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Marxists Revolutionaries Split
Marxists revolutionaries disagree over revolutionary tactics. The more radical Bolsheviks are ready to risk everything. The charismatic Vladimir Lenin becomes the leader. -
Japan Attacks Russia
Japan and Russia both wanted control over Korea and Manchuria. They both signed agreements over the territories, but Russia violated the agreement. Japan then attacked Russia. -
The Failed Revolution
200,000 workers and their families went to the czar’s palace to demand better working conditions, more personal freedom, etc. The soldiers were ordered to fire at the crowd. Over 1000 were wounded and several hundred were killed. -
Russia’s First Parliament
Duma, Russia’s first parliament, met at this time and the leaders wanted Russia to become a Constitutional Monarch. The czar was hesitant to share his power, so he dissolved the Duma. -
Russia Enters The War
Nicholas II made the decision to drag Russia into the war, but because Russia couldn’t handle military and economic costs, along with the fact that they had weak generals and poor equipment, that got destroyed by Germany. -
The Citywide Strike
For five days, riots flared up over shortages of bread and fuel. About 200,000 workers joined the strike and the soldiers were ordered to shoot, but they sided with the rioters. -
Factory Workers Storm Winter Palace
Armed Factory workers break into the palace calling themselves the Bolshevik Red Guards. They took over the government offices and arrested the leaders of the provisional government. -
The Treaty Of Brest-Litovsk
Russia surrendered over a large chunk of its territory to Germany and its allies. The terms of this treaty caused anger all across Russia. They objected to the Bolsheviks and their policies. -
Civil War Ends
After 3 years of Russia’s civil war, 14 million people died from the war and the famine that followed. Destruction and loss of life from fighting, hunger, and disease left Russia in chaos. In the end, the Red Army won. -
Lenin’s Plan For A New Economy
Lenin went for a small-scale version of capitalism called the New Economic Policy. The reforms allow peasants to sell their crops instead of handing them over to the government. -
The Union Of Socialists Republics
The Bolshevik leaders saw nationalism as a threat, so, to keep nationalism in check, Lenin organized Russia into self-governing republics under the central government. He called it the Union of Socialists Republics.