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Russia was Highly Agricultural
90% of Russian people were farmers. In this way, Russia was trailing Europe which was very industrialized. This was important because Russia's lack of industrialization made it harder for them to keep up with the rest of the world and they missed out on the time of Imperialism and the imperialistic grab so the did not expand their empire. -
Ruling by Powerful Czars
During the 1900's Russia was ruled by powerful Czars who held all power. This ruling was another reason Russia was trailing behind Europe and the other nations of the world. In order for the Czars to keep their power, they limited the education given to children, they censored books limiting free speech and the idea of individualism, as well as creating a secret police to find and track reformers in Russia. -
St. Ptersburg Riots
The riots in St. Petersburg broke out because of food shortages. The major point of significance in this event is the military refusing the Czars demand to put down the riot because of the recognition of how poorly he was treating the people of Russia. And with the loss of the support of the military, the Czar also lost his power in Russia. -
The Bolsheviks leadership
The Bolsheviks came to power after the St. Petersburg riots in 1917 the leaders who were not involved in the riots were the ones able t come to power. These new leaders needed to maintain the backing of the Russian military to hold their place in power, but no backing of the people. The Bolsheviks were lead by Vladimir Lenin. Germany helped Lenin gain power in Russia because they knew that if he came to power, that Russia would leave the war leaving Germany with only one front to defend. -
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The Russian Civil War
During the Russian Civil War, The Bolsheviks supporters were known as the "Red Army" while Lenin's opponents (the upper class and the Czar supporters) were the "White Army". Through out this war 15 million Russian people were killed in the only 2 year duration of the war (the main causes for the death toll were through starvation, sickness and disease and battle). In 1922, when the war finally came to a close the "Red Army" or the Bolsheviks were victorious and renamed Russia The Soviet Union. -
Joseph Stalin
Under Lenin, Joseph Stalin was his Party Secretary. Stalin used this job to come to power by making powerful allies and turning on them. Stalin ends up controlling the communist part and the Soviet Union himself. As leader he sent Russia through an "Industrial Revolution" by setting extremely high production quotas and all those who did not meet their quotas were exiled to Siberia to die. During this he also made an "Agricultural Revolution", making small farms into collective farms
