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Collapse of the Monarchy
Disasters on the battlefield, combined with food and fuel shortages on the home front, brought the monarchy to collapse. Troops refused to fire on the demonstrators, leaving the government helpless. Finally, on the advice of military and political leaders, the czar abdicated. -
Lenin Returns from Exile
Lenin stepped off the train in Petrograd. A crowd of fellow exiles and activists recently released from the czar's prisons met him at the station. -
Going Against Germany
The government launched a disastrous offensive against Germany because they wanted their land back Germany took from them when the treaty was signed. -
The Bolshevik Takeover
Squads of Red Guards—armed factory workers—joined mutinous sailors from the Russian fleet in attacking the provisional government. In just a matter of days, Lenin's forces overthrew a government that no longer had any support. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk giving up a huge chunk of its territory and its population. The cost for peace was extremely high, but the Communist leaders knew that they needed all their energy to defeat a battery of enemies at home. -
Dictators
Dictators arose in Italy and Germany. They, too, created one-party states and cults of personality to impose dictatorial rule on their people. -
Costly Triumph
The Communists had defeated their scattered foes, but Russia was in chaos. Millions had died since the beginning of World War I. Millions more perished from the famine and disease that stalked the land. -
The NEP
Lenin adopts the New Economic Policy. Small businesses are then allowed to reopen for private profit. The Government stops getting grains from peasants, and they have their own small plots of land along with the freedom of selling their crops. -
A New Government
The Communists produced a constitution that seemed both democratic and socialist. It set up an elected legislature, later called the Supreme Soviet, and gave all citizens over 18 the right to vote. -
Death of Lenin
At Lenin's death, Trotsky and Stalin jockeyed for position. They differed on most issues, including the future of communism. Trotsky, a firm Marxist, urged support for a worldwide revolution against capitalism. Stalin took a more cautious view. Efforts to foster Marxist revolutions in Europe after World War I had failed. Instead, he wanted to concentrate on building socialism at home first. -
Seeing Lenin
Tens of thousands of people lined up in Moscow's Red Square. They had come to view the body of Lenin, who had died a few days earlier. -
Stalin's Proposal
Stalin proposed the first of several “five-year plans” aimed at building heavy industry, improving transportation, and increasing farm output. -
Industrial Results
Beginning in 198, large factories, hydroelectric power stations, and huge industrial complexes rose across the Soviet Union. Oil, coal, and steel production grew. Mining expanded, and new railroads were built. The growth went until 1939. -
Trotsky's Out
With political cunning, Stalin put his own supporters into top jobs and isolated Trotsky within the party. Stripped of party membership, Trotsky fled the country. -
Food Production
Grain production inched upward, but meat, vegetables, and fruits remained in short supply. Feeding the population remained a major problem in the Soviet Union. -
Soviet Women
Under the Communists, women won equality under the law. They gained access to education and a wide range of jobs. Many Soviet women were working in medicine, engineering, or the sciences. -
The Great Purge
Stalin was scared rival party leaders were plotting against him so he launched the Great Purge. In this reign of terror, Stalin and his secret police cracked down especially on Old Bolsheviks, or party activists from the early days. His net soon widened to target army heroes, industrial managers, writers, and ordinary citizens. They were charged with a wide range of crimes, from counterrevolutionary plots to failure to meet production quotas. -
Show Trials
Between 1936 and 1938, Stalin staged a series of spectacular public “show trials” in Moscow. Former Communist leaders confessed to all kinds of crimes after officials tortured them or threatened their families or friends. Many purged party members were never tried but were sent to forced-labor camps in Siberia and elsewhere. Others were executed. Secret police files reveal that at least four million people were purged during the Stalin years. -
End of the Revolution
The Revolution comes to and end as well as Italian and German dictators that arose in the 20's. -
Death of Stalin
Stalin dies.
