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The Great Northern War
The Great Northern War lasted from 1700 to 1721. (Although this war started in 1700, the causes of it had been fermenting throughout the 1690's.) The War was fought between Sweden's Charles XII and a coalition lead by Peter the Great. By the end of the war Sweden had lost its supremacy as the leading power in the Baltic region and was replaced by Peter the Great's Russia. -
The Decembrist Revolt
A group of nobles and army officers tried to overthrow the czar's government in December 1825. They hoped to set up a constitutional monarchy. The czar at the time, Nicholas I, quickly crushed the uprising, otherwise known as the Decembrist Revolt. He executed five leaders and exiled hundreds to Siberia. Although the Decembrists had failed, they had become heroes to later generations of revolutionaries. -
Czar Alexander II Emancipates the Serfs
In 1856, Alexander II spoke before the gentry of Moscow and asked them to consider emancipation of the Serfs. Alexander described his government's new policy of glasnost (openess). In 1858, committees of gentry gathered in Russia's various provinces, and, representing the gentry in general, nine met in what was called a Main committee, at St. Petersburg, and agreed to the abolition of serfdom should the Czar decide to do so. In March 1861, Alexander issued his Emancipation Manifesto. -
The Assassination of Alexander II
As Alexander II was travelling in a closed carriage, accompanied by six Cossacks with a seventh sitting on the coachman's left, a bomb was thrown near the carriage. The explosion, while killing many Cossacks and seriously wounding the driver, had only damaged the carriage. The emperor emerged shaken but unharmed. The remaining cossacks urged the emperor to leave at once. The emperor refused saying he was concerned about the Cossacks. Suddenly another bomb was thrown, killing him instantly. -
The Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which began with the Japanese naval attack on Port Arthur, had its roots in the simultaneous determination of both Japan and Russia to develop 'spheres of influence' in the Far East, mainly at the expense of China. Japan knew that they could not win a long war fought over a vast expanse, but they could win a short localized war, and that is exactly what they did. -
The Russian Revolution
The events of Bloody Sunday horrified Russians and sparked the revolution of 1905. Riots and strikes swept through the cities. In the countryside, peasants looted and burned the homes of landowners. To end the violence Nicholas II finally agreed to set up an elected assembly called the Duma and to make other minor reforms. These reforms helped to solve Russia's major problems. However, inequality and repression still remained. -
Bloody Sunday
After the Russo-Japanese war economic hardships were occurring in Russia. As this worsened, Father Georfi Gapon planned a peaceful march of factory workers to the czar's palace in St. Petersburg. There, workers would present a petition to Nicholas II asking for better working conditions and some political freedoms. In 1905, thousands of unarmed men, woman, and children joined Father Gapon. While protesting, soldiers open fired on the crowd. More than 100 marchers were found dead. -
World War One
When World War One started in August 1914, Russia responded by patriotically rallying around Nicholas II. Military disasters at the Masurian Lakes and Tnnenburg greatly weakened the Russian Army in the initial phases of the war. The growing influence of Gregory Rasputin over the Ramanov's did a great deal of damage to the royal family and by the end of the spring of 1917, the Romanovs, who had ruled Russia for over 300 years were no longer in charge. Soon, Lenin had introduced Communism. -
The March Revolution
In March 1917, riots and strikes erupted in Petrograd, the Russian capital. Angry crowds protested the war and the shortage of food. When the demonstrations began to spread, the government sent troops to restore order. Many soldiers refused to fire on the crowds. Hundreds even joined the protestors. News of the events in Petrograd quickly spread by telegraph. The Revolution was pure chaos. -
Czar Nicholas II abdicates the Russian throne
Only about a week after the riots began Nicholas II abdicated the throne. To quickly restore order, leaders of the Duma set up the Provisional Government. This temporary government introduced reforms such as freedom of speech and of religion. It called for an elected assembly to draw up a constitution. For the first time, Russia would have a government based on written laws rather than on the decrees of the czar.
