In April 1915 the Tsar took personal command and claimed he had God on his side but as he lost the war, the German people lost faith in him and God.
As Russia’s economy grew worse riots started due to the lack of food and coal. The soldiers agreed with the people rioting and refused to fire at them; the soldiers killed their officers and fired at the police. St Petersburg was taken over by revolutionaries, many of them being Bolsheviks, and the Duma had to set up a committee which then set up a provisional government. The revolutionaries set up groups called Soviets to rule them. More and more people, including soldiers, joined the revolution and the Tsar was eventually sent to Siberia.
Lenin, who was exiled in Switzerland, told Russia to pull out of the war and so Germany sent him back to Russia. When Lenin came back to Russia he became more active in the revolution and he used the mottos “Peace, bread and land” and “All power to the Soviets” to encourage people to revolt.
Kerensky became minister of war in the Provisional Government and he too thought Russia could still win the war but Lenin argued. Kerensky then ordered the soldiers of the Provisional Government to open fire on the Bolsheviks. Kerensky soon became head of the Provisional Government and still had the support of the Mensheviks.
In July 1917 Lenin was found guilty of treason and fled to Finland.
In 1917 the last major Russian offensive failed in the war and discredited the Provisional Government and the Tsar’s government even further. General Kornilov was then appointed Commander in Chief of the armies and he still thought that the military could take control of Russia and win the war. When he attempted to take control of Petrograd (previously St Petersburg but renamed for having a German name) Lenin and his Red Guard stopped him. In July the Bolsheviks had been very unpopular but now they had saved the revolution they were very popular.
The soviets became increasingly under Bolshevik control and in October Lenin returned. Trotsky became in charge of the Bolshevik army and they attacked the Winter Palace and took over. A new government was set up called Sovnarkom.
Trotsky was the Chief Negotiator with Germany and he delayed them in the war allowing the Bolsheviks to spread across Russia and gain strength.
Soon after an armistice was signed. This cost Russia a third of its farming land, a third of its income and half of its industries. It was a high price for Russia to pay but the Russians were so desperate to get out of the war that they thought it was worth it.
Lenin started to issue decrees, these did such things as took land from the Tsar and the nobles and gave it to the peasants and made an eight-hour day.
On 3rd December 1917 a peace conference between Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary was held at Brest-Litovsk, a town on the border with Germany. Trotsky was Russia’s Foreign Affairs minister and he drew out the talks for nine weeks hoping for a social revolution in Germany because Russia had a socialist government and he thought this would bring the countries closer. No revolution occurred and Lenin knew he had to make peace as Germany had advanced very close to Petrograd.
In March 1918 the treaty of Brest-Litovsk was made in which Russia lost all its western lands (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, The Ukraine and Georgia) and thus lost sixty-two million people (twenty-six per cent of the population), twenty-seven per cent of its farm land, twenty-six per cent of its railways and seventy four per cent of its iron ore and coal. Also there was a fine of 300 millions roubles to be paid to Germany.
This was a very harsh treaty and Russia paid a great price for peace but it was Russia’s only option if they did not want to be taken over by Germany.
