Russian Revolution1917

Czar Nicholas II

Last Czar of Russia

Exhausted nation’s economy by involving Russia in WWI

This left the Russian people poor and starving, but the Czar and his family lived comfortably.The people were angry with this, so they decided to REVOLT!

Karl Marx(1818 – 1883)

•He died long before Revolution began, but his political ideas of communism lived on.•Considered father of communism•People of Russia who revolted adopted his ideas

Karl Marx Karl Marx - 1848 published

the Communist Manifesto with Fredrich Engels

This document advertised Marx’s belief that pure communism would be the inevitable outcome of human history

“From each according to his abilities, to each according to his need.”

Communism

•Form of government that has a classless society•Everyone is equal; no rich and no poor•The Bolsheviks, or revolutionaries, adopted this idea.

Bolsheviks•The Bolsheviks - an organization formed by the revolting people, or revolutionaries, of Russia.•Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenin.

Vladimir Lenin

•A revolutionary who led the Bolsheviks (working class) to freedom.•They eventually were able to overthrow the Czar.

Czar is Overthrown…

•With the rise of the Bolsheviks, the Czar was forced to give up thrown•In 1918, the Czar and his entire family, wife and 5 children, were assassinated by an execution squad set up by the revolutionaries•The entire family was killed because they feared one of them could rise to power again.

Lenin’s Death

•Lenin died in 1924, leaving the Bolsheviks leaderless.•This caused a power struggle between two other revolutionaries, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin.

Leon Trotsky

•A revolutionary who was popular with the people•Wanted to make life better for all by industrializing Russia•Incredibly intelligent and manipulative

Josef Stalin

•Lied to people to gain support •People believed his lies and promises, so he beat Trotsky in the power struggle•Stalin had Trotsky exiled from Russia. He feared Trotsky would try to regain power, so he eventually had him killed.

Stalin, cont’d…

•Stalin grew more and more powerful over the years.•He began eliminating anyone who opposed him.•He set up a secret police to carry out his deadly orders.

NKVD (KGB)

•Stalin’s secret police•Killed, tortured, starved, intimidated anyone Stalin ordered•Completely loyal to Stalin

Religion

used to make people not complain about work by saying those who work will earn their way to heaven

told people of a better life if they worked hard

Vain, selfish people of Russia

some people didn’t care about revolution

only thought of themselves

went to other countries that offered more to them

Dedicated, tricked Russian Workers

people believed Stalin because he said he was Communist

many stayed loyal to Stalin even after it was evident that he was a monster

many were betrayed by Stalin

Skeptical people of Russia

weren’t sure revolution would change anything

realized that many of the leaders were only power hungry and didn’t care about the people

Propaganda

-Propaganda: is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position.

-Stalin used this to keep his image in the public eye positive

-He had a whole bureau dedicated to coming up with new propaganda on a regular basis creating pictures, statues, continuous praise and applause for him.

Totalitarianism

Form of government with a strong central rule that attempts to control individuals by means of coercion and repression.

Examples of Totalitarian governments and their

leaders

Nazi Germany - Adolf Hitler Soviet Union - Joseph Stalin Italy - (Facist) Benito Mussolini Spain - Gen. Francisco Franco

Stalin’s Rule•Stalin became so greedy, he lost the original vision of the revolutionaries •Millions of innocent people were killed under his rule•Ironically, he made Russia worse off than it had been before the Czar•Stalin became known as one of the most ruthless dictators in history, comparable to Hitler

Animal Farm was an attack on Stalin