Crash Course European History: World War I and Russian Revolution

Introduction

• Host: John Green
• Focus: Impact of World War I and the Russian Revolution

Russian Government's Failures

• Tsar Nicholas II's inefficient war administration
  • Lack of weaponry, transportation, food, and medical care
• Russian soldiers loyal but faced material shortages (e.g., bullets, boots)
• Some generals focused on pogroms against Jewish troops
• Refugees and wounded overwhelmed unprepared Russia

Rise of Local Organizations

• Zemstvos and other groups provided civilian support
• Undermined government credibility

Nicholas II's Mistakes

• Assumed personal command of the warfront
  • Appeared incompetent and disinterested
• Revolution was imminent

International Women's Day Protest

• Date confusion due to different calendars
• February 23, 1917 (Russian calendar)
• Protests by women in Petrograd against war's effects
  • Inflation, food scarcity, casualties
• Influence of protests spread

Nicholas II's Abdication

• Persuaded to abdicate throne due to protests and family pressure
• Duma established a Provisional Government
  • Composed of monarchists, conservatives, liberals, socialists

Worker and Soldier Councils

• Soviets revived from 1905 revolution
• Competed for power with Provisional Government

Continued War Chaos

• Support for WWI dwindled
• Optimism for societal change
  • Peasants and soldiers sought equality

Bolshevik Movement

• Lenin's return to Russia with German assistance
• Bolsheviks rejected Marx's working-class revolution
  • Elite leaders needed
• Slogan: "Peace, Bread, Land"
  • Appealed to disenfranchised masses
• Lenin and Trotsky's strategic positions
  • Sometimes aligned with soviets

Provisional Government's Weakness

• Alexander Kerensky's failed leadership
• Bolshevik propaganda weakened government

Bolshevik Coup

• October 1917: Bolsheviks led a coup
  • Overthrew Provisional Government
  • Took control of infrastructure
• Constituent Assembly elections resulted in Bolshevik minority
  • Assembly dismissed
  • Imprisonment and execution of democratic advocates

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

• Russia's withdrawal from WWI
• Harsh terms ceded western territories to Germany
  • Initially rejected by Lenin

Post-Revolution Challenges

• Civil War: Red vs. White Movement
  • Diverse opposition to Bolsheviks
• Bolshevik control tactics
  • Red Army, Chekha secret police

Soviet Union Establishment

• 1922: Formation of the USSR
• Lenin's approach to ethnicities

Postwar Bolshevik Policy

• Economic and social challenges
• New Economic Policy (NEP) introduced
  • Temporary capitalist elements to boost productivity

Lenin's Death and Stalin's Rise

• Lenin suffered strokes, died in 1924
• Stalin's maneuvering for power

Conclusion

• Bolshevik revolution led to significant changes in Russian society
• Upcoming topics: Soviet Russia and Stalin's leadership