Revolution
What event led to the Civil War?
Lenin disbanded the new national assembly because less than 25 percent of the delegates were Bolsheviks.
What factors allowed the Bolsheviks to increase power in Russia?
By mid-August, the war was going badly for Russia and many Russians wanted to transfer power to the soviets. Bolsheviks began gaining majorities in some soviets, including Petrograd.
What was life like for peasants and the middle class in Russia around 1900?
80 percent of Russians were serfs who farmed for nobles and lived in poverty. Industrialization created a new middle class, but they had no power in the government
What political party did Lenin belong to?
Bolsheviks
What changes did the New Economic Policy institute?
Lenin relaxed war communism and allowed farm products to be bought, sold, and taxed. Major industries remained under government control, but others could be privately owned
The February Revolution resulted in
Nicholas II giving up his throne
What different types of revolutionary movements existed in Russia in the late 1800s?
One group focused on peasants, one on factory workers, and a third on terrorism.
How were Russian czars different from most other rulers in Europe at this time?
For nearly 300 years, Russian czars held unlimited power and were not governed by a constitution.
How did Lenin’s views differ from Marx’s?
Lenin believed professional revolutionaries from the intelligentsia would have to lead Russia’s revolution.
The White armies were hindered during the Civil War because they
were divided by both geography and the causes for which they were fighting
After Alexander II liberated the serfs, many peasants were
disappointed by emancipation
Russia’s main moderate political party were known as the
Kadets
Who was the last Czar to rule Russia?
Nicholas II
describe the attitudes most Russians had toward World War I?
They supported the war at first but adamantly protested it after economic hardships
Members of the Provisional Government were mostly (which social class?)
middle-class workers
How did most peasants respond to radical university students’ call for revolution in 1873 and 1874?
They did not understand their message.
After the Civil War, the government took over all private businesses and industries and dictated what was to be produced. This economic policy is called...
war communism
Why did Czar Alexander II decide to liberate the serfs?
Alexander II realized serfs would eventually rebel. Russia’s loss in the Crimean War convinced the czar that Russia needed to modernize
The Bolsheviks differed from the Mensheviks because they believed that
professional revolutionaries from the intelligentsia would have to lead Russia's proletariat to revolution.
Describe the Red Terror
Secret police arrested and executed anyone suspected of being against the revolution. 300,000 were killed. Striking workers and peasants were punished harshly
How did Alexander II’s policies inspire revolutionary groups to form?
His reforms encouraged highly critical public discussion of political and social issues
Who won the civil war? What was the name of the new country?
By 1922, the Red Army won the war and joined six self-governing regions to create a new nation called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union or USSR)
How did peasants and nobles feel about emancipation?
Peasants were disappointed by emancipation because they were not given the land they had worked. Many nobles went bankrupt or moved to cities.
How did Russians feel about the Great War?
Most Russians supported the war at first, but as the army suffered defeats and the economy grew worse, protests broke out
How did WW1 lead to the Russian Revolution?
Russia's involvement in the war led to revolutions at home. The war was hard on the Russian people, and the economy wasn't doing well.