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World War I begins
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Russia lost two entire armies (over 250,000 men)
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all of Russian Poland and Lithuania, and most of Latvia, were overrun by the German army
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Czar Nicholas II assumes supreme command of the Russian Army
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Rasputin is murdered
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Food riots, demonstrations and a mutiny at the Petrograd Garrison forced Nicholas II to abdicate meanwhile the war still continued.
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The March Revolution begins with strikes, demonstrations, and mutinies in Petrograd
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Czar Nicholas II abdicates and includes his son. The next day, Nicholas' brother, Mikhail announced his refusal to accept the throne. Provisional Government then formed.
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Lenin returns from exile and arrives in Petrograd in a sealed train.
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Death Penalty reintroduced for the front
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Alexander Kerensky becomes Prime Minister of the Provisional Government
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The Kornilov Affair, a failed coup by General Lavr Kornilov, commander of the Russian Army
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Bolsheviks gain Moscow
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The new Bolshevik government converts Russia from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar turning February 1 into February 14
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The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, between Germany and Russia, is signed and takes Russia out of World War I
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The Bolshevik Party changes its name to the Communist Party
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The capital of Russia is changed from St. Petersburg to Moscow
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Russian civil war begins
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Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed
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An assassination attempt leaves Lenin seriously wounded
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The Cheka closes down Vsegda Vpered. This marks a return to despotic rule by Bolsheviks.
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Russian civil war ends
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Last White army under Wrangel evacuates the Crimea
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The reds managed to arm, man and manoeuvre an army that grew to almost five million soldiers by 1921
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Lenin dies
