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Decembrist Revolt
-A group of nobles and army officers attempted to overthrow the czars government
-Czar Nicholas I quickly eliminated any hope they had of succeeding
-He executed 5 leaders and hundredes were exiled to siberia
-Though they failed, they are still considered heroes. -
Emancipation of the Serfs
-Great Britain and France entered the two year Crimean War against Russia in 1854
-In order for Russia to regain her strength, serfdomhad to be abolished.
-Early in 1861 a piece of legislation freeing the serfs was approved and quickly passed into law.
-The serfs were free, yet were not given land. If the serf desired to own land, Alexander II would be delegated a small portion of property which he had to pay for. -
Boody Sunday
-On a cold Sunday afternoon, thousands of unarmed people joined a man named Fater Gapon carrying banners to have a protest march.
-They sang the czar's hymn "God Save Thy People" as they marched
-Soldiers then approached the people and fired at the innocent, unarmed people.
-As a result of this, the Revolution of 1905 came about. -
Revolution of 1905
-The revolution led to riots and strikes that swept many Russian Cities. The countryside peasants looted and burned the homes of landowners.
-After the revolution, to end the violence, Czar Nicholas II agreed to set up an elected assembly called the Duma to handle minor reforms
-Unfortunately, the Duma had very little power to help the poeple -These reforms failed to resolve Russia's simple problems. -
Russia Enters WWI
-Russia entered WWI with the largest army in the world of 1,400,000 soldiers.
-Between 900,000 and 2,500,000 Russians were killed. At least 1,500,000 Russians and possibly up to more than 5 million Russians were wounded. Nearly 4,000,000 Russian soldiers were held as POWs
-Economically Russia was devastated. 8,000,000,000 rubles in war debts were outstanding, strangling the national economy of its breath.
-Inflation soared and reconstruction costs were high -
Rasputin Murdered
-There were several attempts to murder Rasputin.
-He was first poisoned with potassium cyanide but did not die.
-The conspirators then attempted to shoot him. At first, he was dead, but he came back to life.
-Several other accounts were alleged attempts to Rasputin's death.
-He is however most known of dying from being drowned. -
March Revolution
-The First World War placed an unbearable strain on Russia's weak government and economy, resulting in mass shortages and hunger.
- Mismanagement and failures of the war turned the people - and importantly the soldiers - against the Tsar
- In March 1917, the Tsar lost control first of the streets, then of the soldiers, and finally of the Duma
- This resulted in his forced abdication on March 15, 1917 -
Tsar Nicholas II Abdicates
-After times of much mistrust and chaos with the Russian citizens, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate
-The people were also upset about their defeat in the Russo-Japanese War which was led primarily by Tsar Nicholas
-The publication of Lenin's book on communism also led to the people's distrust in Tsar Nicholas
-This was the end of rule by a royal family in Russia -
Bolshevik Revolution
-In early October, Lenin convinced the Bolshevik Party to form an immediate insurrection against the Provisional Government.
-On Nov. 6-7, the Red Guard forces seized post and telegraph offices, electric works, railroad stations, and the state bank.
-Once the shot rang out from the Battleship Aurora, the thousands of people in the Red Guard stormed the Winter Palace. The Provisional Government had officially fallen to the Bolshevik regime.
-V. I. Lenin was the leader of the Bolsheviks -
Murder of Romanovs
- Though Lenin was the ruler, to many, Nicholas was still the legitimate ruler of Russia. -While he was alive, people would rally to his cause, many in the White corner were fighting to restore Nicholas the throne. -On the night of July 17th, the family was awoken and told that there was trouble in Ekateringburg; they were told that they would be safer in the basement of the house they were staying in.
- A group of twelve Red Army soldiers appeared in the basement and shot those there.
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Treaty of Versailles
-Was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918 and in the shadow of the Russian Revolution and other events in Russia.
-Germans were angry about the treaty because they believed they were treated unfairly
-Germany also hated the clause blaming her for the cause of the war and the resultant financial penalties the treaty was bound to impose on Germany.
-A term of the treaty was that all land taken from Russia had to be handed back to Russia. -
Stalin takes power/Death of Trotsky
-In December 1924, Stalin declared himself the new Leader of the USSR and became the Dictator of Russia by consolidating his power base.
-On 20 August, 1940, Trotsky was struck a fatal blow with an ice-pick by Ramon Mercader
-Mercader was an agent sent to Mexico by Stalin's secret police (the GPU) to murder Trotsky
-This event lead to much distrust and chaos in the Bolshevik party -
Lenin Dies/USSR Reformed
-Vladimir Lenin, the architect of the Bolshevik Revolution and the first leader of the Soviet Union, died of a brain hemorrhage
-He was 54 when he died
-On December 30, 1922 the USSR was established
-Lenin's government nationalized industry and distributed land
