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Nicholas II becomes Czar/Tsar of Russia
On 26 May 1896, Nicholas's formal coronation as Tsar was held in Uspensky Cathedral located within the Kremlin -
Russia loses war with Japan
Who won the Russo-Japanese war? Japan won a convincing victory over Russia, becoming the first Asian power in modern times to defeat a European power. Russia's Baltic Fleet sailed halfway around the world only to meet its demise at the guns of Adm. -
Revolution of 1905 - Bloody Sunday
Up to 200 people were killed by rifle fire and Cossack charges. This event became known as Bloody Sunday and is seen as one of the key causes of the 1905 Revolution. The aftermath brought about a short-lived revolution in which the Tsar lost control of large areas of Russia. -
Russia enters World War I
Russia entered World War I in August 1914, drawn into the conflict by the alliance system and its promises of support to Serbia, its Balkan ally. 2. War patriotism helped douse anti-government sentiment, which had been building steadily in months beforehand, peaking with a general strike in July 1914. 3. -
Russia Enters WWI
Russia entered World War I in August 1914, drawn into the conflict by the alliance system and its promises of support to Serbia, its Balkan ally. 2. War patriotism helped douse anti-government sentiment, which had been building steadily in months beforehand, peaking with a general strike in July 1914. 3. -
Czar Nicholas abdicates the throne
In March 1917, the army garrison at Petrograd joined striking workers in demanding socialist reforms, and Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. Nicholas and his family were first held at the Czarskoye Selo palace, then in the Yekaterinburg palace near Tobolsk. -
Lenin Returns to RussiaMarch Revolution
On April 16, 1917, Vladimir Lenin, leader of the revolutionary Bolshevik Party, returns to Petrograd after a decade of exile to take the reins of the Russian Revolution. -
Revolutionary movements begin and compete for power
Russian Revolution, also called Russian Revolution of 1917, two revolutions in 1917, the first of which, in February (March, New Style), overthrew the imperial government and the second of which, in October (November), placed the Bolsheviks in power. -
Bolshevik Revolution defeats Tsar Nicholas' monarchy government
During the Russian Revolution of 1917, Bolshevik revolutionaries toppled the monarchy, ending the Romanov dynasty. Czar Nicholas II and his entire family—including his young children—were later executed by Bolshevik troops. -
Revolutionary movements begin and compete for power
Russian Revolution, also called Russian Revolution of 1917, two revolutions in 1917, the first of which, in February (March, New Style), overthrew the imperial government and the second of which, in October (November), placed the Bolsheviks in power. -
Civil War between Red and White Armies
The warring factions included the Red and White Armies. The Red Army fought for the Lenin's Bolshevik government. The White Army represented a large group of loosely allied forces, including monarchists, capitalists and supporters of democratic socialism. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ends Russia’s involvement in WWI
On March 3, 1918, in the city of Brest-Litovsk, located in modern-day Belarus near the Polish border, Russia signed a treaty with the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria) ending its participation in World War I (1914-18). -
Lenin establishes New Economic Policy (NEP)
Introduced by Vladimir Lenin in 1921, the New Economic Policy (or NEP) was a radical shift in Bolshevik economic strategy. It eased the harsh restrictions of war communism, the Bolshevik economic policy during the Civil War, and allowed the return of markets and petty trade. -
Stalin becomes Dictator
He held power as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922–1952) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (1941–1953). Initially governing the country as part of a collective leadership, he consolidated power to become a dictator by the 1930s