04/07

Causes of Russian Revloution

Political causes: Peter, Catherine - the great

Tsar - Nicholas 2 - inefficient, not interseted in day-to-day administration,

wife - Alexandria
4 children - 3 girls , 1boy - haemophilia
serbian monk to cure disease - Rasputin

1905 - Russia was attacked by the Japanese from eastern side (Russio-Japanes war) -
Russians defeated
Need from monarchy to republic

Duma - 1st Parliament

Election - 1906, Govt. - 1907, politically useless, 1914 - WW1

Economic causes:
St. Petersburg, City of Moscow - Industrial cities
Emerging Industrial empire when compared to US, Britain, Japan, Germany (highly
mechanised)

Half of Russia - Siberian climate (snow). Other Half - traditional agriculture

Food shortage frequent - food crisis - food riot - inflation

Social cause:
poverty, hunger
Noble class,
Serfs - landless serfs (land lost to nobles)
Taxation - poverty trap
Addiction to intoxicant drink of vodka

Rise of political parties:

Russia was a rural country. Connection b/w Russia and w.europe not
established
Berlin Univ - communist ideology - Karl Marx 1864 - Das capital
Lenin -
1895 - Russian Socialist Democratic Party(RSDP)
- Trans-Siberian Rail Connectivity - St. Peterburg (Petroguard) to
Vladivostok (Oil Refining company - ONGC)
1900 - RSDP changed to RSLabourDP ------- Mensheviks (step-by-step changes, leader
- kerensky), Bolsheviks (extremists - lenin)

1905 - Russio-Japanese war. Russia defeated

Lenin was imported out of Russia
1914 - Assassination of Arch Duke by Germany & Austria

war-

February Revolution - 1917 demand: bread, land &peace

Petroguard filled with women on feb 8 (as per Julian Calendar - March 8
Women's day)
tsar abdicated - end of monarchy
provincial govt - republic headed by Mensheviks - but still crisis - contd. in WW1

October Revolution 1917 - trained army of Bolsheviks - conducted a coup and

arrested all kerensky govt. officials and formed the bolsheviks Govt.
Russian republic under Bolsheviks
announced withdrawal of Russia from WW1

Treaty of Brestlitovisk with germany - compensated Lathvia, Lithuvania & Estonia

given by Russia to Germany
& pay the war penalty

allied - britain, russia, france, us - didnot inform allied

coup illegal, not a recognised form of govt.
so russia not part of league of nations

significance:
oct 1917 - start of cold war
1921 - Lenin organized Union of Soviet Socialist Republic
Polit Bureau @ Moscow - International Communist Conference (ICC) to spread
Communism outside Russia- delegates from China (Mao Z), india, Indo-China (HoChi
Min), arabs (Nazar), africans
Satyabhakta
1924 - M.N. Roy started CPI