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The October Revolution - the Bolsheviks take over Petrograd
Led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin, leftist revolutionaries launch a nearly bloodless coup d’État against Russia’s ineffectual Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks and their allies occupied government buildings and other strategic locations in the Russian capital of Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) and within two days had formed a new government with Lenin as its head. Bolshevik Russia, later renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was the world’s first Marxist state. -
Czar Alexander II is assassinated by the terrorist group ‘People’s Will’
Czar Alexander II the ruler of Russia since 1855 was killed in the streets of St. Petersburg by a bomb thrown by a member of the revolutionary “People’s Will” group. The People’s Will was organized in 1879 and started terrorism and assassination in their attempt to overthrow Russia’s Czar. They murdered officials and tried to kill the czar many times before they finally assassinated him on March 13 1881. -
Nicholas II crowned czar of Russia
Nicholas II was the last czar and was crowned ruler of Russia in the old Ouspensky Cathedral in Moscow. Nicholas was not trianed to rule. He was born in 1868 he got into the throne of Russia because of the death of his father Czar Alexander III in November 1894. That same month Nicholas ll the czar married Alexandra a German-born princess who had a great influence over her husband. After mourning for his father Nicholas and Alexandra were crowned czar and czarina in May 1896. -
Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg begins the 1905 Russian Revolution
On January 22 1905 a group of workers led by a radical priest Georgy Apollonovich Gapon marched to the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to make their demands. They did this peacefully and only were chanting things hoping for change but then Imperial forces opened fire on the demonstrators killing and wounding hundreds. Riots broke out throughout the country as a response Nicholas responded by promising the formation of a series of representative assemblies/Dumas to work toward reform. -
World War I begins
World War I began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and lasted until 1918. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were the central powers and fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States as the allied powers. World War I had new levels of carnage and destruction. When the war was over the Allied Powers claimed the victory but more than 16 million people, soldiers ,and civilians were dead. -
The February Revolution begins with strikes, demonstrations, and mutinies in Petrograd
On March 11 after these riots the past couple days the troops of the Petrograd army garrison were called out to stop the uprising. At some points, the army opened fire killing demonstrators but the protesters stayed on the streets and the troops began to waver. That day Nicholas again dissolved the Dumas. Which made his own army turn on him and rioting continued on -
Czar Nicholas II abdicates (gives up power)
The frustrated Russian army at Petrograd where riots were breaking out unexpectedly switched their support to the demonstrators and the imperial government was forced to resign and a provisional government was established. This cause three days later for Nicholas formally abdicated his throne ending nearly four centuries of czarist rule in Russia. -
Lenin returns from exile and arrives in Petrograd via a sealed train
In December 1895 Lenin and the other leaders of the Union were arrested. Lenin was jailed for a year and then exiled to Siberia for a term of three years. After his exile ended in 1900, Lenin went to Western Europe where he continued his revolutionary activity. After the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1905 Lenin returned to Russia. once order was restored the czar nullified most of these reforms and in 1907 Lenin was again forced into exile. -
Bolshevik uprising fails in Petrograd
Following the failure of the offensive in June, the Bolsheviks made an attempt to seize power in Petrograd in July. Only small numbers of soldiers and sailors actively supported the Bolsheviks and the uprising was suppressed by loyal troops. A number of Bolshevik leaders were arrested and Lenin fled to Finland. -
Russian civil war begins
The Russian Civil War was to tear Russia apart for three years between 1918 and 1921. This cause many problems and made Russia leave world war 1.The civil war occurred because after November 1917, many groups had formed that opposed Lenin's Bolsheviks since they became dislike but they ended up failing to take them down. -
Russia withdraws from World War I
Russia signalled her withdrawal from World War One soon after the October Revolution of 1917, and the country turned in on itself with a bloody civil war between the Bolsheviks and the conservative White Guard. Since many riots broke out and Russia had no control over it’s army. -
The Bolshevik Party changes its name to the Communist Party
Immediately after the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks refused to share power with other revolutionary groups with the exception of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries eventually they suppressed all rival political organizations. They changed their name to Russian Communist Party of Bolsheviks in March 1918; to All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in December 1925 and to Communist Party of the Soviet Union in October 1952. -
The capital of Russia is changed from St. Petersburg to Moscow
It changes from St. Petersburg to Moscow since it was too close to the border of Germany during the war and Germany was pushing as hard as they could to get to the capital so they change it to Moscow to stay safe and to retreat. This is why they moved it to more the middle of the country far away from enemy lines. -
Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed
In Yekaterinburg, Russia, Czar Nicholas II, and his family are executed by the Bolsheviks. on the night of July 16, Nicholas, Alexandra, their five children and four servants were ordered to go down to the cellar of the house in which they were being held. There the family and servants were arranged in two rows for a photograph they were told was being taken to quell rumors that they had escaped. Suddenly a dozen armed men burst into the room and gunned down the imperial family. -
Russian civil war ends
Seizing control of Russia from the hands of the Provisional Government the Bolsheviks next step was to make sure they had a good hold on the reigns of power. Lenin negotiated peace with Germany and therefore an end to Russia's role in World War I. In 1921 the Bolsheviks had defeated their enemies and gained a complete victory. The establishment of Communism in Russia went ahead unchallenged. -
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) established
In post-revolutionary Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is established comprising a confederation of Russia Belarus Ukraine and the Transcaucasian Federation divided in 1936 into the Georgian, Azerbaijan, and Armenian republics. Also known as the Soviet Union the newly communist state was the successor to the Russian Empire and the first country in the world to be based on Marxist socialism. -
Lenin dies
Vladimir Lenin, the architect of the Bolshevik Revolution and the first leader of the Soviet Union, dies of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 54. He was the leader of Russia for awhile and keeped control over opposing views and he died after succeeding.
