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Bloody Sunday Massacre
Bloody Sunday Massacre
This is significant because it's sort of like forshadowing of what's to come in 1917. A revolt led by the workers for the people, but this one fails unlike the 1917 one. This revolt set the scene for the 1917 revolution. -
Battle of Tannenberg
Battle of Tannenberg
Part of the cause for the Russian Revolution was the lack of success and incompetence of Russian officers during the war. This is the largest and worst battle of the war for Russia, so I picked this one to represent the aforementioned causes of the Revolution. -
Tsar Nicholas II abdicates
Tsar Nicholas II abdicates
This is significant because monarchs only give up their power if they're A. crazy or B. in grave danger. This was B, since both soldiers and workers were protesting against him. The soldiers joining in was the tipping point which caused him to abdicate, since they actually had guns. -
Rasputin is murdered
Grigori Rasputin is murdered
Nobody outside of the royal family liked him, and thus by extension this was another reason to dislike the royal family. Rasputin was a professional monk/weirdo/wizard that healed the Romanovs but also made them even more unpopular than they already were. -
Bread riots take place in St. Petersburg
Bread riots take place in St. Petersburg
This was the beginning of the beginning of the end, and like the Bloody Sunday Massacre was a forshadowing but unlike the Bloody Sunday Massacre was much closer to the actual event. Also, Tsar Nicholas II dissolved the Dumas (Russian parliament basicallt) the same day. This didn't help him. -
Lenin returns from exile
Lenin returns from exile
This is probably the real beginning of the Russian Revolution, since Lenin was the guy leading the charge. Sure, there were protests and mini-revolutions before Lenin, but he kicked it up a notch. Lenin's one of those people for whom the statement "the party doesn't start until I walk in" works, except replace party with revolution. -
Bolsheviks seize power
The Bolsheviks seize power
This is significant because A. it was a nearly bloodless revolution, unlike previous revolutions throughout history and B. this made Russia the first Marxist (communist) state in history. Marx was finally right, sort of. -
Bolsheviks change Russian calendar to modern one
Russia adopts Gregorian Calendar
This is significant because it shows that Russia is finally getting rid of its backwardness and entering the modern age. Russia is finally moving forward, and this is a good symbol of that. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
This was the treaty that got Russia out of the war, but at a cost. With the treaty, Russia lost 1/3 of its population. But, the Bolsheviks still looked good to the people because they weren't at war anymore.
