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March Revolution
Widespread food shortages and strikes of the people Russia were hungry for not only food but also change. Ultimately the lack of leadership and effects of World War 1 lefts the remainder of Tsarists and supporters in shambles. Once major major cities were over thrown by revolutionaries and even the army had turned on the Tsar it was only a matter of hours before he was finally abdicated. -
Provisional Government
After the abdication of the Tsar The government replaced the institution of the Council of ministers of Russian Empire members. These were non elected officials and a illegitimate Government. Among problems of no real benefits since the revolutions it would be the continuation of involvement in WWI that would be the main failure of the government. -
April Thesis
After and exile to Switzerland, leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Petrograd with a thesis aimed towards fellow Bolsheviks in Russian. He called for Soviets to seize power with the use of propaganda slogans like “all power to the soviets” and “peace bread and land.” His thesis and ideas would further influence the events to come such as the July days, October Revolution and Leninism. -
Kornilov Affair
A loose alliance between two groups now ran Russia, Socialists and Constitutional Democrats. A disturbance in Petrograd threatened the government. Kornilov the general sent troops into Petrograd in order to protect the government. After further review Kornilov quickly changed this into an attempted overthrow. A very poorly executed and unsuccessful overthrow that resulted int Kornilov jailed. -
Bolshevik Revolution
The Bolsheviks revolution was much different then the March revolution as it was a well planned affair. On October 13 the Bolsheviks took control of Petrograd. On October 23 they were able to take over Moscow. Lenin returned on the 23rd. With the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky by the November 7th the Bolsheviks arrested the Provisional Government and seized power with limited resistance. -
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Civil War
There was a war between the Reds (Bolsheviks) and the Whites (Tsarists, bourgeoisie, churches, and outlawed political groups).The Reds believed that Russia should be pulled out of the war, while the Whites wanted to stay in the war. In the end, the Reds overpowered the Whites. There were many reasons why the Reds overpowered the Whites. The Reds were lead by Leon Trotsky and backed by the lower class, which made up the majority of the population, that’s why they won. -
New Government
As soon as Lenin took control in Russia he did two things: First end the war immediately. Then “the peasants should seize the land.” The peasents now owned there own land however it was different then what they thought it would be. They were assuming to have terms of private plots of land. Lenin was a true marxist and collectivized the land. The problems ran to deep in Russia and Lenin failed to have any immediate impact on Russia beside ending the war. -
1918: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Lenin much to the dismay of many, opened peace negotiations with Germany. He felt there was no way his young government could tackle huge problems facing Russia and continue to fight a foreign war at the same time. Lenin made an exchange for massive parcels of land for peace between the two nations. This was done at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. -
1918: War Communism
In the summer of 1918, many changes in Russia were made from war communism. The industry was being nationalized and private industry almost entirely disappeared. Mining, metallurgical, textile, electrical, timber, tobacco, resin, glass and pottery, leather and cement industries were appropriated by the state along with a few minor industries. Compulsory labour was introduced. Many peasants were not happy with War Communism because they did not receive much. -
New Economic Policy
Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy in March 1921. It allowed some private trade, peasants to sell surplus, and private ownership of factories. Lenin introduced this policy to help Russia get back on its feet, because Russia was not recovering at a steady pace. The NEP was quite flexible and went against many of the Marxist beliefs; in some ways, it was bit capitalist. That is why some people were against it. They saw it as a betrayal towards communism. -
Treaty of Rapallo
This was an agreement between the Bolsheviks and the western countries, in which to rebuild their industrial base. In it, they agreed that the USSR would manufacture illegal war material for Germany and the USSR would receive steel manufacturing technology from Germany. The Treaty of Rapallo allowed the German Army to use weapons, such as tanks and planes. This was strictly forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. -
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First Five Year Plan
Joseph Stalin believed that Russia was 50-100 years behind the other countries. His idea to move Russia past the competition was to rapidly industrialize. He did this through several Five Year Plans. Stalin established command economy.Production, distribution, and consumption were now controlled by the central state. He introduced collectivization, which took away peasants' land and forced them to work on Kolkhoz (collective farms). This was harsh, but extremely effective. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Although this was not a formal treaty, it was simply a policy that declared peace and denounced war as a method of solving arguments and disputes. Sixty-two signed the pact in the end. -
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The Purges
Stalin wanted Russia to be a strong nation under his control. He was extremely paranoid and eliminated all possible people who could oppose him. He could dismiss anyone he wanted to because of his high ranking job. He exiled Trotsky and all of his supporters. Many people were charged with treason and executed for "overthrowing the government". Stalin made a mistake by carrying the purges into the Red Army. He executed one out of five of the officers in the army. This mistake came back to haunt h -
League of Nations
Woodrow Wilson’s fourteen points included the League of Nations. This was the idea that all the Countries would band together and get involved in collective security. Members committed themselves to promoting inter nation co-operating and they promised not to go to war until they first had submitted their disputes to arbitration. It was hoped that wars would be fought with economic sanctions instead of arms and gunfire. The League was a failure because they could not enforce their rules. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
The Nazi-Soviet Pact was an agreement of strict neutrality between Germany and the USSR. It allowed secret talks and agreements between Hitler and the Stalin. It benefited Hitler, because he got a one-front war with the West, and it benefitted Stalin because it gave him time to prepare. Although this benefitted both sides, the Nazis and Soviets continued to hate each other, and eventually went to war regardless.
