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Abolishment of serfdom
Serfdom was abolished by Tsar Alexander II in 1861. It was the first and the most important reforms during the reign of Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Serfs gained the full rights of free citizens, including rights to marry without having to gain consent, to own property and to own a business. But this finally became worse for serfs. They were given less land and the nobles' taxes were so high that all the production should be sell to pay the tax, and there were nothing for their survival. -
Alexander III (2)
Due to the assassination, he overturned a majority of the reforms of his father and aggressively promoted the secret police and promoted anti-Semitism. He made Jews a target of persecution, and most of Jewish homes, stores and synagogues were destroyed by a wave of pogroms along many parts of Russia. -
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Alexander III (1)
Alexander III became the Tsar, and he turned Russia into a police state. He also clung to the principles of autocracy, where he had total power along his country (absoute monarchy).
He used harsh measure to wipe out revolutionaries. For that, he took control of published materials and written documents. His secret police kept an eye on schools and universities. To make a uniform Russian culture, Alexander III also made Russian the official language and forbade other languages, like Polish. -
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Transiberian
Russia became one of the most ranking producer of steel, and with the help of France and Britain, Russia started building a continuous rail line, connecting European Russia(west) with Russian port on the Pacific Ocean(east) -
Nicholas II
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Nicholas II
Nicholas II was the last Tsar of Russia. He continued the tradition of Russian autocracy. Under his reign, Russia was humiliatingly defeated by Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War, which saw the almost total annihilation of the Russian Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima. During the March (February) revolution of 1917, he was forced to abdicate. In 17 July 1918, all his family and he were executed in the same rule by Bolsheviks. -
Division of Marxists into two groups
Russian Marxist divided into two groups:
-Menshevisks formed the moderate group which wanted a broad base of popular support for the revolution. They were less than the other group
-Bolshevists formed the radical group and were supported by the majority. They were in favor of small number of committed revolutionaries willing to sacrifice everything for change. Their leader was Lenin -
Russo-Japanese war
The Russo-Japanese War developed out of the rivalry between Russia and Japan for dominance in Korea and Manchuria. Both nations signed some agreements over the territories, and Russia broke them. For revenge, Japan attack Russia at Port Arthur, Manchuria. Repeated Russia losses make disappointment between Russans and led to a revolt at the middle of the war.
Finally, Japan won, and it became the first Asian country to defeat an European country, and humiliating event for Russia -
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Russo-Japanese War
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Bloody Sunday
On 1905, aproximately 200,000 workers approached the Tsar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. They marched towards the palace to present a petition asking for better working conditions, more personal freedom and an elected national legislature. Nicholas II's generals ordered soldiers to fire on the crowd. These events made here provoked a series of massive strikes that spread across Russia. -
Creation of Duma
With the wave of strikes provoked by Bloody Sunday. Nicholas promised more freedom and approved the creation of Duma, the Russian first parliament in October 1905, The Duma's leaders wanted a constitutional monarchy, but ten weeks Duma was created, the czar dissolved it. -
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World War I
World War I started when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed by a Serbian at Sarajevo. Autria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, which had an alliance with Russia. There were so many alliances that finally the two sides of the war were the Central Powers made by Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgary and Ottoman empire, and Triple Entente made by Great Britain, France, USA and Italy. USA entered the war on 1917, replacing Russia who abandoned the war because of the civil war inside it. -
Rasputin's miracle
When czar Nicholas II moved to fight to the war front. Czarina Alexandra ran the government, and got influenced by a misterios man, called Rasputin.Rasputin was considered to be a holy man. He helped NIcholas II and Alexandra's son, Alexis, who suffered from haemophilia. By some investigation, this haemophilia came from Isabel I, from Great Britain.
Rasputin seemed to make dissapeared the boy's symptoms. -
Murder of Rasputin
When Rasputin magically cured Alexis, Tzarina Alexandra allowed him to make key political decisions. He opposed reform measures and obtained powerful positions for his friends.
In 1916, he was murdered by a group of nobles conspirated by Prince Felix Yusupovthat were feared about his increasing role in government affairs. It is said that was difficult for them to make him dissapeared -
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Provisional government
Leaders of Duma established a temporary goverment, in which Axander Kerensky headed it. He made a decision to continue fighting in World War I. This cost him the support of soldiers and civilians. Finally, conditions in Russia worsened, and city workers grew more radical. Soviets were formed by socialist revolutionaries, competing for power. These soviets had more influence than the provisional government. By April 1917, Lenin returns to Russia and in October, there was a Bolshevisk revolt. -
March(February) revolution
Women workers of a textile factory led a citywide strike in Petrograd in March 1917. Five day later, there were several riots due to shortage of bread and fuel. Many workers (About 200,000 workers) invaded the streets shooting. People didn't want autocracy and the war that was causing so many lifes. Firstly, soldiers obeyed to shoot to the crowd, but later they sided with the workers. Finally, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate his throne, and not to return to reign,he was executed. -
October Revolution
Lenin returned Russia in April 1917. Bolshevisks gained control of the Petrograd soviet and other important Russian cities. By October 1917, people was shouting Lenin's slogan("Peace, Land and Bread") and agreed giving the power to soviets. In November 1917, armed factory workers went to the WInter Palace in Petrograd, calling theirselves as Bolshevisk Red guards. They took over government offices and the leaders of the provisional government were quickily replaced. Bolshevisks gained the power. -
Lenin (2)
In April 1917, Lenin returned to Russia. He became powerful in the October Revolution,also called the Bolshevik revolution. When the provisional government was replaced. Lenin ordered that the farmland be distributed along the peasants. He gave workers the control of factories, and he wanted a quick treaty of peace with Germany to stop war and focus on the inside of the country. He reform the government and made NEP, a small scake version of capitalism in MArch 1921. -
Lenin (3)
He organised Russia and formed the USSR. Bolsheviks renamed their party, the Communist Party. They created a constituion bases on socialist and democratic ideas. However the Communist Party held all the power. Lenin established a dictatorship of Communist Party and not of proletariat. In 1922, he suffered a stroke and he was replaced by Stalin -
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Lenin (1)
Lenin was the major leader of the Bolsheviks. It is said that the action made by his brother Alexander, who was hanged for plotting to kill the czar, made Lenin turned into a revolutionary, He was a great organizer. In 1900's we went away from Russia to Western Europe to avoid the persecution of the czarist regime. He maintained contact with the Bolshevisks. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia and Germany signed a treaty of peace, called the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Russia was forced to give a large part of its territory like Riga, Lithuania, Livonia, Estonia and some of White Russia. These areas were some of the most fertile farming areas and Gemany could exploit them to support her military effort. It was a disadvantage for Russia, but Bolshevisk wanted a quick treaty so that they could concentrate on the work they needed to do in Russia itself. -
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Civil War In Russia
Bolshevisks faced new oponents, the White Army, which was made by people who wanted the tsar back, a democratic government and socialist with other ideas. Leon Trotsky lead the Bolshevik Red Army. Some Western nations sent military forced to help White Army, but it wasn't very much. Finally, Red Army crushed all opposition and Bolshevisks won, who showed that they would seize power and maintain it. -
Romanov's execution
Video Romanov's execution
Nicholas aII's family was reunited in the same room to protect them from some conspirations, but it was an ambush or trap made by Bolsheviks. The Romanov's dynasty was executed and killed by Bolsheviks. -
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NEP
New Economy Policy(NEP) was a small-scale version of capitalism resorted by Lenin, who run his plan for a state-controlled economy.
The NEP's reforms allowed pesants to sell their surplus. Government controls the major industries, banks and all types of communication. There were allowed some private small businesses and factories. It also encouragedforeigh investment. By 1928, Russia was back to normal, and the production was the same before the war- -
Stalin (2)
Stalin aligned with the United States and Britain in World War II(1939-1945). After his death, the Soviets initiated a de-Stalinization process, principally made by his sucessor Nikita Khrushchev -
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Stalin (1)
Stalin became the dictator of Russia in 1924. He was cold, hard and impersonal. Firstly, he was not the first choice for leader, but with help he became powerful and he forced Trotsky went out of the party and in 1929 Trotsky was forced into exile. By 1928, he had the total command of the Communist party. he transformed the USSr from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. He ruled by terror, and millions of Russian citizens died during his brutal reign. -
USSR
To keep nationalism, Lenin organized Russia into several sel-governing repblics under the central government.In Moscow, a congress of soviets took place. At the Congress, Stalin made a speech announcing the union of: the Russia Soviet Federated Socialist Republic with the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist republic. The Congress agreed and the USSR( Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) was set up. -
Trotsky into exile
During Lenin’s last years, it was clear that Trotsky was the most influential single person in the Soviet leadership. However, to prevent him from becoming the new leader. His opponents Stalin, Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev formed an alliance known as the troika. Stalin’s position became too powerful. Trotsky was expelled from the Central Committee in October 1927, and exiled to Kazakhstan on 31 January 1928.
