THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

1. What was Russia like before the revolution?

Russia in 1900 was an empire of enormous size, with more than 140 million inhabitants. It was made up of a great diversity of peoples and cultures. It was, therefore, very difficult to govern.

304 years

Nicholas II (1894-1917) Last Tsar of Russia of the House of Romanov

Michael I (1613-1645) First Tsar of Russia of the House of Romanov

Its political system was among the most authoritarian in Europe. The Romanov family had reigned for more than three centuries with an absolute and immobile monarchy (little change). Meanwhile, the rest of the world had experienced the American and French Revolutions.

It had a very backward, agrarian-based economy (agriculture and livestock). 80% of the population were peasants. Russia had not introduced the advances of the Industrial Revolution.

At the end of the 19th century there was a slight process of industrialisation which was very limited to certain cities such as St. Petersburg, Moscow, etc. This led to the emergence of new middle and working classes in the cities, which to a large extent, initiated the revolution.

It had an unequal society. A minority (nobility, church) concentrated the wealth of the country in their hands, while a large part of the population lived in abject poverty. 80% of the population were peasants and lived in precarious conditions, with large groups of discontented people.

2. THE OPPOSITION

The most important were the Social-Democratic Worker´s Party (*Partido obrero socialdemócrata ruso) They were divided among:

• Bolsheviks (*Bolcheviques) more radical

• Mensheviks (*Mencheviques) more moderate

In the late 19th century, clandestine political parties opposing the Tsar were founded.

3. THE REVOLUTION

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

The Revolution of October 1917

The Revolution of February 1917

Revolution of 1905

Here the communists triumph

Here falls the Tsar

This is where the foundations are laid

In order to study the Russian revolution, one must understand that it was a process that had three revolutionary moments:

Background

Revolución de 1905

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

The Revolution of October 1917

The Revolution of February 1917

Revolution of 1905

Background

Revolución de 1905

The revolution of 1905 is called the "Revolution of Discontent" because the origin of it all was the widespread discontent of the population: - The economic and social situation in Russia was desperate: hunger, shortages, inequality....- Russian peasants were impoverished.- Russian workers lived in horrible conditions.- As if this were not enough, in 1904 Russia started a war against Japan which led to shortages and rising food prices, and in which Russia was defeated, bringing the Tsar into even greater disrepute.

In January 1905 there was a peaceful workers' demonstration in St. Petersburg.

What was Tsar Nicholas II's response?

Opening fire on demonstrators

More than 1,000 people were killed and 5,000 wounded. That is why this day is known as "Bloody Sunday" (22 January 1905).

Caricature of the blood-stained Tsar after Red Sunday published in a French magazine.

• Demonstrations multiplied.

• The Tsar was heavily criticised

• Peasants and workers met at soviets (popular assemblies).

Spark that ignited the 1905 revolutionary movement

Bloody Sunday

• Russia finish the war with Japan.

• Some civil liberties (freedom of conscience, expression, assembly, association) were granted.

• A representative regime was created, with a parliament: the Duma, with legislative powers. However, the Duma had very limited power, as the Tsar could veto any law.

October Manifesto (1905)

Nicholas II has no choice but to make some concessions and signs a document

Many did not believe these reforms....

The Tsar's hand, stained with blood, on the text of the October Manifesto

Russia entered the war in August 1914. The serious problems of a weak economy were compounded by the war. THE WAY TO A NEW REVOLUTION WAS OPENING UP...

The straw that broke the camel's back: Russia's entry into the First World War

Who was Rasputin? Find out about him and his relationship with the Tsars and the Russian Revolution. How did he die?

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

The Revolution of October 1917

The Revolution of February 1917

Revolution of 1905

Background

Revolución de 1905

Demonstration in front of the Winter Palace in Petrograd in February 1917.

On 23 February 1917, there were new protests in St. Petersburg (now renamed Petrograd). The revolutionary slogan was “Peace, bread and land”

The same as in 1905:

Open fire on demonstrators. 25 February was a very bloody day, hundreds of people are killed.

What was Tsar Nicholas II's response?

Protests intensified the next day at the risk of their lives.

The Tsar again gives the order to charge, but something unexpected happens: The troops refused to shoot the demonstrators! (among whom were his parents, brothers, sisters...) and shot the officers, joining the revolution.

The Tsar makes a pathetic impression when he cannot even reach Petrograd by train because the railway line is blocked and he has to stay in the forest.

The revolution had triumphed. They had succeeded in ending Tsarism.

Statue of the Tsar toppled by the crowd

Nicholas II abdicates and is imprisoned along with the rest of his family

• The provisional government adopted a series of liberal reforms.

• But they made a big mistake: they did not come out of World War I.

Now what?

Without the Tsar, Russia was left in the hands of a provisional government that was set up to replace the Tsar. Its members were mostly democrats who wished to establish a liberal political system. The other parties offered their support.

On the left -> In July 1917, the Bolsheviks organised an armed demonstration to seize power. The provisional government opened fire on the demonstrators. The demonstration failed and the Bolshevik party was declared illegal.

General Kornilov

Trotski

Lenin

On the right -> in September 1917 General Kornilov staged a military coup to install a dictatorship. The Provisional Government had to call on several parties (including the Bolsheviks!) for help in putting down the coup.

The provisional government will come under attack from all sides:

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

The Revolution of October 1917

The Revolution of February 1917

Revolution of 1905

Background

Revolución de 1905

Assault on the Winter Palace (25 October 1917)

On the night of 24-25 October, the Bolsheviks occupied all contacts with the outside world (banks, telephone exchanges and railway stations). On 25 October 1917 they stormed the Winter Palace, the seat of the Provisional Government, and arrested the members of the government. The Bolshevik revolution had triumphed without bloodshed.

4. AFTER THE REVOLUTION

The Bolsheviks set up a socialist government with Lenin as president and carried out the following measures:

• To come out of the First World War

• Land was expropriated (taken) without compensation from the large landowners (nobility, Church) and given to the peasants.

• They promised to create a constitution and called elections in November 1917, but the outcome was not favourable to the Bolsheviks, which caused them to dissolve the assembly by force and set up a dictatorship of the proletariat.

Russian Civil War (1918-1921)

Bolsheviks´ measures

Opposition from many sectors of the population

Red Army:

• Bolsheviks (now called "communists") under Trotsky's command.

White Army, all the enemies of the Bolsheviks:

• Liberals and Democrats
• Conservatives
• Nobility
• Church
• Military of the former Tsarist army
• Foreign support: USA, UK, France and Japan

Russian Civil War (1918-1921)

During the Civil War, to prevent them from being liberated by the Whites, the Bolsheviks decided to assassinate the Romanovs. On the night of 16-17 July 1918, the entire Russian royal family, the Tsar, the Tsarina and her five children, the Tsar's doctor and some of his servants were murdered in the cellar of a house. This event further aroused hatred of the Bolsheviks.

Who was Anastasia and what is the legend about her?

Finally the Red Army wins the civil war. Trotsky: <<We have won the civil war, but the price we have paid is that we have ruined the country>>.

Who was Trotsky and how did he die?

After the war was won, the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (*URSS Unión de Repúblicas Socialistas Soviéticas) was created in 1922 and existed until 1991 (69 years)

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