Russia in Upheaval

Russia in UpheavalMcFarlandCzarist Rule is overthrown: At the end of the 19th century, Russia remained one of the most autocratic states in the world. Think back to the 1800s: There was dissent in Russia because of Alexander IIs reforms which went against the peoples normal way of life. Alexander repressed this by ending the reforms, thus, Russia lagged behind the rest of Western Europe. Even further back in Russias history, at the turn of the 18th century, Peter the Great tried to westernize Russia, but did not meet with favor from those who favored traditional ways.The Bolshevik Revolution grew out of the long-standing conflict between the goals of the czars-the desire to modernize Russia & the desire to maintain their autocratic rule.

Czarist Unpopularity Continues.

Czar Nicholas II became czar in 1894 at 26. He strongly believed in autocratic rule, thus, Russia stayed behind while Western Europe experienced industrialization, urbanization, and the spread of democratic government. Russia remained weak & underdeveloped.

There were attempts to industrialize and modernize Russia.

Sergei Witte (VEET-tyeh), a minister to the czar, realized change was needed and urged a program of industrialization. Foreign experts were hired. Taxes were increased; railroads developed; etc.The people reacted negatively. Why? Agriculture had been the mainstay of the Russian economy & Russian life. Workers became discontent with the low standard of living that factory work provided.Social Discontent-other reasons for dissatisfaction.Russo-Japanese War: This had humiliated the Russians and was followed by rebellions of workers, peasants, sailors, & other groups.Imperial Duma was established. The czar agreed to this first parliament and managed to increase participation in the government. There were now more reforms:

Land was given to more peasants.Greater freedom was given to the most successful farmers-kulaks (fists).Yet, troops were used to suppress rebellion.

Bloody Sunday-January 22, 1905: a group marched to the Winter Palace with demands and was fired on by imperial troops; hundreds were killed and wounded.

Political Discontent-Ideas introduced from the west caused people to question czarist rule, and improved transportation & communication helped the formation of political parties.

Bolsheviks-believed strongly in the views of Karl Marx (majority party). These revolutionaries thought industrialization made socialism possible. What is socialism? A political & economic philosophy that calls for government or worker ownership and operation of business and industry for the benefit of society. The leader of this movement, Vladimer Lenin, was dedicated to overthrowing czarist rule & the capitalist system.Mensheviks-(minority) hoped revolutionary goals could be realized by less violent means.

Revolution is at hand.

March Revolution-1917: 3 factors contributed to this.

World War I-Russias interest in the Balkans involved an unprepared Russia. Neither the industry, government, nor military were ready.

Rasputin Affair-Czar Nicholas II had been with the troops fighting since 1915. His wife, Alexandra, ran the government. She had no experience in ruling & turned to her son (heir to the throne) for help. He suffered from hemophilia-a disease that prevents blood from clotting. In her despair, she believed Rasputin, who convinced her he could cure her son. She began to rely on his advice and choice of government officials. The mis-management alarmed many who killed him in 1916.

Czar is overthrown-The mis-management of the war effort by the czar and his officers led the soldiers to lose respect for czarist rule & made them willing to join the workers when the revolution began. This was unplanned. The war had aggravated tensions. The czar was overthrown in March, 1917.

Bolshevik Revolution-Also known as the October Revolution of 1917.

Provisional Government-had been set up by the Duma under the leadership of Alexander Kerensky, who wanted to protect individuals rights and continue the war against Germany. He wanted to restore unity through Democratic rule with a parliament.

Military Dictatorship proposed-With disunity, some said this would hold the country together by armed force.Opposition by Petrograd Soviet to the Provisional government. Soviet-a representative council of workers, peasants, & soldiers. This was an influential group who excluded the upper class. It was under the control of the Bolsheviks led by Lenin, who understood the peoples demands. By mid-1917, Russians wanted reforms and an end to the war.

To peasants, Lenin offered land that would be taken from the landowner.

To workers, he offered bread & control of the factories.

To soldiers, he offered peace.

To national minorities, he offered self-determination.

(The Bolsheviks gained support in the major cities.)

Soviets begin rule. Lenins supporters, led by Leon Trotsky, seized government buildings in Petrograd & arrested members of the Provisional Government. St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd at the beginning of the war in 1914 to eliminate the Germanic sound of the name. After Lenins death in 1924, the city was renamed Leningrad. Bolsheviks declared a Soviet Republic, dedicated to a Marxist society. Soviets would be in power for 74 years.

Lenin builds a Soviet State.

The new government was established-Before Lenin could build a solid government, there would be much strife confronted by the people.Shaky beginnings-Treaty of Brest Litovsk-humiliating: The Polish lands, the Baltic provinces, Finland, & the Ukraine, which was rich farmland, were given up. The Allied defeat cancelled this, but Finland, & the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, & Estonia, retained their independence from the Bolsheviks.

Civil war within-The Communist leaders faced opposition. Bolsheviks are now referred to as Reds. (Red army was organized by Trotsky.) Those opposing were the Whites. They supported the parliamentary government. Greens fought in Ukraine. The new independent nation of Poland declared war on Soviet Russia & took territory in western Russia. Forces from Britain, France, the U.S., and Japan, moved into Russian territory and helped the Whites. It was anarchy & chaos.

Dictatorship established-Violence and absolute power was used to suppress opposition. The Russian Secret Police (KGB) used this. Enemies were sent to concentration camps. Czar Nicholas, his wife & children, were imprisoned & killed in July, 1918. The capital was moved from Petrograd to Moscow.

Economic & Social Changes

War Communism-These were emergency measures that failed to revive the economy.1st goal-control of economic activity.Industry, banks, & foreign trade came under governmental control.All men under 50 were drafted for labor or for the armed services.Women were mobilized to work in factories & on construction projects.Strikes were forbidden.To feed the people in the cities & the army, soldiers seized food from the peasants.(There was much opposition to this.)

New Economic Policy (NEP)-Lenin abandoned the socialist goal of a rigidly planned economy. This allowed small scale manufacturing, trade, & agriculture to return to private ownership, while the government kept control of major industries, banks, & means of communications.

State Planning Agency (Gosplan)-promoted electrification throughout the country. The first step in giving the state complete control, it was backed by force & terror over all factors involved in production & distribution.Social Changes: Communist philosophy (political) or ideology-appealed to workers & peasants. Social services were promised, yet, everyone had the duty to work. National minorities were granted the right to use their own languages & to preserve their cultures, as long as they followed Communist leadership.

Marriage of the Soviet Government and the Communist Party.Political Opposition is suppressed.In the Kremlin, Lenin directed the Soviet State. The key to success: unification. The only political party permitted in the new Russia was the Communist party.

Leaders dominate. The new government led by members of the Partys Politburo (political office). Leaders controlled the government, womens groups, and professional & cultural organizations.Leaders dominate. The new government led by members of the Partys Politburo (political office). Leaders controlled the government, womens groups, and professional & cultural organizations.

Many Republics united (new approach). Russia had often tried to impose Russian culture on others. The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialists Republic) formed in 1922 with each member republic representing a different major nationality, such as Georgia, the Ukraine, Kazakh, & Uzbek. The self-determination principle preserved without harming the unity of the multi-national country.

Many Republics united (new approach). Russia had often tried to impose Russian culture on others. The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialists Republic) formed in 1922 with each member republic representing a different major nationality, such as Georgia, the Ukraine, Kazakh, & Uzbek. The self-determination principle preserved without harming the unity of the multi-national country.

Communism becomes international. Lenin looked beyond the Soviet Union. He sent out an appeal for revolution to all who blamed their governments for poverty, suffering, or injustice. Communist parties sprang up in India, China, Egypt, & Turkey. In 1919, Lenin formed the Communist Third International (Comintern) to bring about world revolution. This goal soon became secondary to that of strengthening the Soviet Union.

By late 1918, the Communists, led by Lenin, emerged as the leaders of a new state. Lenin finally established a dictatorship that attempted to create a state with a planned economy.

The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.

Rivalry between Stalin & Trotsky over command.Trotskys planning was behind both the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917 & the strict discipline of the Red Army. Lenin favored him.Stalin was the son of a Georgia shoemaker. 1922-appointed general secretary of the Communist Party. Stalin used his position to gain control of the party. He eliminated from the Party anyone who opposed him or his goals, including Trotsky. They were eventually driven out of the Soviet Union. In 1929, on his 50th birthday, Stalin was officially hailed as Lenins successor.

Stalins governing policies.Rapid industrialization-replaced the NEP.5 year plans-This involved a series of 5 year plans set up for the deliberate, forced growth of industry. The first in 1928 was drastic. Total state control began. Private business ended. All economic activity came under state management.

Problems:The plans led to shortages, delays, & poor service for consumers.Under the plans, large numbers of men & women were forced to work in factories.They were paid low wages based on what they produced.Workers were poorly fed and lived in overcrowded housing.The emphasis on quantity led to the production of shoddy (poor quality) goods.

The governmental use of art-was to boost Soviet industry. Writers, painters, & musicians could produce only works of socialist realism. They were to inspire the peoples devotion to the state.

The governmental use of art-was to boost Soviet industry. Writers, painters, & musicians could produce only works of socialist realism. They were to inspire the peoples devotion to the state.

Agriculture-This was reorganized under collective farming.Collective farming-the bringing together of the livestock, equipment, & buildings of many small farms on one large tract of land. The people could not voluntarily produce their crops.

The peasants resisted, however, the armed forces forced collectivization in the winter of 1929-1930. Those kulaks (most prosperous & successful farmers) who kept resisting were shot or sent to gulags-forced labor camps.

Consequences-Peasants slaughtered their own animals rather than turn them over to the state.The loss of livestock (100 million animals) caused severe shortages of meat, dairy products, leather goods, & fertilizer.Grain was seized for export & millions starved to death. By the mid-1930s, collective farms, each composed of hundreds of households, were the rule in the Soviet Union.

Government changed.A new constitution-the rights of Soviet citizens could be severely restricted under this. The constitution described the goals of the party; everything must be done in the interest of the state.Opposition grew. Many said Stalin had gone too far and suggested he step down in favor the Party secretary in Leningrad, Sergei Kirov.

Stalins purge-December 1934, Kirov was murdered. The purge lasted from 1935-1939. Many were arrested and tortured until those being interrogated signed confessions.Stalin achieved unity, demanding a totalitarian state-designating a government in which unified action is achieved through the complete authority of the leader.

Stalin came to power after Lenins death in 1924. Stalin ruthlessly enforced policies of industrial growth and the collectivization of agriculture. Years of purges killed millions and made Stalin the all-powerful ruler of the Soviet Union.