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Alex III becomes Czar
Alex III becomes the Czar of Russia. He overtook suceeded his father and halted all reforms and cllung to the principles of his Grandfather, Nicholas I. -
Nicholas II becomes Czar
When Nicholas II became czar in 1894, he contin- ued the tradition of Russian autocracy. Unfortunately, it blinded him to the changing conditions of his times. -
Russian marxists split into two
The more moderate Mensheviks wanted a broad base of popular support for the revolution. The more radical Bolsheviks supported a small number of committed revolutionaries willing to sacrifice everything for change. -
Bloody Sunday
On January 22, 1905, about 200,000 workers and their familiesapproached the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. They carried apetition asking for better working conditions, more personal freedom,and an elected national legislature.Nicholas II’s generals ordered soldiers to fire on the crowd. -
Nicholas promises more freedom
Bloody Sunday provoked a wave of strikes and violence that spread across the country. In October 1905, Nicholas reluctantly promised more freedom. -
First meeting of Duma
Nicholas II approved the first Russian Parlament. Its leaders were moderates who wanted Russia to become a constitu- tional monarchy similar to Britain. But because he was hesitant to share his power, the czar dissolved the Duma after ten weeks. -
Russia enters WWI
Nicholas made the decision for Russia to enter WWI. The military was unprepared. -
Death of Rasputin
A group of nobles murdered Rasputin. Rasputin was a self described "holy man" who was gaining power. -
Strike by Textile workers
In March 1917, women textile workers in Petrograd led a citywide strike. In the next five days, riots flared up over shortages of bread and fuel. Nearly 200,000 workers swarmed the streets shouting, “Down with the autocracy!” and “Down with the war!” At first the soldiers obeyed orders to shoot the rioters but later sided with them -
Czar Nicholas II is forced to step down
After the revoltion in March Nicholas was forced from power. Later he and his entire family was executed ending the 300 year rule of the Romanov family. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
In March 1918, Russia and Germanysigned the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Russiasurrendered a large part of its territory toGermany and its allies. -
Period: to
Civil War
Russia’s civil war proved far more deadly than the earlier revolutions. Around 14 million Russians died in the three-year struggle and in the famine that followed.In the end, the Red Army crushed all opposition. The victory showed that the Bolsheviks were able both to seize power and to maintain it. -
Lenin takes power
In March 1921, Lenin temporarily put aside his plan for a state-controlled economy. Instead, he resorted to a small-scale version of capital- ism called the New Economic Policy (NEP). The reforms under the NEP allowed peasants to sell their surplus crops instead of turning them over to the government. -
Lenin has a stroke
Lenin had a stroke but survived. This caused the competition for whoever would take over next. Stalin was the next to take over -
Stalin takes total control
In March 1921, Lenin temporarily put aside his plan for a state-controlled economy. Instead, he resorted to a small-scale version of capital- ism called the New Economic Policy (NEP). The reforms under the NEP allowed peasants to sell their surplus crops instead of turning them over to the government. Stalin in Russian means man of steel.
