Study Guide

Socials
Second Term

1. Revolutions in Russia
a. The Russian Revolution was like a firecracker with a very long fuse. The
explosion came in 1917, yet the fuse had been burning for nearly a century.
b. The cruel, oppressive rule of most 19th-century czars caused widespread
social unrest for decades. Army officers revolted in 1825. Secret
revolutionary groups plotted to overthrow the government.
c. Czars
i. In 1881, Alexander III succeeded his father, Alexander II, and
halted all reforms in Russia.
ii. Like his grandfather Nicholas I, Alexander III clung to the principles
of autocracy, a form of government in which he had total power.
iii. Characteristics
1. It was forbidden to worship other religions different the
Russian Orthodox Church.
2. It was forbidden to speak other languages because it could be
dangerous for their culture. It was forbidden to speak other
languages like Polish.
3. He imposed strict censorship codes on published materials
and written documents, including private letters. He checked
if the information didn’t go against the government.
4. His secret police carefully watched both secondary schools
and universities. Also, teachers had to send detailed reports
on every student.
5. Political prisoners were sent to Siberia, a remote region.
6. Jews became in target of persecution by Alexander III.
d. Russian Industrialization
i. Between 1863 and 1900s, the face of Russian economy changed
with the creation of factories.
ii. To increase the Russian industries, the government sought foreign
investors and raised taxes.
iii. At the beginning of 1900s, Russia had become the world’s fourth-
ranking producer of steel because they wanted to compete with
United States, Germany, and Great Britain.
1. Based on this economic improvement, Russia started to
create the world’s longest rail line called “Trans-Siberian
Railway”. The construction began in 1891, and it was
finished in 1916.
e. The Revolutionary Movement.
i. The growth of factories brought new problems.
1. Grueling working conditions
2. Miserably low wages
3. Child labor
 4. The government outlawed trade unions.
ii. Several revolutionary movements began to grow and compete for
power.
1. They start following the ideas of Karl Marx. (German
philosopher and economist)
a. He wrote a book called “The Communist
Manifesto” where he establishes the idea of
communism and socialism.
b. Characteristics of communism
i. Everyone should be equal in the new
government.
ii. Economy should be equal too.
iii. Especial focused on internal trade.
iv. Education should be free
v. Freedom of beliefs should be included in the
government.
2. The Marxist revolutionaries believed that the industrial
class of workers would overthrow the czar.
a. These workers would then form “a dictatorship of
the proletariat” (The workers)
3. In 1903, Russian Marxists split into two groups over
revolutionary tactics.
a. Mensheviks – wanted a broad base of popular
support for the revolution.
b. Bolsheviks – more radical – supported a small
number of committed revolutionaries willing to
sacrifice everything for change.
iii. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin)
1. In 1887, when he was 17, Lenin’s brother, Alexander, was
hanged for plotting to kill the Czar.
2. Though Alexander’s execution influenced Lenin, he
already harbored ill feeling against the government.
3. After the revolution in 1917, Russians revered him as the
“Father of the Revolution.”
4. He was the major leader of the Bolsheviks.
iv. The March Revolution
1. In March 1917, women textile workers in Petrograd led a
citywide strike.
2. In the next five days, riots flared up over shortages of
bread and fuel.
3. Nearly 200,000 workers swarmed the streets shouting
“Down with autocracy” and “Down with the war”.