- Following the Congress of Vienna and the Napoleonic Wars, Europe maintained a mostly peaceful atmosphere until World War I. This did not mean that the causes of warfare were gone however, just buried. The Conservative Absolutist rulers of Europe decided to mutually give up war with each other, however the powerful British Empire and the rising German Empire began to rival each other in international prowess and industry. They mired the continent in a series of alliances that pitted the Triple Entente of Russia, Britain, and France against the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire. World War I subsequently erupted following the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand, which destroyed the weak empires of Europe, namely the Russian Empire which crumbled following decades of poverty and Czarist rule. Throughout Europe people revolted as the horrors of modern warfare lacking modern tactics made its way back home.
- Kaiser Wihelm II
- 1859-1941
- German Emperor and King of Prussia. He was the ruler of the German Empire and last Kaiser following Germany's defeat in WWI.
- He launched Germany into a new direction of foreign affairs, however he was not a good Commander in Chief. He brought Germany to the status of superpower, but saw his hopes of German glory dashed in loss of WWI and the indemnities forced upon him.
2. Otto von Bismarck
- 1815-1898
- Was a German statesman who unified all the German provinces together to create the German Empire.
- He instigated the Franco-Prussian War in an effort to unify the German states and create a German superpower.
3. Georges Clemenceau
- 1841-1929
- French journalist and statesman
- Clemenceau was one of the main people for designing the Treaty of Versailles
4. David Lloyd George
- 1863-1945
- British liberal politican and statesman
- David Lloyd George was the leader of the Liberal party of the United Kingdom, as well as head of the wartime coalition government.
5. Vittorio Orlando
- 1860-1952
- Italian diplomat and politician
- Was elected as the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 1897, and was consistently reelected until 1925. Supported Mussolini and was a big part of the Paris Peace Conference.
6. Woodrow Wilson
- 1856-1924
- Was an American President and leader of the United States during World War I.
- Despite being elected on an anti-war platform, he joined up with the Allies and helped drive the final nail into the coffin of the German Empire.
7. Vladamir Lenin
- 1870-1924
- Russian Marxist and Communist politician
- Lenin led the October Revolution in 1917 in Russia. He was one of the main influences of the Russian Revolution.
8. Czar Nicholas II
- 1868-1918
- The last Emperor of Russia
- During Nicolas II's reign, Russia went from being one of the great powers in the world, to going through economic and military collapse.
9. Leon Trotsky
- 1879-1940
- Russian Marxist, Soviet Politician, and leader of the Red Army
- A strong leader during the Russia Revolution and one of the main influences alongside Vladamir Lenin.
10. Franz Ferdinand
- 1863-1914
- Archduke of Austria
- His assassination triggered Austria-Hungary to declare war against Serbia. Which caused the Central Powers and Allies to get involved and therefore the start of World War I.
- Berlin Conference
- 1954
- Meeting of the "Big Four" foreign ministers.
- United States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union Prime Ministers met in Berlin to discuss a settlement for the Korean War.
2. Dreyfus Affair
- 1894-1906
- Was a political scandal that wrongly accused and imprisoned a French-Jewish army captain in prison for alleged treason.
- He was accused of selling secrets to the Germans, and was tried in a kangaroo court and sentenced to life imprisonment. As news of the sham trial grew, a social battle began in France over his trial which had him eventually exonerated and freed from prison due to the lack of evidence against him. This incident was one of the major examples of growing antisemitism in Europe.
3. Franco-Prussian War
- 1870
- Was a conflict between France and Prussia that was orchestrated by Otto von Bismarck.
- The French were baited into the fight by the Prussians by the EMS telegram made by Otto von Bismarck. The Prussians soundly crushed them and forced the German principalities to align with Prussia to make the German Empire.
4. Trench Warfare
- 1914-1917
- Was a new type of warfare that developed during World War I.
- Due to the advanced in weaponry and industrialization, World War I quickly became bogged down and both sides dug extensive trenches to defend themselves from the new bombs and advanced weaponry that the Industrial Revolution birthed.
5. February Revolution
- 1917
- Was a series of protests that turned into revolution and removed Tsar Nicolas II from power.
- The ongoing hardships due to World War I led to the protests in the Russian capital that were shortly joined by soldiers who abandoned the front.
6. Treaty of Brest-Litvosk
- March 3, 1918
- Was a treaty between Germany and Russia to end their side of the war.
- The treaty seceded large portions of Polish and Ukrainian territory to Germany and the Central powers and allowed them to turn their attention to the Western Front.
7. Treaty of Versailles
- June 28, 1919
- Treaty that officially ended World War I
- The treaty put the blame on Germany and forced them to pay back the victorious allies while it partitioned territories from the three defeated empires among the allies and the people of each region.
8. Provisional Government
- 1917
- Was set up as a democracy following the ousting of Tsar Nicholas II.
- They were led by Alexander Kerensky and immediately took over, however they let the Bolsheviks grow until they posed enough of a threat and deposed the provisional government.
9. October Revolution
- 1917
- Was a revolution by the Bolsheviks that ousted the provisional government in Russia
- The Bolsheviks organized and took St. Petersburg quickly, but they had to fight and convince the rest of the country to join their side.
10. Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
- 1475-1564
- Killing of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary
- The assassination triggered Austria-Hungary to declare war against Serbia. Which caused the Central Powers and Allies to get involved and therefore the start of World War I.
- Describe and analyze how the leaders going into the Russian Revolution affected political and social trends in the time period of 1860 to 1917.
The social and political trends were affected greatly by the leaders going into the Russian Revolution. The trends set had the same thought behind them, the want for change and new beginnings. From Czar Nicolas II's reign into the revolution, citizens were unhappy with each part of the government: Czar Nicolas, Alexander Kerenisky and the provisional government, and Lenin.
Czar Nicolas was the last Czar to rule Russia. People began to undermine him because of his weak leadership. For example, he did not have good relations with the normal, everyday citizens of Russia. He also publicly did not trust the Duma (the "Parliament" of Russia). Because of this, educated middle class, the Duma itself, and many others criticized him. Out of anger, Nicolas adjourned the Duma, which caused anger and unrest among the people. What caused more unrest was when Nicolas left the country, leaving it in charge with his wife, Czarina Alexandra and close family friend and advisor Rasputin - a man said to have "special healing powers." The public did not trust Rasputin, and he was later he was murdered. The situation was dire politically and things were getting worse socially. Food was short and many could not heat their homes or support their family. People, already unhappy with Nicolas, put the all of the blame on him. He soon abdicated from the throne. This public outcry of unrest and displeasure was the first step of political change towards the Russian Revolution.
The next part and step toward the Russian Revolution was the leadership of Alexander Kereinsky and the provisional government. Under provisional government, new social reforms began to show such as freedom of religion, speech, and the right to assemble. However, some people did not like reforms and wanted "old Russia back." Alexander Kereinsky took power and against advisement, continued the war. Soldiers, however, were stripped of authority by the Edict of Petrograd Soviet, and power was placed in the common soldier. Soldiers were really angry and military discipline within the army collapsed. Because of this the overall offensive attack on Germany to fail, causing low morale and Kereinsky a failure.
The final "big step" towards Revolution was the political leadership of Vladimir Lenin. Lenin - a firm believer in Marxism - updated Marxist ideals for Russia. He told the low morale people that the only way they could get ride of capitalism, which he said was the root of all problems, was a violent uprising. He believed, and convinced many others to believe, that a social revolution was possible. He knew that the Revolution needed human leadership, and he was that man. He, along with the Bolsheviks - the "majority" party, rallied behind his cause. People frustrated with the past governments liked his ideas, which Lenin knew would happen. Although that beginning ended with Lenin going into hiding, Lenin proved to citizens that a Revolution was possible. He later came back and worked with Leon Trotsky to further pursue revolution.
The overall trend throughout the period of 1860 to 1917 was frustration and dissatisfaction with government and social problems. The multitude of issues all led up to the Russian citizens getting more and more fed up, and finally in 1917, revolting against the Russian government.
E) Top Dog Analysis: Czar Nicolas was the last Czar to rule Russia. People began to undermine him because of his weak leadership. For example, he did not have good relations with the normal, everyday citizens of Russia. He also publicly did not trust the Duma (the "Parliament" of Russia). Because of this, educated middle class, the Duma itself, and many others criticized him. Out of anger, Nicolas adjourned the Duma, which caused anger and unrest among the people. What caused more unrest was when Nicolas left the country, leaving it in charge with his wife, Czarina Alexandra and close family friend and advisor Rasputin - a man said to have "special healing powers." The public did not trust Rasputin, and he was later he was murdered. The situation was dire politically and things were getting worse socially. Food was short and many could not heat their homes or support their family. People, already unhappy with Nicolas, put the all of the blame on him. He soon abdicated from the throne. This public outcry of unrest and displeasure was the first step of political change towards the Russian Revolution.
The next part and step toward the Russian Revolution was the leadership of Alexander Kereinsky and the provisional government. Under provisional government, new social reforms began to show such as freedom of religion, speech, and the right to assemble. However, some people did not like reforms and wanted "old Russia back." Alexander Kereinsky took power and against advisement, continued the war. Soldiers, however, were stripped of authority by the Edict of Petrograd Soviet, and power was placed in the common soldier. Soldiers were really angry and military discipline within the army collapsed. Because of this the overall offensive attack on Germany to fail, causing low morale and Kereinsky a failure.
The final "big step" towards Revolution was the political leadership of Vladimir Lenin. Lenin - a firm believer in Marxism - updated Marxist ideals for Russia. He told the low morale people that the only way they could get ride of capitalism, which he said was the root of all problems, was a violent uprising. He believed, and convinced many others to believe, that a social revolution was possible. He knew that the Revolution needed human leadership, and he was that man. He, along with the Bolsheviks - the "majority" party, rallied behind his cause. People frustrated with the past governments liked his ideas, which Lenin knew would happen. Although that beginning ended with Lenin going into hiding, Lenin proved to citizens that a Revolution was possible. He later came back and worked with Leon Trotsky to further pursue revolution.
The overall trend throughout the period of 1860 to 1917 was frustration and dissatisfaction with government and social problems. The multitude of issues all led up to the Russian citizens getting more and more fed up, and finally in 1917, revolting against the Russian government.
- Grigori Rasputin had many names during his time including Mad Monk, Strannik, psychic, and healer. Rasputin's rise to "power" in Russia, came when he believed that he could heal the child of Nicolas II and Alexandra's, Czar and Czarina of Russia. Alexi, their son, had hemophilia, a disease of the blood. Rasputin, near or far, was said to have healing powers over the boy, and the doctor's dire predictions of Alexi's death was put to rest by Rasputin. The Czarina was so happy with Rasputin, she began as friend and holy man to the family. Then, things began to change within the citizens of Russia. Rasputin became the center of political controversy that began with the struggle of all political groups, including monarchists, anti-monarchists, and revolutionaries. Rasputin was falsely accused of many atrocities including the raping of a nun. As things progressed, the public used Rasputin as a scapegoat, blaming all of Russia's social, economic, and political struggles on him. They used his friendship with the royal family against him, as well as the Czar, causing the Czar to step down. However, the most interesting thing was the murder attempts of Rasputin. The first was by Guseva who thrusted a knife into Rasputin's abdomen causing what seemed like a mortal injury, however Rasputin recovered and lived to see another day. The second murder attempt was by Prince Felix Yusupov and Duke Dmitri Pavlovich. They pretended that the wife of the Prince was entertaining guests. When Rasputin got there, he was poisoned through the cakes that he ate and the wine that he drank. The amount of poison should have killed him, but had little to no effect on Rasputin. The prince became anxious because the poison was not working, so after running upstairs multiple times to consult his counterparts, he came down with a gun and shot Rasputin. However, that did not kill Rasputin, when being checked on by Yusupov, Rasputin opened his eyes and fought back. Scared that he would not die, the Prince hit him three time in the back. Still nervous, the Prince took his body and threw Rasputin in the river. What puzzles many today, is that the autopsy of Rasputin says that Rasputin died of not poisoning or gunshot wounds, but of drowning. Rasputin through his life became the center of social unrest and many propaganda movements against him. All through that, Rasputin made what some call miraculous movements and throughout everything, had the trust of the Czarina throughout his life.
F)Timeline:
G) Images:
No comments:
Post a Comment