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Marxists split into two separate groups.
Russian Marxists split into two groups over revolutionary tactics. The more moderate Mensheviks wanted a broad base of popular support for the revolution while the more radical Bolsheviks supported a small number of committed revolutionaries willing to sacrifice everything for change. This split allowed the Bolsheviks to grow as their own group, causing great danger for the czar in the future. -
The Russo-Japanese War
Russia and Japan signed a series of agreements over control of the territories of Korea and Manchuria, but Russia broke them. Japan retaliated by attacking Port Arthur, Manchuria, in February 1904. News of repeated Russian losses sparked unrest at home and led to a revolt during the war. -
Bloody Sunday
About 200,000 workers and their families approached the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. They had a petition asking for better working conditions, more personal freedoms, and an elected national legislature. Czar Nicholas II’s generals ordered soldiers to fire on the crowd. More than 1,000 people were wounded and several hundred people were killed. Russians quickly named the event “Bloody Sunday.” Bloody Sunday provoked a wave of strikes and violence that spread across the country. -
Czar Nicholas creates a Russian Parliament
In October 1905, Nicholas reluctantly promised more freedom. He approved the creation of the Russia’s first parliament. This gave Russian citizens hope that they would be able to finally play a role in their government. -
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The Russian Parliament
The Russian Parliament first met in May 1906. Its leaders were moderates who wanted Russia to become a constitutional monarchy similar to Britain, but because Czar Nicholas was hesitant to share his power, he dissolved the parliament after ten weeks. This caused further anger among the citizens of Russia as the czar was denying them the right to have a say in the operation of their country. -
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World War I
Poorly equipped Russian troops were no match for the German army. In less than a year more than 4 million Russian soldiers had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. Russia’s involvement in World War I showed just how weak the czar's power really was. -
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The March Revolution
In March 1917, female textile workers in Petrograd led a citywide strike. Over the next five days, riots flared up over shortages of food and fuel. Almost 200,000 workers swarmed the streets. This massive riot caused the czar to step down, thereby toppling the Russian monarchy. -
Lenin's return to Russia
The Germans decided that to remove Russia from the war, they would return Vladimir Lenin to Russia after many years of exile.
Because of Lenin's desire to topple the Russian government, the Germans believed if Lenin were to gain control of Russia, he would pull the country out of the war. Lenin's return allowed the Bolsheviks to have a definitive leader who would go on to seize control of Russia. -
The Bolshevik Revolution
Armed factory workers stormed the Winter Palace in Petrograd, calling themselves the Bolshevik Red Guards. They took over government offices and imprisoned the leaders of the provisional government. This sudden takeover of the country allowed the revolutionaries to finally have control of Russia. -
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Stalin's climb to power
Lenin suffered a stroke in 1922 and survived, but his stroke caused a look for a new leader of the Communist Party. In 1922, as general secretary of the Communist Party, Stalin worked behind the scenes to move his supporters into positions of power, and by 1928 Stalin was in total command of the Communist Party. Stalin's rise to power would set forth the beginning of Stalinization, and the end of what Lenin envisioned for the Soviet Union.
