ATAR modern history year 12

  • 1905 Russian revolution

    • first revolution caused by poor social, economic state of Russia as well as the failure of the Russo-Japanese war
    • sparked by Bloody Sunday
    • spontaneous, uncoordinated and lacked guidance or objective
    • seemed tsarism would be overthrown but tsar was able to survive due to promises of liberal reforms, lack of revolution cohesion, leadership and common goals
  • October manifesto

    • seemed to give Russians what they wanted a constitutional monarchy
    • even though tsar backed out of major promises the manifesto was well received
    • those who supported the tsar and manifesto called octoberists
    • was a failure as all reforms still had to go through the tsar
  • Provisional government formed

    • government between the Feb and Nov revolution
    • faced same challenges as Tsar such as WW1 involvement, economic shortages and opposition from Petrograd Soviet and radical Bolshevik revolutionaries
    • first prime minister was Lvov but quickly followed by Kerensky
  • Tsar abdication

    • tsar signed the abdication after his train was stopped
    • abdicated for him and his son
    • duma establishes the prov gov
    • 304 years of Romanov rule ended
  • Russia pulls out of WW1

    • Bolshevik government ended Russia involvement in WW1 by the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litosvk
    • gave the people what they wanted as Russia had faced many losses during the war
  • April thesis

    • Lenin able to convince Germany he wanted to gain power in Russia and remove them from the war
    • 32 revolutionaries moved across Europe
    • Lenin arrival changes revolutionary dynamic in Russia
    • Lenin demanded bolsheviks should gain power instead f usual bolsheviks that were supporting socialism and prov gov
    • his 'peace, land and bread' encapsulated the thesis
  • July Days

    • by late June there was growing dissatisfaction with prov government as war casualties continue and unemployment rose
    • started by Trotsky's speech attacking the gov causing many to protest on the streets
    • around half a million people were involved
    • protests not organised meaning gov able to suppress them in a short time
    • prov gov found Germany was funding these protests allowing Kerensky to accuse the Soviets of treason
    • were a disaster for the Bolsheviks as many fled or arrested
  • SOVNARKOM formed

    • was a cabinet of ministers
    • new government made of soviets, workers and peasants
  • Cheka formed

    • formed due to Lenin knowing opposition from tsar supported, army officers and political members still occurred
    • introduced as temporary organisation but by 1918 had 10 000 members
    • more brutal than the Okhrana
    • inflicted 'red terror' on enemies of state
    • practices included skinning and boiling prisoners
  • New Economic Policy (NEP) introduced

    • return to small scale capitalism moving away from war communism
    • grain requestioning ended and instead peasants taxed grain and instead could be sold privately
    • farming re incentivised
    • private businesses restarted
    • created kulaks
    • end to rationing
    • eased famine (1921 famine caused 5 million deaths)
  • war communism

    • introduced to feed the red army
    • harsh taxing of requisitioned grains
    • enforced through violence and terror of NKVD '
    • disincentivisation of agriculture for peasants
    • caused famine of 1921 that killed 5 million people
  • Red forces in civil war victorious

    • treaty of Riga signed creating peace with Poland
    • remaining White resistance were defeated
    • Red forces victorious
  • Lenin dies

    • Lenin in poor health due to being a workaholic
    • from 1921 he started faltering in speech and started having symptoms of strokes
    • stroke in 1923 left him paralysed on his right side
    • stroke in morning of 1924 caused him to die that night
    • death mourned by many as Lenin symbolised hope of equal and free society
    • his funeral was large and elaborate
  • collectivisation

    • part of 1st 5 year plan
    • integrated smaller farms and labour in collectively controlled state farms
    • caused holodomor
    • implemented to optimise production as well as free up labour for industrial city work
    • 91% of agriculture collectivised by 1930
  • Shakty Trial

    • 53 engineers from Shakty area were accused of conspiring with former mine owners to sabotage the soviet economy
    • occurred while 5 year plan struggling and scape goats were needed
    • 5 were shot and 44 sent to labour camps
  • Stalin new leader

    • by 1928 stalin officially new leader
    • 1929 Stalin 50th birthday celebrated nation wide
    • became the 'Lenin of today'
  • dekulakisation

    • stalin used kulaks as a scape goals for the enemy of the state
    • millions of kulaks arrested, deported and executed
    • 'liquidation of kulaks' announced in 1929 in an effort to collectivise the country
    • many kulaks revolted causing further executions and destruction of kulak property
  • Industrial party trial

    • group of prominent economists and engineers were accused of industrial sabotage, conspiring with France and planning a new economy
    • charges were false, accused were alleged to have met with former tsarist minister and industrialist who was already dead
    • all sentenced to death
  • Holodomor

    • 1932-33
    • measures to destroy the russian peasantry to prevent seeking ukraine seeking independence
    • killed millions
    • man made famine
    • reports of cannibalism
  • Yalta conference

    • between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin
    • agreements for Germany after WW2
    • agreed Germany needed to be weakened, war criminals prosecuted, what was left of German industry needed to be destroyed
    • when Yalta agreements finally published created anger in Britain and USA
  • Potsdam conference

    • consisted of Trumna, Stalin and Churchill
    • confirmed plans to disarm and demilitarise Germany, and the division of Germany into the 4 zones
  • Iron curtain speech

    • speech by Churchill
    • summarised that the USA and UK needed to act as guardians for peace and stability against communism
    • used the term to refer to a political, military and ideological barrier create by the USSR
  • Truman doctrine

    • Truman outlined his reasons for urgent economic aid to Turkey and Greece
    • offered US$40 million in protection against Soviet aggression
    • America to shoulder wait of communism containment
    • warned Soviets that USA would protect the rights of people everywhere
  • Marshall plan

    • aftermath of war brought poverty to Europe causing destruction of cities, loss of financial institutions, short supplies of materials
    • injected US$15 billion to assist European governments with reconstruction such as purchasing food
    • governments were faced with starvation of communism so had little choice but to accept
  • Berlin Blockade

    • soviet attempt to stop the USA, UK and France to enter their zones in Berlin
    • caused by US economic aid and the 3 zones attempting to make a common currency
    • soviets blocked all raid, road and canal access to Berlin
    • 2.5 million citizens had no access to food, medicine, fuel or electricity
    • western powers airlifted for nearly a year
    • biggest airlift relief in history
  • NATO formed

    • provided collective security against soviets
    • mostly a security pact as it considered an attack on a signer and attack on them all
    • original members were Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and USA
  • sputnik

    • launched by soviet union
    • started the space race
    • caused hostility in cold war
    • caused fear and anxiety in western nations about technological gaps between USA and soviet union
  • Warsaw Pact

    • response to NATO
    • collective defence treaty, if any country gets attacked all attack in response
    • members of the soviet states and eastern european countries
    • Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania
  • Vietnam War

    • Vietnam wanted to make Vietnam communist
    • USA didn't want this due to containment as well domino effect
  • berlin wall

    • increased outmigration from east to west
    • east loosing skilled workers and young intellectuals
    • 155km wall
    • built around berlin and western sectors
    • reduced tensions between USA and USSR
    • ideological barrier between communism and capitalism
  • bay of pigs

    • USA invaded cuba due to communist castro taking power
    • cuba scared of another invasion looked to USSR for nuclear help
    • kennedy approval rate increased in aftermath
  • Geneva summit

    • laid ground work for future
    • both sides agreed to work on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and to halve their arsenals
    • work began on Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty to remove short and medium range nuclear missiles from Europe
  • Reykjavik summit

    • both sides agreed to reduce the number of strategic arms by half with within 5 years
    • superpowers were limited to having 1600 missiles and 6000 warheads each
  • washington summit

    • Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces
    • both sides agreed to reduce warheads to 4900 each
    • political discussions on Central America and human rights
  • Moscow

    • both sides agreed to eliminate 3000 medium range missiles