Laine Beaulieu's Russian Revolution

Czar tightens control in reaction to war failures

Mar 3, 1861

Alexander II came to throne in 1855 in the middle of conflict, and was unable to save Russia from military failure. The humiliation of the Crimean War convinced him that, if his nation was to have peace and stability, military and domestic reforms were necessary. He abolished serfdom for reform.

Russian Revolution of 1905

Jan 22, 1905

The Russian Revolution of 1905 was a wave of mass political and social unease that spread through large areas of the Russian Empire. There were worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies directed at the government.

Progressive Bloc forms

Apr 27, 1906

the Progressive Bloc was an alliance of political forces that occupied 236 of 442 seats in the Imperial Duma.

First Duma dissolved by Czar Nicholas II

Jul 8, 1906

First Duma wanted continuing reform, including electoral reform and especially land reform. Nicholas II was getting scared of liberalism, so he dissolved the First Duma.

Second Duma dissolved by Nicholas II

Jun 3, 1907

Prime minister Pyotr Stolypin accused Social Democrats of preparing an armed uprising against the Tsarist government. He demanded that the Duma exclude 55 Social Democrats from Duma sessions and strip 16 of their parliamentary immunity. They refused the ultimatum, and consequently, Nicholas II dissolved the Second Duma.

February Revolution

Mar 8, 1917

Citizens were striking in Petrograd because Russian soldiers were ill-equipped for WWI, Russian casualties were greater than any nation in any previous year, Russia's economy was disrupted by costly war efforts, and moderates joined Russian radicals in calling for the overthrow of the czar.

Order No. 1 issued

Mar 14, 1917

Soviet Order No. 1 was the first official decree of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. The issue was ordered through the Military Commission of the Duma calling on soldiers to return to their barracks and obey their officers. Duma ordered this in worries of soldiers revolting in Petrograd.

First Coalition Government formed

Mar 15, 1917

The Russian Provisional Government was established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II. Their intention was to organize elections to the Russian Constituent Assembly and its convention.

Czar Nicholas II Abdicates

Mar 15, 1917

Czar Nicholas II abdicates, including his sons. The next day, Nicholas' brother, Mikhail refused to accept the throne. Provisional government formed.

Russia declared republic

Mar 15, 1917

The Russian Republic was a short-lived state that took control after the abdication of Nicholas II. The Republic's government was the Provisional Government.

Lenin Issues April Theses

Apr 17, 1917

Bolsheviks leader Vladimir Lenin issues a series of ten directives after he returned to Petrograd from exile in Switzerland. He called for soviets to take power, denounced liberals and socialist revolutionaries in the Provisional Government, called for Bolsheviks not to cooperate with Provisional Government, and called for new communist policies.

Kerensky becomes prime minister

Jul 21, 1917

After widespread unrest in Petrograd and suppression of the Bolsheviks, Kerensky succeeded Prince Lvov as Russia's prime minister. Following the Kornilov Affair at the end of August, he also appointed himself Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

Third Coalition Government with Bolsheviks as majority

Sep 25, 1917

Bolshevik majority in Petrograd Soviet elects Bolshevik Presidium and Trotsky as chairman.

Bolshevik Revolution

Oct 24, 1917

Also known as the October Revolution, was led by the Bolsheviks who used their influence in the Petrograd Soviet to organize armed forces. The Red Guards began seizing government buildings, including the Winter Palace (seat of Provisional Government). This is when the Bolsheviks seized power.

Lenin instated as the chairman of the Council of People's Commisionars

Nov 8, 1917

The Council of People's Commisionars was a government formed after the October Revolution. The council focused on restructuring the nation to form the Soviet Union. Being the chairman of the council, Lenin had the highest authority of executive power in the Soviet Union.

The White Movement

Jan 6, 1918

The White Army was a confederation of Anti-Communist forces that fought the Bolsheviks(Reds). They had a stated goal of bringing about law and order and the salvation of Russia.

treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Mar 3, 1918

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed between the Bolshevik Government of Soviet Russian and the Central Powers, that stated the withdraw of Russia's participation in World War I.

Lenin's attempted assassination

Apr 30, 1918

Fanya Yefimovna Kaplan was a Russian revolutionary who attempted assassination of Vladimir Lenin. As a Socialist revolutionary, Kaplan seen Lenin as a 'traitor to the revolution', when the Bolsheviks banned her party. She approached Lenin at a Moscow factory and shot him three times.

Allied forces arrive to fight alongside the Whites

Jul 16, 1918

A multi-national military expedition was launched by the allies to aid the Czechoslovakia Legion, secure supplies in Russian ports, and re-establish the Eastern Front. the Allies fought alongside the anti-Bolshevik White forces in Russia.

Czar Nicholas II and family executed

Jul 17, 1918

The Russian Imperial Romanov family were shot, bayoneted and clubbed to death. The Tsar and his family were killed by Bolshevik troops, worried he would inspire conservative reign of Russia. Their bodies were mutilated, burned, and buried in a filed called Porosenkov Log in the Koptyaki forest.

Battle of Kazan

Aug 5, 1918

The city of Kazan was captured from the Reds by the White Army. The Reds tried to stop the Whites, but they were not prepared and they were poorly organized.

Battle of Sviyazhsk

Sep 9, 1918

The Simbirsk Operation was the Red Army's offensive against the People Army of Komuch.

New Economic Policy announced

Mar 21, 1921

The New Economic Policy was proposed by Lenin, and was described as a progression towards "state capitalism" within the worker's state of the USSR.

Church and state are legally seperated

Apr 6, 1921

The USSR starts an anti-religious campaign, especially targeted at the Orthodox Church. They tried to reverse religious beliefs and replace them with atheism. The state conducted anti-religious persecutions against believers that were made to hurt and destroy religion.

Whites permanently defeated

Apr 21, 1923

The White Movement is permanently defeated by the Bolsheviks. The anti-Bolsheviks went into exile all around Europe and established military and cultural networks that lasted through the Second World War.

Lenin dies

Jan 21, 1924

Vladimir Lenin dies of a brain hemorrhage at 54. Stalin will become his successor.