLCHAK: In E, centred on Omsk. Reds were unified, the whites were

not. In November 1918, Kolchak became the Supreme Leader of all Russians,and by June 1919 hed been pushed back beyond the Urals. By November 1919Omsk was taken, and in February 1920 Kolchak was handed over to the RedArmy and shot.BOLSHEVIK VICTORY IN S AND W: Deniken and Yudenich initially made rapidprogress, got from Odessa to quite near Moscow and St.Petersburg. Retreat wasequally rapid, after stubborn defence from Trotsky they were pushed back toEstonia. From April 1920, only the Crimean region, with the whites led byWrangel, remained untaken. He was quite a good commander, but evacuated inNovember 1920.

REASONS FOR THE BOLSHEVIK SUCCESSWhites in the SE, had wide fronts with poor communications. The aims of thecommanders were not always the same as those of the intevening allies. Otherthan Wrangel, none made an attempt to deal with the peasants and the people.People did not dislike the Bolsheviks enough. The communists had excellentleadership and propaganda. Trotsky brilliantly directed the war on most fronts.Some of the allies were French and American.

WHITES: Divided and incompatible. Included Tsarists, peasants, allied nationsplus Japan, Czech legion, liberals, Mensheviks, SRs and some peasants. They arebrutal, often as bad as War Communist requisitioning squads. Make Tsarist citiesup with all the family.

REDS: United under brilliant leadership of Trotsky. Gave them an identity, fully

professional and well trained, many members were involved with supply andadmin, so it was a well oiled machine. Full of peasants, many of the officers


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served under the Tsar and are forced to fight with the reds. Discipline is verytight, and the death penalty is introduced once again. Illness and desertion wereboth major issues. Also education introduced.

IDEOLOGICAL REASONS FOR FOREIGN INTERVENTIONSOVIET HISTORIAN AND LENINS VIEW: Allied mission was to suppress global

communism. Some Western historians also sympathise with this viewEH CARR: Intension to redeclare war against Germany in the East as a pretext,and due to fear and hatred felt by Western governments for the revolutionarycampaign.JOHN BRADLEY: Fochs anti-Bolshevik plan rejected by allies at Versailles Jan1919, and in February the US had proposed negotiations. Prior to the treaty ofBrest Litovsk, the British and Americans had almost given their support to thereds against the Germans.

OTHER REASONS FOR INTERVENTIONViewed in context of WW1.-PG promised to keep Russia in the war, and as such was given resources and

finance. Prior to 1914, little attention had been given to Bolshevism. During thewar, Germany gave the Bolsheviks money, in the hope of bringing about aRussian revolution and collapse. During 1917, the fighting ceased, pleasing theGermans. The French and British still held onto the faint hope that the war couldcontinue. Lloyd George was neither for or against Bolshevism, but was anti-German. So aid for anti-German Russians ended up going to the Bolsheviks, andthe British and French were determined that this aid would not fall into Germanhands.- After Brest-Litovsk, many Germans were left in the West, near to hugeresources in Poland, Ukraine and Russia, and threaten allied stores. Britisharmies go into Murmansk, whilst the Japanese go into Vladivostok to ease thereclaiming of these stores. They wanted also to restart the war in the East.

Britain then seized Baku, not wanting Germany to get the oil from there.

AFTER 1918 MOTIVATIONS WERE DIFFERENTAfter Germany had been defeated, continuation of the war effort was no longer apriority.FRENCH: Had invested 16 billioin francs in Tsarist Russia between 1887 and1918. Enterprises set up with this cash had now been nationalised, but theydreceived no compensationBRITAIN AND THE USA: Had slightly smaller investments to defendJAPAN: Wanted to make territorial gains in Asia at Russias expense. So US senttroops into Siberia to block Japanese aspirations in the region. In 1918, 70,000Japanese troops were sent into Vladivostok, Sakhalin and E.Siberia.MID 1919: Comintern was established with the declaration that it would

overthrow capitalism and establish dictatorship of the proletariat and USSR-after this point intervention became more ideological but much less relevant.

WHAT DID THE INTERVENTION ACHIEVE?BR, FR, US into MurmanskCZ, FIN, LIT, POL, ROM all wanted independenceFRENCH established a land base around Odessa in April 1918JAPANESE occupied VladivostokJAPAN AND US occupied Siberia in 1919At the end of 1918 there were 150,000 troops in N.Russia who were all extremelywar weary. The USA sent 6000 troops to Siberia, with limited objectives. Moreimportant than these troops was cash. Br and Fr gave the equivalent of 20

million pounds for this, although little of the aid reached the front. Foreign troopsin small numbers based around Murmansk had some effect. Aims and motives


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were often at odds, limiting success, as with Siberia. The US refused to co-operate with the undemocratic Kolchak, the French did, but with great difficulty.Bolsheviks could also claim that they were fighting imperialism, which acted as agreat distraction from the internal disputes. All in all, it was bollox, and acomplete failure (but the french were involved so what did you expect) By1919 all the French and US troops had been pulled out. In 1922 Japan pulled

out.

CIVIL WAR ECONOMY:In a seriously bad state. Germany had control over many of the industrial areasfollowing Brest-Litovsk treaty. The army took people away from industry andagriculture, leading to inevitable problems. Shops are shut, and the economyswitches to barter. Money becomes useless and hyperinflation sets in as thepeasants refuse to sell their produce. Bagmen went into countryside to try to buyfood, most of them are factory workers (30% of all workers did this) which hadserious implications for industrial production. Private ownership of land wasbanned in November 1917. By 1920, Bolsheviks have nationalised electricity,

railways and larger banks. A centralised economic planning agency is set up.

WAR COMMUNISM:Was a pragmatic response to the situation created by the war. Also ideological insome ways as it is more similar to true Marxism. About control as much as aboutfood and supplies. Bolsheviks ran factories and began a program ofnationalisation. Rationing was based on class, with soldiers and workers beingthe most favoured. The Bolsheviks take the peasants grain and apportion it allover the country, no private dealing is allowed and all surplus is taken, so thepeasants just stop producing surplus, or at least try and hide any surplus thatthey have. Only works at gunpoint, led by the CHEKA. There is a famine in 1921that kills 5 million people, the word famine is also banned, echoes of Tsarist

regime. Gorky tries to get international aid. US gives a huge amount of money$61 million, and Russia continues to export grain which is very cheeky. Thiskeeps lots of the population alive. Lenin viewed all of this as a sacrifice to theSoviet state, and therefore justified.

THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY:Introduced on the last day of the tenth party conference in 1921, particularlynecessary as a response to the Kronstadt Mutiny. No-one can say anythingagainst it as he reveals it on the last day of the conference. The NEP reversesWar Communism, there is to be no more requisitioning, private trade is allowed,peasants are encouraged to produce more and allowed to keep surplus, smallscale private industries are allowed, this is capitalist. Not particularly Marxist,was a policy that rose out of the war, but may also hint that Lenin had realisedthat Russia needed an extension to its capitalist period, public expenditure cut,fees introduced for education and health facilities. Idealist Bolsheviks areshocked, but everyone assumes that it is just a short term policy.

LENINS POTENTIAL SUCCESSORS:TROTSKY: Had led the Red Army and was probably the most able but was veryarrogant, he was seen as Lenins 2IC, particularly during the Civil War era. Hehad a Ukrainian Jewish background, and was an intellectual who had formallybeen with the Mensheviks. He never held a party post and was not a teamplayer, he did not have political allies and was vocally anti-NEP as he was such anidealist. He put Marxism before Russia. Most importantly, he believed in worldrevolution, this was clearly not going to happen by 1924, and believers began to

lose credibility. He was accused of Bonapartism, as in someone who would betraythe revolution. Was defeated by the Triumvirate.


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BUKHARIN: Editor of Pravda, Secretary of the Comintern, thought that theeconomy should be allowed to develop at its own pace and was pro-NEP, thoughtthat they would need the peasants, and heavy central control could lead toanother famine, his views on the economy are not popular, and the party comesdown more on the side of the left at the critical moments. Marxist with reservei.e. does not have the right belief system.

KAMENEV AND ZINOVIEV: Lost credibility as they were opportunistic. First ofall in Triumvirate with Stalin as they hated Trotsky and saw him as their mainthreat. As tide turned, allied themselves with Trotsky in 1925 but lost credibilityfor doing this. In 1927 they were both evicted from the party and the Politburo.STALIN: Manipulated the economic policy debate and was fortunate in that hemanaged to judge the party mood relatively well. As gen sec, he had filled theparty with his own people and was surrounded by his supporters. Everyoneunderestimated him. Used Triumvirate to eliminate opposition from the right. Allof his previous jobs had him dealing with the admin side of things. He wasordinary and not pretentious like Trotsky, he was also xenophobic, as were manyRussian people. Did not believe in world revolution which was becomingincreasingly unpopular. He used the image of Lenin, making him seem like a God

with the Cult of Lenin and then presenting himself as the rightful heir, he gainedfrom the association. Nobody believed that he had the ambition, used the CHEKAto get all of the dirt on his opponents. Lenin didnt stop him as he was too ill andalso wanted to balance out the threat of Trotsky, he also never appointed asuccessor.

TRIUMVIRATE:Had power from 1922-1924 and split up when Zinoviev and Kamenev jumpedship to go work with Trotsky. Defeated Trotsky and the left by working together,united by hate of Trotsky, also thought that Stalin was the weaker candidate.Right was defeated because no-one liked their economic beliefs as it was a

deviation from Marxism.

POLITICS 1917-1924Had to deal with internal and external opposition. Party was becoming a massmovement, how would they turn the party into a government.Tsarist elements still remained, most obviously the bureaucracy, if the Bolshevikssack all of them, who will they replace them with. Council of PeoplesCommissars, 10 members, the most powerful body, power was concentrated on

just a few people. Bolsheviks begin to bring their own people into thebureaucracy, this leads to Stalins appointment as Gen Sec in 1922 which wouldprove to be a very important position, in 1918 it was a shit job. By 1921 thebureaucracy is 10X larger than the Tsarist one, consuming 90% of all the paper inRussia As the size of the party grew, it became more corrupt.In the 1921 conference, Lenin introduced a ban on factions i.e. no internalopposition, for some reason, this was actually very effective.To deal with external opposition they won the civil war. Also arrested a vastnumber of SRs and Mensheviks. Cheka played a very important role in the RedTerror which ran from 1921 to 1923. Terror was used as part of an officialgovernment policy, it was a tool of control. Innocent people got caught up inwhat was a bit like a dry run for the purges. Feelix Dhzerzhinsky led it, bit of asadist. Tsar and his family are killed in Ekaterinburg in 1918. The terror wasresponsible for around 2 million deaths. 30,000 members in the Cheka. Trotsky

we shall not enter into the Kingdom of socialism with white gloves on a polishedfloor its going to get messy.

NATIONALITIES ISSUE 1917-1924:


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Russia is an empire so there are lots of different nationalities within it. Lenininitially believed in self-determination, but by 1920 is beginning to change hismind after the failed invasion of Poland. Stalin is Commissar for nationalities, butMarx doesnt really say how you should deal with this type of problem. Jan 1918-declaration of the rights of the toiling and exploited people. Federal system witha degree of independence, Bshiks continue to unofficially support communist

uprisings such as in Poland. Baltic states supposedly get independence followingBrest-Litovsk. Ukraine is retaken in 1921 and made part of the old empire. Asianstates are brought into the empire, despite the race issue. By 1922 USSR hademerged, remained up until 1991.

CULTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE 1917-1924:1918-Proletkult is set up, and there is lots of talent about. By 1922, there arelots of very confused and worried peasants, this is all far too abstract for them.Proletkult is disbanded, bringing and end to the cultural flowering, instead you getlots of Socialist Realism art. Religion was also eventually banned, 8000 clergy arekilled in the terror, and the wealth of the church is taken over by the state. Thereis also more personal freedom, i.e. it is much easier to get a divorce, women get

equal property rights, it is a forward looking period. Lots of the fun stuff iscensored because Lenin is boring. In 1924 it all began to change and all of thewriters and poets got exiled, people couldnt write what they wanted to anymore,very depressing.

THE COMMUNIST PARTY UNDER LENIN:PARTY MEMBERSHIP: 1917-24000, 1921-733000, 1924- 1700000. Memberswere given elite jobs in the armies and factories. By 1921, most of the membershad little understanding of the concepts of Marxism or Leninism but knew thatbeing in the party would be good for them. It became a mass movement.

STALINS PLANS FOR RUSSIAHis economic plans involved reform of agriculture and industry. Famous 50-100years speech, had to make good the difference in 10 years or be crushed by theWestern powers. Unlike Lenin and Trotsky, he believed in Socialism in onecountry and was inward looking and xenophobic. He wanted to make Russiastrong and socialists. His economic reforms would also be slightly ideological,more anti-NEP. By 1926, Trotsky is out of the power struggle, so Stalin is able totake the leftist line on the economy and hence shaft Bukharin (good bloke) andRykov. He wanted to take the country back to true communism, things had to bechanging, with none of this capitalist economy bollocks. NEP is also not a veryeffective policy, by 1926 only 17% of what is grown is marketed. Peasants hoardgrain, afraid of famine, also no point having money because there are no goods inRussia. The government grain prices were also very low. Crisis developing- nowis the time to implement Stalins plans for Russia. As with Lenin, he is anideological pragmatist, if you know what I mean.

COLLECTIVISATIONCollectivisation was Stalins plan for agricultural reform and aimed in part toincrease Stalins control over the peasantry, though its primary purpose was toincrease efficiency and productivity through modernisation and improvement ofmethods. Was piloted at first in Siberia in early 1927 and made official policy bythe party by the end of the year. Involved large farms, owned by the state with awork force of 1000s. Resources and labour were shared on the land, thegovernment took a set percentage of what was produced and set quotascentrally. By 1929 it was being introduced across Russia, initially as a voluntary

program, which no-one wanted to join- until the government began to usecoercion. Between Dec 1929 and March 1930, 60% of the peasants are


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collectivised, brings chaos to countryside, crops burnt, livestock killed. Theprocess is stopped in March, Stalin dizzy with success recognises that theprocess needs to be slowed down. By June, 25% of the peasants are collectivised(so 35% have chosen to leave collective farms). The process began again afterthe Sept 1930 harvest, with the goal of collectivisation for every peasant by1932. This time, much more organised, exciting incentives like tractors, but the

peasants still mess around (mostly because they dont trust the communists whohave this knack of taking all of their food). In 1936 it is finally complete. Kulakclass (around 10 million people) disappear, either sent to Gulags like Kolyma orcollectivised.

FAMINE 1931-1934Inevitably this chaos in the countryside led to a famine. 10-15 million people die,but the whole thing is kept secret. Mostly as a result of the peasants burningtheir crops, and the fact that collectivised farms take a while to get going. Intypical Russian style, grain continued to be exported, no access to worst affectedregions, peasants so hungry they eat next years seeds. Stalins fault for pushingcollectivisation, but he wanted to get rid of the mir and the kulaks. He had the

right idea, just went about it in the crap way, not recognising that it would taketime and require a situation where there would be little opposition. Itconsolidates his power but definitely alienates the peasants.

THE FIVE YEAR PLANSThe five year plans were implemented to help Russia to rapidly industrialise,hopefully with more success than they had last time that was tried.AIMS: An abandonment of the NEP, not like Bukharins ideas of unforcedeconomy, was a break from the right. Had to be rapid and forced industrialisationcontrolled centrally. Wanted an economy that could compare to that of Westernnations in 10 years. Tool for it was Gosplan, central planning agency set up in1921- national quotas which filter down to the local level.

THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN:Ran from 1928 to December 1932. Main emphasis was on infrastructure and theproduction of energy and construction materials, at an envisaged rate of increaseof 20%. Not all quotas were reached, but there were significant increases inproduction in all areas. Machinery output increased X4, oil production X2,electrical output by 250%, 17 new blast furnaces. Some showpieces, DnieprostoiDam, and iron and steel production centres at Magniotogorsk and Kuznetsk. Laidfoundations for second five year plan. Some quota shortfalls, (Steel, iron, heavymetallurgy and consumer goods suffering the worst setbacks). Also kinda like a

peasant buying a gramophone not a cow- although the showpieces were verynice, they werent exactly all that practical. Possibly a little too hard and fast.THE SECOND FIVE YEAR PLAN:Ran from 1933 to 1937. Had a lower annual target of 14% and was designed tobuild on the successes of the first five year plan with a more skilled workforce.Focussed again on heavy industry, metallurgical resources (Pb, Zn, Ni, Sn) andcommunications. Much better quality and less waste than first five year plan,more showpieces, Moscow-Volga canal and Moscow metro. Some quota shortfallsagain, some administrative inefficiency and deterioration of diplomatic situationleading to spiralling military expenditure all slowed the developments. Militaryexpenditure was 3.4% of govs total expenditure in 33, 16.1% by 1936 and32.6% by 1940.

LIVING STANDARDS UNDER STALINFew individual freedoms for the worker. Working conditions were dangerous,particularly on the major projects away from the traditional industrial centres. If

targets were not met, even a lowly worker could face charges of sabotage.However, they did get subsidised food and free medical care. But there were still


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problems of overcrowding and poor sanitation since the size of the industrial workforce doubled between 1927 and 1933. Food prices were high during the earlyyears of collectivisation. In 1933, there was an 80% increase in the price of foodand bread and a 55% increase in the price of butter. The industrial drive alsobrought rewards for some people, and there were privileges for the most skilledand productive workers. In 1935, a Donbas miner Alexei Stakhanov cut fourteen

times his quota of coal. Workers such as this got better houses, higher wagesand access to scarce consumer goods. But for everyone else, the Stakhanovitemovement created problems, as shift production quotas increased by up to 50%between 1936 and 1939.

THE PURGESResulted in around 20 million deaths (estimates range from 8m to 25m)- it isimpossible to get clear figures. More stats: Central committee of communistparty lost 110/139 members between 1934 and 1939. In army, 3/5 marshals arekilled, all admirals killed, 60/67 political commanders, 70% divisionalcommanders, 60% political commanders. 1934 party congress 1108/1996delegates were shot. In Georgia, between 37 and 39, 4/5 party secretaries were

shot, around 80,000 people. By 41 Trotsky, Bukharin (38), Kamenev (36),Zinoviev (36), Rykov (36), Yezhov (38) and Tomsky (suicide 38) were all dead,accused of being enemies of the people. Precedent had been set by the RedTerror. Everyone knew somebody that had been purged. Between 33 and 34, 1million people were expelled from the party for being rightist, big changeover inparty, people always wanted to join. In December of 1934, The Leningrad partyboss Kirov was assassinated, probably on Stalins orders as he was getting verypopular. Stalin is the chief mourner and being a crafty bastard uses theassassination as a pretext for the purges. NKVD are even more powerful thanbefore, under Beria (a complete sadist, makes Stalin look quiet alright). From1934, the purges program was headed up by Yagoda, head of the NKVD, whichbecomes a law unto itself. The army was also extensively purged, beginning in

1937. In June, Tukhachevsky and some fellow generals were shot. The purge ofthe army was completed by 1939, but it was not in a great state at the time ofthe outbreak of WW2.

SHOW TRIALSIn the show trials of 1936, 37 and 38, all of the previous leading Bolsheviksconfess to their guilt. Everybody tried confessed to the crime, be it fascism,spying, Trotskyism etc. People genuinely thought that there was a bigconspiracy. People who were accused almost began to believe it for themselves.There was never any hard evidence for the convictions, and lots of peopleimplicated other people (Kamenev and Zinoviev implicated Bukharin, bastards.They were on trial charged with involvment with Kirovs murder and plotting tooverthrow the Soviet State. They accepted these charges and read outconfessions in court.) Coercion and torture were used if people did not confess,the prosecutor always made a good show speech and the accused was never evengiven the chance to defend themselves. The party was peoples belief system-some of them genuinely thought that they had betrayed the party (screwed up orwhat). In the coming years there would be a strange indifference in Russia,many people still think that it may have been for the greater good.

STALINS FOREIGN POLICYIn the early years of the USSR, Russian foreign policy had been dictated by theneeds of world revolution. However, operating this kind of policy was not easy,since Lenins position was not strong enough, the Bolsheviks were weak, therewere internal problems and Europe/the USA were both strongly anti-Communist.

1921 the Spartakist uprising in Germany was violently supressed, a sign thatworld revolution just aint gonna happen. This fact means that the USSR is forced


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to co-operate with non-Communist governments in order to ensure its survival onthe diplomatic scene. In 1922, the USSR signed the Treaty of Rapallo withGermany. These two nations were the black sheep of Europe (and remainedthus until the Nazi/Soviet pact of 1939), and the treaty was a trading agreement-it also allowed German troops to train in the USSR, breaking the Treaty ofVersailles. In 1924, the conservative British government withdraws its

recognition of the USSR (choosing just not to look at that part of the map...?) andin 1926 accused the USSR of causing the General Strike- this leads to abreakdown in diplomatic relations. By 1928 Russian foreign policy is mostdefinitely Socialism in one Country. The USSR even chooses to help thenationalist party in China, and was very reserved with its aid to the SpanishRepublic.FOREIGN POLICY BEFORE WW2: In 1934 Stalin realises that Hitler is a threatand joins the League of Nations as well as signing a Treaty with France. In 1935Russia signs a mutual assistance pact with Czechoslovakia, but GB and Fr neveragree to a full alliance (see Germany notes to recognise the crapness of thisdecision). 1935 also brought with it the beginning of the Popular Front policy,this is the idea of an alliance between all left-wing parties, Spain and France both

had one for a while. In 1936 Italy and Germany sign the anti-Comintern pact,with Japan signing in 1937. (See Germany notes for details of run-up to war.) In1939, the USSR signs the Molotov/Ribbentrop pact. This is a non-aggressionpact, with Germany and USSR publicly agreeing to enjoy peaceful relations butprivately agreeing to split Poland, giving Stalin territory and Hitler a one-frontwar. The USSR regains some territory that it lost at the end of WW1.

THE STALINIST GOVERNMENTUSSR claimed to be a democracy because of 1936 constitution which provided allcitizens over the age of 18 the right to elect the Supreme Soviet. But there wasonly one party to vote for... and any real power lay within the party itself. Therewas very strict censorship of the press, and little freedom of speech or freedom of

movement. Jews were persecuted, and the Orthodox church was also attacked,with many churches closed and priests purged. In 1941 he set up the StateDefence Committee to co-ordinate the war effort, the army was reorganised, withable officers being promoted.

CULT OF STALINLenin never had his own cult, it was made for him by Stalin who thenmanipulated it to put forward his own image. Stalin is the new Lenin idea, thecult was legitimised by the Cult of Lenin. Socialism is from each according to hisability, to each according to his need. Stalinism changes the need to work.Technical jobs are the most profitable, intellectual jobs are downgraded.Emphasis more on hands-on style education, but by 1940 94% of all Russians areliterate (probably better than in most of the world today). The Russian characteris conservative, and Stalin brought these values back (conservative socialism?!?)-in 1936 abortion was made illegal, and it was far harder to get a divorce- societybecame much more permissive. Religion was attacked on all fronts, League ofMilitant Godless Volunteers was set up, and they went around pulling downchurches. By 1940, only 1 in 40 churches function. 60,000 priests in 1920 downto 5665 by 1940. Also some growth in popular culture, by 1940 Russia had28,000 cinemas, and stadiums were built in all the bigger towns as were parkssuch as Gorky park. Books became very popular, but all the art was SocialRealism whilst all architecture was Stalinist Gothic. In order to further elevatehis status he used art, posters and media. Artists were forced to create workswhich glorified Russian achievement- 'Social Realism art, lots of reds and tractorsand Stalin in the sky (yes realism). Anything else was branded as Bourgeois.

Posters with slogans such as For the Greater Cause encouraged people to jointhe army or work harder in their factory or on their collective farm. The media


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was totally state controlled, and also glorified the state and Stalin, not thatanyone cared, since only about 1% of the population owned radios. All of thispropaganda was highly successful, despite its brutality. People did genuinelybelieve much of what they were told, and arguably Stalins popularity increasedas a result of its use. It was also quite effective for recruiting people for thearmy.

STALIN AND MARXISMStalin modified Marxist theories and operated a state under Stalinist principles.Stalinism could be seen as the rightful next step from Leninism. It is importantto remember that even before Stalin came along, the USSR was not a trueMarxist state by any means. The USSR had only come into being following aviolent coup carried out by an armed minority, and not as a result of a massmovement, as Marx had written in the Communist manifesto the proletarianmovement is the movement of the immense majority, in the interests of theimmense majority. The state had also clearly not withered away, as institutionssuch as the armed forces, the courts and the police were still very much inexistance. The NEP was very far removed from marxist principles, and Leninism

had become a political system in its own right, Stalin continued existing trends,elevating the state of the leader and further increasing state control. The politicalsystem under these two could probably be best described as state socialism.ECONOMICS: Used the economic debate to rise to power, branding the rightistsas anti-Marxist. Set up a Totalitarian State Economy- pragmatic, wanted astrong economy rather than one based on Marxist ideologies. Marx had been aneconomic determinist-believing that the socio-political situation of a country wasa direct result of its economic structure- but Stalin and Lenin both inverted this,since the nature of the Russian economy under them was determined by thepolitical system. He also manipulated the ideological debate in order to speed upindustrialisation and economic reform. By 1928, it was clear that the NEP was nolonger working. In order to ensure the survival of the revolution and of Soviet

Russia, it was necessary to transform the nation into a strong, modern,industrialised power in the shortest possible time. But Stalin could justify endingthe NEP and forcing rapid industrialisation by referring back to Marxist ideology.The NEP was far more anti-marxist than any of the economic policies underStalin, and the lessening emphasis on consumer industries as well as a reductionto private enterprise during the first five year plan was far closer to true Marxism.The destruction of the Kuluk class was also facilitated through the implementationof the ideological argument. The Kulaks were identified as the class who wereholding back the workers revolution. Stalinist propaganda labelled them asbetrayers of the revolution, who monopolised the best land and had grownwealthy under the NEP. In fact, they were simply slightly more industriouspeasants who had employed more efficient methods, but the scapegoating of thekulak class provided a pretext for a reform of the peasantry as a whole.FOREIGN/DOMESTIC POLICIES: Stalin believed in Socialism in one country, not inworld revolution. This is a major contradiction of Marxism, and demonstrates hisinsular, xenophobic and paranoid character. The Russian character, on the otherhand, is inherently conservative. Stalin brought many conservative values back,making divorce far more difficult, outlawing abortion and in general makingsociety much less permissive. This too did not exactly correspond with Marxisttheories of constant social upheaval and political change. One of the crucialcomponents of Marxist, and early Bolshevik ideology was the abolition of all formsof social distinction. Marx famously wrote from each according to his ability, toeach according to his need. Stalin changed this need to work, revivingdistinctions, and the influence of the Stakhanovite movement greatly lessened thedegree of wage equality. Stalins foreign policy was dictated by the diplomatic

needs of the USSR, and Stalin did not always offer whole-hearted support toother Communist nations in order to improve the status of global communism.

Documents

Complete History Revision