The Tsar had absolute power, which meant that he could make laws, appoint ministers and decide on all policies completely on his own. He had ministers to advise him, but he did not have to hear their advice. Tsar Nicholas II (ruled 1894-1917) was a weak man and was dominated by his wife and he did not enjoy the task of running the country. When war approached, he failed to act without power.
Before in 1905, there had been a revolution in Russia and Nicholas had promised to make changes to the way the country was run. Most of the promises were broken and ignored and by 1914 opposition to the Tsar was growing again. When war came, Nicholas failed to understand the seriousness of the situation in Russia and went off to supervise his armies, leaving his wife, Alexandra, in charge of the day running the country.
Alexandra, however, was under the influence of Rasputin, a notorious man who had secured his place at court because he was able to heal the Tsar's son, who suffered from haemophilia.
There were many opposition groups before 1914. The biggest group was the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Social Democrats. The Democrats were split into two: Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. Both these groups wanted to overthrow the Tsar.
The Bolshevik Revolution
Lenin, the exiled leader of the Bolshevik Red Guard, returned to Petrograd in April 1917 and published the “April Theses”. Lenin offered peace, land and bread to the Russian people. Revolution started again. In May and July the Bolsheviks tried to get power in Petrograd, but failed. Lenin fled. Soon after in August the army commander in chief, general Kornilov, challenged Kerensky, wanting to set up a much stricter routine. As the army marched on Petrograd, Kerensky asked the Bolsheviks to help him. They were given weapons and they stopped Kornilov's advance but then refused to give up. In October Lenin returned and persuaded the Bolsheviks that they could get hold of power. A leading Bolshevik, Leon Trotsky organised cutting telephones wires and stopping control of the post office, railway stations and other important buildings. Bolshevik troops stormed the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government met. The army did not come to its aid.
The Bolshevik Revolution had succeeded but it had secured Petrograd only and they still had to fight to win control of the whole of Russia.
The Provisional Government was replaced by a council of the People's Commissars, but was determined that the Bolsheviks should keep their hold on power.
Lenin issued the Peace Decree, which ended the war with Germany. A Land Decree declared that land belonged to the peasants who farmed it and after businesses were taken over. In March 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed with Germany. Russia surrendered a quarter of its land and people, but was no longer at war. Lenin could concentrate on improving the Revolution. In the summer of 1918 Lenin became a ruling dictator and had many people who disliked his actions. Civil war broke out. However Lenin easily defeated the opponents, the Whites which contained about 250,000 soldiers. A lot of the soldiers were captured and executed by the Bolsheviks.
Stalin and the Five Year Plans
When Lenin died, he named Trotsky as his successor and recommended that Stalin should be made general Secretary of the Communist Party. However, some Bolshevik leaders saw Trotsky as arrogant and did not want him as leader. In 1929, Stalin forced Trotsky from the Soviet Union and Trotsky ended up in Mexico, where he was assassinated in 1940, almost certainly on Stalin's orders.
As General Secretary, Stalin had a lot of power and by 1928 Bolshevik leaders were no longer a threat to him.
The Five Year Plans were introduced because of many reasons. Stalin believed that the Soviet industry and farming was one hundred years behind the West. He said that they must catch up in 10 years. Stalin turned away from world revolution and set out to create socialism in one country. Stalin did not trust Western Europe. Russia had been invaded in 1919 during the Civil War and he tried to prevent further invasions. Stalin hated the Kulaks (land-owning peasants), and wanted to destroy them. In the first Five Year Plan, Stalin called for huge increases in the output of heavy industry.
Stalin and the Second World War
The German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 led to a string of defeats for the Red Army. German troops went deep into the Russian heartland and the country found itself fighting for its vey existence. Stalin realised that desperate steps most be taken to avoid conquest by Germany. He ordered the countryside to be destroyed as the Red Army retreated. Everything was burned or laid to waste in order to deny the enemy. He announced to the Soviet citizens to defend the motherland to their last breath. Whole factories and even town were moved further east out of the reach of the German armies. Stalin left military matters to his generals including Marshal Zhukov. Russia managed o overcome the Germans mainly because of the harsh weather conditions.
Stalin died in 1953 and was remembered as a national hero. Following his death, Malenkov became the Prime Minister and the new Secretary of the Communist Party was Nikita Khrushchev.
