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Abolishment of Serdom
In 1861 Alexander II freed all serfs in a major agrarian reform (The Emancipation Reform). -
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Alexander III
Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Prince of Finland. He was highly conservative and reversed some of the liberal reforms of his father, Alexander II. During Alexander's reign Russia fought no major wars, for which he was styled "The Peacemaker" -
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Transiberian
The Trans-Siberian Railway. is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. With a length of 9,289 km, it is the longest railway line in the world. It was built by Tsar Alexander III and by his son, Tsar Nicholas II. This railway had a lot of effects (in war, in migration...) -
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Nicholas II
He was the last Emperor of Russia. His reign saw Imperial Russia go from being one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse. Under his rule, Russia was humiliatingly defeated in the Russo-Japanese War. As head of state, Nicholas approved Russia's involvement in the First World War. Nicholas II abdicated. -
Division of Marxists into two groups
Russian Marxists split into two groups (Mensheviks and Bolsheviks) over revolutionary tactics. The more moderate Mensheviks wanted a broad of popular support for the revolution. The more radical Bolsheviks supported a small number of committed revolutionaries willing to sacrifice everything for change. -
Russo Japanese War
The war began because of rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and Korea. During the war, the Japanese nearly destroyed the Russian Pacific Ocean navy, and the Russians were forced to sue for peace.The war concluded with the Treaty of Portsmouth. This was the first time an Asian country had defeated a European nation. -
Bloody Sunday
About 200,000 workers and their families approached the czar´s Winter Palace in St. Petesburg. They were asking for better working conditions. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia ordered his soldiers to fire on the crowd. -
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World War I
In 1914 the Russian Army was the largest army in the world. However, Russia's poor roads and railways made the effective deployment of these soldiers difficult. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended Russia's participation in World War I. Almost 15 million served in the Russian Army during the First World War. Casualties totalled an estimated 1.8 million killed, 2.8 million wounded and 2.4 million taken prisoner. -
Murder of Rasputin
Rasputin was a Russian peasant, mystical faith healer and a trusted friend to the Tsar's family. He played a significant role in the increasing unpopularity of the Imperial couple and the downfall of the Russian Monarchy. Rasputin was killed as he was seen by both the left and right to be the root cause of Russia's despair during World War I. -
March (February) Revolution
It was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was centered on Petrograd. It forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate his throne. Leaders of the Duma established a provisional government. -
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Provisional Government
It was a provisional government of the Russian Republic immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II. The intention of the provisional government was the organization of elections to the Russian Constituent Assembly and its convention. The government was initially composed of the Kadet coalition led by Prince Georgy Lvov, which was replaced by the Socialist coalition led by Alexander Kerensky. The provisional government ceased to exist when the Bolsheviks took over. -
October Revolution
It took place with an armed insurrection in Petrograd. The October Revolution overthrew the provisional government and gave the power to the local soviets. -
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Civil War in Russia
It was a multi-party war in the former Russian Empire immediately after the Russian Revolutions of 1917, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. The two largest combatant groups were the Red Army, fighting for the Bolshevik form of socialism, and the loosely allied forces known as the White Army, which included diverse interests favoring monarchism, capitalism, and alternative forms of socialism. Former Russian Empire was consolidated into the Soviet Union shortly after. -
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Lenin
He was a Russian communist revolutionary, politician and political theorist. Head of government of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1917, and of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death. Under his administration, the Russian Empire was replaced by the Soviet Union; all wealth including land, industry and business was nationalized. Based in Marxism, his political theories are known as Leninism. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed between the new Bolshevik government of Russia and the Central Powers that ended Russia's participation in World War I. -
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New Economic Policy (NEP)
It was an economic policy of Soviet Russia proposed by Vladimir Lenin. The NEP represented a more capitalism-oriented economic policy to foster the economy of the country, which was almost ruined. It allowed private individuals to own small enterprises, while the state continued to control banks, foreign trade, and large industries. It was abolished by Stalin. -
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Stalin
Leader of the Soviet Union. Under Stalin's rule, the concept of "Socialism in One Country" became a central tenet of Soviet society. He transformated the USSR from an agrarian society into an industrial power and it was recognaised a world superpower. -
USSR
It was a Marxist–Leninist state on the Eurasian continent. It was governed as a single-party state by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital. It had its roots in the Russian Revolution. -
Trotsky into exile
He was a Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army. He was one of the key figures of the Russian revolution, and of the early days of the Soviet Union. Trotsky was over time forced out of the Soviet leadership by Stalin, and eventually forced into exile.
