Causes & Context
What was the name of the war (1914–1918) that strained Russia’s economy and undermined the tsarist regime?
World War I
Who was the last emperor (tsar) of Russia, executed in 1918?
Nicholas II
Which month (by the Gregorian calendar) is the "February Revolution" named for, and what was its immediate outcome?
February (March in Gregorian calendar); outcome: abdication of Nicholas II and establishment of the Provisional Government
What slogan did the Bolsheviks use to appeal to workers, soldiers, and peasants (three main promises)?
"Peace, Land, and Bread"
Between which two broad sides was the Russian Civil War fought (names used for the opposing forces)?
Red Army (Bolsheviks) vs. White Armies (anti-Bolshevik forces).
Identify the system of government led by the tsar prior to 1917, characterized by autocratic rule and limited political representation
Autocracy (tsarist autocracy)
Name the Bolshevik leader who returned to Russia in April 1917 and became the head of the Bolshevik party
Vladimir (V.I.) Lenin.
What event in October (November in the Gregorian calendar) 1917 marked the Bolsheviks’ seizure of power?
The October (Bolshevik) Revolution: seizure of the Winter Palace and takeover of key institutions (soviet-backed insurrection).
What decree ended Russia’s participation in World War I after the Bolsheviks took power?
Decree on Peace (later Treaty of Brest-Litovsk finalized under Lenin).
Name one major foreign power that intervened in the Russian Civil War.
Examples: Britain, France, United States, Japan.
What was "Bloody Sunday" (1905) and how did it affect public confidence in the tsar?
Bloody Sunday: peaceful protesters fired upon (1905), leading to strikes, unrest, and weakened faith in the tsar.
Who led the Provisional Government after the February Revolution?
Prince Georgy Lvov initially led the first Provisional Government; Kerensky later became premier.
Explain why the Provisional Government lost support between February and October 1917
Reasons: continued war, failure to address land reform, economic hardship, and the rise of soviets as rival power centers.
Define "War Communism" — name one key policy and its intended purpose.
War Communism: nationalization of industry and requisition of grain to supply the Red Army — intended to keep the army fed and the cities supplied during the civil war
What was the Red Terror and which organization primarily carried it out?
Red Terror: campaign of political repression and executions carried out mainly by the Cheka (the Bolshevik secret police).
Explain how land distribution and peasant conditions contributed to revolutionary sentiment in early 20th-century Russia.
Peasants faced land hunger, redemption payments, and poor living conditions; these fueled demands for land reform and support for revolutionary movements
Identify and briefly describe the role of Leon Trotsky during and after the 1917 revolutions
Leon Trotsky: leader of Petrograd Soviet, key organizer of the Red Army, commissar of foreign affairs/war (various roles)
What role did soldiers and sailors (e.g., the Petrograd garrison and Kronstadt sailors) play in the success of the Bolshevik uprising?
Soldiers and sailors sided with revolutionary soviets, seized key locations, and provided the force needed for the Bolsheviks to take control.
What was the Constituent Assembly, and why did the Bolsheviks dissolve it?
The Constituent Assembly was an elected body meant to decide Russia’s government; Bolsheviks dissolved it after it voted non-Bolshevik, arguing soviets were the true proletarian representation.
Explain how the outcomes of the Civil War helped the Bolsheviks consolidate power (give two examples)
Examples: elimination of rival political forces, centralization of military and economic control, use of propaganda and terror to enforce compliance.
Describe two economic and two political long-term causes that made the Russian Empire vulnerable to revolution by 1917.
Economic — industrialization strains, wartime inflation; Political — autocratic rule, weak Duma; Social — peasant land hunger, urban worker discontent.
Compare and contrast the political goals of Alexander Kerensky and Vladimir Lenin in 1917.
Kerensky supported a continuing war and moderate reforms within a parliamentary framework; Lenin called for "Peace, Land, Bread," immediate withdrawal from the war, and soviet power.
Analyze the significance of dual power (the Provisional Government and soviets) and how it shaped revolutionary politics in 1917.
Dual power meant the Provisional Government and soviets coexisted; it created conflict over legitimacy and policy, allowing Bolsheviks to claim soviet representation and seize power.
Explain the New Economic Policy (NEP): what problems it aimed to solve and one major way it differed from War Communism.
NEP allowed limited private trade and small-scale private enterprise to revive the economy after War Communism's collapse.
Assess the social and economic consequences of the revolution and civil war for peasants and urban workers by 1921.
Peasants: continued hardship, requisitioning, and famines (e.g., 1921); Urban workers: war-related deprivation, rising labor discipline under Bolsheviks, but also limited recovery under NEP.