Russian Revolution

What happened during the revolution?

In 1905, Russia’s people were loosing faith in Nicholas II, the Russian Tsar. In
that same year, Russia was defeated by the Japanese in number of navy
battles. Yet the one event that unleashed mass action and set Russia on the
path to revolution was the shooting of hundreds of unarmed demonstrators.
This happened in St Petersburg on the 22 of January 1905. This massacre
was named 'Bloody Sunday' and triggered a wave of massive demonstration
and strikes throughout the empire.

In 1917, there were two revolutions in Russia, the February revolution and the
October revolution. The results of the February revolution were the abdication
of Tsar Nicholas 2nd, the collapse of imperial Russia and the end of the
Romanov dynasty and the beginning for the provisional Government. In the
October revolution, the provisional Government was over thrown by the
Bolsheviks.

What were the Russians revolting about?

During the Russian revolution in 1905, the peasants in the Baltic States took
this event as their cue to revolt against their current rulers. Tsarist Russia, the
Kingdom of Sweden, and the Baltic German had all ruled the Estonian and
Latvian peasants at different times in history.
The Lithuanian peasants were governed by Russia, before this, the Kingdom
of Poland (1569 to 1791). They saw this period in time as an opportunity to
rule them selves and to finally take control over their destiny, though this didn't
lead into independence at this time.
In 1918 the Baltic State’s independence emerged and went on till 1940.

WW1 placed a horrendous strain on Russia’s weak government and

economy, resulting in large shortages and hunger.
The mismanagement and failures of the war turned the people and soldiers
against the Tsar. It was the Tsar’s decision to take personal command of the
army, which made it seem that he was responsible for the defeats.
In March 1917, the Tsar lost control of the streets, soldiers and finally the
Duma, resulting in his forced Abdication on 15th March 1917.

What changed as a result of the revolution?

Independence for the Baltic countries was constantly being
declared and was finally recognized.
In May 1918, Britain, France and Italy recognized Estonian
Independence.
In February 1918 Estonia and Lithuania declared their
independence. Following this, Latvia declared their Independence
in November.
These newly founded Baltic States set up democratically elected
single-chamber parliaments.
Presidents were elected to build the new government in Latvia and
Lithuania.
There were no Presidents elected in Estonia, instead, a Prime
Minister would take care of any official duties. Konstantin Pats
became Estonia’s Prime Minister for the newly formed
Government, while in Latvia, Karlis Ulmanis and in Lithuania,
Antanas Smetona were the presidents for their respective
Governments.
Unfortunately all three of these governments had a short lived
democracy and fell to dictatorship. The Lithuania democratic
government was over thrown in 1926 and by 1934 so were Estonia
and Latvia.

How does Orwell represent the revolution in Animal Farm?

Orwell represents the revolution in many ways, mostly through similarities in
characters. Orwell associates real characters with the characters of the book.
Here are some significant points that relate to Animal Farm and the Russian
Revolution:
 Animal Farm
Mr. Jones:
• He was irresponsible to his
animals because he lets
them starve.
• Is sometimes cruel, e.g.
beats them with whip.
• Yet is still kind e.g. mixes
milk in animal mash.
Old Major:
• Taught Animalism.
• Workers did the work, rich
kept the money, animals
revolted.
• Died before the revolution.
Animalism:
• There are no owners, no
rich, and no poor.
• Workers get a better life
and all the animals are
equal.
• Everybody takes ownership
for the farm.
Snowball:
• He is young, smart, good
speaker, and idealistic.
• Wants to make life better
for everyone.
• One of the leaders of the
revolution.
• Chased away by
Napoleon’s dogs.
Russian Revolution
Czar Nicholas II:
• He is a poor leader.
• Is cruel and sometimes brutal
with his opponents.
• Sometimes kind e.g. hired
students as spies to make
some money.
Karl Marx:
• Invented communism.
• “Workers of the world unite”,
take over the government.
• Died before the Russian
Revolution.
Communism:
• The same, i.e. no owners, no
rich nor poor.
• All people are equal.
• Government owns everything,
so do the people.
Leon Trotsky:
• The other leader of the
October Revolution.
• Pure communist and followed
Marx.
• He wanted to improve life for
all everyone in Russia.
• Was chased away by Lenin’s
Secret Police.
Napoleon:
• Was not a good speaker
and was not as clever as
Snowball.
• He was cruel, brutal,
selfish, devious, and
corrupt.
• His ambition is for power,
and he killed his
opponents.
• He used dogs (named
Moses, and Squealor) to
control the animals.
Squealor:
• Is a big mouth, and talks a
lot.
• He convinces the animals
to believe and follow
Napoleon.
• Changes and manipulates
the commandments.
The Dogs:
• A private army that uses
fear to force animals to
work.
• They killed or intimidated
any opponent of Napoleon.
• Another part of Napoleon's
strategy to control animals.
Moses the Raven:
• Tells animals about Sugar
Candy mountain i.e. Heaven.
• The animals can go there if
they work hard enough.
• Snowball and Major were
against him.
• Napoleon let him stay. His
reason being, He taught
animals to work and not
complain.
Joseph Stalin:
• Was not a good speaker, and
did not educated like Trotsky
did.
• He was the same as
Napoleon, did not follow
Marx's ideas.
• He only cared for power, and
killed all that opposed him.
• He used Secret police, allowed
church, and propagandized.
Propaganda department of Lenin's
government:
• They worked for Stalin to
support his image.
• Used any lie to convince the
people to follow Stalin.
• Benefited from the fact that
education was controlled.
KGB - Secret Police:
• They’re not really police, but
forced support for Stalin.
• They used force, often killed
entire families for
disobedience.
• Completely loyal, part of
Lenin's power, even over army.
Religion:
• Marx Quotes, "Opiate of the
people", that was a lie.
• It was used to make people
not complain and do to keep
doing their work.
• Religion was endured because
people would work.
• Stalin knew that religion would
stop violent revolutions.
Mollie:
• She was vain. She loved
her beauty and herself.
• She didn't think about the
animal farm.
• She went with anyone who
gave her what she wanted.
Boxer:
• He was a strong, hard
working horse, and
believes in Animal Farm.
• He quotes, "Napoleon is
always right", "I must work
harder".
• He gives his all, but is
betrayed by Napoleon who
sells him.
Benjamin:
• Was an old, wise donkey
that was suspicious of the
revolution.
• He thinks "nothing ever
changes".
• His suspicions became
true.
Overall details about revolution:
• This whole event was
supposed to make life
better for all.
• In the end, life was worse.
Vain, selfish people in Russia and the
world:
• Some people didn't care about
revolution at this time and
thought only about
themselves.
• People who went to other
countries that offered more.
Dedicated, but tricked communist
supporters:
• The people who believed
Stalin because he was
"Communist".
• Many stayed loyal after it was
obvious that Stalin was a
tyrant.
• They were betrayed by Stalin
who ignored and killed them.
Skeptical people in Russia and outside
Russia:
• These people weren't sure the
revolution would change
anything.
• They realized that a crazy
leader could call himself
communist.
• They knew that communism
wouldn't work with power.
Overall details of Russian Revolution:
• It was supposed to fix
problems from Czar.
• Life in Russia was even worse
long after revolution.