Government
Ruling from 1881-1894, this czar halted all reforms and returned Russia to an autocracy
A: Who is Czar Alexander III?
Examples of total control?
- Strict censorship of published materials
- Political prisoners sent to Siberia
- Russian became the official language
- Oppressed other national groups – targeted Jews
Czar from 1894 to 1917, he was the last of the Romanovs to rule Russia
A: Who was Czar Nicholas II?
Neither Nicholas nor his wife was capable of tackling the problems facing Russia
- Revolutionaries executed Nicholas & his family in 1918
In 1903, Russian Marxists split into 2 groups over tactics. This group was the more radical group who was willing to sacrifice everything for a change.
A: Who were the Bolsheviks?
Group became the Communist Party (CP)
- Came to power during the October Revolution in 1917
- Considered themselves to be the revolutionary leaders of the working class
Russia’s involvement in this war revealed the weakness of czarist rule and military leadership
Hint: 4 million Russian were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner against the unstoppable German army
A: What was World War I?
Provisional Government’s decision to keep fighting caused it to lose support
- Germans hoped to hurt the Russian war effort by helping Lenin return to Russia
Led by Alexander Kerensky, this was created after the March Revolution in 1917
A: What is the Provisional Government?
Mistake of the Provisional Government?
- The decision to remain in WWI
Major leader of the Bolsheviks
Hint: Originally known as Vladimir Ulyanov
A: Who was Vladimir Lenin?
“Father of the Revolution”
- Engaging personality, excellent organizer, ruthless
- Fled to Western Europe to avoid arrest
- Germany helped Lenin return to Russia during WWI
Led by Leon Trotsky, this group crushed the opposition in the Russian Civil War
A: Who is the Red Army?
1918-1920: Russian Civil War
- 14 million Russians died in struggle & famine
- Victory showed that the Red Army was able to seize power & keep it
A 1904-1905 conflict between Russia & Japan sparked by the two countries’ efforts to dominate Manchuria & Korea
A: What is the Russo-Japanese War?
Repeated losses sparked unrest in Russia
- Japan captured Russian Pacific Fleet & destroyed Russian Baltic Fleet
- Revolt in the midst of the war
Originally called the Bolsheviks, this political party practiced the ideas of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin
A: What is the Communist Party?
1924: Communist Party creates a constitution based on socialist & democratic principles
- Dictatorship of Communist Party
“Man of steel” who took over control of the Communist Party by 1928
A: Who was Joseph Stalin?
Cold, hard, impersonal man
- Lenin believed he was dangerous
- 1922: General Secretary of Communist Party
- Leader of Soviet Union from 1928-1953
The group of Bolshevik opponents who barely cooperated with each other and, thus, lost the Russian Civil War.
A: Who is the White Army?
Members were people who supported the czar, desired democracy, and other socialists who opposed Lenin
Received aid from Western nations to defeat Bolsheviks
In January 1905, 200,000 workers marched on the Winter Palace for better working conditions, more personal freedom & elected national legislature. The army responded by firing into the crowd, killing hundreds.
A: What is Bloody Sunday?
Bloody Sunday provoked a wave of strikes & violence
- Nicholas II yielded by creating Duma & promising more freedom
Double Jeopardy!
A king or queen who has unlimited power & seeks to control all aspects of society
A: What is absolutism/what is an absolute monarchy?
Czar Alexander III was an absolutist
- Nicholas II was unable to successfully continue this tradition
The founder & leader of the Red Army who rivaled Stalin for control of the Communist Party after Lenin’s death
A: Who was Leon Trotsky?
Major figure in the Bolshevik victory of the Russian Civil War
- Against policies & rise of Stalin
- Removed from Communist Party in 1927; exiled in 1929
- Murdered in 1940 in Mexico
The moderate group of Russian Marxists who wanted a broad base of popular support for the revolution
A: Who are the Mensheviks?
“Minority” during crucial party vote in 1903
- Subscribed to more “established” view of Marxism
Without warning, armed factory workers stormed the Winter Palace, taking over government offices & arresting leaders of the provisional government in November 1917.
A: What is the Bolshevik Revolution?
Lenin becomes dictator of Russia
- New Economic Policy (NEP) was put in place
- Russia dropped out of WWI
Under pressure of a revolution in 1905, Nicholas II created this governing body endowed with legislative and oversight powers
Hint: Known as “Russia’s first Parliament”
A: What is the Duma?
Nicholas was hesitant to share his power and dissolved the Duma after ten weeks
- Moderates elected to the Duma wanted a constitutional monarchy
Leader of the Provisional Government after the March Revolution in 1917
A: Who is Alexander Kerensky?
Moderate, non-Marxist opposition to the Czar
- Spent the rest of his life in exile in NYC
- Father had been a teacher of Lenin
Socialist revolutionaries who formed local councils consisting of workers, peasants & soldiers
A: What are soviets?
In many cities, Soviets had more power than the provisional government
- Soviet Union name honors the councils that helped launch the Bolshevik Revolution
A two-year war between the Bolsheviks and their opponents
- Hint: Bolsheviks won
A: What is the Russian Civil War?
Red Army (Bolsheviks) vs. White Army (opponents)
- Divided opposition cannot win against Trotsky
- Bolsheviks in control of Russia
- Russian Revolution was more similar to French Revolution