WWI Aftermath: Treaty of Versailles and the Birth of the Soviet Union

Consequences of World War I

Following the conclusion of World War I, the Allied powers convened peace talks to determine the future global order.

The Paris Peace Conference and the Big Four

• The Allies held peace talks at Versailles, France, in 1919.
• The principal leaders involved were known as “The Big Four”:
  • Italy: Vittorio Emanuele Orlando
  • France: Georges Clemenceau
  • Great Britain (GB): David Lloyd George
  • USA: Woodrow Wilson
• U.S. President Woodrow Wilson presented his plan for lasting peace, known as the Fourteen Points, advocating for “peace without victory.”
• A key principle was Self-determination: the right of different nationalities to form their own independent nations.
• Wilson's 14th point called for the formation of the League of Nations.

The Treaty of Versailles (1919)

The leaders accepted the Treaty of Versailles, which aimed to weaken Germany significantly:

• Germany lost all its colonies in Africa and Asia.
• Germany was forbidden from placing soldiers in the Rhineland, which served as a buffer zone between Germany and France.
• Germany was required to make massive financial reparations (payments) to the Allies, initially charged at 37 billion dollars.

Post-War Geopolitical Changes

• The League of Nations met for the first time in 1920 and operated until 1940.
• The war led to significant geopolitical restructuring in Europe:
  • Several new European nations were created, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
  • Austria and Hungary became separate nations.
  • Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia were created.
• The Ottoman Empire ended.
• Former Ottoman territories in Asia became mandates—territories placed under the control of another power:
  • Syria was placed under French control.
  • Iraq and Palestine were placed under British control.
• Woodrow Wilson died in 1924.

The Russian Revolution (1917)

Imperial Russia and Growing Discontent

• In the 18th century, Peter the Great sought to modernize Russia.
• The ruling Romanov dynasty held absolute power, leading to widespread discontent among peasants and workers.

The Road to Revolution

• On January 22, 1905, a group of workers marched in Saint Petersburg.
• Soldiers killed several hundred marchers on this day, which became known as “Bloody Sunday.” This massacre sparked revolutionary fervor.
• Workers carried red banners as a symbol of the revolution.
• Worker councils, known as Soviets, were formed.
• Czar Nicholas II created a Russian parliament called the Duma.
• In early 1917, widespread protests and military unrest forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne.
• Initially, middle-class representatives joined the provisional government.

Bolshevik Takeover and the Birth of the USSR

• On November 7, 1917 (the October Revolution), the Bolsheviks seized control of Russia, led by Vladimir Lenin, a follower of Karl Marx.
• Lenin aimed for workers to take control of all factories.
• The subsequent Russian Civil War pitted the Red Army (Communists) against the White Army (anti-Bolshevik forces).
• The Red Army executed Czar Nicholas II and his family.
• By 1921, the Bolsheviks had won control of Russia.
• In 1922, Lenin renamed Russia the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or the Soviet Union.
• Lenin's revolutionary commitment was partly fueled by the death of his brother.
• A famous quote attributed to Lenin is: “He who is not with us is against us.”
• Lenin died in 1924.