InNo+annielo822+10.21.10

= ** War and Revolution - Part Two ** = October 21, 2010

**The Awesome Part**



__**Russia at War, 1914-17**__
- August 1914, went to war - The news was very popular - Patriotic demonstrations in support of Tsar all over Russia - Hatred for Germany spread - Renamed St Petersburg to Petrograd, because it sounded like a German name

**Early defeats**
- End of August 1914, Russians attacked Germany w/ two huge armies - Should have won against single German army - Russian armies badly led and equipped - Millions without rifles, many without boots - In battles of **Tannenberg** and the **Masurian Lakes**, Russian armies were wiped out - 6 weeks after war started, 250,000 Russians soldiers killed, wounded, or taken prisoner - end of 1914, Russian lost over 1 million men

**The collapse of the economy**
- war continued in 1915 - economy began to collapse - 1st problem: lack of workers - 15.5 mill young men taken to fight for army - halved the number needed in the factories and fields - 1915, almost 600 factories close due to lack of workers - weeds grew in empty fields on many farms - 2nd problem: transport - Russia depended on railways for food & raw materials - Not enough trains to keep armies and townspeople supplied with food and materials - Thousands of tonnes of food rotted in railway sidings - Soldiers and people were hungry because lack of trains to transport food - Coal supplies to factories & power stations stopped - Coal trains waited in coal mines for engines to pull them - Power failed, more factories closed - 3rd problem: inflation - began to lose value in 1914 - food prices went up - people’s wages bought less and less food - end of 1915, 300,000 Russians were killed & 3 million wounded or taken prisoner

**‘Dark forces destroying the throne’**
- August 1915, Tsar Nicholas took personal command of armies - Left Petrograd to live at army headquarters: bad mistake - Left Alexandra in charge of gov’t, who was under complete influence of Rasputin - Next 16 months, August 1915-end of 1916, Alexandra did what she liked - Used power to sack minister she didn’t like and replaced with men she and Rasputin favored - During this time, there were 4 different Prime Ministers, 5 Ministers of the Interior, 4 Ministers of Agriculture, 3 Ministers of War, 2 Ministers of Foreign Affairs - Work of gov’t stopped, due to speed of ministers coming & going - Materials were short in supply, now almost unobtainable - 1916, Russian armies won some important victories, but death toll continues to increase to over 1 million - ugly rumors of Alexandra and Rasputin in Petrograd - people knew Alexandra was German - said Alexandra and Rasputin were German agents, destroying form within, to explain Russia’s defeat - closest supporters of Tsar were in despair - one spoke out in Duma saying there’s ‘dark forces destroying the throng’ - December 1961, 3 nobles loyal to Tsar wanted to destroy the ‘dark forces’ - Murdered Rasputin - Public rejoicing when Rasputin’s death was announced - His death didn’t help Russia - 1917, blizzards and -35ºC - thousand railway engines froze, burst the boilers - supplies decreased to nothing - conditions became right for revolution

__**The Revolution of March 1917**__
- March 1917, conditions grew rapidly worse - Petrograd, turned into full-scale revolution to overthrow Tsar

**Wednesday 7 March**
- Managers of giant Putilov steel works locked out 20,000 workers when pay talks broke down - 20,000 tough angry steel workers out on streets - Other workers went on strike to support them

**Thursday 8 March**
- 50 factories closed down - 90,000 workers went on strike - International Women’s Day, thousands of socialist women on streets demonstrating - Subject on everyone’s mind was bread - A bread shop told a poor women there was no bread left - When she was leaving she saw bread in the window - She broke the window and took it - A general passing on a motor car told her off - A crowd formed around them, smashed his motor car - Paraded streets and asked for bread

**Friday 9 March**
- 200,000 workers on strike - about half the industrial workers

**Saturday 10 March**
- 250,000 workers on strike - no public transport or newspaper - food shortage continued - movement took on a political character - reserves of infantry - troops opened fire in main street of Petrograd - Cossacks refused to attack procession of strikers when ordered

**Sunday 11 March**
- President of Duma sent telegram to Tsar - Capital is in state of anarchy - Gov’t paralyzed - Transport system broke down - Supplies completely disorganized - Discontent increasing - Wild shooting on streets - Troops firing at each other - Tsar’s response: order Duma to stop meeting

**Monday 12 March**
- 6 am, mutiny began in Volinsky regiment of army - sergeant shot commanding officer dead - soldiers left barracks, marched to center of Petrograd - all units sent to fight mutiny are changing sides - Duma held meeting later in the day despite Tsar’s orders - Set up 12-man committee called **Provisional Committee** to take over gov’t

**Tuesday 13 March**
- evening, revolutionaries set up a **Soviet** of workers and soldiers - Petrograd Soviet intended to take over gov’t and begin organizing supplies for the city

**Wednesday 14 March**
- leading army generals sent telegram to Nicholas - informed him no army supported him - Nicholas tried to return to take control - His train was stopped by revolutionaries on the way, 250km away

**Thursday 15 March**
- Nicholas agreed to resign and give throne to Alexis - Realized Alexis was too ill so gave throne to brother, Grand Duke Michael - Grand Duke Michael feared he would be unpopular like Nicholas - Resigned within 24 hours - Russia was a republic, country governed by an elected leader - But there were two elected bodies, Duma's Provisional Committee and Petrograd Soviet

**Two new governments**
- 12 March, new gov’t of 12-man committee set up - called **Provisional Government**, meant goven for short time until elections, then resign - Provisional gov’t was official gov’t - Across meeting place in Tauride Palace was 2nd unofficial gov’t, **Petrograd Soviet**, Wokers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies - Elected by working people - Aim was to protect interests of working people and soldiers - March, other Soviets with same aim set up around Russia - Other soviets followed whatever Petrograd Soviet decided - Gave it great power - First action: issue order to armed forces - **Order No. 1**: soldiers and sailors must set up committees to take control of all arms - Off-duty soldiers were not to salute officers, and addressed them as ‘Mister Colonel’, etc. not ‘Your Excellency’ - Obeyed in all army and navy - Showed Petrograd Soviet controlled armed forces instead of Provisional Gov’t - many deputies of Petrograd Soviet were revolutionaries - especially SRs and Mensheviks, some Bolsheviks - revolutionary parties wanted land to be given to peasants, and factories to workers - Willing to cooperate with Provisional Gov’t and wait for changes

**Lenin and the April Theses**
- March Revolution, leader of Bolsheviks, Lenin, was exiled in Switzerland - Disagreed with revolutionaries cooperating with Provisional Gov’t - Wanted to return to Russia and organize second revolution - Lands between Switzerland and Russia were Germany and Austria, Russia’s enemies in war - Germany helped Lenin return - Knew he would cause trouble for the gov’t, and it would help Germany in war - Provided Lenin food money, and special train to cross Germany safely - 16 April 1917, Lenin returned to Petrograd - made speech to Bolsheviks - end to war with Germany, all land given to peasants, banks nationalized - Bolsheviks should rename to ‘Communists’ - No support given to Provisional Gov’t - Instead, Soviets get together to form new gov’t - ‘All power to the Soviets!’ - ideas known as **April Theses** - April Theses surprise to Bolsheviks - Lenin said start second rev, but many thought time wasn’t right - Doubts proved correct - June 1917, Russian armies attacked Austria - Attack failed and retreated - Many soldiers deserted armies - Went to Petrograd and joined Bolsheviks to demand end to Provisional Gov’t - 100,000+ soldiers and Bolsheviks paraded streets - demanding Bolsheviks to seize power - three days of rioting, the **July Days** - Alexander Kerensky, Minister of War, sent loyal troops to Petrograd - 16-17 July, troops broke mobs, killed & wounded 400 - Kerensky claimed Bolsheviks were paid by German to cause trouble, Lenin was German agent - Kerensky issued orders for arrest, Lenin fled to Finland, in exile - Leading Bolsheviks arrested and imprisoned

**The Kornilov Revolt**
- ­Kerensky became Prime Minister of Provisional Gov’t - faced with challenge from Commander-in-Chief of armies, General Kornilov - believed Russia needed ‘strong man’ and he should be in charge - planned to get rid of Petrograd Soviet, arrest revolutionaries, and take control of Provisional Gov’t, could fight Germany without interference - Kornilov’s rebel troops- Savage Division from Caucasus mountains and the Cossacks- were best in Russia - Sent them to Petrograd to get rid of Provisional Gov’t - Few loyal troops defended Kerensky, seemed Kornilov’s revolt would succeed - To help defend Petrograd, Kerensky allowed Bolsheviks to set up defense force – **Red Guards** - 25,000 Bolsheviks were armed with rifles and machine guns and out on streets within few days - troops refused to fight against fellow workers - Kornilov was arrested - Bolsheviks became heroes out of Kornilov revolt - Saved Provisional Gov’t - Showed they were not German agents - Came out as armed and disciplined fighting force - September, strengthened position further with majority in elections for Petrograd Soviet - Same in elections for Soviets in Moscow and other big cities - October 1917, Bolsheviks more powerful than ever - Began considering second revolution - Chances of success looked good

__**The Bolsheviks Revolution of November 1917**__
- September and October 1917, Kerensky and Provisional Gov’t lost authority - Peasants rebelled, soldiers refused to fight Germans, Bolshevik workers got ready for second revolution

**The state of Russia in September 1917**
- Summer of 1917, peasants took control of land where they grew food - Waiting since March for Gov’t to give them land, but they didn’t - 2000 farms+, peasants killed landlords and divided land among themselves - seized lands of Church and Tsar - Kerensky tried to stop peasants by sending soldiers on ‘punishment expeditions’ - Several went out, whipped peasants and burned homes - Couldn’t find enough loyal troops - Violence between landlords and peasants continued in most areas - Violence delayed harvest, led to food shortages - Russia already short of food - Now faced the winter with threat of famine - Armies discipline breaking down - Petrograd Soviet’s Order No. 1 in March led many soldiers to disobey orders from officers - Thousands of soldiers deserting army, go back to village to get fair share of land - Front lines Bolsheviks encouraged soldiers to give up fighting - Drunkenness, chaos, violence in armies - Many soldiers amused themselves by rolling live hand grenades into officers’ quarters - October, Army General Headquarters said in report, army is mob of angry men united by want for peace and common disappointment

**The November Revolution**
- October 1917, Lenin returned to Petrograd - Said revolution should begin immediately - Hunger, peasant uprising, war, doesn’t wait - Leaders agreed to stage armed uprising against Provisional Gov’t - Leon Trotsky, chairman of Petrograd Soviet, drew plans to set up HQ in **Smolny Institute**, disused school - Didn’t have to make plans secret because Kerensky and Provisional Gov’t couldn’t stop him - Army would support Bolsheviks - Guards of Peter and Paul Fortress gave all rifles to Bolsheviks - Night of 6 November, Red Guards well armed with rifles, ready for action - During night, began to take control of important locations in Petrograd - Took control of 6 bridges across river Neva - Morning 7 November, seized gov’t buildings, power station, and railway stations - Provisional Gov’t HQ located in **Winter Palace**, guarded by army cadets and Women’s Battalion of army - Evening of 7 November, cruiser, the **Aurora**, captured by Bolshevik sailors, sailed up Neva and fired blank shells at Winter Palace - Guns from fortress opened fire on Palace - Red Guards stormed the Winter Palace - Cadets and Women’s Battalion gave in without fight - Minister of Provisional Gov’t surrendered, arrested - Bolsheviks controlled Petrograd, capital of Russia - Next day, Lenin announced set up of new gov’t - Bolsheviks seized power after 1 day of rebellion, 18 arrests, and two kills

Summary
Part Two starts off talking about Russia at war and how the conditions were bad, causing the Tsar and the government to lose power. The Revolution of March 1917 overthrows the Tsar, and Russia becomes a republic. Russia then had two governments, Provisional Government the official one and the Petrograd Soviet the unofficial one, but the Bolsheviks wanted to overthrow the Provisional Government so the Soviets had all the power. The Bolsheviks came out of the Kornilov revolt as heroes, and they planned a second revolution. In the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrows the Provisional Government, and seized power.

**Questions**
 * 1) What was meant by the 'dark forces destroying the throne'?
 * 2) Why was it a fatal mistake for Nicholas to leave Alexandra in change of the government in Petrograd?
 * 3) Why was the Provisional Committee the 'official' government, not the Petrograd Soviet?
 * 4) Why did the Petrograd Soviet have so much power that it was threatening to the Provisional Government?
 * 5) How did the Bolsheviks manage to seize power and control the capital after only a single day of rebellion, where only 18 people were arrested and 2 killed?