History 127C Week 2 Lecture 3 Review from last class - Lenin and Trotsky: “permanent revolution” - Feudalism o imperialism o no bourgeoise o workers and peasants - Capitalism - Socialism - Revolution in the colony against imperialism to rid of foreigners o not led by bourgeoisie, it will be led by the exploited class (workers and peasants) o workers and peasants will united to fight according to Lenin with a revolutionary political party to guide them in the right direction; the party must be underground and small - Lenin & Trotsky’s names were pseudonyms/aliases because they wanted to cover their identities and have underground missions Lenin’s Marxist Arguments - Lenin accuses the Mensheviks that they are the ones who really aren’t Marxist - “Who Benefits” << main question - Defines Russia as a colony; economically, it was pretty much a colony o entire railroad system was built and owned by the Belgiums World War I - Central powers: Germany, Austria, Turkey, sometimes Italy - Western powers: France, imperial Russia, England Labor and the War - 4 million drafted from towns o 27-45% of labor force - Martial Law from July 1914 - Fixed wages, no strikes o real wages down 15-45% o Spending power goes down- Bolsheviks outlawed o from the beginning of the war, they had an anti-war position Rising Anger - Social truce wears thin - Bolshevik agitation - Food shortages, rationing - DEFEATS! o The army experienced a nightmare, no hope, no inspiriations - Back home, people were starving - Russia wore out (more than anyone else) the social truce - 1914 – no strikes - 1915 – strike activity begins - 1916 – large number of strikes all throughout Russie February, 1917 - coldest winter in decades - food and fuel desperately short - 670,000 strikers across Russia - Tsar at the front o more defeats o economic incompetence February in Petrograd - February 18 – Putilov wildcat strike - February 22 lockout –you couldn’t go back to work even if you wanted to; 20,000 sincerely pissed off ex-employed workers in the streets - February 23 International Women’s Days –first time holiday observed o powerful political tone – these were mothers who were angry politically at the government, incapable of feeding their children o The Machismo Russian society did not care for the angry marching womeno Angry marching women + angry marching men who lost their jobs in the street and carried signs that read “Death to the Tsar” - February 25 - February 26-27 – general strike in the city taxis did not run, no one worked o barricades o demonstrations: Bread, Peace and Land slogan for the day The February Revolution - Feb 25-26; o Tsar orders restoration of order o police fire on the crowds - Petrograd garrison mutinies, distributes arms - Political prisoners freed Feb. 27: Dual Power - Provisional Government o Duma members o middle class o mostly Kadets o await Constituent Assembly o The word provision in Russia really means 'temporary' - Petrograd Soviet o Across town o -SRs and Mensheviks o The word ‘soviet’ really means counsel o "Order No. 1" o "The Democracy" o await Constituent Assembly - Always interesting to determine when a revolution takes place in history; however, here there wasn’t a particular moment in February when the revolution took place End of a dynasty- March 1: Duma members visit Nicholas at the front - March 2: Nicholas II abdicates the throne Lenin returns - Stalin, Molotov in charge in March o revolution is over? o wait and see what Provisional Govt. does - anti-war - Germans pick him up from Switzerland and take him to Petrograd – Sealed Train o Sealed shut o Denounced as a German spy - Lenin: No! o April Theses o All power to the Soviets o The revolution is not over, it is just