RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

LENINISM

By: Daniel Oshri

 THE LIVING CONDITION OF THE
ORDINARY CITIZENS OF RUSSIA

The living condition of the ordinary citizens of Russia was often very hard for the
working class people along with peasants because they often worked for very
little pay,  may have went days without food, and worked in dangerous
conditions. These living conditions including low wages, days without food, and
dangerous work conditions ultimately led to the Russian Revolution. In addition,
angered emotions from the ordinary citizens about a czar having all power, also
led to the revolution beginning.
 THE OPI NIONS OF T HE CI TIZE NS I N REGARDS TO
T HE IR GOVE RNMENT AND VLADIM IR L ENIN’S
POLI TICAL PARTY

Vladimir Lenin and his followers made up the more radical part of the Russian
Social Democratic party (the Bolsheviks) and Lenin gained more and more
support by writing editorials for the Bolshevik newspaper criticizing the
Provisional Government. In addition, during the November Revolution, the
Provisional Government had lost most of its support which led to Lenin gaining
power and leading the new government. 
 WHAT P OLI TICAL PARTIE S WE RE ACTIVE LY
INVOLVED I N RUSS IA DURI NG THIS TIM E (T HERE
W ERE MANY!)

• Russian Social Democratic Labor Party- Bolsheviks

• Russian Social Democratic Labor Party- Mensheviks
• Union of Liberation
• Octobrist Party
• Kadets (Constitutional Democratic Party)
• Trudoviks
• Socialist Revolutionary Party
• Tsarists
 E XPLAI N IN DE TAIL , WIT H PHOTOS AND
INFORMAT ION, WHAT WAS T HE “NOVEM BER
REVOLUT ION”

• Occurred on the night of November 6, 1917 when the Bolsheviks moved against the
headquarters of the Provisional Government in Petrograd.
• The Provisional Government had lost most of its support and as a result, the
Bolsheviks moved against them.
• The Bolsheviks took hold of government buildings, the railway station, telephone
exchanges, and electric lighting plants.
• Lenin and chairman, Trotsky put their plan into action to interfere with the All-Russian
Congress of Soviets.
• At this meeting, Lenin was chosen to lead the new government and he negotiated the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany.
 P R O V ID E A S M A N Y DE TA I L S AB O U T V L A DI M I R
L E NI N, H I S P OL I T I C A L I D E A S , R US S I A D U RI N G T H AT
T IME , AN D “ L E N I NI S M ” T H AT YO U C A N I DE N T I F Y.

• Vladimir Lenin was a Russian revolutionist and head of the Bolsheviks.

• Leninism explains that dictatorship was the key cause of Communism in Russia.
• Lenin served as the first head of government of Soviet Russia/Soviet Union.
• Lenin used the works of Marx to establish a communist society.
• Lenin created the New Economic Policy.
• Russia had a small industrial working class.
• In 1924, Lenin died after leading the Soviet Union to become an established state from
revolution.
• Lenin’s slogan was “Peace, Land, and Bread.”
PART 2: STALIN BIOGRAPHY

By: Daniel Oshri & Zac Potito

 RISE TO POWER & HOW HELD ONTO
POWER

● In 1912, Vladimir Lenin chose Joseph Stalin to be on the Central

Committee of the Bolshevik party.
● 10 years later, the Soviet Union was formed and Lenin was their current
leader.
● Once Lenin died in 1924, Joseph Stalin took over as leader of the Soviet
Union.
 FIVE-YEAR PLANS

● Before Stalin, Russia was a peasant society.

● The Five Year Plans were meant to transform Russia to a peasant society into
a world superpower.
● The plan was focused on government controlling the economy.
● The government then took control of all farms, which made the farmers
unhappy.
 COLLECTIVIZED AGRICULTURE

● Collectivized Agriculture is when the government took control of the farms

in Russia.
● Many farmers disagreed, and refused to follow the orders.
● Those who did not give their farms up were killed by the government.
● The farms being controlled by government led to famine across Russia,
starving millions of citizens to death.
 CREATION OF TOTALITARIAN STATE

Stalin wanted to make the Soviet Union a strong communist state. To do this,
Stalin organized a totalitarian state, which meant that the government would be a
single-party dictatorship that controls everything about each civilian’s life. People
had to obey the government and had no individual rights. The government would
quickly silence anyone who criticized it.
Stalin used the media, which was under government control, to put out
propaganda supporting Stalin’s policies.
 BELIEFS

● Believed that the Soviet Union was surrounded by enemies and that it was
economically very far behind other countries.
● He believed that the country had to develop its industry in order to be able to
survive any attacks from other countries.
● Used terror to silence critics
● Stalin relied on propaganda and censorship to bolster support for his regime
 LONG TERM EFFECTS OF HIS
LEADERSHIP ON CITIZENS AND
WORLD

● Joseph Stalin is known to have some positive attributes to Russia but many
negatives.
● He industrialized Russia, making it the second best in the world.
● The industrialization did not affect the lives of ordinary citizens, as it only
did of the upper class and nobility.
● Joseph Stalin was not able to do much in World War II, and wasn’t able to
stop the forces of Nazi Germany.
 WHO WAS THE MORE EFFECTIVE
LEADER? (LENIN/STALIN)

Although neither Lenin or Stalin would necessarily be considered “effective”

because they both had many flaws, Lenin may have been a bit better of a leader.
While in power, Stalin was absolutely ruthless and much more violent than Lenin.
Although Stalin had developed the three 5-year plans, which were successful, he
was a merciless dictator who would do anything to turn the Soviet Union into a
modernized and industrialized country under his power. This included punishing
and/or executing any individual who did not follow his rule or agreed with what
he taught. Similarly, Lenin also had his flaws including the formation of the
Bolsheviks who were also extremely violent, even to their fellow Soviets.
Although violent, Lenin had some positive contributions. For example, Lenin’s
slogan was “Peace, Land, and Bread” which represented the Soviets who lived
under his rule. In 1924, when Lenin died, he had been able to lead the Soviet
Union to become an established state from revolution.