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The Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a war with Russia, Denmark-Norway, and Saxony-Poland against Sweden which lasted from Febuary 22, 1700 until September 10, 1721. Sweden was making advances in the Baltic Sea, which angered the nearby nations, causing a war. Eventually, Poland surrended and ended its allience with Russia. Later, Charles XI, the king of Sweden was killed in battle, and the Sweden influence declined. This made Russia a major power in that area. -
The Decembrist Revolt
The Decembrist Revolt was caused be a group of army officers and nobles when they tried to overthrow the czar and his government. The group wanted to set up a constitutional monarchy, but failed. Nicolas I quickly ceased the movement and proceded to execute several officials and exile hundreds to Siberia. This effected Russa because after the revolt, Nicolas I banned most books from the west and spied on schools and other establishments, for he thought they were centers of unrest. -
Czar Alexander II Emancipatess the Serfs
When Alexander II was in power, he emancipated the serfs. This meant that all of the serfs had some politcal rights and could keep their homes of tools. However, they were not simply given land, they had to buy it at very high prices. This meant that the serfs usually stayed in deep poverty and debt. After he emancipated the serfs, Alexander II encouraged the building of schools and imroved health care. -
The Assassination of Alexander II
On March 13, 1881, a terrorist organization called People's Will assassinated Alexander II. One of the members of the group threw a bomb at Alexander's carraige and mortally wounded him. He eventually died from the wound. This caused Alexander III to resort to repression to try to stop the revolution. -
The Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was a war between Russia and Japan that lasted from Febuary 8, 1904 through September 5, 1905. Russia and Japan both wanted dominance in Manchuria and Korea, and eventually a war broke out between the two nations. After a while, the Russians lost againts Japan. This was considered the first great war of the 20th century. It was also the first time an Asian country won a war against a European country. -
Bloody Sunday
On January 22, 1905, workers from factories in St. Petersburg planned a peaceful march on the Winter Palace. They were going to ask for better working conditions and some political freedoms. The people gathered in front of the palace and started singing "God save thy czar". This was misinterpreted by the soldiers, who started firing shots at the workers, killing about 100 of them. This sparked the Revolution of 1905. -
The Reovlution of 1905
After Bloody Sunday, the citizens of Russia were horrified and thus began the Revolution of 1905. Peasants ransacked the homes of their landowners and riots were started in the cities. Nicholas II created the Duma, which was an elected assembly, to so small political tasks. The Duma didn't do much for Russia, and many people were still furious at the czar. This casused a governmental change in Russia and much unrest in Russia. -
World War I
WWI was a war that started when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. When Russia joined the allies, it did not do well. Russia did not have enough guns or supplies to fight. They invaded Germany, but the Germans pushed them out. Russia was being paid to fight in the war, and they had to keep fighting as the country had little money. Many Russians died, and communism rose out of the ashes. -
The March Revolution
By March 1st, Rasputin was dead and Lenin was out of the country, and the people of Russia were very angry. WWI had cost Russia millions of lives and a lot of food. Workers from factories all around the capital started rioting and the situation spiralled out of control. The Duma fell apart and tried to build back up again, but failed. Soon, the roayal family was murdered and the title of czar was gone. This was the final straw for Russia and the peak of a growing anger in the people of Russia. -
Czar Nicolas II Abdicates the Russian Throne
Angry citizens were starting riots and strikes in the Russian capital, Petrograd, about the war and food shortage.Troops were sent by the government to restore order, but some even joined the citizens in rioting. Many czarist officials were being overthrown throughout Russia, so Nicolas II gave up the throne. This changed Russia greatly, since Nicolas II was the last czar of Russia, and the entire government changed after that.
