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Russia and Its Industry
Review the image. Russia had not industrialized (built factories) at the same rate as other countries. They were lagging behind, which meant they had trouble producing the weapons needed to fight WW1 and building the transportation needed to move soldiers and supplies. Guns were so scarce that soldiers were sent to the front without them and told to pick them up from dead soldiers. -
Millions of Russian Soldiers Died In WW1
Two million soldiers were killed between 1914 and 1916, and another 4 to 6 million were wounded or captured. Russia was losing its will to fight. -
General Strike in Petrograd (St. Petersburg)
A bread shortage meant women had to stand on line for hours just to buy some bread. These women also worked 12 hours per day in the factories. Exhausted and worried about their starving children, they called for a strike. No factory workers went to work on March 10. They hoped going on strike would hurt the economy and force the government to help them. -
The Soviets Emerge
Although the Duma was supposed to give the average citizens a voice in the government, many people felt like they were not being hear. Soviets - groups that were made up of representatives from workers and soldiers - started to form. Large soviets form in cities, but there are smaller ones that form in factories and army units. -
Soldiers Support Protestors
Soldiers were sent to Petrograd to break up the strikes and protests. They are told to shoot the protestors if necessary. The soldiers refuse to do that. Instead, the soldiers join the protestors. -
FEBRUARY REVOLUTION: The Czar Steps Down
Czar Nicholas II no longer has the support of the nobles or the army. He steps down as ruler and the provisional government takes control. -
Duma Creates a Provisional Government
In 1905, Czar Nicholas II had allowed the creation of the Duma. This was an elected group that could make laws. After the Czar stepped down, the Duma reacted to Russian calls for change by creating the Provisional (Temporary) Government. This new government is run by the middle class. -
WWI Continues
After the Provisional Government was created, another result of the February Revolution was that the Provisional Government decided Russia should continue fighting in WWI. This was a big mistake and upset the factory workers and the poor. They were tired and angry from years of suffering and wanted an end to the war. -
The Bolsheviks Emerge With a Plan
The Bolsheviks were socialists led by Vladimir Lenin. They looked at the problems in Russia and decided three things needed to be changed.
1. People wanted PEACE. They wanted Russia out of WW1
2. People wanted their own LAND. Land should be equally divided among the people
3. People wanted food. BREAD should be more available. -
OCTOBER REVOLUTION
The Bolsheviks attacked the provisional government and took control. They gave all government power to the Congress of Soviets. This congress was made up of representatives from all the soviets. The Bolsheviks later change their name to the Communists. -
Decree on Land
Bolsheviks ended private ownership of land and distributed land to peasants. Workers were given control of the factories and mines. A new red flag with an entwined hammer and sickle symbolized the union between workers and factories -
WWI Ends
After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. This treaty creates peace between Russia and the Central Powers. Russia loses a little bit of land, but Lenin isn’t worried. He had promised the people he would bring peace. -
Russian Civil War
Not everyone was happy with the October Revolution. A civil war broke out between the "Reds" (Bolsheviks/Communists) and the "Whites" (people who supported democracy, the old tsar, and other countries that joined the fight). The "Reds" eventually won and the Soviet Union was created.
