I.Russia in World War One, 1914-1917 A.Russian losses in WWI 1.Some military gains in 1914 2.Nicholas II assumes Supreme Command, Sept. 4th, 1915 3.Major military losses by 1916, 1917 4.Ammunition & supply shortages at the Front 5.Army often led by incompetent Aristocrats B.Dissatisfaction and Unrest on "Home Front" 1.Corruption in government & military 2.Anti-German sentiment high a.St. Petersburg renamed Petrograd b.Empress Alexandra a German (That German Woman!) 3.Tsar Nicholas II incompetent & arrogant 4.Duma opposes Tsarist Autocracy, urges reform 5.Tsar becomes more autocratic, refuses reform 6.Tsarina Alexander under influence of Rasputin a.Rasputin murdered, December 30th, 1916, in Petrograd 7.Food shortages in industrial towns II.March Revolution, Petrograd, 1917 A.General Strike in Petrograd B.March 7th 1.Worker lockout in Petrograd C.March 8th 1.Women in Breadlines hold demonstration 2.Demonstration spontaneously becomes city-wide 3.Down with War! Give us Bread! Down with Autocracy D.March 9th 1.Petrograd workers demonstrate 2.Fill Nevskii Prospect (main city square) 3.Cossacks unwilling to disperse crowds E.March 10th 1.Demonstration becomes a revolt 2.Bolsheviks taken by surprise, mostly watch 3.Government plans assault with police & soldiers F.March 11th 1.Soldiers fire on crowds at Nevskii Prospect 2.Police fire on crowds (evening) 3.Soldiers (Pavlovskii Regiment) fire on Police 4.Soldiers vow not to fire on crowds G.March 12th 1.Workers storm factories, armed insurrection 2.Bolsheviks taken by surprise, mostly watch 3.Soldiers join crowds, Bolsheviks finally wake up 4.Soldiers storm the jails, free political prisoners 5.Duma calls for formation of a Provisional Government 6.Workers & Soldiers form Petrograd Soviet H.March 14th 1.Entire Petrograd garrison joins revolt 2.Soviets arrest Tsarist officials & police 3.Duma selects members of Provisional Government 4.Tsar Nicholas shunted to rail siding 5.Moscow Soviet formed I.March 15th 1.Provisional Government formed 2.Tsar Nicholas abdicates in favor of Grand Duke Michael 3.Grand Duke Michael renounces claim to the Throne 4.Tsarism ends in Russia III.Dual Power, March to November, 1917 A.Provisional Government 1.Liberal Revolt from Above 2.Aristocrats, Industrialists, Professors, Intellectuals 3.Bourgeois Liberals (Kadets & SR's) 4.Only Socialist was Kerensky, a young lawyer who was also a vice- chairman of the Petrograd Soviet 5.PG weak, indecisive, control govt. buildings, Duma 6.Isolated from the population from the beginning 7.Kerensky gradually emerges as leader of PG a.Becomes Prime Minister, July 24, 1917 B.Petrograd Soviet 1.Liberal & Anti-Liberal elements a.Social Democrats (Kadets & SR's & SD's) b.Mensheviks c.Bolsheviks (only 80,000 by April, 11%) 2.Soviet Dominated by Mensheviks (58%) 3.Soviets supported by soldiers, workers a.General Order No. 1 (March 14th) b.Soldiers elect delegates to Soviet c.Obey officers only on Soviet terms 4.Soviets control railways, factories, post, telegraph C.Uneasy Cooperation between PG & Soviets, March & April 1.PG declares expansionist aims in WWI, allies with West a.PG claims Constantinople, parts of Austria-Hungary b.Secret treaty clauses provide for US money to PG 2.Soviet outraged, calls on western peoples to revolt a.Demand "Peace without Annexations" b.Demand "Peace without Indemnities" 3.March 25, Kamenev & Stalin arrive in Petrograd a.Urge moderate cooperation with PG b.Urge resistance to Germany, protect Russia c.Actions still largely unknown, myth enshrouded 4.April 16, Lenin arrives in Petrograd from Switzerland a.Transported from Switzerland by Germans (1)They want to disrupt PG's war efforts (2)They supply Lenin with gold b.Lenin immediately urges violent overthrow of PG c."All Power to the Soviets" d.Predicts imminent worldwide socialist revolution e.Lenin's "April Theses" accepted by Bolsheviks f.Bolshevik Program: Land, Peace, Bread 5.May, Trotsky arrives in Petrograd a.From exile in New York b.Promotes permanent revolution c.Joins with Lenin & Bolsheviks d.Forms Bolshevik Red Guard D.Kerensky & the Kronstadt Rebellion, May-July 18 1.War Minister Kerensky heads up PG, May, 1917 2.Mensheviks from Petrograd Soviets participate 3.This opens Mensheviks to Bolshevik criticism 4.Kerensky continues the war, tours the Front 5.Petrograd Soviet cancels demonstrations against PG 6.Bolsheviks gain tremendous following among workers 7.July 17, 1917, Kronstadt revolt a.50,000 soldiers & Sailors revolt b.Urge Petrograd Soviet to seize power, Soviet refuses c.Bolsheviks join Kronstadters, but do nothing E.Kerensky & the Kornilov Affair, July 17th-September 1.Bolsheviks discredited after Kronstadt a.Lenin revealed as a German agent b.Bolshevik Party headquarters raided & closed c.Trotsky & other Bolsheviks arrested d.Lenin runs away, takes refuge in Finland 2.July 24, Kerensky becomes Prime Minister of PG 3.July 31, Kerensky appoints Gen. Kornilov C in C of Army 4.August, Kerensky moves PG to Winter Palace 5.August 20th, Kornilov positions Cossacks & Wild Division a.Plans to march on Moscow & Petrograd, crush the revolution b.Duma praises Kornilov 6.Sept 9th, Kornilov fired, stages coup a.Kerensky orders Bolsheviks & socialists released (1)200,000 Bolsheviks by August (2)More Bolsheviks than Mensheviks b.Bolsheviks organize a Red Guard to resist Kornilov c.Kornilov stopped, Wild Division deserts to Soviet 7.Bolshevik prestige restored after Kornilov affair a.Petrograd Soviet quickly controlled by Trotsky b.Moscow Soviet also supports Bolsheviks (51%) F.Rising Tide of Bolshevism, September-November 1.Peasants impatient for Land Reform a.Kill landlords b.Reassign agricultural property c.Bolsheviks promise Land Reform 2.Disintegration of the Army a.Officers viewed as enemies of the Revolution b.Thousands of workers & peasants desert c.Bolsheviks promise Peace 3.Worker discontent in Industrial towns a.Factories closed b.No chance to earn bread c.Bolsheviks promise worker control of factories 4.Lenin returns from Finland, yet stays out of Petrograd a.Calls for immediate insurrection b.Central Committee of Bolsheviks ignore him 5.Lenin comes to Petrograd, in disguise a.Forms Bolshevik Politburo, dominates it (1)Lenin, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Trotsky, Stalin, Sokolnikov, Bubnov (2)Politburo resolves on an armed rebellion in November, to coincide with the Second Congress of Soviets IV.First Bolshevik Revolution, November 1917 A.November 5th 1.Bolsheviks win support of 150K strong Petrograd Garrison a.Officers arrested, replaced with Bolshevik Commissars 2.Provisional Government has few loyal troops, maybe 1,000 a.Plan to the hold Neva Bridge, leading to the Winter Palace 3.Trotsky convinces Peter & Paul Fortress to surrender a.Gains large weapons cache b.Trotsky arms 20,000 Red Guards B.November 6th 1.Kerensky raids Bolshevik Headquarters 2.Asks PG for special powers to crush Bolsheviks 3.Moves Women's Battalion to Winter Palace C.November 7th 1.Lenin comes out of hiding, speaks openly 2.Red Guards occupy banks, telephone exchanges 3.Kerensky leaves Petrograd, seeking loyal troops 4.Bolsheviks capture Winter Palace, rape the women 5.Congress of Soviets convenes a.Trotsky declares the Bolshevik seizure of power b.Mensheviks & SR's denounce Bolshevik coup c.Mensheviks & SR's Walk out of Congress d.Bolsheviks approve their own coup e.Bolsheviks proclaim a mandate for their party f.Bolsheviks promise a Constituent Assembly in 1918 D.November 12th 1.Kerensky's counterattack repelled, his troops desert 2.Kerensky runs away, eventually to England E.November 15th 1.Red Guard storms the Kremlin 2.Last holdouts for Provisional Government overcome F.November 17th, First phase of Civil War begins in Ukraine G.December, Don Cossacks revolt, White Army formed by Kaledin & Kornilov H.December 3rd, Soviet-German Talks at Brest-Litovsk begin I.December 15th, Soviet-German armistice signed J.December 20th, CHEKA formed 1.Extraordinary Commission for Combatting Counter-Revolution and Sabotage 2.Directed by Felix Dzherzinsky V.Second Bolshevik Revolution, January 1918 A.Election of Constituent Assembly in December, 1917 1.Lenin imposes restrictions on SR's & KD's 2.Election was fair, nonetheless B.Bolsheviks lose the Election 1.SR's win 58% 2.Bolsheviks 25% C.Lenin repudiates the election 1.Constituent Assembly must accept the Soviet regime 2.Threatens force 3.Arrests KD's and many right-socialists in December D.Constituent Assembly convenes, January 18th, 1917 1.Bolsheviks fill the balconies with armed Bolsheviks 2.Lenin surrounds the Assembly with Red Guard snipers 3.Constituent Assembly rejects Bolshevik demands 4.Bolsheviks walk out, no violence (yet) 5.Bolsheviks then lock out the Assembly 6.Widespread demonstrations crushed by Red Guard E.Bolsheviks crush all opposition 1.All political parties dissolved except Bolsheviks 2.Lenin uses CHEKA, secret political police 3.Red Terror begins immediately 4.Bolsheviks stage parades in support of Red Terror F.March 10th, Capital of Soviet Russia moved to Moscow G.Red Terror, 1918-1922 1.Dictatorship of the Proletariat 2.Banks, railways, foreign trade, factories nationalized 3.Religious marriages banned 4.Church property confiscated, 1,000's of churches demolished 5.Priests, monks, nuns sent to death camps in White Sea area 6.Civil rights suspended 7.June, 1918, Grand Duke Michael murdered 8.July, 1918, Tsar & entire family murdered 9.April 11th, 1922, Concentration Camps established VI.Civil War, 1918-1922 A.Bolsheviks control industrial center of Russia 1.Petrograd, Moscow, Tula, Talinin, etc. 2.Interior lines of communication easy to maintain B.Russian White Guard armies control outlying areas 1.Ukraine, Siberia, Byelorussia 2.Exterior lines of communication hard to maintain 3.White armies never unite, often as brutal as Bolsheviks C.Finland & Baltic States win independence 1. Finland under Marshall Mannerheim 2.Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia D.War Communism 1.Confiscations, Pogroms, Penalty Battalions 2.Officers tortured into leading troops 3.Trotsky runs Red Army 4.Stalin organizes defense in Tsaritsyn (later Stalingrad) 5.Lenin builds a new Soviet society using terror 6.Bolshevik party renamed Communist Party E.Bolshevik victory, 1922 1.White armies abandoned by western allies 2.White armies defeated in battle 3.White leaders hunted down and executed 4.Prison camps, work camps, death camps get bigger VII.Early Soviet History, 1922-1924 A.Lenin's N.E.P. 1.Some privatization occurs 2.One step backwards, two steps forward 3.Rural electrification, education, land reform 4.Electricity + Socialism = communism 5.Police state & camp system continue to grow 6.Shoot all opposition immediately 7.Promote class warfare 8.Control all education, rewrite history B.Lenin's long death, 1922-1924 1.He had been partially insane for years a.Crippling headaches b.Fits of rage and cruelty 2.Multiple strokes, 1922-1924 a.Periods of insanity increase b.Loses speech, muscular control, understanding c.1/2 of brain dead by Jan, 1923 (walnut sized) d.Wheelchair bound throughout all 1923 e.January 24, 1924, Lenin dies, goes to hell 3.Bolsheviks mummify his body, keep it on display a.Cult of the Leader b.Lenin becomes the focus of the Communist cult 4.They Saved Lenin's Brain! a.Not a 1950's movie title, but reality b.Moscow Brain institute (1)Requisition brains (2)Slice them in thin pieces for slides (3)Compare brains with Lenin's (4)Still going on in 1990's C.Early Stalinism, 1924-1939 1.Socialism in One Country 2.Dekulakization a.4,000,000 Kulaks murdered b.10,000,000 deaths in pogroms & famine 3.Collectivization of Agriculture a.Sovkhoze, State Collective Farms b.Kolkhoze, "voluntary" Collective Farms 4.Industrialization a.Five Year plans b.Slave Labor to build canals, dams, power plants c.Stakhanovite "shock workers" 5.Moscow Purge Trials, 1930's a.Party (they all confess, all killed) (1)All of the Old Bolsheviks are killed (2)Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin, etc. (3)Judge: Vishinski (a)"Shoot the mad dogs!" b.Army (fewer confessions, all killed) (1)Marshall Tukachevsky (2)Officer corps largely destroyed c.Trotsky expelled in 1929, goes to Mexico (1)He warns the world about Stalin (2)Tries to build worldwide Trotskyist movement (3)Eventually assassinated by Stalin's agents (4)Ramon Mercader kills him with an ice axe, 1940 (5)Brezhnev names Mercader "Hero of the Soviet Union" XV.The First Comintern Period, 1919-1943 A.Moscow dominates all Communist parties worldwide 1.Communist International (COMINTERN) founded March, 1919 2.Open call to forment world revolution 3.Think globally, act locally B.Moscow-directed infiltration, subversion 1.Just like in the movies, almost 2.Bukharin letter to US Communists, 1919 a.undoubtedly legitimate b.Join the army and navy, form Soviets, agitate c."Down with Congress and the Senate" 3.John Reed, journalist and Soviet courier a.Smuggled COMINTERN instructions & money to US b.Caught in Finland with documents & $1,000,000 4.Zinoviev Letter surfaces in England, 1924 a.Original letter of uncertain provenance - may be fake b.Yet accurately describes COMINTERN activities 5.Early revolutionary activism in a.Persian SSR, 1919 (led by Mirza Kuchik Khan) b.Hungary, 1919 (led by Bela Kuhn) c.Czechoslovakia, 1919 d.China, CCP founded in Moscow, 1921 e.Mexico, CCP active beginning in 1920's f.India, CCP active beginning in 1930's C.Popular Front movement, 1930's 1.Communists should form common cause with socialists 2.Infiltrate & subvert socialist parties 3.Eventually control all progressive movements D.Quietist, "Jeffersonian" phase, 1941-1943 1.Stalin needs & wants Western help 2.CPUSA & Young Communist League become "patriotic" groups 3.Comintern "disbanded" in 1943, revived in 1945 XVI.The Second Comintern Period, 1945-1991 A.Stalin reactivates Comintern, 1945 B.Extremely active in USA XVII. The Gramschi-ist Period, 1980's to present