1905 Revolution
- The 1905 revolution was primarily spurred by the international humiliation as a result of the Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, which ended in the same year.Many historians contend that the 1905 revolution set the stage for the 1917 Russian Revolutions which saw the monarchy abolished and the Tsar executed.
- Between October 1905 and April 1906, an estimated 15,000 peasants and workers were either hanged or shot; 20,000 were injured and 45,000 sent into exile.
- The massacre on Bloody Sunday is considered to be the start of the active phase of the Revolution of 1905.
- The social contract between the tsar and the people was broken, which delegitimized the position of the tsar and his divine right to rule. Although Bloody Sunday was not initiated as a revolutionary or rebellious movement, the repercussions of the government’s reaction laid the foundations for revolution by bringing into question autocracy and the legitimacy of the tsar.
(1917) February Revolution
- led to Tsar adbdicating and a provisional government headed by Kerensky
(1917) October Revolution
- precipitating event of the Civil War (1917-1923), during which 13 foreign nations participated in the civil war, often on the side of the Whites fearful of the Bolshevik’s calls for world revolution
1918-1922 Red Terror
- Although sometimes described as an attempt to eliminate the entire bourgeoisie, Lenin did not want to exterminate all members of this class, merely those who sought to reinstate their rule. The majority of the Terror’s victims were well-to-do citizens or former members of the Tsarist administration; others were non-bourgeois anti-Bolsheviks and perceived social undesirables such as prostitutes.
- A decree in April 1919 resulted in the establishment of concentration camps, which were entrusted to the Cheka, later administered by a new government agency, Gulag. By the end of 1920, 84 camps had been established across Soviet Russia, holding about 50,000 prisoners; by October 1923, this had grown to 315 camps and about 70,000 inmates.
1936-1938 Stalin’s Great Purge
- in power from 1924, but losing popularity and after diasaster/famines of first FYP, Stalin purges all possible opponents, scholars estimate the death toll to be roughly 700,000.
1956 the “Secret Speech” and Khrushchev
- serves Krushchev’s (came to power in 53) motives to consolidate power, first time the general public learn of much of Stalin’s atrocities…There are also reports that some of those present suffered heart attacks and others later took their own lives
history Russia