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The Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was when Russia and a few other smaller powers challenged Sweden, causing Swedish influence to decline and Russia to emerge as a major power in the region. Peter the Great then built the new capital, St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea. Russians reorganized their military and set up new eastern establishments. -
The Decembrist Revolt
A little group of army officials and nobles attempted to overthrow the czar's government. They wanted to start a constitutional monarchy instead. Nicholas I stopped the rebellion shortly after it began. He sent hundreds to Siberia and killed 5 of the main leaders. After the revolt, the czar started strict censorship on anything with liberal ideas. 150.000 people were sent to Siberia because of treason. Even though the Decembrists failed, they were eventually called heroes by many. -
Czar Alexander II Emancipates the Serfs
In 1861, Czar Alexander II freed the serfs of Russia. They gained some political rights and were able to keep homes and tools. They still had to buy land though, and it was expensive. They had high debt and taxes. They lived in terrible poverty still. Their living conditions didn't change, and it didn't do any good for the economy like they thought. -
The Assassination of Alexander II
Russians started to get frustrated by the slow changes. They started revolting. They wanted to establish socialism in Russia. They tried to get peasants to help in the revolution, but they failed and turned to terrorism. They killed officials and assassinated the czar in St. Petersburg. Slowly socialism grew and socialist revolution spread. -
The Russo-Japanese War
In 1904 there was a conflict over Korea and Manchuria with Japan that caused the Russo-Japanese War. Russia was humiliatingly defeated. It was a huge defeat for them, and it only added to the already difficult economic hardships they were having. -
Bloody Sunday
Father Gapon planned to march with factory workers peacefully to the czar's palace in St. Petersburg to petition fro better working conditions and freedoms. As they walked up to the palace soldiers began firing upon them. More than 100 marchers died. Many more were severely injured. It horrified Russian people and caused riots, strikes, and other future revolutions. It showed the people that the czar was willing to use force to defend his rule. -
The Revolution of 1905
The Revolution of 1905 started after the events of Bloody Sunday horrified the people of Russia. There were strikes and riots throughout many cities and the peasants stole from and burned down houses of landowners. People revolted against the governement all over and caused chaos in the cities. In order to end all the violence and chaos, the czar Nicholas II set up a group of leaders called the Duma to make minor reforms. The Duma and the reforms howver, did little to help Russia. -
World War I (Russian Involvement)
Nicholas II mobilized the Russian army in August 1914 to join their allies Britain and France in fighting against Germany in WWI. Russia suffered tremendous losses of life and they were poorly equipped. The industries couldn't keep up with the demand of supplies and this hurt the army even further, There weren't enough weapons, food, or supplies to manage the army. This angered many people and they then started to revolt against the czar in protest to the war (the March Revolution). -
The March Revolution
In March 1917, agry crowds began riots and strikes in the Russian capial, Petrograd. They protested agaist the food shortages they had been having and the war. The government sent in troops, but many refused to fire on the crowds. Some even joined in the prtoest. These events lead to Nicholas II abdicating the throne only a week later. After this they set up the Provisional Government to restore order, -
Czar Nicholas II abdicates the Russian Throne
After all the events during the March Revolution, the Czar Nicholas II decided to abdicate the Russian Throne, He gave up power and fled with his family. The whole family and workers were then murdered by the Bolsheviks when they were in hiding. The Duma then set up the Provisional Government in attempt to restore order. They set up reforms like free speech and religion, which meant that for the first time the government was based on actual laws not decrees by the czar.
