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Russia Loses the Crimean War
Russia’s inability to defend itself was proof of its backwardness and a concern for Tsar Alexander II. Russia had no railroads and was forced to bring supplies by carts to the Crimea. It took Russians 3 months to provision troops, whereas the enemy could do so in 3 weeks. -
Alexander II Abolished Serfdom
He believed that by abolishing serfdom, a well-trained army would could be created. Liberating the serfs would also create a system of free labor needed for industrial development. Lands were given to the peasants who had to pay back the government over 49 years. To guarantee repayment, the land was not granted directly to individual peasants but to the village commune, which was responsible for collecting redemption payments. -
Zemstvos Introduced
These were local elected assemblies on the provincial and county levels that governed local affairs. The 3 classes of landowners, townspeople and peasants elected representatives who were responsible for implementing educational, health, and other social welfare reforms. -
Alexander II Reforms the Military
With Prussian victory over France, Alexander used this as an excuse to push military reforms based on the Prussian model. All young men who reached the age of 20 were eligible for conscription where they had to serve 15 years, with 6 weeks of active duty. -
Alexander II is Assassinated
For the last decade of his reign, Alexander suppressed “populist crusaders,” educated men and women (many who had studied in Switzerland) traveling from village to village educating and radicalizing the peasants. Many were tried and imprisoned. In turn, assassination attempts had been made on Alexander several times. This one finally succeeded. -
Alexander III Becomes the New Tsar
Alexander III limited the freedom of the press and of the universities, and he sharply reduced the powers of Russia's local self-governments (the zemstvos) and favored centralized bureaucracy. He strengthened the secret police who arrested thousands. He also introduced a program of Russification. Minority groups were forced to use Russian and non-Orthodox religions were persecuted (particulary, the Jews). -
Sergei Witte Became Russia's Finance Minister
Witte pursued a policy of planned economic development, protective tariffs, and strong financial relationships with the French money market which led to later diplomatic cooperation between Russia and France. -
Nicholas II Became Tsar of Russia
Sergei Witte remains Nicholas' finance minister. Witte had favored heavy industries. Between 1890 and 1904, the Russian railway system grew and the Trans-Siberian Railroad was almost completed. Coal output more than tripled during the same period. There was a vast increase in iron production, steel production. Textile manufacturing continued and the factory system was used more extensively throughout the country. -
Lenin Published "What is to Be Done?"
Lenin sets out his vision of Russia’s special destiny in this pamphlet. He denounced any collaboration with moderate parties. Lenin considered that revolution was what Russia needed, and it needed to be done by agents of the party acting in the name of the working class. -
Lenin Wrote "What is to Be Done?"
Lenin sets out his vision of Russia’s special destiny. He denounced any collaboration with moderate parties. Lenin considered that revolution was what Russia needed, and it needed to be done by agents of the party acting in the name of the working class. -
Social Democrats Split into Factions
The Bolsheviks (majority group) believed that the Russian situation called for a strong centralized party of active revolutionaries. They also insisted that the rapid industrialization of Russia meant that they didn’t have to follow Marx’s model for the West. The Mensheviks (minority) wanted to see slow changed and didn’t want to depart from Marx’s theory. -
The Social Democrats Split into Factions
The Bolsheviks (majority group) believed that the Russian situation called for a strong centralized party of active revolutionaries. They also insisted that the rapid industrialization of Russia meant that they didn’t have to follow Marx’s model for the West. The Mensheviks (minority) wanted to see slow changed and didn’t want to depart from Marx’s theory. -
Russo-Japanese War Begins
Russia had been expanding eastward toward Manchuria and Mongolia. They came into contact with the Japanese who were also interested in expansion. Russia was quickly defeated by the Japanese army. -
Bloody Sunday
A group of 200,000 workers and their families, led by a priest went to demonstrate their grievances at the tsar’s winter palace. When guards killed 130 demonstrators and wounded hundreds, the government seemed ineffective and brutal. General protest grows and Russia comes to a standstill. -
Nicholas II Passed the October Manifesto
Sergei Witte convinced Nicholas II to grant concessions in the hopes of dividing the liberals from their more radical counterparts. According to Witte, there was no other way to save the monarchy. In the October Manifesto, Nicholas pledged to grant civil liberties and to create a parliament (the Duma) based in part on popular elections. Laws passed over the next several months abolished censorship and guaranteed freedom of assembly and association. -
Russia Enters World War I
Russia enters the war after Germany declared war on it. Russia had been mobilizing for war in order to help its ally, Serbia. Austria had declared war on Serbia. -
Nicholas II Takes Control of the Army
Nicholas left Russia to take personal command of the army. As a result, Russians blamed the tsar for the country’s military losses. Tsarina Alexander was now in charge, but she was extremely unpopular. She associated with Rasputin, a peasant healer from Siberia. When Nicholas II left for the front to take control of the Russian armed forces, Rasputin gained considerable influence at court. Alexandra believed that he could control their son's hemophilia -
Rasputin is Assassinated
Tensions were running high in Russia because of the war. Russia had the largest number of casualties of all the nations -- 7.5 million. War on the eastern front drove hundreds of thousands of peasants into the Russian interior, bringing hunger, homelessness and disease. In Petrograd, Rasputin's power was growing. The tsar's aristocratic supporters finally murdered him. -
International Women’s Day March
10,000 women marched into Petrograd shouting, “Down with war and high prices! Down with Starvation! Bread for workers!” The protestors demanded an end to the rule of Nicholas II. Police were reluctant to fire on the crowds because so many were women. Many troops even joined the demonstration. -
Provisional Government is Established
Led by moderate liberals, the government was made up of the Upper classes. The provisional government enacted into law civil liberties, religious freedom, equality before the law, union rights, and other liberal reforms. It promised more reforms and a constitution. But there were problems. The government had to share power with soviets – political organizations made up of workers, soldiers and radical intellectuals, who were strong in Petrograd -
Lenin Returns to Russia
German government secretly transported Lenin from his place of exile in Switzerland to a Baltic port, from which he made his way to Russia. This was to worsen the chaos in Russia and remove it from the war. Lenin had the talent of explaining complicated ideas in simple terms. When he arrived to Russia, he refused to cooperate with the provisional government. Instead he would use compelling slogans like “Peace to the Army,” “Land to the Peasants,” and Ownership of the Factories to the Workers -
July Demonstrations
The provisional government was a disappointment to many. It didn’t end Russia’s involvement in World War I, which caused Bolshevik influence to grow. These demonstrations were put down violently by the provisional government. The government arrested many Bolsheviks and caused many others to flee. -
Lenin and Trotsky Gain Control of Petrograd and Moscow Soviets
Many leading figures from the larger socialist parties were discredited through their association with the provisional government. This helped the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky, to gain control over the Petrograd and Moscow soviets. Bolshevik women created a network to call for demonstrations and organize women in factories. -
Bolsheviks Take Control of Government
Trotsky’s Red Guards (workers’ militia units) took over crucial control centers and arranged for the transfer of power to the soviets and Lenin. Within hours, he succeeded. Although some of the fighting was violent, the success of the Bolshevik Revolution stemmed from the revolutionaries’ organization and lack of effective resistance by the provisional government. -
Lenin is Elected Head of the New Government
The Bolsheviks, who now called themselves Communists, consolidated power. When national elections failed to return a Communist majority to the Constituent Assembly, Lenin had armed sailors disperse that elected body. Capitalism was abolished outright. The government nationalized land and turned over its management to local peasant committees. All crop surpluses went to the state. -
Civil War Breaks Out in Russia
The Russian aristocracy, including most of the higher army officers, launched a series of uncoordinated attacks against the Bolshevik regime. These “White” forces were aided by various other groups affected by the revolution. They also had the support of French, British, Greek, Polish Japanese, Czech and US troops. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The new government had its hands full with the refashioning of Russian society. Lenin immediately opened peace negotiations with Germany. Germany realized Russia’s helplessness demanded harsh terms. Ultimately, Russia gave up Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Bessarabia, and the Polish provinces. These lands contained 1/3 of Russia’s European population, ¾ of its iron, and 9/10 of its coal. -
War Communism Enacted
The government created this emergency policy to mobilize Russia’s economy and society for the civil war effort. Urban workers and troops swept through the countryside and confiscated grain from the peasant to feed the cities and the army. A secret police force hunted down “class enemies” and ensured conformity to the Bolsheviks regime. -
Nicholas II and Family Executed
To avoid the possibility of White forces freeing the imprisoned tsar, the Bolshevik government ordered the tsar, his wife and his 5 children executed.