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Czar Nicholas Rule
Nicholas II continued the tradition of Russian autiocracy, but this was not helpful to the conditions in Russia at this time. The people were not supported by Nicholas and their needs were not being met. They wanted to prove to Nicholas that they were important. -
Development of Revolutionary Groups
Workers who were frustrated with the low wages, working conditions, and the lack of political power organized strikes to show their voice. A group of revolutionaries, Marxist, believed that the working class would eventually over throw the czar and form a proletariat dictatorship. In this form of government, the workers would be in control of the country. -
Bloody Sunday
About 200,000 workers and their families gathered at czar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg on January 22, 1905. They had with them a petition asking for better working conditions, more personal freedom and an elected national legislature. Nicholas II generals ordered soliders to fire on the crowd, more than 1,000 were wounded and several hundred killed. Bloody Sunday then provoked strikes and violence across the country. Finally in October of 1905 Nicholas promised more freedom to the people. -
World War 1
Nicholas II made the decision to drag Russia into World War I. Russia was unprepared to handle the military and economic costs. Russia was no match for Germany because of their weak generals and poorly equipped troops. Before a year had passed in the war, more than 4 million Russian soldiers had been killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Entering this war was one of Russia's biggest mistakes. -
The March Revolution
Women textile workers in Petrograd led a citywide strike in March of 1917. In five days riots were brought up because of shortages of bread and feul. Almost 200,000 workers swarmed the streets saying " Down with the autocracy" and "Down with th War". Soldiers were ordered to shoot the rioters and they did but later on they sided with them. -
The Czar Steps Down
The March Revolution turned into a general uprising. It forced Czar Nicholas II to leave his throne. A year later revolutionaries executed Nicholas and his family. The March Revolution succeeded in bringing down Czar but its failed to set up a strong government. Leaders of the Duma created a provisional government where Alexander Kerensky was the leader.He wanted to continue the war making Russia weaker. People began to fight for power and everything became unstable in Russia. -
The Bolshevik Revolution
Lenin and the Bolsheviks soon gained control of the Petrograd soviet. The Bolshevik Red Guards stormed the Winter Palace and took over government offices and arrested the leaders of the provisional government. The Bolshevik government signed a truce with Germany to stop fighting and began peace talks and signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March of 1918. Civil War broke out between the Bolshevkis' White Army and Red Army. In the end, the red army crushed all opposition. -
Lenin in Power
War and revolution destroyed the Russian economy. In March 1921, Lenin temporarily put aside his plan for a state-controlled economy. He reorted to a small scale version of capitalism called the New Economic Policy. The government kept control of major industries, banks and means of communication but it let small factories, buisnesses and farms operate under private ownership.To keep nationalsism in check, Lenin organized Russia into several self governing republics. -
Stalin becomes a Dictator
Lenin suffered a stroke in 1922 and survived. This caused competition for heading up the Communist Party. The most notable men were Leon Trotsky and Joesph Stalin. Stalin was cold, hard and impersonal. He began his climb into the head of the government between 1922 and 1927. By 1928, Stalin was in total command of the Communist Party. Stalin forced Trotsky into exile in 1929 so he was no longer a threat. Lenin always believed that Stalin was a dangerous man. -
Russia Industrializes
Rapid industrialization changed the face of the Russian economy. The number of factories doubled between 1863-1900 but Russia still lagged behind the industrial nations of western Europe. To help finannce Russian industries, the government raised taxes. The growth of factories brought new problems such as, low wages and terrible working conditions to Russia.
