The Russian Civil War began in the wake of the collapse of the provisional government. The Russian Civil War (1917–23) was just beginning in 1918. Lenin and the Bolsheviks were seen to have taken control of Russia, and Lenin pulled Russia out of the war with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed in March 1918. This was a cruel treaty which the Russians had to sign. Trotsky was given the task of negotiating with the Germans.
Between 1917 and 1924, Russia experienced serious unrest, mistrust and a massive split amongst the people. In March 1918, Leon Trotsky had been sent to negotiate the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. This eventually led to Russia surrendering ’62 million people (one sixth of the population), 27% of farm land (some of the best in Russia), 26% of Railways and 74% of Iron Ore and Coal’ (quote from Russia and the USSR 1905-19441 by Terry Fiehn). Furthermore, a 300 year dynasty of Romanov Tsars had come to an end when Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate and later executed alongside his family. On top of that, Russia’s Provisional Government was overthrown by a minority party (the Bolsheviks) during the November Revolution of 1917 who in turn formed the world’s first ever Communist government.
During the period 1905 – 1917 in Russia, numerous political and social alterations occurred. These ultimately led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II on March 2nd 1917 along with the falling of the Romanov Dynasty whom has ruled Russia for 3 centuries. Chain events of poor political actions from the 1904 – 1917 combined to influence the decisions of the Russian society. As these changes occurred, the people of Russia began to question the Tsar as the ruler, which led to lose of support from workers, peasants and the military. Despite the key cause of the February revolution was sparked by Russia’s involvement in World War I, it wasn’t the only factor in the regime.
Nicholas II fell from power in February 1917, there are many reasons for the collapse of Tsarism but to what extent was World War 1 the most important reason? World War 1 seems to be the most contributing factor to why Tsarism collapsed in 1917; the huge effects and problems that the War had on Tsarism was able to overturn the monarchy, that before then, had never died. This is due to the impact of War on Russia’s Political state. In 1915 Nicholas II as Tsar toke power of the Russian army, this had a huge effect on the outcome of World War 1 on Russia. Despite this, the collapse of Tsarism could be blamed on different factors of Russia, such as the civilians; the percentage of peasantry in Russia was extremely high, not only the percentage but also the conditions of peasants was awful.
The Romanov dynasty ruled from 1613-1917. By the beginning of the 20th century the Russian empire bordered Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, Mongolia and China. Poland, the Baltic States and Finland were Russian territories. More than a hundred nationalities owed allegiance to Nicholas II, “Tsar of All the Russias”, who ruled from 1894-1917. Yet in less than nine months, from February to October 1917, the centuries old Tsarist autocracy was swept away in a series of revolutionary disturbances.
The years 1881 to 1914 were a time of great turbulence in Tsarist Russia. The 1905 revolution almost toppled the Tsarist regime. Political assassinations were common and military defeat became somewhat the norm. In the late 19th century, Russia was one of Europe’s Great Powers. This status had depended on military power but by the 1890s military power was becoming increasingly linked to economic power.
(30 marks) January 2010 To what extent did Russia undergo economic and political reform in the years 1906-14? (30 marks) OR How far was Lenin responsible for the Bolsheviks’ growing hold on power in the years 1917-24? (30 marks) How significant were the personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-29? (30 marks) OR How far did Stalin’s social policies change the lives of children and women in the years to 1945? (30 marks) May 2010 How far do you agree that the use of repression was the main reason for the weakness of opposition to Tsarism in the years 1881-1914?
To understand and identify the aspects of the totalitarian system in both countries it's important to consider both countries history. On November the 11th 1918 Germany agreed to signed the Armistice. After Germany was forced to accept Versailles agreement by accepting guilt for WW 1. As a consequence the German people were demotivated and had no confidence in the new liberal democratic Weimar government and international forces. This resulted in risings such as the Spartacist rising where communists fuelled by the success of the Russian revolution almost occupied nearly every major city in Germany.
In 1985, Mikhael Gorbachev came to power, and claimed to have a different view on communism (Smitha, The Soviet Union). Gorbachev knew the country needed fundamental reform, because it has not shown positive growth for nearly a decade (Smitha, The Soviet Union). He introduced Perestroika, to restructure the economy (Smitha, The Soviet Union).
Describe Russia during 1881, after the assassination of Alexander II, and upon the ascension of Alexander III. Alexander II had overseen a period of change in the Russian Empire. The army and navy had been modernised after the embarrassing defeat in the Crimean war, the serfs had been emancipated and the empire continued to expand. On the day of his assassination, Alexander II had actually signed a document that would have brought in some form of democratic government. This period of reform was the inheritance of Alexander III, the progress of which he would attempt to reverse during his reign.