The Russian revolutions. The civil war, and Stalin

1. The Russian revolution

2. Russia at the begining of the 20th
century
• Russia was an autocracy: Tsar Nicholas II (from the
Romanov dynasty) ruled the country, supported by
the Orthodox church and the nobility.
• Russia had expanded territorially to the East, and
had reached the Pacific ocean.
• There were important social inequalities: a rich
minority (the nobles and the Russian Orthodox
Church) owned the land. The bourgeoisie owned
the few factories that existed in the country.

4. Opposition to the tsar
• Liberal parties
opposed the tsar
because there was
not a Parliamentary
democracy.
• The socialist parties
(especially the
Bolsheviks) were
revolutionary, and
wanted to abolish
the autocracy.

5. The revolution of 1905
• In 1905, Japan defeated
Russia in the Russo-
Japanese war. As a
consequence, the tsar’s
power was called into
question.
• In order to aliviate the
protests, the tsar created a
parliament (Duma), but it
was not effective, and the
autocratic system
remained.

6. 1917: a decisive year
• In 1917, Russia’s losses in
WW I made the tsar’s
power tumble.
• In February 1917, a liberal
revolution deposed the tsar
and established a republic.
• However, the liberal
government led by
Kerensky decided to
continue with the war.

7. The october revolution
• In october 1917, the
bolshevik (led by Lenin)
organised a revolution
that deposed Kerensky,
and took power.
• Soldiers, peasants and
industrial workers
supported the
revolution.
• The first decision was to
leave the War (treaty of
Brest-Litovsk)

8. The bolshevik’s rule
• Large estates were
transferred to Russian
peasants.
• Factories were
controlled by workers.
• Banks were nationalised
(= they belonged to the
State now).
• The tsar and his family
were executed.

9. The civil war
• The bolshevik had to face the
opposition of groups who did not agree
with the revolution.
• The White army (supported by some
countries) battled with the Red Army
(the communist army, commanded by
Trotsky).
• The civil war (1918-1921) was terrible.
Eight million people died.
• The Red Army won the civil war, and the
communists consolidated their power.
Trotsky

10. The USSR
• In 1922, the Union of
Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR) was
created.
• It consisted of Russia,
and other Asian
republics.
• After the civil war,
there was a terrible
economic crisis, so
Lenin adopted the
New Economic Policy
(NEP), a temporary
combination of
communist and
capitalist policies. It
was succesful.

11. Stalin’s government
• Lenin died in 1927.
• His succesor was
Stalin, which used
violence to purge the
society. To purge = to
get rid of any
opposition to Stalin.

12. • Economy boosted, but farmers and industrial
workers suffered terrible working conditions.
• The State controlled the economy, and private
property was banned.
• The State marked the objectives each industry
or farm should reach (five-year plans). If the
objective was not achieved, violence was used
to repress the farmers or the directors of the
industries. They could be sent to the gulag (a
prison in Siberia), or executed.
• Metallurgical, chemical and weapon industries
were promoted.

13. Propaganda was widely used by Stalin

14. The USSR became a major economc and military
power, but people suffered a lot.