Russian Revolution Quiz
how many people died during the civil war?
13,000,000
when was the soviet union founded?
1922
how long did the soviety union stay as a country?
1991
how many russians moved to other countries as a result of the civil war?
2,000,000
how many red guards were there in july 1917 in petrograd?
20,000
how many seats did the bolsheviks have in the second congress of the soviets?
300/670
how many people were in the bolshevik party in october 1917?
350,000
how many people died from famine?
5,000,000
how many red army soldiers joined the bolshevik party during the civil war?
500,000
how wide was the russian empire?
7,000 miles
how manny people lived in the russian empire?
74 million people
how many people were in the bolshevik party?
80,000 people
who was lev kamenev?
a bolshevik leader who opposed an armed uprising
liberal democracy
a form of government in which elected officials are bound by the rule of law and the rights of citizens are protected by a constitution.
what led to exiled radical political leaders returning from abroad?
abdication of tsar
who replaced prince lvov as prime minister?
alexander kerensky (however, neither socialists or liberal democrats respected/trusted him)
who were the red guards?
armed factory workers who protected their factories from groups trying to stop the strikes
who are liberal reformers?
based on western enlightenment ideals, constitutional practices could solve russia's problems, reform
how did lenin think he could win the civil war?
by arranging a peace deal with germany (even though many bolsheviks were opposed)
what did lenin want to do?
create an entirely new government
what caused worker and peasant unrest?
debates about world war 1
what led to widespread famine after civil war?
drought & weakened economy
what did bolshevik economic policies try to do?
end private trade, nationalize all industry, collectivize agriculture, & replace the money system with state rationing (these were all unpopular with citizens)
what are the issues that matter to people?
equality (including gender), rights, voting, distribution of wealth, distribution of power, immediacy of action, ending internal violence, withdrawal from world war 1, access to services (healthcare, education), unification of russia across geography and social class
what important forces were impacting people's lives between 1905-1917?
famine, bad economy, & world war 1
what are octobrists?
favor tsarist cooperation, oppose voting for all (liberals)
what are kadets?
focused on political reforms, civil rights, & rights to vote (liberals)
who linked the provisional government and the petrograd soviet of workers' and soldiers' deputies?
former lawyer alexander kerensky
why did some countries send soliders to fight the bolsheviks?
guard military supplies, aid enemies of the bolsheviks, & acquire territory
who was tsar alexander II?
he eliminated serfdom, pushed industrialization, & was assassinated in 1881
what did lenin do in 1921?
he introduced the new economic policy (nep), which eased restrictions on private trade
as the minister of war, what did alexander kerensky do?
he pressured the army to go on the offensive against the germans (to hopefully unite the country in the defense of democracy) which was a complete failure. there were over 200,000 russian casualties, troop morale fell, & many soldiers left the army
who was tsar alexander III?
he reversed reforms made by tsar alexander III, russification, & repression
what did lenin do in exile in findland?
he sent instructions to other leaders of the bolsheviks to prepare an armed uprising against. the government
what happened to lenin in august 1918?
he survived an assassination attempt
who was tsar nicholas II?
he was an ineffectual ruler who lost the russo-japanese war
what did lenin want?
immediacy in action
what were the april theses?
immediate withdrawal from the war, new revolution, overthrow provisional government, abolish police/army/bureaucracy, & power to soviets
what happened during russian civil war?
immense suffering, people fled cities due to food shortages, sheka (police for state terror) was formed, tortures and executes thousands, 13 million deaths, 5 million from starvation and disease
what happened during the civil war in 1918?
in 1918, there were a number of russian anti-bolshevik armies allied against the red armies of the bolsheviks. the bolsheviks had moved their capital to moscow because petrograd risked being captured by germany and one of the anti-bolshevik armies
what was the 1905 revolution?
in january of 1905, "bloody sunday" led to an increase in public violence and demonstrations which led to the october manifesto which called for reforms to expand civil liberty, limit monarchy, elected legislature ("Duma"), & legalize trade unions & political parties
what did the failed kornilov coup do to the provisional government?
it further weakend it
what countries sent soldiers to fight the bolsheviks?
japan, england, france, & the united states
what are the two types of liberals?
kadets & octobrists
who was put up for election at the election of november 1917?
kadets, mensheviks, bolsheviks, & socialist revolutionaries (russia's first free national elections)
what happend during the summer of 1917?
kerensky pushed for offensive against Germans; massive failure
what does gentry mean?
land-owning nobility
what is the provisional government?
leading officials of former duma & led by constitutional democrats
who was a key bolshevik leader?
lenin
who wrote the april theses?
lenin
what happened on october 10th, 1917?
lenin returned from finaland and called a secret meeting of the bolshevik central committee (12/21 showed up) & the committee voted 10-2 in favor of an armed insurrection
what is red october?
lenin returns from abroad (again), leon trotsky joins bolsheviks, bolsheviks stage takeover of key government buildings, claim control, 1917
who joined the bolshevik party from the mensheviks?
leon trotsky who was a powerful public speaker (spoke nearly every day against the provisional government)
what was the treaty of brest-litovsk?
march 1918, it freed russia from the war (but gave germany lots of land) & russian empire lost 34% of population, 32 % of agricultural land, 54% of its industry, and 89% of its coal mines. many thought the treaty gave too much away
class consciousness
marx hypothesized that the workers could develop class consciousness with which they would come to truly understand capitalism, their collective role in it, and their relationship to one another as well as the capitalists.
bourgeoisie
members of the upper class whose value is their wealth. They are often the owners of factories, shops, and businesses. In 1917, many people in russia used the term "bourgeoisie" as an insult.
difference between mensheviks & bolsheviks?
mensheviks were slowly moving towards class consciousness & the people in government while bolsheviks thought an elite core should rule socialist society (both socialists & social democrats)
what changes happened as a result of the feburary Revolution?
military switched sides (they were called to suppress rebellion but instead joined it), provisional government is put in place, & lenin comes back to town
how many languages were spoken in the russian empire?
more than 100
what happened between april 1917 - july 1917?
more than 500,000 went on strike for higher wages, an eight-hour work day, and reliable supplies of food (metal/textile workers, barbers, watiers, prostitues, etc)
what happened after the tsar's abdication?
most of the political parties looked for ways to stabilize the government, avoid military defeat by germany, and end the violence in the streets.
did the bolsheviks agree with lenins decision to have an armed uprising against the government?
no. they thought the soviet should announce that it no longer recognized the authority of the provisional government
did the bolsheviks and lenin believe in working with other political groups?
no. this was unlike a majority of the other political groups.
when did the bolsheviks seize power?
october 1917 (bloodless but violent civil war would follow soon)
when did the bolshevik takeover begin?
on october 24st, 1917
overall, what did the bolsheviks do?
outlaw political parties & eliminate their political opponents
where did loyalist troops battle bolshevik forces?
outside of moscow
what does serf mean?
peasant farmers, working the land (often in debt bondage/indentured servitude, lived in communes, used outdated farming techniques, & extreme poverty)
what are social democrats?
political ideology based on marxism (mensheviks & bolsheviks) (socialists)
who resigned as prime minister?
prince lvov
what position did alexander kerensky have in june 1917?
provisional government minister of war
what happened as a result of alexander kerensky sending the troops into germany?
public anger led to violent street protests (500,000 people went to the streets of petrograd in early july & demanded that the society seize power from the provisional government
what are socialist revolutionaries?
radical terrorist group, transfer land to communes (socialists)
who was fighting in russian civil war?
red army (bolsheviks) vs white army (old upper classes, officers of tsarist army)
what is the petrograd soviet of workers' and soldiers' deputies?
representatives selected to represent workers and soldiers & granted soldiers immunity, and had their support
what does tsar mean?
ruler, complete authority, caesar
what happened in august 1917?
russian military forces led by general lavr kornilov entered petrograd to overthrow the government & regain political control (however this failed because railroad workers diverted and blocked trains transporting troops to petrograd, printers refused to publish newspapers supporting kornilov, and metal workers rushed out to meet the troops and to explain the petrograd was calm so they were not needed). kornilov was arrested
what was the checka?
russian secret police (used by lenin)
what are the two types of socialists?
social democrats (mensheviks & bolsheviks) & social revolutionaries
besides the bolsheviks, what were the other two socialist parties?
socialist revolutionaries & the mensheviks (lenin did not even want to collaborate with them because they liked to comprise)
who was alexander kerensky?
socialist revolutionary, 36 years old, well-known attorney, only individual who held a leadership position in both the soviet and the provisional government
what did socialists use world war 1 for?
socialists used the war to stir up further hatred and resentment of the middle classes and capitalists
who is rasputin?
son of royal family had hemophilia and they tried every doctor but only rasputin was able to help which caused him to "infiltrate" the royal family. he had cult leader vibes and when the tsar went to the frontline, rasputin was left with too much influence. the monarchy was already unpopular but it looked even worse leaving the country under the influence of a spiritual guru
what did the mensheviks and the socialist revolutionaries believe?
that Russia was not yet ready for a socialist government.
who were the red guards heavily influenced by?
the bolsheviks
what happened in the evening of october 25, 1917? (red october)
the bolsheviks captured the winter palace & alexander kerensky escaped & lenin announced that the bolsheviks had assumed. control of all government functions & lenin was the head of the government & trotsky was the people's commissar of foreign affairs (this event was known as red Ootober)
how did the peasants see the bolsheviks?
the lesser of two evils because of their redistribution of land
who did the liberals face pressure from?
the liberals faced pressure from landowners, members of the military, and factory owners concerned with restoring order and control
class struggle
the marxist idea that struggle for power between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie was inevitable in an industrial capitalist society.
who did the anti-bolsheviks have support from?
the old middle and upper classes as well as the officers from tsar's former army because the anti-bolsheviks seemed to represent order and stability
What was the petrograd soviet's position on world war 1?
the petrograd soviet renounced the war aims of the former tsar and began a peace campaign that led most soldiers to declare their allegiance to the soviet
after the protests of 1917, what happened?
the provisional government cracked down on the bolsheviks (who were seen as a growing threat) & ordered for Lenin/other bolshevik leaders to be arrested
who did the socialists face pressure from?
the socialists faced pressure from the petrograd soviet
what is the name of the treaty russia signed to leave world war 1?
the treaty of brest-litovsk
proletariat
the workers or the working class whose value is their labor. it was a term frequently used by marx and russian socialists.
what happened during the 1891 - 1892 famine in the russian empire?
there were 500,000 deaths, intellectuals became radicalized, & marxism began to appeal to many
what did the failed kornilov coup do to the bolsheviks?
they began to grow more popular (they refused to cooperate with the provisional government) & most people were sick of world war 1 (which the bolsheviks had always opposed) & at the end of August 1917, the bolsheviks won a majority in the petrograd soviet (at the expense of the mensheviks & the socialist revolutionaries)
what did the provisional government hint about lenin?
they hinted that lenin was a german agent & because of that, lenin went into hiding in finland in august 1917
how did the bolsheviks get soldiers?
they often coerced officers from the tsar's army to fight with the red army
what did the assembly do to make lenin angry?
they rejected legislation proposed by him, so the bolsheviks walked out & he ordered it to be closed the next day
what did the russians sing at rallies & meetings?
they sang an anthem from the french revolution— the marseillaise
what happened to moscow and petrograd during the civil war?
they suffered, millions fled from these cities (food shortages & disease), petrograd's population decreased by 75%, moscows by 50%, people moved to country side for more food, money lost its value, bartering became more common, & bolsheviks forcibly took grain hoarded by peasants
how did the bolsheviks takeover?
they took over key government buildings, railroad stations, set up roadblocks around petrograd, & surrounded the winter palace (where the provisional government met). there was almost no violent resistance (petrograd residents didn't really realize what was happening)
during the summer of 1917, what were the peasants doing?
they were seizing land from landowners/nobles and burning their houses (they tried to get the provisional government to redistribute land from nobles to peasants, but they put off any decision until the constituent assembly could be elected in november 1917)
why were people in russia tired?
they were tired of being oppressed by the secret police & of the hunger and shortages after three years of war
what did kadet newspapers call for people to do?
to fight to save the revolution?
what happened in 1861 in the russian empire?
tsar alexandar II officially ended serfdom (peasants), to free up workers for the industrial labor force
what happened next?
unrest and violence continued: work strikes, peasant uprisings, failed coup
what happened in november 1917?
voting throughout Russia for the constituent assembly began
what did the Mensheviks and SRs do as a response to the armed insurrection against the provisional government?
walked out of congress. by leaving, they gave up their chance to determine the future of the government
who are socialists?
want to create a classless society, seek to end the exploitation/suffering of peasants and workers, rally workers (seize the means of production), & revolution
what political events set off the feburary Revolution?
women textile workers went on strike, good weather, & rasputin
were the bolsheviks split into many factions?
yes
