-
Centuries of autocratic rule by the czars
The czars in the autocratic centuries were very harsh rulers. If people were to worship outside of the Russian Orthodox Church, or we to speak a different language other than Russian, they were considered dangerous. Autocratic rule by the Czars was when the Czar had ultimate power over the entire country. -
Nicholas II becomes Czar of Russia
When Nicholas II became czar, he continued with the tradition autocracy. He then began making plans to buildup Russian industries which lead to the government to raise taxes and seek foreign investors. He was surprised to see times changing quickly and Russia industrialize. -
Revolutionary movements begin and compete for power
As a result of these problems with working conditions many Revolutionary movements began. One group who called themselves Marxist revolutionaries believed that the workers would overthrow the Czars and gain control of the country. In 1903 the Marxist's split in two groups the more moderate Mensheviks and the more radical Bolsheviks. -
Russia loses war with Japan
Russia broke an agreement over territories with Japan, leading to Japan attacking the Russians at Port. The repeated losses by the Russians sparked anger back home ultimately leading to revolt. This war showed the czar’s weakness and the revolts that were bound to break out. -
Bloody Sunday
200,000 workers and their families went to the czar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg with a petition asking for better working conditions, more personal freedom, and an elected national legislature. Nicholas II then told his soldiers to fire into the crowd killing several hundred people and wounding 1,000. -
Russia enters World War I
Russia was forced into WW1 by Nicholas II and was unprepared to handle the military and economic costs. They had weak generals and poorly equipped troops making it easy for the Germans to defeat them. In less than a year 4 million Russian soldiers had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. -
Dissatisfied workers organize strike
Even though there were growing factories in Russia, there were harsh work conditions, very low wages, and child labor. To demonstrate that the workers were upset with these factors, they started strikes. This then lead to a group that followed the words or Karl Marx and started the Marxist revolutionaries who planned to overthrow the czar. -
The March Revolution
The March Revolution was led by women textile workers becoming a citywide strike. Over the next five days riots continued over shortages of bread and fuel. Nearly 200,000 people shouted in the streets about the war where soldiers later joined in with them. -
Lenin Returns to Russia
The Germans saw Lenin and his Bolsheviks as a threat to the Russians war effort against Germany. With this, Lenin was then sent to Petrograd in a railway boxcar arriving in April 1917. After many years of exile Russia arranged Lenin’s return although they believed that he could once again stir up troubles. -
Czar Nicholas abdicates the throne
As a local protest exploded into an uprising known as the March Revolution, Czar Nicholas II was forced to step down. A year later he and his family was executed by revolutionaries. -
Provisional government is established
Leaders of the Duma established a provisional government led by Alexander Kerensky. Kerensky decided to continue fighting in the war which lost him support and worsened the conditions in Russia. Soviets were created as people got angrier and gained power. -
Bolshevik Revolution topples provisional government
Armed factory workers stormed into the Winter Palace calling themselves the Bolshevik Red Guards and took over government offices and arrested leaders of the provisional government. Lenin and the Bolsheviks soon gained control in many Russian cities. Lenin gained many followers fast and without warning, armed factory workers stormed the Winter Palace under Lenin taking over government offices. -
Civil War between Red and White Armies
The White Army wanted different things, but the factor that each section had in common was that they all wanted to take down the Bolsheviks. There were around 14 million casualties during the three year war. In the end, it was the Bolsheviks who were able to seize power and maintain it. -
Bolsheviks change name to Communist Party
The Bolsheviks renamed their party the Communist Party which came from the writings of Karl Marx. Communism was based off the ideas that there would be a classless society after workers gained more power. Lenin had established a dictatorship of the Communist Party and soon the Communist party held all power. Farmland was distributed among the peasants, there was control of factories to the workers, and there was a truce signed with Germany to stop the fighting. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ends Russia’s involvement in World War
By signing the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Russia surrendered a large part of their territory to Germany and it's allies. This then angered many of the Russians and objected to the Bolsheviks and their policies. The Bolsheviks opponents then became the White Army. This then created rage in Russia with several other nations also becoming involved. -
Lenin establishes New Economic Policy
With the Russian economy destroyed by revolution and war, Lenin was focussed on reviving it. He established a New Economic Policy similar to capitalism. By 1928, Russia’s farms and factories were producing as much as they had before World War I. -
Russia is organized into several self-governing republics
Bolshevik leaders saw nationalism as a threat to staying together and stay loyal to Russia. Lenin organized Russia into several self governing republics under the central government. -
Lenin suffers stroke
After surviving a stroke in 1922 the incident gave the communist party a chance to gain more power. The communist party was led by two men with the most popularity who were Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Lenin then died in 1924. -
Stalin becomes Dictator
From 1922 to 1928 Stalin was slowly gaining more power without people even knowing. He very quietly moved his supporters into positions of power. Right before Lenin died in 1924 he wrote about how dangerous Stalin would be to the country. By 1924 Stalin had complete control of the Communist Party. Within a year Stalin held the position of dictator holding absolute power.