The document discusses the Russian Revolution from 1905-1917. It led to the overthrow of the Russian monarchy and establishment of the Soviet Union. Key events included "Bloody Sunday" in 1905 which sparked unrest, World War I which further weakened Russia, and Vladimir Lenin leading the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 after promising to withdraw from the war. Lenin established communist rule but was later succeeded by Joseph Stalin who set up a totalitarian state and command economy.

1. The Russian Revolution
1905-1917

2. Learning Target
▶ I can analyze the effects of World War I.
▶ I can identify the causes and effects of the Russian
Revolution.
▶ I can describe characteristics of different economic
systems.
▶ I can analyze how various world leaders influenced
WWI, WWII and the Cold War as well as those who
opposed various means of oppression.

3. Big Picture
▶ World leaders used various means to accomplish political, economic,
and social goals to promote national interest and individual rights.
▶ Russia’s participation in WWI, weak leadership, economic disparity, and
the influence of Lenin led to the Russian Revolution. The Russian
Revolution ended the Romanov Empire and created communist USSR.
▶ Economic systems determine how goods will be produced and
distributed-though politics plays a major role in a nation’s economy.
Communism and fascism directly commands economies while the free-
market system dominates in democracies.

5. Czarist Russia
ALEXANDER II
ALEXANDER III
NICHOLAS II

6. Alexander II of Russia, 1855-1881
▶ Most successful Russian reformer since
Peter the Great.
▶ Emancipated serfs in 1861
▶ Reorganized judicial system
▶ Set up elected local judges
▶ Abolished capital punishment
▶ Promoted self-government
▶ Imposed universal military service
▶ Ended some privileges of nobility
▶ Promoted universities
▶ Brutal secret police sent thousands of
dissidents into exile in Siberia.

7. Alexander III of Russia, 1881-1894
▶ Highly conservative
▶ Reversed some of the liberal
measures of his father, Alexander II
▶ Russia fought no major wars during
his reign
▶ Political ideal: a nation composed
of a single nationality, language,
religion, and form of administration.
▶ Weakened the power of the
Zemstvo (the elected local councils)

8. Nicholas II of Russia, 1894-1917
▶ “Last Russian Emperor”
▶ Under him, Russia went from being one
of the foremost great powers of the
world to economic and military
collapse.
▶ “Nicholas the Bloody” – violent
suppression of rebellion, executed
political opponents, and pursued military
campaigns on an unprecedented scale.
▶ Abdicated the throne following the
February Revolution.
▶ Him and his family were imprisoned then
later executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

9. Czarist Russia continued…
▶ Russian liberals called for a constitution and reforms
that would eliminate corruption in the government.
▶ Alexander and Nicholas used harsh tactics, such as
the use of a secret police, to suppress reform.
▶ Czar Nicholas II admitted that he was unfit to rule.
▶ Many people resented him and his family due to
their lavish lifestyle.

11. Russian Revolution
PART ONE: REVOLUTION OF 1905

12. Peasants
▶ Peasants faced many
difficulties
▶ Most were too poor to buy the
land they worked.
▶ Even those who owned land
often couldn’t feed their
families.

13. “Bloody Sunday”
▶ On Sunday, January 22,
1905, a march occurred in St.
Petersburg.
▶ The peaceful marchers
wanted reform however, the
czar (Nicholas II) called in
soldiers to put down the
uprising.
▶ The soldiers opened fire on
the peaceful marchers, killing
and wounding several.

14. “Bloody Sunday” continued…
▶ “Bloody Sunday,”
destroyed the people’s
faith and trust in the
czar.
▶ After Bloody Sunday,
strikes and revolts
exploded across Russia’s
cities and countryside.

15. DUMA
▶ In the face of this chaos,
Nicholas agreed to reforms and
promised to grant more rights,
such as freedom of speech, to
peasants.
▶ He agreed to establish an
elected national legislature,
known as the Duma.
▶ However, the Duma had limited
powers and did little to relieve
peasant and worker discontent

16. CAUSES
•Low spirits after defeat in
1904 war with Japan.
•Poverty & bad working
conditions.
•Corrupt government.
•“Bloody Sunday” killings.
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION of 1905
RESULTS
•Czar Nicholas II announces reforms & new freedoms.
•Nicholas II establishes the Duma, which must approve all laws.
•Nicholas II dissolves the 1st Duma when its leaders criticize the gov’t.
•New voting laws limit powers of the later Dumas.
RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
OF 1905

17. Russian Revolution
PART TWO: BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION

18. Revolutionaries
▶ The provisional government’s
slowness to bring about
meaningful change led
revolutionary socialists to
plot further actions.
▶ They established soviets, or
councils of workers and
soldiers, in Russian cities.
▶ In time, these soviets were
taken over by the radical
socialist party.

19. Russia and WWI
▶ Czar Nicholas II, unprepared to rule, made poor
decisions concerning Russia during the war.
▶ Some believed his wife, Alexandra was a German
spy; also that she was under the influence of
Siberian Monk, Rasputin.
▶ Russia lost somewhere between five and eight
million soldiers.
▶ This was the last straw for many Russians.

20. Vladimir Lenin
▶ During WWI, Germany sent Vladimir
Lenin, a Communist, into Russia
because they wanted Russia out of
the way. (wanted to focus on
fighting France, Britain, and the US)
▶ Lenin ran on a simple message:
▶ “Peace, Land, and Bread”
▶ Peasants loved this!
▶ Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky
headed a revolutionary socialist
party, the Bolsheviks.

21. Lenin Gains Support
▶ Lenin and Trotsky followed the ideas
of Karl Marx, but they adapted
them to the needs of Russia.
▶ Took farmland from the rich and
gave it to the poor.
▶ Took control of banks and industry
▶ Established an 8 hour work day.
▶ Had Russian Czar, Nicholas II, and
his family executed.

22. Lenin Takes Over
▶ In November 1917, the Bolsheviks led soldiers, sailors, and factory
workers in an uprising that overthrew the government.
▶ The Bolsheviks, now called Communists, distributed land to the
peasants and gave workers control of the factories and mines.
▶ A civil war broke out between the Bolsheviks “Reds” and those who
opposed Lenin, the “Whites”. (15 million people killed)
▶ After the “Red” victory, rather than share the money and power as
promised, Lenin’s Bolsheviks kept it for themselves.
▶ Lenin dies, and is replaced by….

23. Joseph Stalin
▶ The new Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin,
ruled through terror and brutality.
▶ For example, in the 1930’s Stalin
launched the Great Purge out of fear
that other Communist Party members
were plotting against him.
▶ During the Great Purge, Stalin
accused thousands of people of
crimes against the government.
▶ Many of the accused were executed;
others were exiled or sent to prison
camps

24. Stalin continued…
▶ Stalin turned the Soviet Union into a
totalitarian state.
▶ In a totalitarian state form of
government, a one-party dictatorship
attempts to regulate every aspect of
the lives of its citizens.
▶ Stalin established a command
economy, in which government
officials made all basic economic
decisions.
▶ Under Stalin, the government
controlled factories, businesses, and
farms.

25. Industrialization
▶ One of Stalin’s chief goals was to make the Soviet Union strong by turning
it into a modern industrial power.
▶ In 1928, Stalin launched the first of a series of Five-Year Plans to build
industry and increase farm output.
▶ Emphasis was placed on heavy-industry, while consumer goods were
neglected.
▶ In the 1930s, Soviet production in oil, coal steel, mining, and military goods
increased.
▶ Across the nation, factories, hydroelectric power stations, and railroads
were built.
▶ Despite this progress, however, most Russians remained poor and endured
a low standard of living.

26. First Leaders of the Soviet Union
LENIN
Soviet Leader
1917-1924
•Chief goal: to
create a classless
society with
production
in the hands
of the people.
•Standard of living
rises for many
workers &
peasants.
•Allows some
private business;
lets some
peasants hold
land.
STALIN
Soviet Leader
1924-1953
•Chief goal: to make
Soviet Union into a
modern industrial
power with all
production under
gov’t control.
•Creates a command
economy.
•Brings all agriculture
under gov’t control;
forces peasants to
live on group farms.
•Standard of living falls
for most workers
& peasants.
•Spent time in
Siberian exile
before
1917
revolution.
•Became
Communist
Party leader.
•Uses secret
police to
enforce
Communist
will.
•Wants to
bring
about a world-
wide
revolution.

28. Communism
“steal from the rich, give to
the poor”
Hammer
Poor industrial
workers.
Sickle
Poor field
workers, farmers.

29. Summary
▶ In the late 1800s and early 1900s, autocratic rule and poor economic conditions
caused many Russians to demand political and social reforms.
▶ In 1917, this discontent led to a revolution that ended czarist rule in Russia.
Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin gained power by promising better economic
conditions and an end to Russian involvement in World War One.
▶ He then set up a communist government. After Lenin’s death, Joseph Stalin took
over and established a totalitarian state, in which every aspect of life was
controlled.
▶ Stalin’s five-year plans boosted industry but did little to improve the life of the
average worker. His collectivization of agriculture angered peasants, whose
resistance resulted in mass starvation.