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Provisional government
The provisional government was formed by the Duma on February 27th following the riots in Petersburg.The people favoured abdication,therefore Nicholas Tsar renounced his power. As his brother Michael refused the crown, Russia became a republic with the Provisional government. Liberals of the Constitutional Democrats dominated the administration with Prince Georgi Lvov as the first Prime minister and Aleksander Kerensky as minister of justice, supported by the Petrograd Soviet revolutionaries. -
March Revolution
In 1917 the inability of the Romanov dynasty to effectively deal with the rapidly growing industrialized state and the heavy losses of the first world war caused shortages of bread and coal and a weak economy. Following the February demonstrations in Petersburg, the Cossaks began to help the people and the Tsarist officials went into hiding . On March 2nd, Tsar Nicholas abdicated for himself and his son, making Russia a republic the following day. -
April Thesis
When Lenin was smuggled back to russia by the Germans, he immediately noticed the revolutionaries who were not willing to push the revolution any further. This brought about his April thesis which called for the peasants to begin the communist revolution, immediate peace, seizure of gentry land, seizure of factories, and that all power must be given to Soviets. Lenin gained more recognition after becomming the leader of Bolsheviks and Soviets and after his famous speech of "peace,bread,and land. -
New Government
Lvov declared that Russia must continue to fight in the war while the Petrograd Soviet hated this and organized anti-war demonstrations. These riots eventually brought down the Lvov government in May. The new government, called the first Coalition, included all parties except the Bolsheviks. It kept Lvov as prime minister and Kerensky minister of war. The decision to stay in war and the disastrous campaign in June discredited the government and opened the door for Lenin and Bolsheviks. -
Kornilov Affair
General Kornilov, commander in chief of the armies, disaproved of the Soviet, and along with Kerensky palnned to send troops to Petrograd to destriy it. Lvov attempted to have Kornilov replace Kerensky as prime minister. Kerensky however did not want the people to be overthrown, therefore appealed to the people to save the revolution from Kornilov. With much support, he then arrested Lvov and dismissed Kornilov. -
Lenin's new Government
The Soviets established a new government under the Council of the People's Commissars. These were all Bolsheviks and led by Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky. The first two initiatives of the new government were that war should be ended immediately and that the peasants should own the land. Although the peasants and Bolsheviks had different definitions of ownership. Lenin led the country according to his personality; he opened peace nagotiations with Germany and supressed private trade. -
Bolshevik revolution
During the split withing the Duma, Bolsheviks dominated the Petrograd and Moscow soviets, and Lenin finally moved in to take control. Locations in the Petrograd such as the Winter palace were stormed by Red Bolsheviks troops on Nov. 7th. Members of the Provisional government were arrested and Sovitet authority was established. Lenin's promise of bread, land, and peace, was very popular amongst a nation ready for change.These promises allowed the Bolsheviks to gain needed support and seize power -
Civil War
In the first four years of Lenin's government, civil war continuously devistated the state of Russia as fighting took place between the Belsheviks (Reds) and those who opposed them (whites). Foreign attempts to wrest control from the Bolsheviks only added to the problems. The reds however were able to win this war by controlling the heart of Russia,military,industry,and larger population. The reds were also were very organized which caused their victory. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Lenin was determined to have peace at any cost,and when the German terms of peace were rejected by Trotsky, he decided to sign the treaty of Brest-Litovsk in order to prevent war with Germany. The treaty was signed on March 3rd and according to it, the Soviet government would lose 60 million people by the independence of new countries and was to give up a percentage of the railway system, industries, and coal fields.This treaty saved the Bolshevik administration from a war they could not afford -
War Communism
In order to stabilize the economy, Lenin made all land property of the whole nation and abolished any private ownership. Collective farms were established and the government collected all harvest in order to feed the cities. Peasants resisted in various ways and cultivated areas dropped by 40 per cent in three years. Sever food shortages were now affecting industrial labour, and 7.5 million people died from starvation, disease, and devistation of war between 1917 and 1920 -
New Economic Policy
Following the Kronstadt rebellion in 1921, Lenin realized change needed to occur and consumer goods were needed immediately. He presented the New Econimic Policy in 1921 in order to introduce private enterprise in small industry and retail. According to this, peasants would be taxed and allowed to keep excess produce to increase production. By 1928 the economy had gained back its pre-war strength. However, this was a threat to Communists who disapproved the idea of hierarchy. -
Treaty of Rapallo
In order to stabilize Russia's position in the world power structure, the Soviet and German foreign ministers signed the Treaty of Rapallo in April 1922. The treaty ensured diplomatic relations and economic cooperation between the two states. It also provided for the repudiation of war costs and damages, expansion of trade, and a promise for economic assistance.In return, Germany could military activities on Soviet soil, violating the treaty of versailles. -
Kellog-Briand Pact
This international pact renounced aggressive war but offended no one while giving the illusion of peace and security. This pact had no machinery to enforce it's laws therefore everyone was in a rush to sign it. -
Five year plan
This plan included a blueprint for a command economy, in which issues such as production, distribution, and consumption were all controlled by the centralized state. This is the exact opposite of a free market. The second feature of this plan was collectivism. Farmers were to follow the orders of the collective farm committee who were controlled by party officials.The peasant's grains were taken away to feed the cities and to sell in foreign markets. These plans were at most times unsuccessful. -
League of Nations
Although the League was first discussed at the Paris peace conference, Russia was not admitted until 1934. The league held an assembly of all members, each nation having one vote. The power of the league resided with the major powers who determined the manner of the league actiivity. The Soviet Union was expelled in 1939 for the invasion of Finland. -
The Purges
Stalin began using the OGP, renamed as NKVD to eleminate his enemies. Heroes of the revolution were charged with attempting to overthrown the government and executed. Stalin also executed one out of five of the officers in the Red Army. This would backfire when war breaks out again in a few years. The purges were merely eleminating any evolutionary heroes to ensure Stalin's permanent position. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
This pact assured Germany of a controlled situation in the east and that the Soviets would not come to the aid of Poland. Stalin feared that Hitler intended to make the Soviet Union his next victim, but when Stalin learned from his spy in Tokyo that Hitler was planning to strike west, Stalin relaxed. As Soviet Union was threatened by Japan, Stalin feared a two front war. On 23rd August, he signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact,
