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Alexander II is assassinated. Alexander III succeeds him.
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Death Of Sasha Ulyanov
Sasha Ulyanov, brother of Vladimir Ulyanov( later Lenin) is hanged for planning an assassination attempt on Alexander III. -
Period: to
Famine in Russia kills between 375,000 and 400,000
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Alexander III dies after a sudden illness. His son Nicholas assumes the throne.
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Vladimir Lenin is arrested for sedition.
Lenin was sentenced to solitary confinement for 13 months, and then exiled to Siberia. -
The Khodynka Tragedy
A stampede in Moscow during festivities of the Coronation of Nicholas II leads to the deaths of 1,300 people. Nicholas attends a party instead of handling the situation. -
Russo- Japanese War begins.
Japan wins, and destroys the Russian naval fleet. The Treaty of Portsmouth is signed, and the war is ended on September 5th, 1905. -
Bloody Sunday
Troops open fire on a peaceful demonstration outside the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. 1,000 people are either killed or injured. The press blames Nicholas. -
October Manifesto
Nicholas promises civil liberties, and an elected parliament called the Duma. Restrictions are implemented on the monarchy's power, and a constitution ( Fundamental Laws of 1906) is issued. -
Coup of 1907
The Second State Duma is dissolved, its members are arrested, and there is a change in electoral law. -
Outbreak of the First World War
After Russia allies with Serbia, Germany declares war. St. Petersburg is later renamed Petrograd to make it sound less German. -
Murder of Rasputin
Close friend of the Tsar and Empress, and healer of Tsarevich Alexei Grigori Rasputin is killed by Prince Felix Yusupov, after several failed attempts. -
Lenin Returns From Exile
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February Revolution begins
On International Women's Day, demonstrators take to the streets to protest food shortages and the war. The strike spreads in Petrograd. -
The abdication of Nicholas II
Nicholas abdicates and removes Alexei from succession. His brother refuses to take his place. A provisional government is set up. -
Period: to
July Days
Lvov resigns, and Kerensky takes control of the government, issuing an arrest for Lenin and crushes demonstrations. The Soviets lose dual control of the government after Bolshevik leaders are arrested. -
Period: to
Kornilov Affair/ Declaration
On September 9th, General Kornilov, commander of the Russian army stages a coup to counter the Bolsheviks. He fails. On the 14th, Russia is declared a republic. -
Period: to
October Revolution
Bolsheviks seize Petrograd, and take control of the Winter Palace. The Decrees on Land proclaims the abolition of private property and redistribution among peasants, and proclaim withdrawal from WW1. The death penalty is also abolished. -
Brest- Litovsk Treaty
Russia ends participation in WW1. Russia loses a third of its empire population, a third of its railroad network, half of its industry, and nine-tenths of its food supply. -
Tsar Nicholas Is Executed
Nicholas II, his family, and servants are repeatedly shot and stabbed by Bolsheviks at Yekaterinburg. -
Beginning of the Red Terror
A period of political repression and mass killing begins after an assassination attempt on Lenin by Fanny Kaplan, and the murder of Uritskii. -
Invasion of Crimea
Red Army invades Crimea, forces White Army to withdraw. -
Soviet Union is created.
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Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party
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The Death of Lenin; Stalin takes over.
Stalin dismisses Trotsky, who is exiled and murdered in 1940.