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Russia faced a series of crises. Russia and Japan competed for control over Korea and Manchuria. They signed treaties that Russia broke. In result, Japan retaliated by attacking the Russians at Port Arthur.
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200,00 workers and their families approached the Arthur Czar's Winter Palace with a petition asking for better working conditions, more personal freedom, and an elected nation legislature. Soldiers had orders to fire on the crowd, This event was called "Bloody Sunday," Many were killed and wounded. After this event ,a wave of strikes and violence spread. Later on, Nicholas II promised more freedom and the creation of the Duma, Russia's first parliament.
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Russia's first parliament, the Duma, met for the first time in May, 1906. Its leaders were moderates who wanted Russia to become a constitutional monarchy. Unfortunately, the Czar didn't want to share his power so the Duma dimished after 10 weeks.
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Nicholas II dragged Russia into WW1. Russia was unprepared to handle the military and economic costs. They were no match for the German army. Four million Russian soldiers died, were wonded, or became prisoners. This defeat revealed weakness of Czarist rule and military leadership.
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Women textile workers led a city-wide strike which caused riots and led to shortages of bread and fuel. Soldiers were ordered to shoot the workers, but later, they sided with them.
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Armed factory workers stormed the Winter Palace in Petrograd. They took over government offices and arrested leaders of the provisional government. They called themselves the Bolshevik Red Guards. Kerensky and his colleagues dissappeared almost as quickly as the Czarist regime they had placed.
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Russia and Germany signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Russia surrendered a large portion of its territory to Germany and its allies. The terms of this treaty triggered widespread anger among many Russians, who objected to the Bolsheviks and their policies and the murder of the Royal Family.
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Cicil War raged in Russia. Many western nations (including the U.S.) sent military aid and forces to Russia to help the White Army. Unfortunately, they were little help.
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Lenin temporarily put aside his plan for a state-controlled economy. Instead, he restored a small-scaled version of capitalism called the New Economic Policy (NEP). This allowed peasants to sell their surplus crops instead of turning them over to the government.
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Russia was named the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics (USSR). The Bolsheviks renamed their party to the communist party.. Stalin began his climb to the head of the government. He was the general secretary of the communist party.
