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Lenin's Brother is Hanged
Lenin's brother was executed for plotting to kill Czar Alexander III -
Lenin is exiled
Vladimir Lenin is exiled to Siberia for preaching revolutionary ideas. He continued to teach these ideas in Siberia. -
World War I Begins
This date marked the beginning of WWI, which Russia was involved in. The Czar of Russia kept fighting in the war until the people of Russia were fed up with it; this led to a revolution. -
Czar Nicholas II Goes to the front
Czar Nicholas II went to the war front, leaving his wife in charge. She came to rely on an illiterate peasant, Rasputin. Russian nobles did not like him very much. -
Rasputin was Murdered
Rasputin was the peasant the Czarina came to rely on for advice when the Czar was gone. Russian political leaders did not trust him. He was led to a palace, poisoned with enough cyanide to kill several men, shot in the chest, shot again when he was trying to run away, beat with clubs, and thrown into a freezing cold river where he drowned. -
March Revolution
This is known as the February Revolution to the Russians because they had a different calender at the time. In St. Petersburg, there were people on strike for food because they were starving. Many people were fed up with the war. Riots caused the political and military leaders to advise the Czar to step down from the throne, which he did. -
Lenin Returns from exile
Lenin returned from his exile in Siberia. Lenin continued his revolutionary teachings and ideas. He organized a group of people that he would later use to invade the government. -
November Revolution
Known as the October Revolution in Russia because Russia used a different calender at the time. In just a matter of days, Lenin's "Red Gaurds" (armed factory workers) overthrew the Russian government, which no longer had support from anyone. When the armed rebels stormed into a room in the Winter Palace where a political meeting was taking place, the people in the palace surrendered without any bloodshed. Lenin became the new leader of Russia. -
Change in Calenders
The new Bolshevik government changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calender, turning February 1 into February 14. Technically, for Russia, there was no February 2-13 of 1918 because of this change. The use of the old calender caused the November and March Revolutions to be known as the October and February Revolutions to the Russians. -
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
This treaty gave up a huge chunk of its territory and its population. This was large price they felt they had to pay so that they could resolve conflicts back home. -
A Bolshevik Name Change
The Bolshevik Party changed their name to the Communist Party, All this was was simply a name change but under the name "Communism" some peopl like Stalin took things to the extreme. -
Russian Civil War Begins
This war was wagainst the "Reds" and "Whites". The "Reds" were the Bolsheviks and the "Whites" were the counterrevolutionaries (the people in favor of the Czar). -
Former Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed
This is to prevent them from being a symbol of hope for counterrevolutionaries. -
Russian Civil War Ends
The fighting between the Whites and Reds ceased and the Reds prevailed. Lenin begins focusing on growing his country than fighting against counterrevolutionaries. -
The USSR is established
Communists produced a constitution that was a combination of democratic and socialist ideas. This united most of the old empire of Russia under the USSR or Soviet Union. -
Death of a Leader
Vladimir Lenin died on this date, bringing sadness to his followers. His death also meant that there must be a new leader to be chosen. The new leader would either be Stalin or Trotsky, both revolutionaries that helped Lenin. The new leader ended up being Stalin, and Trotsky fled the country. Lenin's body was preserved on display for 65 years. -
Stalin Begins his 5-year Plan
Stalin aimed at building heavy industry, improving transportation, and increasing farm output. He brought all economic activity under government control. -
The Great Purge
Began in 1934 (exact date unknown) The Great Purge was Stalin's reign of terror where he used his secret police to carry out his orders. Millions of people would be executed or sent to labor camps where people would die from over work. Stalin's reign of terror killed 20 million people; compare that to Hitler, who killed 12 million. -
Trotsky is Assassinated
Trotsky fled the country after he lost the election against Stalin to be Lenin's successor. He was assassinated in Mexico by having an ice pick slammed into his skull. -
Germany invaded the USSR
This event was ithe beginning of WWII for Russia -
Death of Stalin
On this date, we know that Stalin died. We do not know, however, how he died. People believed that Stalin was planning to start a WWIII. By the time the Soviet Union had become a military superpower and a world leader in heavy industry.
