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The Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was fought between the Anti-Swedish Alliance (lead by Russia) and Sweeden. The alliance beleived that Sweeden was a spent force and was just waiting for a more superior force to concor it. The Russians eventually defeated the Swedish Empire. As a result, Peter the Great's Russia became the leading power in the Baltic Region. -
The Decembrist Revolt
The Decembrist Revolt was an unsuccessful uprising in which the Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against the czar’s government and Nicholas I's assumption of the throne. The rebels were given the name Decembrists because the revolt was in December. The uprising was poorly organized, and easily put down by the czar's forces. This was a turning point in Russian history, because it marked the start of the battle against autocracy. -
Czar Alexander II Emancipates the Serfs
The 1861 Emancipation of Russian Serfs was the most important reform during the reign of Alexander II. He realized that the feudal system was bringing Russia down and making it weak. The laws still weren't very fair towards the serfs. The nobles would sell them land at double the price it should be even though it was not good quality. The freeing of the serfs did however led to growth of the economy. -
The Assassination of Alexander II
Alexander II was killed on the streets of St. Petersburg by a bomb thrown by a member of the "People's Will" group. This was a group that employed assasination in their attempt to overthrow Russia's autocracy. They made several attemps before actually succeeding. His assassination caused a huge setback in the reform movement. If he were to live, Russia may have followed a path to becoming a constitutional monarchy. The police also went back to being brutal to the civilians. -
The Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was a series of battles in which the Japanese defeated Russia. Russia entered the war as a plan to gain patriotism from the people towards Czar NIcholas II. The Russians however underestimated the military power of Japan. Because of this war, it showed the world that Russia did not have the power that it used to, and people began to dislike Nicholas. -
The Revolution of 1905
The Revolution of 1905 was a seires of strikes and revolts protesting the Russian government. To stop the unrest, Czar Nicholas II used the military to put down the reolts. He set up loyal troops all over to restore law and order. The result was that everyone now knew where the government stood. -
Bloody Sunday
Over 3,000 people marched to Czar Nicholas II's palace to pesent a petition to him. Instead of listening to then, Nicholas II had his gaurds open fire at the crowd. One hundred people were killed, and three hundred where injured. This is important becuase it was the first event that lead to the revolution. This event also lead to Nicholas II recieving the nickname "Bloody Nicholas". -
World War I
Russia entered WWI being the largest army in the world. The reason the entered was because Austria lead an attack on the Balkans. Germany also wanted control of the Balkans. Germany then declared war. Russia had no choice but to defend themselves and enter the war. This affected Russia greatly, because after WWI, Vladimir Lenin and the Communist Party came into power. -
The March Revolution
The March Revolution was a series of riots and outbursts by the Russian people which put an end to the royal autocracy and brought the start of the Russian SFSR. The revolution started becuase the Russians were upset about food and fuel shortages (because of the war). They blamed the Czar and everyone began to turn on the royal family. -
Czar Nicholas II Abdicates the Russian Throne
Czar Nicholas II was forced to step down from the Russian Throne because of riots and strikes began to break out. Nicholas was replaced by a provincial government. The royal family was then held as prisoners under house arrest. On the night of July 16, 1917, the family was killed by a firing squad.
