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Revolution of 1905 and the October Manifesto
Jan 22, 1905- Oct 30, 1905 (OM) – Jun 16, 1907
Definition: The Revolution of 1905 was a mass of political and social unrest directed at tsar for maltreatments of the lower classes. The October Manifesto promised the election of state duma with social and political reforms.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it shows the hammer of the 1905 revolution hitting the tsar and making him see the stars (hopes) of freedom, liberty, parliament, etc. -
Beginning of WWI
Definition: Started with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, coupled with the increasing international political and social unrest. Started with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and their respective allies followed.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it highlights the unrest that followed the assassination. The image, because in English, shows how fast the information spread and unrest morphed into war. -
Czar Nicholas II take sole control of military operations
Definition: Tsar Nicholas II took control of the military operations on the Russian war front in WWI as he believed it was his duty to do so as the leader of Russia. However, this meant that the tsar did not pay close attention to the internal affairs of his country, leaving that to Rasputin and the Tsarina.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it clearly shows the Tsar (center), days after taking control, mapping out his plans for the war. -
Brusilov Offensive
Jun 4, 1916- Sep 20, 1916
Definition: Occurring on the Eastern Front of World War I, the Brusilov Offensive was a major Russian attack against the Central Powers from modern-day Ukraine. The Russians infiltrated Austro-Hungarian lines with large artillery and resulted in a successful breakthrough.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this as it shows a Russian offensive attacking at Galicia during the Brusilov Offensive. -
Assassination of Rasputin
Definition: Rasputin was killed in the basement of the Moika Palace and days later, was found in the Neva River. In a monastery, he was known as “The Mad Monk” but unorthodoxly stayed in contact with his past life/children.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it shows a dead Rasputin. -
Nicholas II Abdicates
Definition: After February 1917 protests, Nicholas II stepped down from the government and abdicated the throne
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it is a news article that publicizes the tsar’s abdication and through the timestamp, shows how quickly this information reached America. -
Provisional Government formed
Definition: The Provisional Government was the formal authority established after the Tsar’s abdication of the throne. They were in charge of leading the warfront and internal affairs. It was intended to organize the elections of the Russian Constituent Assembly
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it is a representative image of the Provisional Government. -
International Women’s Day March in Petrograd
Definition: The International Women’s Day March was held by factory workers, other working-class people, and lower-class individuals in protest of the Tsar’s malfeasance and negligence towards the lower classes. They called for ample rations, peace, and provided land.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it shows female protestors in Petrograd marching for more rights and liberties to be afforded to them. -
April Theses published
Definition: The April Theses were a set of 10 desires written by Lenin, famously including the demands of “peace, bread, [and] land”. It also opposed the provisional government and promoted a socialist revolution.
Picture Reasoning: Cover of published modern April Theses -
Return of Lenin from exile
Definition: Vladimir Lenin returned after 10 years in exile in Finland in pursuit of control over the Russian state
Picture Reasoning: Crowds gathered to see Lenin return from Finland -
First All-Russian Congress of Soviets meets
Jun 16, 1917- Jul 7, 1917
Definition: The First All-Russian Congress of Soviets met in the building of the First Cadet Corps on Vasilyevsky Island, where they rejected the Bolsheviks’ resolutions and supported the Menshevik causes and resolutions.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this as it shows a meeting of the All-Russian Congress (active session) -
July Days
Jul 16, 1917- Jul 20, 1917
Definition: This was a time of unrest in Russia where there were spontaneous demonstrations by soldiers, rioters, protestors, and civilians. This was caused by opposition to Russia’s involvement in the war and the Brusilov Offensive.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this as it shows the rioters being met with machine-gun fire during the July Days riots. -
Kornilov Affair
Aug 27, 1917- Aug 30, 1917
Definition: This was a coup led by Commander-In-Chief of the Russian army, Lavr Kornilov. He tried to turn Russian troops against Kerensky’s Provisional Government and the soviets in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) and overthrow them. This coup eventually resulted in failure.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it shows Kornilov being welcomed by his officers that participated in the coup with him. -
Trotsky organizes Red Guard to defend Petrograd
Definition: The Red Guard was mainly established to provoke the government and get a reaction out of them. Trotsky established and organized the Red Guard to defend General Lavr Kornilov and Petrograd, the city as a whole.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it shows the Red Guard out of the factories ready to protect the Russian city and officials. -
Bolsheviks overthrow the Provisional Government and take control
Definition: Also known as the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks and other leftist revolutionaries, led by Vladimir Lenin, participated in a coup to overthrow the Provisional Government. This was successful and resulted in a new government led by Lenin
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it shows people storming the Winter Palace which marked the beginning of the October Revolution. -
Cheka formed
Definition: The Cheka was formed as a form of secret police for the Bolsheviks. With this, the Bolsheviks utilized the Chekas to mitigate the anti-revolutionaries and fight against ‘class enemies’. Initially, it only had 40 officials and commanded the the Sveaborgesky regiment: a sect of the Russian military.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this picture because it shows the highest-ranking officials of the Cheka at the time of establishment. -
Wartime Communism Created
June 1918 – Mar 21, 1921
Definition: Wartime communism was the name tokened of the economic policy and was invented by Lenin. With this, peasants had to comply with the requisition of grain and were terrorized by Cheka soldiers. This was severely unfair to the peasants and left them with little reserves to provide for their families and resulted in widespread famine and starvation.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image as it clearly depicts the famine that followed Wartime Communism -
Constituent Assembly meets and is disbanded
Jan 18, 1918 (4pm) – Jan 19, 1918 (5am)
Definition: The Constituent Assembly was part of a plan by the Provisional Government to make Russia a democracy. By the time the Assembly had actually met, Bolsheviks already took over the Provisional Government so was thus dissolved after 13 hours of proceedings.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image of the Tauride Palace as this is the location where the Constituent Assembly met. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Definition: This treaty ended Russia’s participation in World War I. It was between Bolshevik Russia and the Central Powers, where Russia suffered an immense financial loss and territorial loss. It also allowed more Austrian and German troops to fight in other places to strengthen the German cause.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image as it shows how much land Russia truly lost as a result of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk. -
Red Terror
Definition: The Red Terror was a campaign carried out by the Cheka for the Bolshevik Party. They killed approximately 1,300 ‘bourgeois hostages’ and state media incited violence through their widespread newspapers. The Bolshevik Government specifically stated that “mass shooting [was to be] inflicted without hesitation”
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image as it gives an example of the Cheka torturing and killing a member of the “opposition” -
Kolchak (one of the White leaders) begins serious attacks against Reds from Siberia
Definition: Kolchak (White) made his own government in Siberia, focused on anti-communism. Until 1920, he was successful in conveying his beliefs until turned in by Whites to the Social Revolutionaries. Eventually, he ended at the mercy of the Bolsheviks
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image because this is a picture of Kolchak. -
Poles move towards Kiev
Definition: The Kiev Offensive of 1920 was an attempt of the Polish armed forces to take the territory of Ukraine which went into Russian control after October Revolution. The Poles, allied with Ukrainian forces, took control of Kiev, yet lost it again when met with a Red Force counterattack by the Russians.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image as it shows Ukrainian troops ready to fight for Kiev in the midst of the Polish-Soviet War. -
Soviets attempt to take Warsaw
Aug 12, 1920- Aug 25, 1920
Definition: After Polish-Soviet War, Polish forces were in much disarray. Red Army forces led by Mikhail Tukhachevsky approached Warsaw but were met with a counterattack from Polish forces. The Poles pushed the Russians back across the Neman River and killed an estimated 10,000 Russian soldiers.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image because it shows the Polish forces prepared to defend Warsaw. This is significant as it shows that the Poles had a homeland advantage. -
Tambov Rebellion
Definition: This rebellion began with the resistance to hand over grain as demanded by Wartime Communism and morphed into guerilla warfare against the Red Army and Bolsheviks. The Red Army countered by using chemical weaponry to suppress the peasant uprisings.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image as it shows lines of people participating on one side of the Tambov Rebellion. -
Kronstadt uprising
Definition: This was a combination of soldiers, civilians, and naval soldiers collectively protesting the harsh implications of the Bolshevik Rule on their lives. The naval officers were extremely mad because they were isolated on the island and were not aware of the harsh oppressors they were unknowingly working to defend.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image as it shows Red Army soldiers attacking the Kronstadt fort in retaliation of the uprisings. -
Ending of Wartime Communism
Definition: The Wartime Communism economic policy was aimed to make sure the soldiers and fighting forces, along with the upper-class bourgeoise, have enough rations to last them through the famines. It had drastic effects on the poor and was replaced by the New Economic Policy (NEP)
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image as it displays the alternative proposed to the Wartime Communism Policy. -
Treaty of Rapallo
Definition: The Treaty of Rapallo was an agreement between Germany and Russia brokered by Italy and signed in Rapallo, Italy, where Germany and Russia agreed to open peaceful diplomatic relations and got rid of all financial and territorial claims against the other. This was the last step in Russia’s recusation of its participation in World War I.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image as it shows German and Russian delegations peacefully interacting with each other. -
Formation of Soviet Union
Definition: All the disheveled governments and nations under the Russian Empire all collectively came together and declared themselves as the Soviet Union. Also known as the USSR, the Soviet Union declared Russia a fully communist state.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because it is the official flag of the Soviet Union. -
Ukraine brought under Soviet control
Definition: Ukraine was brought under Soviet control mainly due to the large Russian population, especially Bolsheviks, that lived in the region. The Russian government forced Ukraine to join the Soviet rule.
Picture Reasoning: I chose this image because it depicts Russian soldiers preparing to infiltrate Ukraine with the intention to “get Kiev!”. -
Lenin dies
Definition: Leader of the Bolshevik Party and founder of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, died in Gorki at the age of 53 of an incurable blood vessel disease (cerebral hemorrhage).
Picture Reasoning: I chose this because his embalmed corpse is on display at a mausoleum in Red Square, Moscow.