GCSE HISTORY - RUSSIA 1894-1945: TSARDOM AND COMMUNISM (facts)

Stalin ordered a ‘scorched earth’ policy - factories were deconstructed and reconstructed East of the Ural mountains, animals and crops were moved or destroyed

Russian weather, incessant rain in October and in November the temperature fell to below freezing. Soldiers froze and machines ceased to work.

He refused to accept defeat- this patriotism appealed to the Russian people

The Cult of Personality helped him, encouraging Russians that the sacrifices of the 1930’s were vital to the industrial revolution which was enabling the country to win.

20 million Soviet people were killed

large areas of farmland were destroyed

2000 towns and cities and 70000 villages suffered major destruction

many non Russian nationalities suffered, xenophobia meant that some were suspected of being pro Nazi sympathisers - secret police transported whole national groups to remote parts of USSR

major industries

targets weren’t met but achievements were astounding

whole cities were built in remote parts of USSR for natural resources

heavy industry

mining for lead, tin, zinc, + other minerals

transport and communications were improved

railways and canals were built

Moscow underground railway

consumer goods

plan was disrupted by WW2

used for propaganda - beacon of socialism

kulaks were victims of collectivisation

workers were bombarded with propaganda

factory discipline was harsh - lateness and absences led to sacking

workers tried to move to other jobs, so secret police introduced internal passports to prevent free movement

those working on great engineering projects were often prisoners

new daycares were created from 1930 so that women could work

unemployment was almost non existent

low quality living standards

new class was introduced made up of foremen, supervisors, technicians and managers; this went against Lenin’s ideas of communism

to increase the USSR’s military strength

to rival the economies of capitalist countries

to increase food supplies

to create a communist society

to establish his reputation

before collectivisation, farms were too small to make efficient use of tractors, fertilisers or other modern methods. peasants had enough to eat and could see little use in making more for the towns

the government tried to sell the idea to peasants with perks like free seed

the peasants didn’t trust the government

kulaks refused to hand over their farms, so propaganda tried to turn the people against them. eventually, kulaks were arrested and sent to gulags

peasants didn’t know how to use new methods

peasants felt a lot of bitterness watching food being sent away

food production fell

there was a famine in 1932-33

millions died in Kazakhstan and Ukraine

portraits, photographs and statues of Stalin everywhere

religious worship was banned

70,000 libraries and many sports centres were built

all music and art was monitored by NKVD

school children were expected to join the Young Pioneers

Kirov was murdered in 1934, so Stalin used the murder to ‘purge’ his opponents in the party

It is suspected Stalin arranged Kirov’s murder

‘Show Trials’ - loyal Bolsheviks like Kamenev, Zinoviev and Bukharin confessed to being traitors to the state

1936-1938

army officers killed

educated people, professors, teachers, miners, engineers, managers killed

arrests happened in the middle of the night

NKVD used torture

18 million in gulags and 10 million dead

Stalin destroyed independent thinking

Trotsky was ill in 1923

Stalin tricked Trotsky into missing Lenin’s funeral

Stalin put his supporters in important posts in his role as General Secretary

He picked off rivals one by one

Stalin’s policies like ‘Socialism in One country’ were more popular

Stalin appeared to be a man of the people, as a Georgian peasant

harsh economic measures taken by Bolshevik party in Civil War

all factories were taken over by government

production was planned by government

discipline for workers was strict

peasants would be shot if they didn’t hand over surplus food to government

food was rationed

free enterprise became illegal

Bolshevik policies sparked a mutiny at naval base

Kronstadt was important naval base on an island in Gulf of Finland

sailors on battleships drew up a list of 15 demands for the Bolsheviks

Trotsky sent 60,000 troops to put down the uprising, killing 1000+ sailors

made Lenin abandon war communism

Bolsheviks were angry as it brought back elements of capitalism

peasants could sell surplus grain for profit and would pay tax on what they produced instead of giving it up to the government

Lenin said it was temporary

went into operation in 1921

by 1925 there was strong evidence was working

Bolsheviks had a strong hold in Western Russia, but much of the rest of the country was more supportive of the Socialist Revolutionary party

March 1918 - the Czech Legion seized control of the Trans Siberian railway

Lead by Yudenich and Denikin (towards Petrograd and Moscow) and Kolchack (Moscow from central southern Russia)

socialist revolutionaries

mensheviks

supporters of the Tsar

landlords + capitalists

the Czech Legion (former prisoners of war)

also supported by USA, Japan, France and Britain- to force Russia back into war against Germany

Trotsky created a new Red army of 300,000+ men

Reds were led by former Tsarist officers - to ensure that they were loyal, their families were held hostage

The Cheka ensure nobody in Bolshevik territories cooperated with the Whites

In July 1918, White forces were approached Ekaterinberg where the Tsar was being held, so the Bolshevik commander ordered the execution of the Tsar and his family. They could not risk the tsar being rescued and returned as leader of the Whites

Both sides were very cruel

Those who suffered most were workers and peasant

Their message was essentially 'fight to protect the rights of the workers and fight to get rid of foreign invaders who want to re-establish aristocratic rule'

Trotsky used trains to send out travelling cinemas that showed propaganda films

Trotsky toured around making speeches to boost morale

united and disciplined

towns and armies were fed, by forcing peasants to hand over food

they took over factories in Moscow and Petrograd, to supply armies with equipment and ammunition

they raised fears about foreign armies in the Whites

effective propaganda made good use of atrocities committed by Whites and raised fear around return of the Tsar

they were not united - they were made up of many groups with different aims

they were widely spread and so could not coordinate campaigns - Trotsky was able to defeat them one by one

limited support from Russian population - they didn't like Bolsheviks but preferred them to the Whites (peasants knew that landlords could return)

Lenin promised free elections

elections were held in late 1917

Bolsheviks did not gain majority

Socialist Revolutionaries won

Lenin sent Red Guards to shut it down

Instead Lenin used Congress of Soviets to pass laws as it did have a Bolshevik majority

Lenin promised peace

He told Trotsky to prolong peace negotiations as long as possible

He hoped a Socialist revolution would break out in Germany

By February 1918, there was no revolution and Germany began to advance again

Lenin accepted terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918

Russia lost 34% of population, 32% of agricultural land, 54% of industry, 26% of railways, 89% of coal mines as well as an imposition of 300 million roubles

Lenin's secret police

they were supposed to follow a code of conduct, but by 1917 this was ignored

By 1921, there were 200,000 members

some Bolsheviks thought Russia wasn't ready but Lenin could beat them all in an argument

6th November - the Red Guards took over post offices, bridges and the State Bank

7th November - Kerensky awoke to see that the Bolsheviks were in control of most of Petrograd

evening of 7th - Red Guards stormed winter palace without much opposition, and arrested the ministers of Provisional Government

Kerensky managed to escape and tried to rally loyal troops, but failed and so went into exile

to continue the war or make peace

to distribute land to the peasants or ask them to wait until elections had been held

how best to get food to starving workers in the cities

Justice Minister in the provisional government

respected member of the Petrograd Soviet

a lawyer

set out Bolshevik programme in his April Theses

his slogans 'Peace, Land, Bread' and 'All Power to the Soviets' contrasted with the messages of the Provisional Government so support grew quickly

war effort was failing, soldiers were deserting in thousands. Kerensky rallied the army for an offensive in June, it failed drastically.

peasants ignored the government's order to wait. They started taking over the countryside. The soldiers, who were mostly peasants, did not want to miss out, so desertion became worse

Bolshevik led protests against the war - had become a rebellion

Kerensky found evidence that Lenin had been helped by the Germans, so support quickly fell

Kornilov was an army leader

marched troops into Petrograd, intending to get rid of the Bolsheviks and the Provisonal Government to restore order

Kerensky did not have as many troops as Kornilov

Kerensky used the Petrograd Soviet (eventually became Red Guards)

7th March - Putilov steelworkers went on strike, joined by women (International Women's Day) and other workers on the streets demanding bread

From 7th to 10th, number of striking workers rose to 250,000

The Duma set up a Provisional Committee to take over the government. Tsar ordered them to disband, but they refused.

12th March Tsar ordered Government to put down revolt by force - soldiers refused

12th March - Petrograd Soviet set up

15th March - Tsar abdicated

healed Tsar's son Alexei of haemophilia "allegedly"

Tsarina saw him as a miracle worker

gave Tsar advice on how to run the country

drinker and womaniser

meant Tsar was seen as weak

aristocrat (after many attempts) murdered him in December 1916

9.15 million of 13 million soldiers died

soldiers were badly led and treated appallingly by aristocrat officers

poorly supported by industry - short of rifles, ammunition, artillery, shells, boots

Tsar took command in September 1915 - not very capable, many defeats; he was now responsibly undeniably for failures

Many widows and orphans needed state pensions which they didn't always receive

3.5 million new industrial jobs between 1914-1916

workers received no extra wages, major overcrowding

fuel and food shortages - there was enough supplies but it couldn't be transported to the cities

The stick: came down hard on strikers, protesters and revolutionaries. 20,000 exiled and 1000 hanged (Stolypin's necktie)

The carrot: allowed kulaks to opt out of mir communes and buy land. This made bigger, more efficient farms. Production increased significantly, but 90% of fertile land in west Russia was still run by inefficient communes.

Stolypin was assassinated in 1911, but the Tsar was about to sack him anyway

22nd January 1905- Bloody Sunday. 200,000 peaceful protesters led by Father Gapon marched to hand a petition to the Winter Palace. Troops panicked and opened fire. At least 100 were killed, hundreds more injured.

Tsar survived by issuing the October manifesto. It offered concessions to the middle classes in the form of a Duma, the right to free speech, and the right to political parties. -These concessions divided his opponents which meant he could crush rebellions in the countryside and cities.

1st - 1906 - Tsar took no notice

first and second were very critical of the Tsar (both lasted less than a year)

1907 - Tsar changed voting rules so his opponents could not be voted into the Duma

3rd - lasted until 1912 because there was less criticism of the Tsar (though it was becoming more critical over time). It had no power to change the Tsar's policies.

Liberal/'Cadets' - middle class reformers in the Duma. Still wanted Tsar but wanted greater democracy, similar to Britain

Socialist Revolutionaries - main aim was to give land to the peasants from the nobility. They believed in violent struggle, they killed 2 government officials and a large number of the Okhrana. Main support was in countryside.

Social Democratic Party - smaller but more disciplined. Followed Marxist theories. In 1903 the party split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. Bolsheviks (led by Lenin) believed it was the job of the party to create revolution, Mensheviks believed Russia was not ready.

many different nationalities - only 40% spoke Russian as their mother tongue

industry had grown

population was growing in cities as peasants moved to work

workers lived in overcrowded, filthy conditions, with terrible food, disease and alcoholism

unlike European power, there was no government regulation on child labour, hours, safety or education

trade unions were illegal

new class of capitalists emerged

80% of population lived on communes

peasants were using outdated farming techniques

aristocracy formed 1.5% of society but owned 25% of land

believed God had put him in that position

he avoided making important decisions, instead focusing on insignificant, day to day tasks

managed officials poorly

he had a secret police, Okhrana