RUSSIA TO USSR 1917-1924

DAY 1: HANDOUT #3

RUSSIAUSSR 1917-1924 Snapshot of Russian Empire in 1917 Population: Leader:

90% illiterate peasants Nicholas II  Weak  Son, Alexei, had hemophilia  Rasputin gains inordinate amount of control  Political scene divided; Duma (parliament) demands more power  WWI is disastrous

February Revolution 1917 February: Feb-October:

Tsar forced to abdicate 2 goverments in power 1. Provisional Government: set up by Duma and tries to create parliamentary democracy 2. Soviet of Workers’, Peasants’, and Soldiers’ Deputies: set up by communists and popular with the workers Numerous strikes in the summer General Kornilov tries to take over

October Revolution 1917 Leaders:

Lenin Founder of the Bolshevik Party and mastermind behind the revolution Trotsky Head of the military Stalin Working behind the scenes

Slogans:

“All Power to the Soviets” “Land, Peace, & Bread”

Events:

Bolsheviks take over country in October Very small force, but very well organized They take power with almost no bloodshed

RUSSIA TO USSR 1917-1924

DAY 1: HANDOUT #3

Civil War: 1917-1920 Reds:  vs Whites: 

Bolsheviks

-Supporters of the tsar -Foreign powers (Americans, British, Czech, Japan, Canada) -General Kolchak War Communism: Bolsheviks took all food in order to feed Red Army soldiers

NEP: 1921-1924 New Economic Policy: Lenin decides to allow small businesses in order to get country back on its feet

Lenin Dies: 1924 Death Toll in Russia/USSR 1914-1924 Year 19141917 19171921

1919 19141921

Event WWI

# of Deaths 2.5 Million

Civil War

2.7 Million

Jewish Pogroms Famine & Epidemics

100, 000150,000 7.5-9.5 Million

Explanation    

    

Male Combatants Roughly comparable to German combat deaths, a little more than Austrian 1 million: male combat deaths Civil War Terror (1.7 estimated) o White Terror: tens of thousands o Red Terror (Civil War):  executed - 50,000-200,000  died in prison or killed in revolts: 400,000 Attacks on Jews, particularly in Ukraine and southern Russia, by enraged Russian and Ukrainian peasants 1.5 million: deaths from typhus 1-3 million deaths from other epidemics: cholera, scarlet fever, & influenza 5 million: famine of 1921-1922: at least 5 million; some 25 million affected by it Other: o deurbanization: Moscow lost half its population by 1921 o Petrograd lost 2/3 o homeless children by 1922: 7 million

RUSSIA TO USSR 1917-1924

DAY 1: HANDOUT #3