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Factory Numbers Started to Double
The number of factories more than doubled between 1863 and 1900. The growth of factories brought new problems, such as grueling working conditions, low wages, and child labor. Workers were fed up with these poor conditions so they organized strikes, and other revolutionary movements began to form. -
Alex III succeeds Alex II
In 1881, Alexander III succeeds his father Alexander II. He imposed strict censorship codes on published materials and written documents, including private letters. He made Russian the official language of the empire and forbade the use of minority languages, such as Polish, in schools. By using nationalism within Russia, he made people of other backgrounds feel inferior, and he sent some people to their death. -
Russia Became the 4th Largest Steel Producer
Rapid industrialization and foreign investors helped to boost the steel industry. By 1900, Russia ranked fourth in steel production, behind only the United States, Germany, and Great Britain. This growth in industrialization helped to develop the working class in Russia, the group who could take over and rule the country. -
Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
Russian Marxists groups were split up into two separate parties. The reason for separation was because they couldn't agree on revolutionary tactics. These became the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks, a more radical group, would later rename themselves to the Communist Party, and their radical ideas led to revolution in the country. -
Russo-Japanese War
In the late 1800s, Russia and Japan signed a series of agreements dealing with Korea and Manchuria. Russia broke the agreements and Japan retaliated by attacking the Russians. The Russians were weak in the military, and the citizens were upset by Russia's many losses at war, which led to unrest at home. -
Bloody Sunday
200,000 workers and their families went to the czar's winter palace to ask for better working conditions, more personal freedom, and elected national legislature. Nicholas II's generals ordered soldiers to fire on the crowd, and several hundred were killed along with thousands injured. This action provoked a wave of strikes and violence across the country, and the people knew that they had a voice. -
Trans-Siberian Railway Completed
During the rise of industrialization, British and French investors put money into the world's longest continuous rail line. It was built between 1891 to 1916, and it connected European Russia with Russian ports along the Pacific Ocean. With this rail line, revolutionaries and others could move easily across the country. -
Czar Nicholas II steps down
Nicholas II was a weak leader and he led Russia into World War I, which they were not prepared for. The economy was bad and people revolted so Nicholas stepped down. His departure paved the way for other revolutionaries to take over and change the country. -
Women Lead Citywide Strike
Women textile workers in Petrograd came together and made a citywide strike. Nearly 200,000 workers flooded the streets within the next five days, shouting to end war and autocracy. The soldiers would open fire on them, but later side with them. The rioters made their point to convince others that working conditions and the economy needed to change. -
Vladimir Lenin Reaches Petrograd
Lenin, a Bolshevik leader, lived in exile for many years. When unrest was rampant in Russia, Lenin returned from Germany to assume leadership of Russia. His leadership of Russia changed the economy and way of life for Russian citizens.
