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The Decembrist Revolt
Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of taking over the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession. Because these events occurred in December, the rebels were called the Decembrists. This uprising, which was cut off by Nicholas I, took place in the Senate Square in Saint Petersburg. -
Czar Alexander II Emancipates the Serfs
The Emancipation Reform of 1861 in Russia was the first and most important of liberal reforms effected during the of Alexander II of Russia. He pushed ahead with the reform and in 1861 Russia became one of the last countries in Europe to shake off serfdom. The Emancipation Manifesto proclaimed the release of the serfs on private estates and of the household serfs. This caused more than 23 million people to receive their liberty. -
Nicholas II becomes czar of Russia
Nicholas II was the last czar of Russia under Romanov rule. His abdication and execution was led to by his poor handling of Bloody Sunday and Russia’s role in World War I. Nicholas II inherited the throne when his father died of kidney disease. Reeling from the loss, and poorly trained for the responsiblities, he hardly felt up to the task of assuming his father’s role. In fact, He confessed, "I am not prepared to be a tsar. I never wanted to become one. I know nothing of the business of ruling" -
The Social-Democratic Labor Party splits into two groups, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
At the congress in 1903 the party was just arguing and fighting about everything and it became clear the party was split in half with opinions. The Socical- Democratic Labor Party then did actually split into two groups. The Bolsheviks were led by Lenin. The mensheviks were led by Julius Martov. -
The Russo-Japanese War
Russia and Japan had endured several years of disputes over control of Manchuria. In 1904, the Japanese attacked the Russian fleet at Port Arthur surprising the Russian navy and earning an early victory. Over the course of the next year, the two forces clashed in Korea and the Sea of Japan, with the Japanese scoring significant, but costly, victories. -
Bloody Sunday
A group of workers led by the radical priest Georgy Apollonovich Gapon marched to the czar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to make their demands. Royal forces opened fire on the demonstrators, killing and wounding hundreds. Strikes and riots broke out throughout the country in outraged response to the massacre, to which Nicholas responded by promising Dumas, the formation of a series of representative assemblies, to work toward reform. -
The Revolution of 1905
This protest may well have been the turning point in the relationship Nicholas II enjoyed with his people. It was led by a Russian Orthodox priest, Father Gapon. 150,000 people took to the cold and snow covered streets of St Petersburg to protest about their lifestyle. They were not intent on making any form of political protest in the sense of calling for the overthrow of the government or royal family. The petition they carried said that they wanted Nicholas to help them. -
World War I (Russian Involvement)
World War One was to have a devastating impact on Russia. When World War One started, Russia responded by patriotically assembling around Nicholas II. Ironically, with the devastation that World War One was to cause in Russia, it was Rasputin who had predicted that Russia would be defeated and advised Nicholas not to go to war. As his predicitons seemed to be more and more accurate, his impact on Russia increased. -
Czar Nicholas 11 abdicates the Russian throne
Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne by the Petrograd insurgents. A provincial government was installed in his place. The army garrison at Petrograd joined striking workers in demanding socialist reforms. In July 1918, the advance of counterrevolutionary forces caused the Yekaterinburg Soviet forces to fear that Nicholas might be restored. After a secret meeting, a death sentence was passed on the royal family. On the night of July 16, they were gunned down and killed. -
The March Revolution
Crowds rioted on the streets. The soldiers joined them. Then the members of the Duma joined the rebellion. Together, they forced the czar, Nicholas II, to abdicate. -
Alexander Kerensky becomes the leader of the provisional government
Alexander Kerensky belonged to the Socialist Revolutionaries, the Petrograd Soviet, and was a member of the Duma. He was seen as a solid representative of the working class and that helped him become the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government. As Prime Minister he made two major errors. He ensured that Russia stayed in a war that was despised in the country itself. A large amount of the population wanted Russia to withdraw from the war. His second mistake was not to offer the peasants land -
Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks capture the Winter Palace
Lenin ordered an assault on the Winter Palace on the night of October 25. Although later Bolshevik propaganda portrayed the attack as a savage battle, it was relatively bloodless. The defenders of the Palace, Cossacks, a women’s battalion and military cadets or yunkers gave up with little resistance. The immediate outcome was to plunge Russia into a brutal civil war that ended with a Bolshevik victory in 1921. -
The Russian Civil War begins
The Russian Civil War was to tear Russia apart for three years. The civil war occurred because after November 1917, many groups had formed that opposed Lenin’s Bolsheviks. These groups included monarchists, militarists, and, for a short time, foreign nations. Collectively, they were known as the Whites while the Bolsheviks were known as the Reds. -
Nicholas II and his family are executed
On the night of July 16, Nicholas, Alexandra, their five children and four servants were ordered to dress quickly and go down to the cellar of the house in which they were being held. The family and servants were arranged in two rows for a photograph they were told was being taken to end rumors that they had escaped. Suddenly, a dozen armed men burst into the room and gunned down the family. Those who were still breathing when the smoked cleared were stabbed to death. -
Vladimir Lenin dies and Josef Stalin becomes leader of the Soviet Union
After Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin died, Stalin surpassed his rivals for control of the party. Once in power, he collectivized farming and had potential enemies executed or sent to forced labor camps. Stalin aligned with the United States and Britain in World War II but afterward engaged in an increasingly tense relationship with the West known as the Cold War. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower.
