Vladimir Lenin wanted to establish a Communist social system, “in which there would be no economic classes & no private property
@ start of war, Russia had 6M soldiers people rushed from across country to join the army
Factories were unable to produce ammunition & other supplies quickly enough for the huge army
Transportation system was weak, making it hard to move troops & equipment to right places @ right times
Equipment (weapons, etc) was outdated
Military leaders = poor quality
“officers advanced on basis of personal connections” (nepotism)
Nicholas II wasn’t qualified to lead army
but he led it because if Russia failed in the war, he knew he would lose his country
Russian army had been doing badly before Nicholas II took over
an offensive was defeated soldiers lost faith in leaders & army seemed doomed
Czarina was unpopular with the people of Russia
to make matters worse, she relied on Grigory Rasputin, a “self-proclaimed holy man” for advice.
Rasputin was seen as corrupt & immoral by many Russians, especially because most of the political appointments & military actions he gave advice on were disastrous
Petrograd was the capital at the time
citizens marched in Petrograd
the police & soldier disobeyed orders to shoot the rioters
Nicholas II ordered Duma to disband, but they disobeyed
Nicholas II’s family was murdered by ??
Kerensky’s government wanted to continue fighting against the Central Powers
many Russians disliked this because it was a big burden on the country
Lenin returned to Russia in April 1917 he had been out of the country because of his revolutionary ideas
Germany helped Lenin return because they hoped he would stir up Russia & weaken their effort in the war
Red Guard was made up of Bolshevik factory workers
nearly bloodless struggle
Private ownership of land, livestock, factories, etc. was illegal
Trotsky was a top Bolshevik official
they didn’t like losing land/power/wealth
France & US supported Whites, probably because they feared the increasing power of a communist system
**Why might wealthy Russians dislike a communist system?
**Remember, a communist system gathers all resources & redistributes them equally
Red Army = Bolsheviks/communists
White Army = opponents
Lenin established a New Economic Policy
effected farmers especially (encouraged food production)
helped restore economy
**What do you think about that? A communist country using a capitalist plan to get back on its feet & then disregarding it? What does it say about communism? Does it say that communism isn’t a good enough plan, if it can’t start from scratch?
