-
Period: to
Reign of Czar Alexander III
He clung to the principles of autocracy, and he heavily punished people that opposed him. He also used harsh measures to wipe out revolutionaries. Czar Alexander III oppressed other national groups in Russia and persecuted Jews. He didn't make a move to industrialize and this would affect his successor Nicholas II by creating unrest in the country. -
Period: to
Reign of Czar Nicholas II
Nicholas tried to industrialize Russia, but it still lagged behind other European countries. He made Russia the 4th ranked steel producer, and helped build the Trans-Siberian Railway. Industrialization brought problems such as child labor and harsh working conditions, so many revolutionary movements grew. People followed the words of Karl Marx, who said that the proletariat would rule, and the Bolsheviks started to protest. He was abdicated in 1917, due to the spark of the Russian Revolution. -
Period: to
Russo-Japanese War
This war between Russia and Japan resulted in the Japanese winning and the Russians suffered many brutal losses due to their lack of industrialization. This created many revolts in the country, including a major one called Bloody Sunday. It was proof of weakness and showed that Russia's industrialization wasn't going well. It was embarrassing. They blamed it on Czar Nicholas II and added to his negative reputation. -
Bloody Sunday
A protest by about 200,000 workers and their families for better conditions at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg resulted in the soldiers opening fire into the crowd, injuring over a thousand people and killing several hundred. This would create unrest in Russia and many revolts would ensue. It also added to Czar Nicholas's bad reputation and he was blamed. -
Establishment of the Duma
The Duma, Russia's first parliament, was created by Nicholas II in response to the revolts and strikes after Bloody Sunday and the war. The czar just created it to avoid a revolt, and because that was what the people had wanted. It was led by moderates who wanted a constitutional monarchy. However, the czar got rid of it after 10 weeks, and this created more civil unrest, which would eventually lead to the revolution. -
Period: to
Russia's Participation in WWI
Nicholas made decision to get Russia involved in WWI, and before a year had passed over 4 million Russian soldiers were dead, wounded, or captured. This showed the people the weakness of their country, and they blamed it on the czar. Also, Nicholas II, despite losing that bad, didn't even pull Russia out of the war, which caused more deaths and eventually led to his forced abdication because he had aggravated the people to a breaking point. -
Death of Rasputin
During WWI, Czar Nicholas went to lead his troops and his wife took power. Their child fell ill, but was cured by Rasputin, a man who said he had magical powers. To thank him, Czarina Alexandra gave him more political power. However, she was ignoring the chief advisors and was listening to Rasputin instead. Nobles feared his increasing power and murdered him in 1916 while Nicholas was at war. There would be many more assassinations in the following years. -
Period: to
Bolshevik Revolution
Lenin and his Bolshevik supporters gained control of soviets in many cities. In November, 1917, armed workers stormed the Winter Palace in Petrograd and toppled the provisional government. The Bolsheviks took over and Lenin ordered land to be distributed to peasants. This revolution led to the Russian Civil War and the Bolsheviks would change Russia forever. -
Abdication of Czar Nicholas II
Riots by thousands over shortage of bread and fuel sparked the March Revolution, which included Nicholas II's own soldiers rebelling. This revolution forced Nicholas to abdicate his throne on the 15th of March 1917, and the leaders of the Duma tried to establish a provisional government. However, they were unable to make a strong government to replace Nicholas, and this would result in many men trying to fight for power, leading to dictatorships. -
Period: to
Russian Civil War
The Bolsheviks had to beat their enemies in their country, who formed the White Army. The White Army only shared the desire to beat the Bolsheviks. They were disunited and despite help from many Western Nations, they still lost the Civil War to the Bolshevik Red Army, who were expertly commanded by Leon Trotsky. 14 million people died from the war and the succeeding famine. This had a huge impact, as it made the Bolsheviks the rulers of Russia and led to the establishment of the USSR. -
Period: to
Stalin's Rise to Power
Stalin was cold and impersonal, and during his early days, he had changed his name to Stalin, which meant "man of steel". When Lenin suffered the stroke in 1922, as general secretary, he started moving his supporters to ranks of power, allowing him to quickly move up the ranks. He would eventually exile Trotsky and take full control of the USSR, completely changing it forever by transforming it from a peasant society to a military superpower. -
Establishment of the USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(USSR) was organized and named by Lenin in honor of the councils that had helped start the Bolshevik Revolution. It was composed of several self-governing republics under the central government in order to keep nationalism in check. It would lead to the renaming of the Bolsheviks's party to the Communist Party, and would become a dictatorship in a few years. The USSR had a huge significance in the world throughout the mid 1900's -
Lenin's Death
Lenin had a stroke in 1922, and even though he survived, it started a competition for moving up the Communist Party. The two primary people were Trotsky and Stalin, and Stalin had an edge. Before Lenin died of another stroke in 1924, he wrote that he didn't trust Stalin and that Stalin was a dangerous man, two things that would be shown in the coming years. After Lenin's death, Stalin took over the USSR and transformed it into a dictatorship. -
Leon Trotsky's Exile
When Stalin got complete power in 1928, he viewed Leon Trotsky as his primary threat. Due to this, he didn't want to have to deal with Trotsky so sent him to exile in 1929. Now, since Trotsky was no longer a threat, Stalin was free to do whatever he wanted as a dictator, changing Russia forever.
