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Revolution of 1905 and the October Manifesto
The reason I chose a picture as Bloody Sunday as the symbol of the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the October Manifesto, is that it was the direct cause for the October Manifesto. Although there was discourse in Russia that was building up to the revolution (Russification, Russo-Japense war, censorship), in context to the Revolution of 1905 AND the October manifesto, the Manifesto was a direct response by the tsar to Bloody Sunday. -
Beginning of WWI
The beginning of WWI can be attributed to a number of factors like militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism, with more specific instances such as the Triple Alliance & Triple Entente, Moroccan Crisis, Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and the Schlieffen Plan. However these only led to furthering tensions, whilst the blank cheque used all those "factors" to start the war by having the "ok" from Germany to declare war on Serbia. -
Czar Nicholas II takes sole control of military operations
This map of the Brusilov offensive is a good symbol of Czar Nicholas II taking sole control of military operations as it was one of the most successful campaigns in WWI. The tsar held great control over the campaign by supervising it's planning, appointing generals, along with meeting with advisors. Additionally it serves as a symbol of his ever increasing involvement in the military after dismissing his cousin from the role of commander in chief. -
Brusilov Offensive ends
This picture does a great job at showing the brusilov offensive, but more importantly it shows the costs as a result of it. The offensive was the most susccesful campaign by the Russian sin WWI but it came at a great cost with 500,000 russians being killed which resulted in them having to halt their advance. Additionalyl despite it's success to push out the the austro-hungarians it failed to accomplish it's goal of breaking through their lines entirely. -
Assassination of Rasputin
This newspaper is a good representation for the Assassination of Rasputin as it not only shows his death, but it also shows how important he was as a figure in Russia to the point to warrant a newspaper story on him, along with the details surrounding his assassination. -
International Women’s Day March in Petrograd
The image below is a poster about the march which stated the main idea of the march of it being a rebellion from the women for more freedoms. Additionally the red banners in the poster went on later to be symbols of the Communist Movements which furthers the posters importance. Additionally it shows the original intention of the March, and the combination of those communist ideas that made the march to become much greater than it already was, becoming more broad in protest against the government -
Nicholas II Abdicates
The image is Nicholas II's abdication letter to the Russian people, in which he cites his reasoning as to why he abdicated with him discussing the "troubled days" as a big reason behinds his abdication. What he is referring to hear is a vague generalization of the social unrest going on in Russia at the time with the 2 most notable being the women's march and the Rasputin Scandal/assassination. Its for these reasons the letter is a good symbol of his abdication. -
Provisional Government formed
The photo does a good job at representing the formation of provisional government as it is the first picture of the provisional government. Because there are so many people in the photo that don't come from as prestigious backgrounds such as the Tsar it shows how political groups and leaders attempting to establish a democratic government within Russia that gives power to the people. -
Return of Lenin from exile
Although Lenin wrote a number of books while in exile, the image of him giving a speech to a bunch of revolutionaries at a train station in Petrograd is the best symbol of his return to exile as it represents his key role as a public figure and the power that he has and is going to have in the soon to come October Revolution -
Lenin's April Theses is Published
The flag below represents one of the biggest ideas of Lenin's April theses and the slogan "All Power to the Soviets!" which in combination with the red and yellow like colors of the flag show the demand for further social change and revolution. The red flag becomes a further symbol for communism, with the slogan becoming a kind of rally cry for socialist groups with it representing the shift in the bolshevik movement of moving power from the provisional government to the people (soviets) -
All-Russian Congress of Soviets meet
The photo below depicts a image of the people who showed up to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets meet, which is significant as it shows a crucial event in the earlier parts of the Russian Revolution. During the confrence the Bolsheviks although a minority in terms of the confrence, established their want for the establishment of a soviet state, transfering power to the soviets, land reform, worker's rights issue, and involvement in the war. The meeting showed Bolsheviks radical intentions. -
July Days
Lenins "Letters from Afar" is a great symbol for the July Days as it represents the political division and protest that took place in Petrograd at the time with them wanting the government to move the power to the soviets, end the war, and remove the provisional government; all things Lenin and the bolsheviks wanted. Additionally the letters themselves outlined Lenin/the Bolsheviks position on the July Days and their plans for seizing power for the soviets -
Kornilov Affair
The picture shows the military leader Kornilov and his army standing beside him in a very proffesional manner. This photo does a good job representing the affair as it shows his intentions of establishing a more authoriatian government. Additionally the fact this was allowed to happen shows the weakness of the provisional government through the image, which helped the image of the bolsheviks -
Trotsky organizes Red Guard to defend Petrograd
This image shows Trotsky organizing the Red guard in order to defend Petrograd from the attempted coup that was being organized by General Kornilov in august. Trotsky and the bolsheviks saw this as a threat to the February Revolution, and were successful in putting down the coup at the cost of making the provisional government looking bad. The soldiers were a key part in preventing the kind of authoritarian vision Kornilov wanted, which can be seen in the photo. -
Bolsheviks overthrow the Provisional Government and take control
The hammer and sickle, along with the phrase "workers of the world unite" represents the Bolsheviks overthrowing the provisional government and taking control as the red flag become a symbol for the movement along with the hammer and sickle. The insurrection lead by the Bolsheviks was rallied by the cry of "workers of the world unite" and its for these reason why the picture represents the overthrow so well. It's just a culmination of all the socialist ideas that led to this very moment. -
Cheka Formed
This photo represents the cruel nature of the Cheka and their punishments as it depicts a man being physically restrained as he twists and turns before a bullet is put through his head. The Cheka would execute thousands and would also employ various torture methods before killing those they held captive. -
Constituent Assembly Disbands
This image is the legally recognized coat of arms of Russia until July 10th, 1918, but would not be used until the disbanding of the assembly. This vaguely links to the reasoning of the assembly disbanding because the symbol of Russia only significantly changes after the assembly is gone, potentially providing the idea that the assembly disappearing makes a better Russia. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Signed
This photo was chosen to specifically highlight the situation Russia was in before its withdraw from World War I, as it was rapidly losing men and territory, and the only way out was to quit entirely. The photo contains German, Austro-Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Ottoman officials meeting with Russian officials to declare Russia's withdrawal from the war. -
War Communism Begins
This photo represents Lenin, in power, as he uses said power to ensure his victory in the Russian Civil War through any means, as any produced food now belongs to the war, hense "war communism", and the entire economy comes screeching to a halt until the NEP takes effect years later. -
Red Terror
This propaganda poster directly represents the goal of the red terror; to execute any opposition to the Bolsheviks and eliminate political dissent to ensure maintenance of power. Any anti-Bolshevik factions would be labelled as Whites by the Bolsheviks and hunted regardless of whether they supported the Whites' cause or not. -
Kolchak attacks Reds in Siberia
This is a photo of Alexander Kolchak. He led the White Army before being captured by the Bolsheviks and being executed, as the Cheka were still hunting opposition at this point. Kolchak was a supporter of the provisional government, obsessed with saving Russia from the red oppression, and restoring it to its "full power". -
Ukraine falls to Soviets
This image shows White troops entering the Ukrainian capital on August 31st 1919, when the city would be surrender to the White army, the vast abundance of men present when it was assumed for a brief moment that the city was abandoned is intimidating to think about, since the Whites vastly outnumber the Ukrainian military. -
Poles move toward Kyiv
This image was chosen specifically to highlight the fact that the Poles were specifically aiming to attack Kyiv in order to claim it not too long after the Whites did themselves. The photo highlights the measures the Poles went through in order to ensure their attack was successful, using standard military fighter planes to attack from the air much like the trench areas in World War I. -
Battle of Warsaw
This image of Polish soldiers marching to the battle front was chosen to specifically highlight the vast nature of the war. The battle would have an estimated 29,000 dead, a large majority of which coming from Russia's side of things. Poland would be overwhelmingly victorious in this fight and would set back Soviet leaders, including Lenin, considerably due to the heavy loss in men and resources. -
Tambov Rebellion
This photo was chosen to highlight the impossibility of the peasants winning in this revolt. The Bolsheviks had far more representatives and firepower in comparison to the Tambov peasantry. The leader of the peasant revolt would be sentenced to death for insurrection. -
Kronstadt Rebellion
This photo depicts another revolt from back in 1905 where Kronstadt sailors revolted, and is significant to this revolt because it is largely for the same reasons; famine, disease, cold, and weariness. This highlights how Lenin in power was very similar to the old tsarist ways of governance by restricting other people to maintain power as much as possible. -
War Communism Ends; NEP Begins
This photo is a propaganda poster of Lenin, nothing special about it. Lenin intended to demonstrate that he could show the type of approach the tsarist regime was incapable of doing, and under the threat of a major revolt, he did away with war communism in favor of a new economic policy. -
Treaty of Rapallo
This photo shows the chancellor of Germany and a few Russian delegates meeting together. This photo shows that both parties were willing to open diplomatic relations with one another, and in the treaty itself, agreed to renounce all territorial and financial claims from one-another. -
Soviet Union is formed
This is a picture of the Soviet Union flag. Both the sickle and hammer below a star represent communism and socialism, the red color also meaning the reds won the Russian Civil War and would continue to govern. -
Vladimir Lenin dies
This piece by Isaak Brodsky in 1925 depicting Lenin's death shows how important of a leader he was to at most the reds despite the inhumane things he did to maintain power at the time. Lenin's legacy is eternally preserved at Lenin's Mausoleum in Moscow today, showing he was significantly valued as a leader, despite how historians may view him today.