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Rapid industrialization caused factories to more than double
These factories were supposed to help boost Russia's economy but Russia still lagged behind the industrial nations of western Europe -
Alexander III succeeded his father and halted all reforms
Alexander stuck to the principle of autocracy like his father Alexander II and his grandfather Nicholas I -
Nicholas most capibale minister started a program finance and build up Russian industries by raising taxes
By the minister doing so this boosted Russia's steel industry to fourth largest in the world. -
Work for the world's longest continuous rail line begun.
This railroad wasn't only constructed by Russia. Russia had help from the British and French. -
Nicholas II became czar (supreme ruler)
Nicholas II continued autocracy which had been in Russian tradition for years. -
Russian Marxist split into two groups.
Bolsheviks and Mensheviks were the two new groups. The Bolshevicks were the more radicals willing to sacrifice everything for change. Mensheviks were the more moderate ones wanting a broad base of popular support for the revolution. -
Japan launched a surprise torpedo attack on the Russian navy at Port Arthur.
This latter esculated to the Russo-Japanese war which was known as the first great war of the 20th Century. -
200,000 workers and families striked on czar's Winter Palace in St. Petersgurg
Carrying a petition asking for better working conditions, more personla freedom, and an elected national legislature, more than several thousand were killed or wounded. This became known as Bloody Sunday. -
The Russian army fired on a crowd of striking miners, killing 150
This was known as the Lena Massacre -
Nicholas II made a fateful decision to drag Russia into WWI
Russia was unprepared to handle the military and economic costs their weak generals and poorly equiped troops were no match for the German army -
Women of the textile industries in Petrograd led a citywide strike this became known as the March Revolution.
Riots flared up quickly over shortage of bread and fuel. approximately 200,000 workers stormed the streets shouting, "down with autocracy, down with the war!" -
Russia and Germany singed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia surrendered a larg part of its territory to Germany and its allies eventually causing anger and humiliation among Russians -
Civil War raged in Russia between the White Army and the Red Army
around 14 million Russians died in this three year struggle -
Lenin returned temporarily put aside his plan for state controlled economy and turned to reviving the economy and restructuring the government
Lenin restored to a small scale version of capitalism called New Economic Policy. -
Russia was named the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
This was done in honor of the councils that helped launch the Bolshevik Revolution and to keep nationalism in check. -
Lenin died on January 21, 1924
Before his death Lenin wrote a letter in fear of Joseph Stalin's control "Comrade Stalin...has concentrated enormous power with in his hands , and I amnot sure that he always knows how to use that power with sufficient caution." -
The Communists recently the Bolsheviks created a conctitution based on socialist and democratic principles.
In reality the Communists held all power Lenin had established a dictatorship of the Communists party. -
Between 1922 and 1927 Joseph Stalin began his ruthless climb to power as head of the government
When Lenin suffered a stroke in 1922 this set in motion competition for head of government. -
Joseph Stalin became in total command of the Communist Party
Stalin now stood poised to wield absolute power as a dictator. -
Russia's farms and factories were producing as much as they had before WWI
This could not have happened if not for the new policies and peace that followed the civil war.
