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Period: to
Russian Revolution
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Bloody Sunday
The proletariats were angry with their poor working conditions, low wages, and overall abuse of the bourgeoise. They created a petition that they would present to the Tsar in an attempt to organize a change, However, what was meant to be a peaceful march ended up in mass shootings, killing many lower class people. This is significant because it sparks the proletariats to do something about the unjust class systems and work life. -
End of Russo-Japanese War
Russia was beat by Japan in a war for a chunk of land called "Manchuria". The war began February 8th, 1904, and worked to reveal Russia's inadequacy in battle. They had many people, but they were not strong soldiers. They were also majorly behind in industrialization, which added to the reasons they were defeated. -
General Strike and Manifesto
The lower class decides to have a general strike, starting with the All–Russian Union of Railroad Workers. The strike spreads across Russia, halting all sort of work and industrialization - which Russia couldn't afford to lose. The strikes inspired chaos amongst political parties and people of higher-class jobs to demand more rights. Tsar Nicholas II became afriad of loosing his power, and created the October Manifesto (Oct. 17) to appease the public and give the Duma some power. -
Rasputin Gains Favour of the Tsar
Rasputin, a corrupt monk, "heals" the Tsar's son, giving him access to the family of Tsar Nicholas II. He gains an extreme influence in court/politics, as the family believed he was a godly figure and feared what he could do if they didn't listen to him. It almost became as if Rasputin was the true leader of Russia, since Nicholas II seemed to take orders from him. This would lead to the discredit of the monarchy by Rasputin. -
WWI Begins
This is the date of the shooting of Archduke Ferdinand, however there were many other causes that would lead up to the first World War. Russia gets pulled into the war once Austria-Hungary invades on August 10th, 1914. They join the Triple Entente with France and Britain, and are offically dedicating themselves to the war effort - which uses a massive amount of resources and soldiers that only worsen's Russia's state during the revolution. -
Tsar Dismisses Duma
The Tsar feels threatened by the power of the Duma, and dissolves it on this date. He did not appreciate their call for change and opposed their revolutionary ideas. The Tsar then takes complete control of the army and only loses more then he gains. The army gets frustrated with the Tsar's poor leadership and eventually joins the rioters. -
Rasputin Dies
Rasputin dies, however the cause of death is unknown. He was poisoned with cyanide, but it didn't seem to have an effect, so he was shot and killed. However, eye witnesses report different causes of death, so it remains a mystery. -
Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II
Tsar Nicholas II signs the official abdication document, putting him out of power. He lost major support after he repeatedly ignored the intervention of the Duma, and began to increase punishment on revolutionaries. -
The Duma Makes a Comeback
The Duma realizes the immediate need of assistance in Russia and decides to reform and take back control. They create a provisional government and force the Tsar to abdicate. This is significant because it marks the end of the Tsarist reign. The Duma then promises to hold free elections, so that it is not only the bougeoise that has a say in matters. No one was ready to take power immediately, though, so the provisional government and the Petrograd Soviet's share power for the time being. -
Order No. 1
The Soviet Union demands that all Soviet members must listen to and follow all orders of the Soviet Union. This enforces the hatred they had against Tsarists, and allows for them to exclude Tsarist officers from their jobs. -
Lenin Leads Revolution
Lenin leads the Bolsheviks in revolution against the provisional government. They were angry at their lack of land reform and the massive food shortages of Russia due to the provisional governments dedication to the war effort. They also didn't like that the government kept putting off promised elections, and so they decide to try to end the provisional government and grab power, creating the April Theses. -
Attempt at Revolt
Lenin and his Bolsheviks make mutiple attempts at a revolt and taking power from the provisional government, starting on this date and ending July 7th, 1917. They failed every time, showing the power of the provisional government and the need for more support for the Bolsheviks. -
Peasants Revolt
Throughout the month of August, the peasants revolt. They take land from land owners in an attempt to overthrow the bourgeoise and get revenge for the poor conditions they had been living with for so long. This is significant because it shows the peasants desire to get involved in fighting for their rights once again. -
Desperate Measures of the Provisional Government
General Kornilov was an extreme right-winged Russian who decided to march on Petrograd to get rid of the Socialists. It was rather unexpected and the provisional government needed immediate aid in defeating them. They ended up being forced to ask Lenin and the Bosheviks for help, but they beat Kornilov together.This is significant because it forces the two to cooperate and come to a compromise, gaining favour of the Soviets to the Bolsheviks. -
Bolsheviks Gain Power
The Bolsheviks gain the majority in Petrograd, and they take over. They decide to overthrow the provisional government entirely, putting an end to them overall. This is a significant point in history, when they finally take control with a communist government and get rid of the Soviets. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treay of Brest-Litovsk was a treaty that marked the end of Russia's participation in WWI. It was a peace treaty with Germany and other central powers of Europe. This released many German soldiers and was significant because it allowed Russia to take time to rebuild itself after revolution and war. However, Russian citizens were angry because the treaty had very harsh concequences for Russia, and therefore the Bolsheviks lose support. They lose the next election. -
Russian Civil War Begins
By the end of March, civil war had broken out in Russia. While the Bolsheviks lost their elections, the Whites were still losing to the Reds because majority of the peasants were Reds. The Reds had control of Russia's industry and created the "Cheka", which was a secret police meant to eliminate any non-Bolshevik supporters. -
War Communsim
In June of 1918, Lenin introduced War Communism. War Communism was meant to fight the civil war by taking control of all businesses and moving workers around. This only made production drop. They also made farmers sell grain at a very low price that they could not change, so they were only able to provide enough for their families. This caused the peasants to begin to dislike Lenin and desire another change. -
Execution of Tsar Nicholas II
Tsar Nicholas II and all of his family and staff were executed together by the Bolsheviks, ending the last Tsar of Russia. -
End of WWI
Since Russia had already left the war, this was not particularily important to the Russian Revolution. It is, however, worth mentioning because at this time, repairations would be made and Russia would be excluded from the peace conference. -
Kronstadt Rebellion
The peasants eventually got so frustrated with War Communism that they decided to rebel. However, Trotsky led the Red army and put a complete end to the uprising, making it one of the most unsucessful rebellions in history. On February 26th, they attempted to resolve the issue of these rebellions at the Petropavlovsk resolution. -
End of War Communism
Lenin began to realize that War Communism was causing more harm than good, and he decided he needed to compromise. On this date, he announced the end of War Communism entirely. He didn`t want to lose any more peasant support then he had already, and the peasants were mostly his only means of support in the first place. -
New Economic Policy
On the same day War Communism ends, Lenin`s New Economic Policy (NEP) begins. Lenin compromises with the peasants and begins to take on a mixed sort of laws - things that capitalist governments would allow, but also still keeping things realtively communist. This would allow Russia`s poor economy to heal over time (however, this was overthrown in 1928 by Stalin). -
End of Russia Civil War
The Russian Civil War ends when they become involved with other countries. They began trying to spread communism and got the Red Army involved, taking attention away from Russia`s own problems and spreading issues elsewhere. Things had already settled down more or less with the NEP, and now Russia was able to focus on things other than maintaining itself.
