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The Great Northern War
When Peter the Great came to power in Russia, Russia controlled a vast amount of land, but they still didn't have access to the ocean. Peter the Great formed his army to prepare to attack Sweden, a long-time enemy of Russia. Along with Poland/Saxony and Denmark, he invaded Sweden. After Peter lost a few battles, the King of Sweden made the mistake of marching towards Moscow. The king retreated southwards towards Turkey, and Peter took land next to the Baltic Sea. Russia finally had a port. -
The Decembrist Revolt
A small group of army officers and nobles tried to overthrow Czar Nicholas I's government and wanted to set up a constitutional monarchy. They failed, and the revolt was crushed quickly and brutally. Even though the group failed, they became heroes to later groups of revolutionaries. -
Czar Alexander II Emancipates the Serfs
The Feudalism system existed in Russia for centuries after the other European nations dropped it. The sefs were restless and wanted freedom. Alexander II freed all the sefs from serfdom for multiple reasons. One reason was they wanted freedom and were restless. Another reason was because factory owners needed more workers because so many people were serfs. However, life for the serfs after they had been freed did not improve that much. This would eventually lead to later riots revolutions. -
The Assassination of Alexander II
In 1879, a resurgence of revolutionary terrorism occured. Many attempts were tried on Czar Alexander II's life. A terrorist organization called People's will eventually assassinated him with a bomb in St. Petersburg on March 13, 1881. -
The Russo-Japanese War
Manchuria (north-east China) and Korea was disputed over by Russia and Japan. The conflict eventually led to war. Russia went into the war expecting to win. However, the Japanese quickly defeated the Russians in a series of battles. The war was a stunning defeat for the Russians, and fueled unrest at home. -
Bloody Sunday
Father Gapon, a young priest, planned a peaceful march of factory workers to the czar's palace in St. Petersburg. They were upset over the loss of the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War and wanted better working conditions and some political freedoms. Soldiers barred the way of the marchers and opened fire on them. More than 100 marchers were killed and hundreds more were wounded. This infuriated people all over Russia. -
The Revolution of 1905
Bloody Sunday horrified the Russians and many revolted. It may have been the last straw with many of them. Strikes and riots erupted all over Russia. To stop the revolution, Nicholas II agreed to set up an elected assembly named the Duma and made other slight reforms. Unrest was still widespread. -
World War I
Russia was allied to Britain and France. When Britain and France went to war with Germany and Austrai-Hungary, Russia joined its allies. Each side expected a quick and easy victory. As the war progressed, things got worse and worse for the Russians. Neither the soldiers nor the people had enough supplies. This led to even more hatred towards the czar. -
The March Revolution
In March 1917, in St. Petersburg, the biggest revolution of all occured. Riots and strikes erupted throughout the city. Angry crowds shouted "Bread and Peace!" When people in other cities heard the news, they revolted as well. This caused a ripple effect all thorughout the country. After just a week of riots, Czar Nicholas II abdicated his throne. -
Czar Nicholas II abdicates the Russian throne
A week after the March Revolution began, Czar Nicholas finally decided to abdicate, or give up, his throne. The Romanov dynasty finally collapsed, after ruling Russia for over 300 years. Nicholas II would be the last czar. He and his family were eventually murdered by the Bolsheviks.
