Background Notes

1
Background Notes

• Russian Revolution

2
Revolution

• The over throw of one form of government and the
  replacement with another form of government.

3
The Four Stages Of Revolution

• Step One The Revolution
• Step Two Period of Euphoria and
  Commitment
• Step Three Tightening of
  Authority sacrifices
  to meet goals
• Step Four Control gained by new elite

4
Timeline

• 1613 Michael Romanov becomes first Romanov tsar
• 1861 Czar Alexander II signs the emancipation
  decree freeing the Russian serfs
• 1894 Czar Nicholas II came to the throne
• 1903 Bolshevik Party formed

5
Karl Marx

• German thinker writer
• Ideas helped form the Communist Manifesto
• Das Kapital
• Outlined a new social order in which all natural
  goods and produce would be owned by the
  government in the name of the people

6
The Last Russian CzarA Czar is like a king
The Czar and his family were murdered. Remains
have been found that prove the whole family
perished
7
Rasputin

• Siberian monk.
• Led a drunken lifestyle which Alexandra refused
  to believe because he helped her son Alexi heir
  to the throne because of his illness of
  hemophilia
• Czars relatives attempted to poison him, then
  shot him 4 times, and finally drowned him.
• Rasputin was murdered

8
Revolution

• Nicholas II was not as competent a Romanoff
• He responded to the needs of people when it was
  too late
• He would give freedom and then take away.
  Alexandra was German and hated by the people
  because of the horror of WWI
• Bolshevik political party took power after the
  Czar was over thrown

9
Lenin

• Name Ulyanov (changed to avoid arrest).
• Returned to Russia after the 1917 revolution.
• The Bolshevik party accepted Lenin and his ideas
  of communism one party rule.
• He maintained peace amongst the political
  factions

10
Timeline

• 1905 Angry peasants first protest in St.
  Petersburg Square Russias first parliament, the
  duma, convenes
• 1914 Outbreak of World War I
• 1916 Nobles kill Rasputin Czar loses loyalty
  of people
• 1917 February Revolution Czar Nicolas II
  forced to abdicate throne Lenin and Bolsheviks
  take control of government

11
Leon Trotsky

• Son of a Jewish Farmer who was an early follower
  of Marxism Worked with Lenin
• Took part in the October Revolution 1917.
• Opposed Stalin
• Eventually arrested and murdered in 1940

12
Timeline

• 1918 Civil War breaks out between White and Red
  Army Bolshevik Party renamed Communist Party
• 1921 Red Army defeats White army Bolsheviks in
  control of the government
• 1922 Russia renamed Union of Soviet Socialist
  Republics
• 1924- Lenin dies and Stalin takes over the
  government

13
Joseph Stalin

• Stalin means steel
• Absolute ruler 1929-1955.
• He helped turn Russia into an industrial nation,
  helped defeat the Nazis, established communist
  regimes throughout Eastern Europe.
• Institutionalized terror.

14
Teheran Conference, Iran, 1943

• The Big Three
• Russia Stalin
• USA FDR
• Britain Winston Churchill
• Meeting of Allied leaders to consolidate support
  against Germany during WWII

15
USSR/Soviet Flag

• The hammer symbol of the proletariat and the
  sickle the peasants.
• The gold star unity and contained five points
  (one for each class in communist society -
  workers, peasants, intellectuals, youths and
  soldiers).
• The red background revolution
  and was emulated around
  the world by most communist
  countries.

16
Steps to Conflict
The following are the 3 steps to conflict and the
specifics of the Russian Revolution

• Despair Can Lead to Conflict
• Oppression of the working class
• Suppression of the human spirit
• Loss of personal freedoms
• Conflicts

Leads to overthrow
17
Loss of Hope -Workers work to over throw the
wealthy
Poor Economy -
Oppression -
Communism
Autocracy unrestricted rule by
one Monarchy-Rule by one, royal class
Socialism
Totalitarianism
Elitism
Purges

• Despair Can Lead to Conflict
• Oppression of the working class
• Suppression of the human spirit
• Loss of personal freedoms
• Conflicts

Propaganda
Leads to overthrow
18
General Hopelessness
Russian
Nicholas II Alexandra Romanov--Hemophilia
Revolution
The October Revolution
Communal Property Secret meetings
Rasputin Fanatic
Bloody Sunday
cheka
Bread Peace
Hunger and War
Lenin, Trotsky, Karl Marx, Stalin
Bolsheviks Comrades
Loss of Hope- Workers work to over
throw the wealthy
Duma
Oligarchy, rule by few
Poor Economy - Oppression Socialism
Communism-
Autocracy unrestricted rule by one Monarchy-Rule
by one, royal class
Purges
Das Kapital
Totalitarianism
Capitalism
Elitism
Propaganda

• Despair Can Lead to Conflict
• Oppression of the working class
• Suppression of the human spirit
• Loss of personal freedoms
• Conflicts

Leads to overthrow
19
George Orwell

• 1903-1950

20
George Orwell

• Born Eric Blair
• 1903, Bengal India
• Father custom official
• in India
• Returned to England for education

21
George Orwell

• Scholarship to Eton
• Teacher was Aldus Huxley, author of A Brave New
  World
• Police official in Burma, where he learned to
  dislike imperialism

22
George Orwell

• Experiences led to his fascination with mans
  dominion over man
• Dressed in old clothes and mixed with tramps and
  beggars to gather information for his writings.

23
George Orwell

• After writing many articles, his first book Down
  and Out in Paris and London was published in
  1933, a strong statement on social injustice
• 1933 he changes his name to George Orwell. George
  because it is so English and Orwell was a river
  near his home.

24
Socialism

• Married Eileen OShaugnessy
• Worked as a Teacher and tutor
• Took his wife to Spain to fight in the Spanish
  Civil War
• Returned to England and wrote of his experiences

25
Writes Fiction Non Fictions

• His novel, Coming Up For Air in 1939 foreshadowed
  the bombing of London during WWII
• Orwell wrote Animal Farm between 1943 and 1944,
  wide acclaim for his insights on human nature,
  socialism and communism.
• Animal Farm explores what power can do to
  individuals

26
Life of Tragedy

• Tragically lost his wife during a minor surgery
• Cared for their adopted son until his death
• Fell in poor health

27
Final Years

• Married Sonia Brownell, his editorial assistant.
• Died January 23, 1950 of tubercular hemorrhage
• Age 46

28
Last Novel

• 1984 was Orwells Last Novel. The fascinating
  novel, paints a bleak future for humans if we are
  not careful to guard our freedoms. Curiously some
  of his predictions for society have proven true.

29
George Orwell

• George Orwell strongly believed that communism
  was dangerous
• Concerned with mans power over others
• Believed in socialism and social justice
• Orwells works were political and science
  fiction. Animal Farm as well as 1984 are
  considered science fiction

30
Animal Farm Settings

• Historical Setting Russia
• Literary Setting England
• Historical Dates 1917--1945