CHAPTER 23: REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA AND THE SOVIET UNION

• Nicholas II became tsar in 1894, committed to autocracy. His coronation festival

ended in tragedy when over 1,200 people were killed in a stampede.
• Reforms from the 1905 Revolution (e.g., Duma, freedom of press) were reversed
during the 1906 counter-revolution.
• WWI triggered discontent, leading to the February 1917 abdication of Nicholas II
and, later, the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917.

WAR AND REVOLUTION

• Russian socialists split into "defensists" (e.g., Mensheviks) who supported the war,
and "internationalists" (e.g., Bolsheviks) who opposed it.
• Lenin saw WWI as the final stage of capitalism and called for a global socialist
revolution.
• Russia struggled in WWI: 15 million men were drafted, losses were high, and
industries couldn't meet demands.
• National groups like the Union of Zemstvos and Union of Towns supported war relief
and helped shape liberal opposition.
• Military failures like Tannenberg (1914) increased unrest.
• Alexandra, the tsarina, and Rasputin held major influence, worsening public
perception.
• By 1916, the public turned against the regime due to food shortages, strikes, and
national uprisings (e.g., Muslims in Turkistan).

FEBRUARY REVOLUTION

• Strikes and food riots escalated in Petrograd (formerly Saint Petersburg) in early
1917.
• On February 25, a general strike shut down the city.
• The Petrograd garrison mutinied; insurgents seized control.
• Nicholas II abdicated on March 2, 1917; his brother Prince Michael refused the
throne.
• The Duma formed a provisional committee to act as a government.

DUAL GOVERNMENT

• The Provisional Government (liberal, led by Constitutional Democrats) coexisted with

the Petrograd Soviet (workers and soldiers).
• Alexander Kerensky served in both bodies.
• Civil liberties were granted and plans made for a Constituent Assembly.
• Petrograd Soviet's Order Number One democratized army life.
• Desertions and disorder increased.

REVOLUTION SPREADS

• Across the former Russian Empire, people dismantled tsarist structures.

• Ethnic minorities made varied demands: cultural autonomy, federalism, or
independence.
 • Notable developments:
o Poland declared independent.
o Belarus formed a Rada.
o Ukraine saw rising nationalism, with formation of a Central Council.
o Muslim Congress reflected splits between conservatives and reformers.

FOOD, LAND, AND SOVIETS

• The Provisional Government struggled to manage food supply and land reform.
• Peasants seized land, and Orthodox Church influence declined.
• All-Russian Congress of Soviets created a national executive committee.
• Continued war efforts created rifts with the population.

LENIN'S RETURN

• Germany allowed Lenin to return in April 1917.

• In his "April Theses," Lenin demanded:
1. Withdrawal from WWI
2. No support for Provisional Government
3. Worldwide revolution
4. Peasant seizure of land
• Bolshevik support increased among Red Guards, factory workers, and soldiers.

JULY DAYS

• On July 3, Bolsheviks attempted an insurrection which failed.

• Lenin fled; Bolshevik leaders were arrested.
• Kerensky became prime minister; repression of Bolsheviks continued.

KORNILOV AFFAIR

• General Kornilov considered a coup against the government.

• Conservative elites supported his effort to restore order.
• This incident radicalized politics further and discredited moderates.

THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION

• Kerensky organized the Moscow State Conference to support his second coalition
government. Delegates, fearing the soviets and defeat in the war, leaned toward a
military dictatorship.
• German forces captured Riga, threatening Petrograd.
• Kerensky invited Kornilov to restore order. Miscommunication led to a crisis, and on
August 27, Kornilov issued an ultimatum to "save the motherland."
• Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, and Socialist Revolutionaries united to defend the
revolution, arming workers and preparing for a military coup that ultimately never
materialized.
• The Kornilov Affair strengthened Bolshevik credibility as defenders of the revolution.
THE BOLSHEVIKS SEIZE POWER

• The Provisional Government struggled with the economic crisis and war. Only the
Bolsheviks promised power to the soviets.
• On October 10, Lenin convinced the Bolshevik Central Committee to stage a second
insurrection.
• On October 24, Kerensky tried to stop the Bolsheviks by shutting down newspapers
and deploying troops.
• 12,000 Red Guards led by Trotsky launched the uprising, repelling loyalist cadets.
Provisional government forces did not resist.
• Kerensky fled; the battleship Aurora fired on the Winter Palace, leading to the
ministers’ surrender.
• The October Revolution had minimal violence compared to earlier events. Daily life
continued largely unaffected.
• On October 26, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets approved Bolshevik control.
• In Moscow, fighting lasted a week before Bolshevik victory. In the provinces, power
was seized via a "revolution by telegraph."

EARLY BOLSHEVIK RULE

• The Bolsheviks purged non-Bolsheviks from soviets and marginalized Socialist

Revolutionaries.
• In Ukraine and other non-Russian regions, anti-Russian nationalism complicated
Bolshevik control.
• Bolsheviks seized banks, closed non-Bolshevik newspapers, and outlawed the Kadet
party.
• The Cheka, a new secret police, began widespread arrests.
• The January 1918 Constituent Assembly elections gave Bolsheviks only 29%; it was
dissolved the next day.
• Lenin issued the "Declaration of the Rights of the Toiling and Exploited People,"
aiming for socialism and federation.

TREATY OF BREST-LITOVSK

• Trotsky negotiated an armistice in December 1917 but rejected German terms.

• Germany advanced, seizing Kiev, Ukraine, and parts of the Caucasus.
• On March 3, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ceded major territories to Germany.
• Left Socialist Revolutionaries broke with Bolsheviks. Germany installed puppet
regimes in Ukraine and Finland.

CIVIL WAR (1918–1922)

• White armies, united only in opposition to Bolsheviks (the Reds), formed across
Russia.
• 50,000 Czechoslovak troops controlled the Trans-Siberian Railway.
• Pogroms and massacres, especially in Ukraine, increased.
• Nestor Makhno led an anarchist army allied with the Bolsheviks.
• General Kolchak led a White dictatorship in Siberia.
 • War Communism began: forced requisitions, end of private trade, and nationalization.
• Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed on July 17, 1918.
• Allied forces (British, American, Canadian, Japanese) intervened but helped bolster
Bolshevik support.
• Red Terror (September 1918) gave Cheka unchecked power. Labor camps were
established.
• Civil War casualties included mass killings by both Whites and Reds.
• Red Army defeated major White forces by 1919–1920. Fighting ended in 1922.
• Polish-Soviet War (1920) ended with the Treaty of Riga in 1921, leaving 5 million
Ukrainians in Poland.

CREATION OF THE SOVIET UNION

• Bolsheviks centralized control, distrusting peasants.

• The Soviet state used terror to reestablish authority in regions like Georgia and
Turkistan.
• 1918 Constitution promised civil liberties, but reality was authoritarian.
• USSR established in 1922: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Transcaucasia (later split), and
later Central Asian republics.

DEMOCRATIC CENTRALISM

• Lenin's principle: open debate within party, but unity after decision. In practice,
dissent was suppressed.
• Bolsheviks banned worker self-management.
• 1919: Industries nationalized. 1921: Kronstadt rebellion crushed.
• Lenin advocated brutal repression of dissent, including execution of demonstrators.

THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY (NEP)

• 1921 famine (7 million deaths) and economic collapse forced change.

• NEP allowed small-scale private trade and farming; heavy industry remained state-
run.
• Economy improved; nepmen and kulaks prospered.
• Political repression remained: all other parties banned.

STALIN’S RISE

• Stalin (b. 1879, Georgia), joined Bolsheviks early, appointed to Central Committee in
1912.
• In 1922, became general secretary, using the post to consolidate power.
• Lenin distrusted Stalin, fearing his abuse of power.
• After Lenin’s death (1924), Stalin dominated the party, rewrote history to emphasize
his closeness to Lenin.
• USSR became increasingly totalitarian under Stalin’s control.
NAMES IN CHAPTER 23: REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA AND THE SOVIET
UNION

• Nicholas II (1868–1918) – Last tsar of Russia; ruled from 1894 until his abdication in
1917. Known for upholding autocracy and for overseeing Russia's collapse during
WWI.
• Alexander III – Father of Nicholas II.
• Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) – Leader of the Bolshevik Party; established the
dictatorship of the proletariat.
• Joseph Stalin (1878–1953) – Succeeded Lenin; consolidated power and implemented
state socialism.
• Karl Marx – Influential theorist whose ideas inspired socialist revolutions.
• Mensheviks – Moderate socialist faction.
• Socialist Revolutionaries – Agrarian-focused socialist party.
• Union of Zemstvos – Liberal organization formed for war relief.
• Union of Towns – Similar to Zemstvos; organized municipal war relief.
• Tsarina Alexandra – Nicholas II's wife, of German descent, heavily influenced by
Rasputin.
• Alexei (1904–1918) – Son of Nicholas and Alexandra; hemophiliac heir to the throne.
• Grigory Rasputin (1872–1916) – Mystical healer who gained influence in the court
due to Alexei's illness.
• Alexander Kerensky (1881–1970) – Leader of Socialist Revolutionaries and minister
in the Provisional Government.
• Prince Michael – Nicholas II's brother; refused the throne after Nicholas's abdication.
• Kadets (Constitutional Democrats) – Liberal party in the Provisional Government.
• Red Guards – Armed factory workers who supported the Bolsheviks.
• General Lavr Kornilov (1870–1918) – Army commander who attempted a coup
against the Provisional Government.
• Queen Victoria – Grandmother of Tsarina Alexandra.

DATES AND EVENTS IN CHAPTER 23

• 1894 – Nicholas II becomes tsar.

• January 17, 1895 – Nicholas’s first speech as tsar.
• 1904–1905 – Russo-Japanese War.
• October 17, 1905 – Nicholas II signs a constitution.
• 1905 – Revolution of 1905 forces creation of Duma.
• 1906 – Counter-revolution suppresses reforms.
• August 1914 – Russia enters WWI.
• August 1914 – Battle of Tannenberg; major Russian defeat.
• Winter 1916–1917 – Food shortages worsen; strikes intensify.
• December 1916 – Rasputin is assassinated.
• February 23, 1917 – Protests begin in Petrograd.
• February 25, 1917 – General strike in Petrograd.
• February 27, 1917 – Petrograd Soviet is formed.
• March 1, 1917 – Order Number One issued by Petrograd Soviet.
• March 2, 1917 – Nicholas II abdicates.
• March 4, 1917 – Ukrainian Central Council is formed.
• End of March 1917 – All-Russian Congress of Soviets begins.
 • April 1917 – Lenin returns to Russia and issues April Theses.
• May 1, 1917 – First All-Russian Muslim Congress convenes.
• July 3–4, 1917 – Failed Bolshevik insurrection (July Days).
• August 1917 – Kornilov Affair begins.

NAMES IN CHAPTER 23.2: THE OCTOBER REVOLUTION AND AFTERMATH

• Alexander Kerensky – Head of the Provisional Government; fled Petrograd during

the Bolshevik takeover.
• General Lavr Kornilov – Commander-in-chief of the army; involved in a failed
attempted coup.
• Leon Trotsky (Lev Davidovich Bronstein) – Bolshevik leader, coordinated the
October uprising, later led Red Army.
• John Reed – American journalist sympathetic to Bolsheviks, chronicled the October
Revolution.
• Maxim Gorky – Russian writer critical of Bolshevik repression.
• Nestor Makhno (1889–1934) – Anarchist leader who allied with Bolsheviks in
Ukraine.
• General Alexander Kolchak (1874–1920) – White Army leader, ruled in Siberia.
• Jozef Pilsudski – Polish general, led campaign against Soviet Union in 1920.
• Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) – Bolshevik leader; led revolutionary government and
implemented NEP.
• Joseph Stalin (1879–1953) – Bolshevik leader who rose to power after Lenin's death.
• Nicholas II – Former tsar, executed with his family in 1918.

DATES AND EVENTS IN CHAPTER 23.2

• August 27, 1917 – Kornilov issues an ultimatum to the Provisional Government.

• October 10, 1917 – Lenin persuades Bolsheviks to plan a second insurrection.
• October 24, 1917 – Bolsheviks begin uprising; Kerensky attempts crackdown.
• October 26, 1917 – Bolsheviks take control; Congress of Soviets approves transfer of
power.
• January 1918 – Constituent Assembly elections; Bolsheviks dissolve it after one day.
• March 3, 1918 – Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed with Germany.
• July 17, 1918 – Execution of Nicholas II and his family.
• August 1918 – Allied troops arrive in Murmansk; intervention begins.
• September 1918 – Red Terror begins.
• Summer 1919 – Red Army defeats largest White army in Ukraine.
• October 1919 – Final White march on Moscow repelled.
• 1920 – Civil War continues; Kronstadt uprising; war with Poland.
• August 1920 – Polish victory in the Miracle of the Vistula.
• March 1921 – Treaty of Riga ends Polish-Soviet War.
• March 1921 – Lenin introduces New Economic Policy (NEP).
• May 1922 – Lenin suffers first stroke.
• December 1922 – Lenin writes his concerns about Stalin.
• January 1924 – Lenin dies.
• 1922 – Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) officially created.
• 1924 – Constitution of USSR declares republics equal (in theory).