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April, 1903 Marxists Revolutionaries split
Marxists revolutionaries disagree over revolutionary tactics. The more radical Bolsheviks are ready to risk everything. The charismatic Vladimir Lenin becomes the leader. -
February, 1904 Russians vs Japanese
Russia and Japan competed for control of Korea and Manchuria. They signed many agreements over territories but Russia broke them so Japan attacked Port Arthur, Manchuria, Russia. -
January 22, 1905 Revolution on Bloody Sunday
About 200,000 workers and their families went to the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg carrying a petition asking for better working conditions, personal freedom, and an elected national legislature. But Nicholas II’s generals ordered soldiers to fire on the crowd with 1000 wounded and hundreds were killed. Thus the name “Bloody Sunday.” -
May, 1906 Agreement for Freedom
Nicholas promised more freedom. He approved the creation of the Duma which was Russia’s first parliament. The first Duma met in May 1906. -
August, 1914 Russia Into the War
Nicholas II made the fateful decision to drag Russia into WWI. Russia was unprepared to handle the military and economic costs. Its weak generals and poorly equipped troops were no match for the German army. -
March, 1917 Revolution In March
Women textile workers in Petrograd led a citywide strike. In the next five days, riots flared up over shortages of bread and fuel. Nearly 200,000 workers swarmed the streets shouting, “Down with the autocracy!” and “Down with the war!” At first the soldiers obeyed orders to shoot the rioters but later sided with them. -
November, 1917 Government Crumbles
Armed factory workers stormed the Winter Palace in Petrograd. Calling themselves the Bolshevik Red Guards, they took over government offices and arrested the leaders of the provisional government. -
March, 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia and Germany signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Russia surrendered a large part of its territory to Germany and its allies. The humiliating terms of this treaty triggered widespread anger among many Russians. -
October, 1920 War Rages in Russia
The revolutionary leader, Leon Trotsky, expertly commanded the Bolshevik Red Army. From 1918 to 1920, civil war raged in Russia. Several Western nations, including the United States, sent military aid and forces Russia to help the White Army. However, they were of little help. -
March, 1921 New Policies
Lenin temporarily put aside his plan for a state-controlled economy. Instead, he resorted to a small-scale version of capitalism called the New Economic Policy. The reforms under the NEP allowed peasants to sell their surplus of crops instead of giving them to the government. -
December, 1922 Politics
The country was named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), in honor of the councils that helped launch the Bolshevik Revolution.