1. Russia under Tsar Nicholas II
Russia was an autocratic monarchy: the tsar held supreme power. The nobility and the Orthodox Church supported the regime. Most people were peasants living in poverty, while industrial workers faced low wages, long hours and poor conditions. Society was deeply unequal.
Political freedom was severely restricted. The government censored publications, persecuted opponents and used the secret police to suppress dissent. After 1905, some political activity and an elected parliament were allowed, but the tsar retained extensive powers.
3. Russia’s economy in the late nineteenth century
Russia was mainly agricultural, with low productivity and widespread rural poverty. Industry was growing, often supported by foreign investment, but was concentrated in a few cities. Industrial development was uneven, and working conditions were harsh.
4. The Revolution of 1905
Discontent over poverty, autocratic rule and Russia’s war with Japan led to protests. On Bloody Sunday, troops fired on peaceful demonstrators. Strikes, peasant unrest and military mutinies followed, and workers formed soviets. Nicholas II issued the October Manifesto, promising civil liberties and a Duma, but later restricted these reforms and restored much of his authority.
5. The February Revolution of 1917
Food shortages, war losses and economic hardship triggered demonstrations and strikes in Petrograd. Soldiers joined the protesters, and Nicholas II abdicated. A Provisional Government was established, while soviets also exercised authority, creating a situation known as “dual power.”
6. The failure of the Provisional Government
It continued Russia’s participation in the First World War and failed to resolve food shortages or the land question. It postponed major reforms until a Constituent Assembly could meet. Military setbacks and political crises weakened its authority, while the Bolsheviks gained support with promises of peace, land and bread.
Lenin called for an end to the war, no support for the Provisional Government and the transfer of power to the soviets. He also proposed confiscating large landed estates and placing production and banking under soviet control.
8. The October Revolution of 1917
Bolshevik-led forces, organised through the Petrograd Soviet’s Military Revolutionary Committee, seized key locations in Petrograd and captured the Winter Palace. They overthrew the Provisional Government. A new government headed by Lenin issued decrees on peace and land.
9. The Russian Civil War, 1918–1921
The Bolshevik Red Army fought the White armies and other opponents. The Whites included monarchists, conservatives and other anti-Bolshevik groups; several foreign powers also intervened. The Bolsheviks used War Communism to supply their forces, contributing to severe hardship. The Reds defeated the main White armies by 1920–1921, although fighting in some regions continued until 1922.
Nicholas II was Russia’s last tsar. He ruled from 1894 until his abdication in 1917. He and his family were executed by Bolsheviks in 1918.
Vladimir Lenin was a Marxist revolutionary and leader of the Bolsheviks. He led the government established after the October Revolution and became the first head of the Soviet government.
The Bolsheviks were a revolutionary Marxist faction led by Lenin. They advocated a disciplined party to lead a socialist revolution and took power in October 1917. Their party was renamed the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1918.
The Winter Palace was in Petrograd, now Saint Petersburg. It had been an imperial residence and became the headquarters of the Provisional Government in 1917. Its capture symbolised the government’s overthrow during the October Revolution.
Soviets were councils of representatives elected by workers, soldiers and, in some cases, peasants. They organised political activity and became centres of revolutionary power.
The State Duma was Russia’s elected parliamentary chamber, created following the Revolution of 1905. Its authority was limited because the tsar could dissolve it and retained considerable control over government.
On 9 January 1905 under Russia’s calendar at the time—22 January under the Gregorian calendar—troops fired on peaceful demonstrators in Saint Petersburg. The demonstrators were seeking to present a petition to the tsar. The killings undermined faith in Nicholas II and helped trigger the Revolution of 1905.
Alexander Kerensky was a socialist politician who served as a minister and later as head of the Provisional Government in 1917. His government was overthrown in the October Revolution.
18. Red Guard and White Guard
The Red Guards were armed workers’ militias that supported the Bolsheviks and helped carry out the October Revolution. White forces opposed Bolshevik rule and included groups with different political aims. During the Civil War, the main military conflict was between the Red Army and the White armies.
19. What did the April Theses propose?
Lenin called for an end to Russia’s involvement in the war, land redistribution, and “All power to the Soviets.”
20. Which treaty did Russia sign to withdraw from the First World War?
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed on 3 March 1918.
21. What were the foundations of the Bolshevik Communist Party?
Marxist ideology, a disciplined revolutionary party, and democratic centralism. Its goal was to establish workers’ power and collective ownership of the means of production.
