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The German Empire signed an agreement with Austria-Hungary and Italy. -
The German Impire offered to help Morocco against France, who wanted to establish a protectorate in the region. -
A revolution broke out in Russia demanding the end of autocracy. There was a peaceful demonstration, but the tsar responded with brutal repression (Bloody Sunday). The Soviets appeared. The tsar agreed to hold elections by universal sufragge and to rpomote agrarian reform. He didn't keep him promises. -
The Algeciras Conference, which authorised a Franco-Spanish protectorate, forced the Germans to back down. -
France, fearing the Germans' military strength and expansion, allied with Russia and improved its relations with Britain, which had deteriorated due to colonial disputes. In 1907, these three powers signed a mutual aid pact, the Triple Entente. -
As the Ottoman Empire was in a state of collapse, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was planning to gain power over the Balkans. In 1908 they annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina. -
The annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary increased tensions in the Balkans. Serbied allied with Russia and emerged as the victor. Serbia became stronger. Austria-Hungary, fearing a general Slav uprising while under its control, looked to the Germans for support. -
The Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, which had been occupied by Austria-Hungary since 1908. The assassin was a Bosnian student who had links with Serbian nationalist organisations. -
Austria-Hungary, encouraged by Germany, accused Serbia of the assasination and declared war. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary to protect Serbia, and Germany declared war on Russia and France. Great Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary after the German army invaded Belgium. Only Italy remained neutral. -
The German army suddenly attacked France through Belgium and Luxembourg (the Schlieffen Plan). The Germans hoped to win quickly so it would be able to then concentrate on the Eastern Front.
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The Germans launched a new offensive on the Western Front but were stopped by the French at the Battle of Verdun. The French and British then attacked the German lines at the battle of the Somme. Both offensives achieved very little despite enormous casualties on both sides. -
A huge demonstration was held in Petrograd by women demanding peace and bread. It was followed by a general strike and riots in the barracks. -
After the demonstration, the tsar Nicholas II abdicated and a republic was proclaimed. The new republic was headed by a provisional government, which promised to call constituent elections to make Russia a parliamentary democracy. -
Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, returns to Russia and publishes his ideas in the so-called April Theses. He wanted to establish a government of worker and peasant Soviets and to sign a peace treaty with Germany. -
The American president Woodrow Wilson declares war on Germany. -
The Bolsheviks had created the Red Guards (their own armed militia with the support of the Soviets), and prepared for an insurrection on 25 October. The rebels occupied Petrograd, took the Winter Palace and overthrew the provisional government. The revolution quickly spread to Moscow and industrial regions. They proclamed a workers' government led by Lenin. -
The Allies defeated Austria-Hungary on the Eastern Front, and the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires surrendered and called for an armistice. The Germans were defeated at the Second Battle of the Marne. People in Germany were against the government. The Kaiser abdicated and Germany surrendered. An armistice was signed, bringing the war to an end. -
Elections were held for the Constituent Assembly, convened by the provisional government. The bolsheviks got only 25% of the seats. Fearing oppositors could take over the Duma, Lenin dissolved the Assembly. This was an end to political pluralism. -
A conference was held in Paris to establish the terms for peace. The European map is restaured. -
It was a separate peace treaty signed between Soviett Russia and the Central Powers, by which Russia withdrew form World War 1. Russia accepted territorial losses in exchange for peace. -
This Treaty imposed the terms of peace with Germany, while others treaties were signed with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. Together, they broke up the Europe's empires and drew new borders. -
The Civil War lasted three years and brought great misery to the people. In 1921, the Red Army won the war. The conflict had contributed significantly to the hardening of the Soviet regime. -
The Bolshevik party (CPSU) now had a monopoly on power and suppressed all who opposed them and created the Cheka. War communism was introduced. The USSR was a federal state with a parliament (Supreme Soviet) and a single party (CPSU). It was a totalitarian system justified by the theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat.