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Alexander the III succeeded his father.
Alexander III went by the principles of an autocracy, a form of government where he had total power, imposing strict censorship on written documents and published material. He oppressed the other national groups and made Russian the official language. Jews became a target and pogroms, organized violence against Jews, broke out in many parts of Russia. The harsh rule would soon build up to many uprisings. -
Russia Industrializes
A program was launched to move the country forward. The government sought foreign investors and raised takes to finance the Russian industries. This boosted the growth of heavy industries, mostly steel. The increase in factories caused many problems, stirring discontent among the people of Russia. -
Nicholas II Becomes Czar
Nicholas II continued the Russian traditions of autocracy. The czar's autocratic rule stopped him from changing the conditions. This build up of hatred of the czar and government leads to revolutions in the future. -
Nicholas II Promises More Freedom
He approved the Duma, Russia's first parliament, and they first met in May of 1906. The leaders wanted a constitutional monarchy, and was hesitant to share power. This caused him to dissolve the Duma after 10 weeks. -
Bloody Sunday
Around 200,000 workers and their families went to the czar's Winter Palace, in St. Petersburg, carrying a petition asking for an elected national legislature, better working conditions, and more personal freedom. Nicholas II's soldiers fired into the crowd, killing hundreds and wounding around 1,000 people. -
World War I
Nicholas II brought Russia's unprepared military into World War I. Russia suffered great defeats, before a year had passed 4 million Russian soldiers had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. The Russian people wanted an end to the war because it caused many problems in the country. -
The March Revolution
In Petrograd, women textile workers led a citywide strike The uprisings caused Czar Nicholas II to step down and the leaders of Duma established a provisional government. The change in government was a step toward the leadership the Russians wanted. -
The Bolshevik Revolution
The Bolshevik Red Guard stormed the Winter Palace in Petrograd, taking over government offices and arrested the leaders. Lenin distributed the land to the peasants and gave control of factories to workers. When Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, the Russians were angered by the surrender of a large part of their territory to the Germans. -
USSR
The country was named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the Bolsheviks renamed their party the Communist Party. They created a constitution based on democratic and socialist policies. Recovery was beginning to happen because of the new policies and the peace following the civil war. -
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin began his climb to the head of the government from 1922 through 1927. After Lenin died, Stalin took full control of the Communist Party in 1927. The revolution succeeded in ending autocracy and the country changed to communism as their political system
