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The Industrialization of Russia
The industrial revolution of Russia created the initial tension between its government and citizens. The growing amount of factories brought problems such as grueling working conditions, miserably low wages, and child labor, workers who were unhappy with these conditions organized strikes and movements. This started an outburst of revolutions as citizens fought back against unfair treatment and the over-arching power that the czar held over his people. -
The Russo-Japanese War
Russia and Japan competed for control of Korea and Manchuria, both countries signed a series of treaties/agreements over the territories but Russia broke them. Japan ended up attacking the Russians at Port Arthur in Manchuria, Russia faced multiple losses and news of these defeats created unrest in Russia. This war lead to revolts amongst citizens and showed the weakness in the czar's power, therefore the Russo-Japanese war is a perfect example of a starting point for the Russia Revolutions. -
Bloody Sunday: The Revolution of 1905
Around 200,000 workers and their families went to the czar's Winter Palace carrying petitions that asked for better working conditions and an elected national legislature. Nicholas II ordered soldiers to open fire into the crowd and killed hundreds of people, this massacre provoked a series of strikes and violence that spread across the country. This event showed a point in the Russian Revolutions where the czar used his power to control and take advantage of his already outraged citizens. -
World War I: The Final Blow
Nicholas II decided to take Russia into WWI without being able to handle military or economic costs, German machine gunners mowed through Russian troops and killed over 4 million in less than a year. When the Czarina let Rasputin take control of the government he created a more unbalanced political form, all the while inflation, mutiny, desertion, and rallies to end the war were booming. Russia's involvement in WWI further revealed the weaknesses of the Czar's rule and caused more civil unrest. -
The Creation of the Provisional Government
Leaders of the Duma created a temporary government that was headed by Alexander Kerensky, who decided to remain fighting in WWI. Citizens became angrier as the conditions in Russia worsened, they demanded more land and created Soviets to fight against the government. The creation of the provisional government was a short lived, and very temporary solution to a problem that would not be fixed as easily as replacing the czar with an unstable government structure. -
The March Revolution
Women textile workers began a citywide strike that began riots over shortages of bread and fuel throughout the course five days, people shouted anti-war sentiments and eventually had the soldiers fighting on their side. This protest created a general uprising that forced Czar Nicholas II to leave his throne, destroying the three year Romanov empire, and then was executed a year later. This was the end of the first Revolution against Russia government but also lead way to future revolts. -
End to Provisional Government
After people became so outraged because of the government's decision to stay in WWI, armed factory workers attacked the Winter Palace and they called themselves the Bolshevik Red Guards. The Red Guards took over all government offices and imprisoned the leaders of the provisional government. The provisional government was not a structure that could uphold the needs of the people as well as the Bolsheviks wanting more power and reign over their growing group of supporters. -
The Bolshevik Civil Revolution
The Bolshevik leaders signed a treaty with Germany that specified Russia needed to surrender large parts of territory to Germany, this humiliated/angered many Russian citizens who objected the Bolshevik policies and the murder of the royal family. This created the White Army(those who hated Bolsheviks), many Western nations came to their aid but weren't of much help. This uprising was the start of Russia's second civil war and signified the people uniting to fight a failing power, once again. -
Creation of the Communist Party
The Communist party created a constitution that was based on socialist and democratic principles. Realistically, the Communist party controlled everything and Lenin had created a dictatorship instead of a classless government. People would eventually revolt against a dictator as they had against the Czar because they want equal power instead of no control over what they do, thus, further leading to revolution. -
Stalin Becomes the New Dictator
Lenin believed that Stalin was a dangerous man and even said that he did not know how to wield power with caution. When Lenin died, Stalin took over the Communist Party and forced Trotsky(a threat to Stalin's dictatorship) into exile in 1929. Stalin became another dictator that ruled over Russia instead of providing the people with freedom, this would lead some people to become angry at their lack of power and start uprisings.
