Identification

Nicholas II = became czar of Russia in 1894; stubbornly maintained autocracy of Russia and refused to surrender any of his power; became the target of many anti-czarist demonstrations and revolutions which ultimately led to his abdication during the March Revolution in 1917

pogrom = violent attack on a Jewish community; occurred under Alexander III’s (Nicholas II’s father) rule, causing many Jews to flee to America

Russian Orthodox Church = deemed as the one church in Russia by Alexander III; strongly supported the czars; was disbanded by the Communists: church land and property was seized, churches converted into offices and museums, priests killed or died in prison camps

soviet = councils of workers and soldiers; set up by socialists in many Russian cities after March Revolution; wanted a different government (not the provisional government)

Duma = a national legislature composed of elected noblemen; Nicholas II forced to create the Duma after Revolution of 1905, but dissolved it soon after, fearing loss of his power; after Nicholas II abdicated, Duma formed the provisional government

Russo-Japanese War = (1904) sparked by territorial conflicts between Russia and Japan (fighting for Korea and Manchuria); despite confidence of Russian soldiers, Japanese soldiers quickly vanquished the Russian troops at Port Arthur, Manchuria in February; news of repeated losses created discontent and revolts

Bloody Sunday = (January 22, 1905) 200,000 workers and family members marched on Winter Palace (Czar Nicholas II was not there); generals stationed at WP ordered soldiers to fire on crowd: 500-1000 unarmed demonstrators killed

Revolution of 1905 = provoked by Bloody Sunday, many revolts across Russia; October 1905: Nicholas II forced to sign October Manifesto, creating Duma and promised more freedom

Rasputin = “The Mad Monk”, actually just a peasant with a powerful personality; supposed “magical powers” and influence over the czarina, Alexandra, caused anger and further distrust of the monarchy; Rasputin murdered by nobles on December 29, 1916

provisional government = a temporary government; set up by the Duma after the czar abdicated; helped relieve some tension in Russia, but did not satisfy many people, esp. revolutionaries; big mistake: keep Russia in WWI

Red Terror = part of a reign of terror that Lenin used in order to suppress the Whites/counterrevolutionaries; Cheka executed many ordinary citizens accused of counterrevolutionary activities

command economy = system where government officials made all basic economic decisions; government owned all businesses and allocated financial and other resources

proletariat = the working class

Bolsheviks = “the majority”; actually were the radical minority among other socialist groups; led by Vladimir Lenin; promised “Peace, Land, and Bread” to Russian people; seized power from the provisional government in the November [October] Revolution

Lenin = Born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov in 1870 to middle-class family; execution of older brother for attempted assassination of Alexander III instilled hatred for czarist government; modified Karl Marx’s ideas and formed the Bolsheviks; became leader of the Soviet Union after provisional government’s fall

Leon Trotsky = a very committed Marxist revolutionary; was Lenin’s trusted second in command; became prime candidate for leadership of USSR after Lenin’s death; outmaneuvered, exiled, and eventually murdered by Stalin

Whites = czarists; fought in Russian Civil War to restore Nicholas II to the throne; backed by most Western countries, who did not want communism (fueled communist distrust of the West); eventually lost Civil War

Reds = revolutionaries led by Bolsheviks/Lenin; fought against Whites in Russian Civil War, eventually won

Cheka = dedicated secret police force formed by Lenin to help him establish his control over USSR during the Russian Civil War; enforced the Red Terror; ancestor of the Ogpu and KGB (now the FSB)

New Economic Policy = (1921) a “retreat” from war communism (which had negatively impacted economy); allowed some capitalist ventures (state kept control of banks, large industries, and foreign trade, but small businesses allowed to reopen for private profit); government allowed peasants to hold on to small plots of land and sell surplus crops; NEP was a success: by 1928, food and industrial production were back at prewar levels

March Revolution = (in Russia: “February Revolution”) workers went on strike, troops mutinied, police refused to fire on demonstrators: Nicholas II forced to abdicate; Duma set up provisional government; did not satisfy many

Menshevik = “the minority”, a more moderate socialist approach than the radical Bolsheviks; the Bolsheviks boldly called the other socialists Mensheviks: later, the Mensheviks did end up playing less of a role than Lenin’s party

Five-Year Plans = set up by Stalin; goal: make the USSR an industrial superpower (from a primarily agrarian country) and able to compete with Western countries, within 5 years; highly unrealistic quotas, but did bolster USSR industries (esp. heavy industries: oil, coal, steel, etc)

Joseph Stalin = Born Joseph Djugashvili to a poor family in Georgia; studied for priesthood, but passionate about revolution, so he joined the Bolsheviks and took the name Stalin, meaning “man of steel”; overall, performed much less important role than Trostsky; 1920: became general secretary of USSR and appointed those who supported him to government positions; after Lenin’s death, jockeyed with Trotsky for leadership of Russia, and won

Karl Marx = along with Fredrick Engels, wrote the Communist Manifesto ~50 years before the Russian Revolution; ideas greatly inspired Lenin and other Bolsheviks, despite the fact that Marx had purposely deemed Russia unsuitable for communism

communism = form of socialism advocated by Karl Marx; according to Marx, class struggle was inevitable and would lead to the creation of a classless society in which all wealth and property would be owned by the community as a whole

socialism = system in which the people as a whole rather than private individuals own all property and operate all businesses

capitalism = economic system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit

USSR = Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; formed by many different soviets: Armenian SSR, Belorussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Georgian SSR, Turkmen SSR, Uzbek SSR, Kazakh SSR, Kirghiz SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Tadzhik SSR

November Revolution = (in Russia: “October Revolution”) Bolsheviks executed an almost bloodless coup and replaced the provisional government; Russian Civil War breaks out

totalitarianism = system of government in which a one-party dictatorship regulates every aspect of citizen’s lives

collectivization = policy where Stalin brought agriculture under government control; goal: improve efficiency and take away peasant threat to state power; forced peasants to give up their private plots of land and live on collectives (huge farms owned and operated by peasants as a group), where modern machinery could be used efficiently; ruthlessness of policy angered many peasants, especially kulaks, who had the most to lose: peasants slaughtered their livestock and refused to plant crops ® food production fell drastically, Stalin used force to collect food from peasants for the cities ® mass starvations in rural areas; policy was a disaster, covered up by Stalin

kulak = wealthy peasant, who had the most to lose from the collectivization policies

gulag = a special detention/prison camp, where prisoners were “worked to death”

Great Purge = (1934) Stalin and his secret police (Ogpu) tried, convicted, and executed/exiled army officers, old Bolsheviks, writers, intellectuals, etc. – ordinary citizens; purges destroyed older generation of revolutionaries and replaced them with young party members loyal to Stalin; as many as 90% of army officers were killed ® greatly impacted the USSR army, and its ability to defend itself against Nazi Germany

 

Main Ideas

1.    Czar Nicholas II was not a confident ruler, and was typical of the European monarchy of the time. Russia was very underdeveloped and not industrialized (Russia was primarily agrarian), and therefore was falling behind many other countries of the time. Rasputin: see Identification. WWI destroyed the Russian economy, and Russia lost the most soldiers of any one country in WWI, mostly because its soldiers were not properly equipped, and because it had poor generals. WWI also left Russia in a state of even deeper discontent with the ruling czarist government.

2.    According to Marx, class struggle was inevitable and would lead to the creation of a classless society in which all wealth and property would be owned by the community as a whole – sooner or later, the proletariat would become “fed up” by their exploitation, and would revolt against the bourgeoisie. Communism should be achieved by the joining together of the working class for a common goal – the formation of a classless society. Capitalism rewards those who work the hardest, in general, and is controlled by basic human desires. Communism gives everyone the same rewards, and assumes that everyone will work hard for the good of their community. Russia had a very small working class, and therefore would not be an ideal place for a working class communist revolution.

3.    February/March Revolution: Many workers went on strike, and this time, the police force refused to fire on demonstrators that could well be their families, and Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. The Duma set up a provisional government (a temporary government: see Identification), however, the decision to remain in the war angered many. The unsatisfied socialists continued to plot a revolution.
October/November Revolution: The Bolsheviks executed an almost bloodless coup (with many mutinying soldiers’ help) and established a new leadership with Lenin at the top. Shortly after, the Russian Civil War breaks out between the Reds (Bolshevik supporters) and the Whites (czar loyalists), who were backed by many Western countries. Ultimately, the Reds won the Civil War.

4.    Lenin: see Identification, modified Marxist ideas to appeal to the primarily peasant society in Russia. Where Marx called for a working class unification for revolution, Lenin called for the unification of Russian peasants under an elite group of professional revolutionaries. Mensheviks: see Identification. Bolsheviks: see Identification. The Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government in an almost bloodless coup, and gained control of Russia. After coming to power, the Bolsheviks first secured their power with the Red Terror: see Identification, and then, in 1922, at the end of the 4-year-long Russian Civil War, the Bolsheviks established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), bringing together much of the old Russian empire under Communist party rule. The most radical changes occurred during Stalin’s rule.

5.    The Red Terror was a reign of terror that Lenin used in order to suppress the Whites/counterrevolutionaries

6.    The New Economic Policy: see Identification

7.    Joseph Stalin: see Identification created many new policies in Russia, including the Five-Year Plans, collectivization, and the Great Purge (which he used to maintain his power). Along with the Great Purge, Stalin used widespread propaganda to hide disastrous outcomes of his policies and exemplify even small gains.

8.    Collectivization: see Identification, Five-Year Plans: see Identification. Although Stalin’s collectivization policy turned out to be disastrous, his Five-Year Plans did greatly improve Russian heavy industry, in some cases doubling output (although it made limited gains in consumer goods manufacturing and did not meet most quotas)

9.    Great Purge: see Identification.

10.  The lives of Russian peasants remained much the same, or became even worse (especially for the kulaks) during Stalin’s rule, but industrial gains during the Five-Year Plans did ultimately help improve the Russian people’s lives. Stalin tried to control people through propaganda and polices such as the Great Purge and collectivization. Stalin helped modernize Russia and improve its heavy industry dramatically.