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The Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrows the Tsarist autocracy, resulting in a liberal provisional government in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) through a successful armed insurrection, marking the beginning of the Soviet era. -
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed on March 3, 1918, ended Russia's involvement in World War I but resulted in significant territorial losses to the Central Powers. -
The Bolsheviks executed the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, along with his wife, Alexandra, and their children, bringing an end to the Romanov dynasty. -
A violent conflict between the Bolshevik Red Army and anti-communist factions that resulted in widespread devastation and loss of life.
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Sailors at the Kronstadt naval base, previously supporters of the Bolsheviks, revolt against the Soviet government due to dissatisfaction with their policies. The rebellion is brutally suppressed by the Red Army. -
Lenin introduces the New Economic Policy, a temporary retreat from strict communism, allowing for limited private enterprise and market mechanisms to revive the war-torn Soviet economy.
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The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is officially established, uniting Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Transcaucasian Federation (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia) into a single state. -
Joseph Stalin's policy of collectivization begins, aimed at transforming privately-owned farms into collective farms. This process results in significant resistance from the peasantry and leads to widespread famine in some regions.