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With the intention to save a failing Russian army and inspire troops to fight on, Tsar Nicholas II assumed sole control over the Russian military. In doing so he left the capitol of St. Petersburg to fight with the soldiers. This left the Tsarina and her adulterous lover Rasputin to take care of Russia (which did not go so well). Instability and anti-Tsarist sentiment grew very strong.
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Caused by the Bloody Sunday Massacre after a great deal of civil unrest against Tsarist Russia, the 1905 Revolution was a series of uprisings and labor strikes intended to put a strain on the government to make reform. In response, the October Manifesto was presented to expand civil liberty, limit the monarchy, implement more democracy, and legalize trade unions and alternative political parties.
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The Arch Duke Franz-Ferdinand being assassinated by Serbian rebel groups set into motion a series of demands, political angst and struggle, and eventually war. Austria and Serbia, the countries who got into a war with each other, called on their allies from around the world to help each of them. Soon these smaller powers fighting also had superpowers fighting.
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Russian nobles, distrustful of Rasputin and disliking of his distrust of them, lured Rasputin into a trap and assassinated him. This was supported by the Russian people as they believed him to be illegitimately and incorrectly controlling the Russian monarchy.
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A strike led by the female textile workers of Petrograd lasting 2 days with the intention of forcing reform against the monarchy to decrease food shortages. This march led to large-scale mutiny (including other workers and soldiers) which sparked the February Revolution.
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Directly AFTER Tsar Nicholas II's abdication, a temporary government was formed by the Duma to maintain affairs while a new government was put into place. The members of the PG were from many different political factions (i.e. Kadets, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, etc).
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Following the February Revolution Nicholas II was forced to abdicate and go into exile. This was major as there was a new whole where the Tsar's power was that every party wanted to fill.
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Lenin's first major debut was the publishing of his manifesto encouraging the Soviets to overthrow the dominating class and create a proletariat dictatorship. He promised peach, food, and land for the poor while also promising justice against the rich. He gained massive support.
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After having been exiled, Germany organized Lenin to return to Russia as the leader of the Bolshevik party. He was welcomed back warmly and his revolutionary ideas were accepted with acclaim.
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A central executive committee was elected to be in permanent session to uphold the PG. The Bolsheviks had a vast minority (105 seats of the ~650 seats between the 3 major parties) and was therefore not represented well.
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The largest Russian attack of WW1: Andrei Brusilov led an attack on the Eastern front taking pressure off of Verdun and eventually defeating Austria-Hungary. It was very costly however so Russia was nearly wiped for resources.
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The violent riots of Petrograd which were falsely blamed on the Bolshevik party. This caused mass censorship of Bolshevik activity and a near closing of the party altogether. Lenin was forced to flee from arrest in order to keep the Bolshevik party alive.
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General Kornilov attempted a coup to establish his own dictatorship, heavily arming his men and preparing for intensely violent conflict. The government (Which had just tried to shut the Bolsheviks down) was forced to ask them for help defending Russia. Kornilov was defeated and the Bolsheviks gained political credit.
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Trotsky organizes the Red Guard to defend against Kornilov and wins. The Bolsheviks were given weapons and pardoned for their assistance in helping Russia. They did not return the weapons and walked away with political credit to the Bolshevik identity.
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The Bolsheviks, armed from the Kornilov Affair, overthrow the PG and establish themselves as the new government of Russia.
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The Cheka (the Bolshevik secret police) was formed by Lenin to hunt and destroy counter-revolution by any means necessary. It was headed by Feliz Dzerhinsky and used violence and terror to control the people from going against Lenin.
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After Lenin lost the Constituent Assembly, he walked out and the Bolsheviks disbanded any political party that wasn't Bolshevik. Thus, the Assembly was disbanded and Bolsheviks ruled as a mono-party state.
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A treaty between the Bolshevik government and the Central Powers which ended Russia's involvement in WW1 at the cost of 32% of Russian land.
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Wartime communism was put into place in order to control the people amidst civil war following the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk. It lasted officially from 1918 to 1921 and was enforced militarily and harshly.
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The Red Terror was the authoritarian regime era of the Bolshevik party in which the Cheka unleashed a campaign of intimidation, arrest, torture, destruction, and execution for those who disobeyed the Bolsheviks in the slightest.
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The Whites attacked the Reds from Siberia but were quickly counter-attacked and devastated under the Bolshevik forces. This initiated months of attack and counter-attack from both sides in a fierce battle that the Bolsheviks eventually won.
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The Poles attempted to move into Kiev in order to take advantage of the Russian civil war but were almost immediately driven back to Warsaw by the Bolshevik forces.
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With the counter strike on Warsaw to spread communism through Russia, the Red Army failed and was driven back into Minsk. The armies were evenly matched.
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The largest peasant uprising against the Bolshevik [party during the civil war. Led by Socialist Revolutionaries, it aimed to end grain requisitioning and war communism outright. They were weak and were defeated but lit a fire in the Russian people that they needed to push back.
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A naval base that was destroyed by the Bolsheviks for protesting against them. This was significant to the Russian people because this naval base was key in the October Revolution, highlighting that the Bolsheviks had replaced one authoritarian regime with another one.
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War communism ended and was replaced by the New Economic Plan after massive pushback from the Russian working class against the Bolsheviks. It was introduced to revert the effects of WC and garner Bolshevik support.
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A treaty between Russia and Germany agreeing to cancel debt, develop trade, and allowing Germany to secretly develop militarily in Russia without the rest of Europe knowing.
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Ukraine became an original constituent republic of the newly formed USSR.
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After the end of the Russian civil war the Bolsheviks thought it best to rebrand as the new USSR to be recognized diplomatically. It stood under the NEP (capitalism socialism fusion) and allowed some extent of free trade and individualism.
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After a series of strokes, Lenin had retired in 1923 and allowed Stalin (who he admittedly did not approve of) to head the USSR. He died in 1924 in retirement having destroyed Russia to make way for the USSR.