Russian Revolution

Unit VII overview and essential questions (Transformation of Political Realities II: The Russian Revolution)

OVERVIEW

One of the unintended consequences of World War I was the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing Bolshevik victory.  Conditions in czarist Russia made the country ripe for revolution.  The Russian armies were ill-equipped, ill-led, and had suffered devastating losses in the war.  The situation on the home front was equally abysmal, with Russians facing hunger, valueless currency, and empty shops.  Compounding these problems was an autocratic government unwilling to respond to its citizens' demands.  By October 1917, Lenin and the Bolsheviks had succeeded in establishing revolutionary rule in Russia.  The Bolshevik Revolution had far-ranging effects, significantly influencing the course of European and world history.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1.  What were the main causes of the Russian Revolution?

2.  Why did Lenin's vision appeal to the Russian masses?

3.  Why did the Bolshevik Revolution succeed?

4.  What were the consequences of the Russian Civil War on Communist policy?

5.  Why did the Bolsheviks triumph in the Russian Civil War?  How did this triumph lead to the consolidation of Communist power in Russia?

6.  How was Russian Communism an example of totalitarianism?

• Alexander Palace Time Machine - Romanov and Russian History
• Face of Russia - PBS series