Russia+in+War+and+Revolution+I+(pg.+2-13)+yipsum2013+10.15.10

My awesomeness... This is a pie chart I created showing the top 11 nationalities of the different people in Russia (I could not put all otherwise the chart would become very difficult to read). When learning about the Russian Revolution we have to bear in mind that much of the people living in Russia come from other areas, they have their own language, their own customs and their own way of life. To force a revolution out of so many different people, united together by social groups, by government is certainly not an easy task and it is quite a miracle that the Russian Revolution even occurred.

BORROWED AWESOMENESS

I did some research ("His Myth." //Home of Rasputin//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. / found a picture ("Pics." //Home of Rasputin//. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2010.on Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (although it may not be the best site to go to), and it turns out that he is not just a faith healer. The text seems to have missed out alot about this particularly interesting character... The aura of mystery that he kept about him may have been one of the reasons he was so highly regarded in the Tsar's court.

“Grigori Yefimovitch Rasputin is ** one of the most mysterious, notorious and disputed figures in modern history **. Who was this man who seemingly had strange powers and a mysterious influnce over others, ** with eyes that many claimed **** changed ** ** colors ** when they spoke to the monk.”

“The source of all this influence, and the main reason people still remember Rasputin, were the ** odd abilities ** he supposedly possessed. As early as 1900, Rasputin was famous throughout Eastern Russia as a sort of ** faith healer ** and strannik, or wandering holy mendicant. Rasputin also was said to have the power of **// precognition //** **, predicting events that happened months later**, and **// clairvoyance //****, which is the ability to see events happening elsewhere ** ”

“Rasputin supposedly ** predicted his own death ** ,”

“The Tsarevitch had badly bruised himself and was bleeding to death. The doctors assembled to care for him pronounced that nothing could be done for the boy, who lingered in this state for a few days. When Rasputin came to the tsarevitch's bedside, he waved his hands over the boy, spoke to him briefly, then stated that he was better. And, according to the many doctors and scientific skeptics who viewed this, the boy did recover. Many today guess that **// Rasputin used some sort of potent hypnosis to slow the boy's heartbeat //**, but that is mere conjecture”


 * The most infamous story of all, is of course, the that of __//Rasputin's assassination..//__ __// . //__**

“The story of Rasputin's assassination has been told and confirmed by multiple members of those who conspired to kill him, but small points are still argued by scholars today. […]. However, even his unnatural constitution could not save him from a group of conspirators and the man who killed him, Prince Felix Felixovitch Yussupov. Rasputin, who had actually taken the first step to get to know Prince Yussupov, was invited over for a party. The prince's group had prepared chocolate cakes and wine, both ** heavily laced with **** potassium cyanide **. Rasputin reluctantly ate a few cakes, then complained of a dry throat and guzzled down the wine - ** at this point he had taken enough cyanide to kill six men **. Rasputin said he felt a burning sensation in his stomach and appeared sleepy for a few moments, then suddenly became alert and asked the prince to sing for him. The nervous Yussupov complied, then ran upstairs to inform his co-conspirators that the poison had no effect. He got a pistol from them, then went back to the waiting Rasputin, was looking at an art object, either a painting or a crucifix. The prince asker Rasputin to take a closer look, then ** shot him in the chest **. Sure that Rasputin was dead, Yussupov got his friends, who checked the body. Soon after, Yussupov came back down. ** As he bent over to look at Rasputin, the formerly lifeless corpse rose and grabbed Yussupov in an unbreakable grip. Yussupov freed himself, perhaps by knifing Rasputin, and ran out the door. According to diaries, Rasputin actually got up and ran out the door, where he was chased and shot. The body was taken back inside, beaten, tied up and thrown in the river. ** ”

It continues...

"There has been a lot of news with regards to Rasputin in recent weeks. An article by Doctor Thomas Stuttaford in [|The London Times] on Thursday March 9th suggested that the reason Rasputin did not die from eating the poisoned food given to him was **'possibly because of his legendary drinking, which can reduce the acidity of gastric juices, so that the cyanide is not rendered volatile'**."

Chapter 1
 * The Russian Empire in 1900 **

- Russia is huge (covers half the world’s circumference)

//__ The land and the climate __// - Much of land is useless o Mountains : good for defense but block warmth o Arctic Cold prevents farming o ** Taiga ** (cold forest land) covers 1000 km, only 5% of land = farming - RESULT: affects Russia’s industry and commerce.. railway + technological instruments invented/established to make transportation/communication easier

//__ An Empire of many peoples __// - ** TSAR ** : emperor (In 1900 --> Nicholas II) - 125 million people in empire, less than half are Russians - others include: Poles + Ukrainians (had been conquered earlier), had own customs and way and life - people were not spread out evenly… most people lived on the 5% of land that could be farmed.. mountains + tundra were thinly populated.


 * CHAPTER 2 **
 * The Government of Russia **

//__ The Autocracy __// - Tsar Nicholas II = ** autocrat ** (monarch who does not have to share power… could do whatever he liked without consulting anyone, no limits) - Thousands of civil servants.. 14 ranks ** ‘Table of Ranks’ **(top = gov. ministers, bottom = minor officials (post office clerks, etc)) civil service collects taxes, make sure Tsar’s decisions are carried out - Civil service = underpaid = took bribes - ** Okhrana ** (“Protective Section”) --> secret police force… censored all books and newspapers, spied of people, arrest those who criticized gov. - ** Cossacks ** : fierce mounted soldiers + sabres who crushed riots by killing protestors - ** Russian Orthodox Church ** …. Religion also favored the Tsar… priests taught to respect authority, head of church = prime minister…. Therefore government had control over minds and souls of many churchgoers

//__ Nicholas and Alexandra __// - NICHOLAS: uneducated, gentle, could not stand being Tsar, was not serious about his role, favored those who entertained him rather than those who did their actual business - ALEXANDRA: strong willed, encouraged Nicholas to rule as autocrat and ignore new ideas about sharing power - Had five children… 4 daughters, one son (Alexis… heir to throne… had hemophilia) everyone who knew = sworn to secrecy


 * CHAPTER 3 **
 * RUSSIAN SOCIETY **

//__ The peasants __// - 1900: 4/5 = peasants - until 1861: peasants = ** serfs **(slaves of landlords w/ no rights, freedom, land) - 1861: Alexander II freed peasants from serfdom, allowed to own land… - However food grown on land belonged to the ** mir ** (village commune) - Peasants had to pay for land given to commune (//redemption payments//) for 49 years… then could own the land - Mirs gave land to family according to family size… but plots of land got smaller and smaller, by 1900 plots = half - Families had to pay redemption payments + support families - Hard life: o Half of new-borns died before 5 o Average life expectancy for those over 5: 50 years o Best: good harvest

//__ The town workers __// - Peasants went to city to improve lives (worked into factories/mines until harvest time) - ** St Petersburg ** (capital, largest city in 1900) – a million went there for work - Workers were overcrowded, paid little, overworked, thin, undernourished - Workers couldn’t rebel, trade, or quit

//__ The rich __// - Russian nobles (1% of population, owned 25% of land, could pay for luxurious lifestyles by farming + market or selling little slices of land) - Tsar Nicholas owned 8 palaces and 15,000 servants - 1900: ** capitalists ** started to get rich (through banking, trade, industry) - Minister of Finance cut taxes, gave loans, gave government contracts… capitalists did nothing to improve lives of peasants, slowly peasants started hating them


 * CHAPTER 4 **
 * OPPONENTS OF THE TSAR **

- Many believed God appointed Tsar to rule over them - Others refused to accept, went to great lengths to change gov + society

//__ Terrorism __// - March 1881: “People’s Will” assassinated Tsar Alexander II (threw bomb @ carriage + @ him) o Assassination failed, autocracy remained o Alexander III and Nicholas II used Okhrana to get rid of critics and opponents - By 1900 still three important groups of opponents

- Wanted all land to be given to mirs so peasants could have larger share - Means taking away from the rich - Had a “//Fighting Organization//” --> organized terrorist campaigns o Managed to kill 3 government ministers + some other officials - Supported by millions of peasants
 * //__ Socialist Revolutionary Party __//**

- Followed ideas of ** Karl Marx ** who wrote the // Communist Manifesto // (1848) o Predicted there would be violent revolution where working class will overthrow capitalists, then take away factories, mines, machinery and raw materials and distribute equally among selves ---> ** SOCIALISM **!!! o ** Communism ** --> a society where people work according to their abilities and are paid according to their needs (Marx predicted this would happen) - SDP was set up in 1898, however leaders argued about way to start revolution… 1903 split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks o ** Bolsheviks ** --> § believed that a small group of dedicated + skilled revolutionaries should lead the revolution + make all decisions § LEADER: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin argued that if Mensheviks had their way, it would take years to start rev… and they would waste time on useless discussion + argument o ** Mensheviks ** § wanted Party to become a mass party w/ as many working class members as possible § run democratically, with members electing leaders § LEADER: Julius Martov.. argued rev would fail if no full support of working class - THEREFORE: 1903: 3 important rev groups: Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries
 * //__ Social Democratic Party __//**

//__ Liberals __// - Many law abiding people were liberals: o Supported Tsar but wanted him to share power o Wanted democratic system - Never happened.


 * CHAPTER 5 **
 * The 1905 Revolution **

//__ War against Japan __// - Japan + Russia were fighting over //Korea + Manchuria//, went to war in 1904, Tsar Nicholas thought would be quick win - Quickly started losing battles, most significant = ** Battle of Tsushima ** (only 3 Russian ships survived) - War weakened Tsar’s position, made conditions worse for working people.. food supplies broke down, factories closed, people left jobless and homeless

//__ Bloody Sunday __// - Sunday, 22 Jan 1905: 200,000 workers marched --> Tsar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg w/ petition asking for better working + living conditions, end to war with Japan, a shorter working day, etc. - Led by ** Father Gapon ** - When reached center of St. Petersburg, soldiers + police tried to stop, opened fire, 500 killed, thousands wounded } ** Bloody Sunday ** - RESULT: news spread, riots in countryside, hundreds of gov officials = murdered

//__ The 1905 revolution __// - June 1905** : Potemkin ** (battleship) threw captains into water. Although they surrendered themselves in later, showed that Tsar couldn’t trust forces - Peasants start rebelling, killed landlords + burned farms, indigenous people (non-Russian) start declaring their independence. - Sep 1905: general strike begins: o Railways, factories, offices, shops, railways, hospitals, schools close down o Soviets: councils to run towns on strike… became alternative “government” - October 1905: Tsar issued ** October Manifesto **, which allowed Russia to have a ** Duma **(elected parliament) to help run country (also freedom to form political parties + freedom of speech) - However 2 months later 15 members of St. Petersburg Soviet were exiled, an army went to crush Soviet which resulted in street fighting (more than 1000 killed) - 1906: all areas of rev. crushed - ** Black Hundreds ** (bands of thugs) massacred revolutionaries, police didn’t stop - March 1906: revolution over - Elections held for Duma… - Nicholas issued set of ** Fundamental Laws **: “To the Emperor of all the Russias belongs supreme autocratic power”… Duma is uneffective


 * CHAPTER 6 **
 * THE AFTERMATH OF THE 1905 REVOLUTION **

//__ The Dumas __// - First Duma lasts 75 days before being broken up by Tsar - Second Duma = liberals, socialist revolutionaries + social democrats = lasted 3 months - Third Duma = lasted 5 years, but no revolutionaries elected = useless

//__ The Stolypin reforms __// o ** Peter Stolypin ** --> appointed Prime Minister 1906… new, conservative, anti-revolutionary o Used execution + exile to crush thousands of terrorists o helped peasants to become owners of land, abolished redemption payments, hoped for bigger personal farms § conditions improved, economy grew, new, efficient farms…. o assassinated in 1911 by own police agent

//__ Rasputin __// o ** Rasputin ** = Gregory Efimovitch, Siberian peasant involved with royal family, claimed to be //Starets// (holy man of God) o prayed and "healed" Alexis, became trusted member in court o disreputable, wild behavior (alcohol, sex, rape), but held in high regard by Alexandra/Nicholas o influence over royal family increased, hatred of him increased, he was corrupted

=SUMMARY=

Russia, a cold, vast nation was ruled over by Tsar Nicholas II in 1900, whose authority was further enforced over the people with the Okhrana, Cossacks, and the Russian Orthodox Church. At this time, society was unfair and peasants had little rights and almost no land – they worked the hardest but were paid the least; on the other hand, the nobles and capitalists were exceedingly rich and enjoyed luxurious lives. To change the ways of government and society, apart from the Liberals various revolutionary groups sprung forward, including the Socialist Revolutionary Party, the Bolsheviks (led by Lenin), and the Mensheviks (led by Martov). After the Russo-Japanese war and Bloody Sunday, the revolution started together with a mass strike and the Tsar was forced to issue the October Manifesto, which allowed Russia to have a Duma (elected parliament) to run the nation. However, later on the Tsar issued a set of Fundamental Laws which stripped the Duma of its power, and from then on, apart from a few Stolypin reforms, the government turned even more corrupted and entered a worse state than before.

=QUESTIONS =

1) How were the French Revolution and the 1905 Revolution alike in the way that they both “failed” to accomplish what they strove to accomplish? 2) What sickness did Alexis, Tsar Nicholas II’s only son, have? 3) Who were the Social Democratic Party and what did they believe in? 4) What are the similarities/differences between the Reign of Terror in France and the Stolypin reforms of Russia? 5) Who was Karl Marx and what did he believe in?