Objective
Explain how internal and external factors contributed to change in Russia after 1900.
Reading Questions
- What were the economic problems that led to the Communist Revolution? Where they internal or external problems?
- How did political unrest contribute to the Communist Revolutions? Would that unrest be considered internal or external?
- How did lack of political reform lead to the Communist Revolution?
- How did losses in war lead to the Communist Revolution?
- How did WWI lead to the Communist Revolution?
Russian Revolution- Internal problems
Economic ProblemsRussia's internal economic problems spanned from the countryside to the cities. Serfs could be owned and could be traded by their landowners. 1861 saw the serfs freed and issued with small amounts of land, but in return, they had to pay back a sum to the government, and the result was a mass of small farms deeply in debt. Standard farming techniques were out of date and there was little hope for real progress thanks to widespread illiteracy and lack of education. The Russian government refused to build more schools.
Although Russia's government did sponsor industrialization, it was slow to build transportation systems including roads and railroads. Russia also failed to give loans to entrepreneurs that would have facilitated economic growth. Very few new businesses continued the industrialization of Russia. Lack of Political/Democratic ReformUnlike in Western Europe and the United States, Industrial Revolution problems did not bring more democratic reform or a positive change in working conditions in Russia. Although in 1905, Tsar Nicholas brought back the Duma but it had no real power. The Russian people continued to have no representation in government. Russia continued to be ruled by an emperor called the Tsar. For three centuries this position had been held by the Romanov family. 1913 the Russian people saw the 300-year celebrations in a huge festival of pomp and pageantry. Many felt the celebrations were at the expense of the people.
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Political unrestSate sponsored industrialization resulted in political unrest. By the turn of the nineteenth to twentieth centuries, Russia was experiencing the same problems that others faced when they industrialized. They began to see tightly packed and expanding urban areas. Russians were experiencing problems like unsanitary, poor and cramped housing, unfair wages, and dwindling rights for workers.
Workers began to protest their working conditions. In 1905 mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire, some of which was directed at the Tsar's government. It included worker strikes. The Tsar put down the first revolution violently killing 200 protesters on what would be called Bloody Sunday. However, he did bring back the Duma - a representative part of the government that promised to give a voice to the people. An Unpopular FamilyThe Russian royal family had lost favor with the masses. As many Russian peasants and workers starved, the royal family lived a life of luxury. Many Russians resented that. The Tsar's wife was of German origin leading some to believe that she was secretly supporting Germany in the war. Additionally, many believed that the royal family was being negatively influenced by a monk named Rasputin. Rasputin had gained favor with the family after supposedly curing the youngest son of hemophilia. Rasputin was murdered by some aristocrats, but by then, the family had no support from the masses.
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Russian Revolution- External Problems
Losses in War
From 1853 to 1856, Russia was in the Crimean War against the Ottoman empire. Russia lost leading to the state sponsored industrialization that ended in the protests that would eventually topple the Tsar.
In 1905, the Russian empire also lost the Russo-Japanese War that led to even more hatred towards the Tsar.
From 1853 to 1856, Russia was in the Crimean War against the Ottoman empire. Russia lost leading to the state sponsored industrialization that ended in the protests that would eventually topple the Tsar.
In 1905, the Russian empire also lost the Russo-Japanese War that led to even more hatred towards the Tsar.
WWI
The most significant external problem that Russia faced was WWI. Russia did not adequately equip its soldiers to fight during the war. The Tsar failed to establish a system to supply the troops in the war front with the most basic supplies. Many soldiers went to the battle field without weapons. They were told to pick up the weapons of dead soldiers. Others were not issued boots and simply wore their own shoes and in some cases wore rags on their feet. It is estimated that b 1917, there were 1,811,000 total Russian military deaths and 1,500,00 civilian deaths. Russia’s staggering losses through casualties and desertions as well as discontent among the civilian population created the conditions for the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917.
Watch the video below to understand the events that led to the death of the Romanov family. Or you can read a quick summary here.
The 1917 Soviet Revolution
Consequences of the Soviet Revolution
Lenin’s New Economic Policy
War and revolution destroyed the Russian economy. Trade was at a standstill. Industrial production dropped and many skilled workers fled to other countries. Lenin, who helped mastermind the Bolshevik Revolution, shifted his role. He turned to reviving the economy and restructuring the government. In March 1921, Lenin launched the New Economic Policy (NEP) by temporarily putting aside his plan for a state controlled economy. Instead, he resorted to a small-scale version of capitalism. The reforms under the NEP allowed peasants to sell their surplus crops instead of turning them over to the government. Individuals could buy and sell goods for profit. The government kept control of major industries, banks, and means of communication, but it let some small factories, businesses, and farms operate under private ownership. Lenin also tried to encourage foreign investment.
War and revolution destroyed the Russian economy. Trade was at a standstill. Industrial production dropped and many skilled workers fled to other countries. Lenin, who helped mastermind the Bolshevik Revolution, shifted his role. He turned to reviving the economy and restructuring the government. In March 1921, Lenin launched the New Economic Policy (NEP) by temporarily putting aside his plan for a state controlled economy. Instead, he resorted to a small-scale version of capitalism. The reforms under the NEP allowed peasants to sell their surplus crops instead of turning them over to the government. Individuals could buy and sell goods for profit. The government kept control of major industries, banks, and means of communication, but it let some small factories, businesses, and farms operate under private ownership. Lenin also tried to encourage foreign investment.
Political Reforms
The Bolsheviks also renamed their party the Communist Party. The name came from the writings of Karl Marx. He had used the word communism to describe the classless society that would exist after the workers had seized power. In 1924, the Communists created a constitution based on socialist and democratic principles. In reality, the Communist Party held all the power. Lenin had established a dictatorship of the Communist Party, not “a dictatorship of the proletariat,” as Marx had promoted. Thanks partly to the new policies and to the peace that followed the civil war, the USSR slowly recovered. By 1928, the country’s farms and factories were producing as much as they had before World War I. Lenin did not live to see this recovery. He had several strokes and died in January 21, 1924. The Soviet Union would be then taken over by Joseph Stalin whom turned The USSR into a totalitarian state.
The Bolsheviks also renamed their party the Communist Party. The name came from the writings of Karl Marx. He had used the word communism to describe the classless society that would exist after the workers had seized power. In 1924, the Communists created a constitution based on socialist and democratic principles. In reality, the Communist Party held all the power. Lenin had established a dictatorship of the Communist Party, not “a dictatorship of the proletariat,” as Marx had promoted. Thanks partly to the new policies and to the peace that followed the civil war, the USSR slowly recovered. By 1928, the country’s farms and factories were producing as much as they had before World War I. Lenin did not live to see this recovery. He had several strokes and died in January 21, 1924. The Soviet Union would be then taken over by Joseph Stalin whom turned The USSR into a totalitarian state.