It's Time to Quit Stalin and Start Russian: The Background, Events, and Aftermath of the Russian Revolution
By srmalone314
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Period: to
It's Time to Quit Stalin and Get Russian: The Background, Events, and Aftermath of the Russian Revolution
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Flirting With Reform: Alexander I
Czar Alexander I ruled Russia from 1801 to 1825. Alexander was influenced by Enlightenment ideals and showed interest in reform early in his reign. However, by the the end of his rule, Alexander refused to tolerate political opposition and increased censorship of the press. -
Absolute Power: Nicholas I
Nicholas took the throne after his older brother, Alexander, died in 1825. Under him, Russians dealt with thirty years of repression and an active secret police. Nicholas tried to make everyone follow the same religion (Russian Orthodox), establish the absolute power of the Czar, and force all people in the empire to adopt Russian culture (Russification). -
Alexander Herzen Exiled
Herzen was the most prominent radical in Russia during his life. After his exile, he spent the rest of his life in Western Europe and smuggled back to Russia copies of his journal "Kolokol" (The Bell). Herzen wanted a peasant revolution that would establish a socialist state. -
The Tsar Liberator: Alexander II
Alexander II ruled from 1855 until he was assassinated in 1881, and his policy was "reform from above, rather than revolution from below." He freed 22 million serfs in 1861, created trial by jury, and tried to allow more self-government in different parts of Russia. However, each reform only led to demand for more reforms. -
Assassination of Alexander II
On this day, a terrorist killed Alexander II with a bomb. An organization named the People's Will believed acts of violence would force the government to make changes. Ironically, they murdered the czar who did more than any other to try and improve Russian society. -
Egghead: Alexander III
Alexander blamed his father's death on all the talk of reform. During his thirteen years on the throne, he returned Russia to the repressive policies of Nicholas I: orthodoxy, autocracy, and nationalism. He also instituted persecution against Russian Jews. -
The Last Romanov: Nicholas II
Nicholas II came to the throne after his father died of kidney disease at age 49. Poorly trained for leadership, Nicholas II could not handle the unrest that accompanied his reign and the Romanov dynasty ended when he was excuted by the Communists in 1918. -
Bloody Sunday
A peaceful demonstration made up of St. Petersburg workers marched on the Winter Palace to appeal for some reforms. The czar's troops fired on them, killing 70 and wounding 240. The event, named Bloody Sunday, led to unrest and strikes across the country and forced Nicholas II to create a parliament. -
World War I Begins
The Great War begins in August 1914. Russia is ill-prepared to fight this war and they will lose at least 6 million men before they pull out of the war. Unrest caused by the war leads directly to revolution in 1917. -
Death of Rasputin
Rasputin, a mystical faith healer, became a trusted friend of Nicholas II and his family. Soon, this exotic monk gained a large influence over how the government was run. A group of nobles murdered him by throwing him into a freezing river (this was only after they tried to poison, beat, and shoot him). His death is often considered the start of the Russian Revolution. -
February/March Revolution
Nicholas II loses control of the government after his troops refuse to put down revolts. The czar was forced to abdicate on March 15 and the parliament (Duma) declared it was running the government. -
Lenin Returns from Exile
Once the Russian Revolution began, the Germans helped radical leader Vladimir Lenin return to Russia. Lenin was a firm believer in Communism and wanted to end the war. He thought a vanguard of professional revolutionaries were needed to overthrow the old system in Russia. -
October/November Revolution
The Bolsheviks, led by Leon Trotsky and Lenin, take control of the provisional government. They create a new government on November 8th with Lenin as their leader; later they will be renamed the Communists. They come to power with the slogan "Peace, Land, and Bread." -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Germans force the Bolsheviks to sign a treaty pulling Russia out of World War I. Its harsh terms are never fully implemented because of Germany's eventual defeat at the hands of the Allies. -
Russian Civil War Ends
The Red Army (Communists) triumph in the three year Russian Civil War. Their opponents, called the Whites, are disorganized and did not trust each other. Before the Red Army won, 10 to 20 million Russians died in this brutal war. -
Death of Lenin
Lenin died in 1924 after suffering severe strokes two years earlier. An elaborate tomb was built for him in Moscow and his body was preserved. His death set off a power struggle to see who would succeed him as party leader. -
Stalin Establishes Control
By 1928, Stalin established himself as dictator of the Soviet Union. He had defeated his main rival for power, Leon Trotsky, by making clever political alliances and manipulating the people around him. Trotsky was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929. -
Trotsky Murdered in Mexico
Stalin's agents catch up with Trotsky in an area near Mexico City. He is murdered with an ice pick.
