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The Tsarist Russia
The Tsar, Nicholas II, of the Romanov dynasty, had absolute power all over Russia. The society was classy, and 85% of the population lived dependent on agriculture, while aristocrats had stately privileges. https://www.britannica.com/place/Russian-Empire -
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Russias' situation before the revolution
Russia was a great empire, although weak compared to other countries --> with a stratified society, an absolute monarchy and a subsistence agricultural economy. https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/junior-report/20171023/432311001960/conceptos-clave-revolucion-rusa.html -
International crisis
Lots of european factories closed, so unemployment rose and consumption fell. For this reason, the first Soviets arose, secret associations of workers who controlled the key sectors of the economy, had a Marxist ideology. At that moment Lenin, the main character of the revolution, took power and became their leader. https://www.nippon.com/es/japan-topics/g02174/ https://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/l/lenin.htm -
The Bloody Sunday
One Sunday, a huge protest rally of thousands and thousands of workers with their families was organized. They asked the Tsar, Nicholas II for changes in the economy and politics. They went to the winter palace in St. Petersburg, and the tsarist army fired on the people, killing 2,000 of them. https://www.clarin.com/mundo/114-anos-matanza-empezo-culpa-punto-coma_0_Sw2x0CGXL.html -
World War
Russia entered the first world war with 1,400,000 soldiers. But the war quickly turned into a disaster, with Russia suffering lots of brutal defeats. Even thought they had the largest army, it was also the weakest. -
The Russian Revolution Starts
In consequence of the economic and social crisis that Russia was going through because of the World War and the crisis of the State that Russia was suffering, the revolution of February 1917 began. -
General Strike
A Strike was held whose motto was summed up in "peace and bread". Thousands of people were asking for changes. -
The Provisional Government
Nicholas II, the Tsar, who held all the power with his absolute monarchy, abdicated on March 3. After that, a Provisional Government was imposed, made up of bourgeois liberals and moderate socialists, Mensheviks, taking the reins of the State. They tried to make Russia a Western-style democratic country. -
The October Revolution
They made several mistakes with that provissional government, among which were the lack of reforms and the decision to continue the war, causing more military defeats. That's why, months later, the October revolution led by Lenin began with the aim of suppressing the bourgeois parliamentary regime and establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat. https://elordenmundial.com/hoy-en-la-historia/7-noviembre/7-de-octubre-de-1917-comienza-la-revolucion-de-octubre-en-rusia/ -
The October Revolution ends
Lenin ordered the execution of the Tsar and his family, dissolved the newly elected bourgeois parliament, established the dictatorship of the communist party, concluded a peace agreement with Germany and, finally, started a war against the enemies of the Bolshevik revolution. https://www.actuall.com/criterio/democracia/asi-fue-brutal-asesinato-del-ultimo-zar-familia-ninos-incluidos-los-comunistas/ -
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The Civil War
The results of the civil war were momentous. But after 9 years of war, the revolution had triumphed. The time had come to rebuild the country, after the death of Lenin, Stalin was going to make Russia go from being a destroyed country to becoming the second world power. https://www.unprofesor.com/ciencias-sociales/guerra-civil-rusa-resumen-4559.html -
Stalin takes the power
Because of his illness, Lenin had to bequeath power to another person, so he trusts Leon Trotsky to undertake the fight. But it wasn't Trotsky but Stalin who took the power. Lenin had a very negative opinion of him, but he succeeded to the general secretariat of the party in 1922. https://rebelion.org/por-que-stalin-mato-a-trotsky/ -
Lenin's death
Lenin died at the age of 53 from cerebral arteriosclerosis after suffering several strokes. https://www.lavanguardia.com/historiayvida/historia-contemporanea/20180607/47313104683/los-ultimos-dias-de-lenin.html -
Stalin's new policy
And Stalin's new policy began, aiming to turn the USSR into a world power. A rapid and intense industrialization began, in which workers worked 16 hours a day and industries were nationalized, which caused production to increase. Even though Stalin was a communist, he started applying a capitalist policy. And this led to the end of famine and made the Russian army defeating the Nazis in World War II. -
Great Depression in Russia
In the Soviet Union, the Great Depression did nothing but help solidify Stalin's grip on power. And because of his radical change of policy from capitalism to communism a few years before the depression. The Russian did NOT suffer the great depression as much as the rest of Europe. -
Russia becomes second world power
Thanks to Stalin's new policy, Russia was able to evade the world crisis and become one of the most powerful countries in the world. -
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The URSS in the 2WW
At the beginning of the war, Hitler and Stalin made a non-aggression pact and divided up Poland. But finally, Hitler broke that pact and tried to invade the URSS. After the Operation Barbarossa, a battle that took place in Stalingrad claimed the lives of 2M people, being the bloodiest in the history of mankind and the first major defeat of Hitler after 3 years of war. -
The URRS overcome the nazis
By 1945 the axis side had been completely defeated. In Berlin there was a house-to-house fight between nazis and communists, destroying everything, the entire population of Germany was mobilized, but on May 2, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally. Germany was divided into 4 parts, and the USSR established communist governments in several countries under its influence. -
Stalin's death
After Joseph Stalin's death, the late dictator would eventually be succeeded by the rising Nikita Khrushchev as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/stalin-fin-hombre-acero_16431 -
The URSS disolves
But in 1991, after 68 years and after Stalin's death, the system collapsed, the country became poorer, and the USSR dissolved. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disolución_de_la_Unión_Soviética