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Russo- Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was a conflict carried on by force of arms between nations. It was the first war of the 20th century. When war broke out between Russia and Japan, Nicholas ll called on his people to fight for "the faith, the Tsar, and the Fatherland." Despite all the effort they put toward the war, the Russians suffered one humiliating defeat after another. The Russians were poorly organized and the Japanese defeated them in a series of battles on land and at sea. -
Bloody Sunday
Marchers flowed though the streets of St. Petersburg toward Tsar's winter palace. They were chanting prayers and singing hymns. Workers carried holy icons and pictures of Tsar. Fearing the marchers, Tsar called in soldiers. Suddenly, gunfire rang out. Hundreds of men and women fell dead or wounded in the snow. This slaughter marked a turning point for Russians. "Bloody Sunday" killed the people's faith and trust in Tsar. -
Revolution of 1905
The Russian Revolution of 1905 was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through many areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, as others were directed to other parts of the economy. It included terrorism, worker strikes, peasant unrest, and burned houses of landowners. To end the violence, Tsar Nicholas II set up the Duma and other reforms. Consequences were inequality and repression still remained despite reforms. -
Russia joins World War 1
Russia entered the first world war with the largest army in the world, standing at 1,400,000 soldiers in August, 1914. Russia became involved in WWI because Serbia, and ally of Russia, was attacked and accused of assassination by Austria-Hungary. Almost 15 million served in the Russian Army during the First World War. Casualties totalled an estimated 1.8 million killed, 2.8 million wounded and 2.4 million taken prisoner. -
Grigory Rasputin murdered
Nicholas II took charge and left domestic affairs o the tsarina, Alexandra. In Nicholas' absence, Alexandra rlied on the advice of Gregory Rasputin. The tsarina came to believe that Raputin had miraculous powers after he helped her son of whom suffered from hemophilia. Rasputin's influence over Alexandra had reached new heights and weakened confidence in the government. Fearing for the monarchy, a group of Russian nobles killed Rasputin on December 29, 1916. -
February Revolution 1917
In the February Revolution, riots and strikes erupted in Petrograd. Angry crowds protested the war and the shortage of food. When these demonstrations of protests spread, military action was put down. Troops refused to fire on the demonstrators, leaving the government helpless. Finally, on the advice of military and political leaders, the tsar abdicated. Leaders of the Duma set up the Provisional Government that was powerless. -
The Abdication of the Tsar
Only a week after the Petrograd riots began because of the March Revolution, Tsar Nicholas II gave up his power of the throne. This brought many consequences for Russia. Leaders of the Duma set up a provisional government with freedom of speech and religion and written laws. However, the new government proved powerless, angered peasants ,and lost much support by continuing the war with Germany. -
November Revolution 1917
In November 1917, squads of Red Guards armed factory workers joined sailors from the Russian fleet to attack the provisional government. Soon afer, Lenin's forces overthrew the provisional government without a struggle. The November Revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power. -
Russian Civil War
After the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin sought peace with Germany. Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. Having signed that, they gave up a huge chunk of it's territory and population. Cost of peace was extremely high but they knew it had to be done. For three years, civil war raged between the "Reds" (communists) and the "whites" (counterrevolutionary). -
Russia ends involvement in World War ll
Russia pulled out of World War l because Lenin and the Bolsheviks had promised that they would end Russia's involvement in the war. Lenin tried to drag the peace negotiations out hoping Germany would surrender, but it didn't. Germany caught on and Lenin had to sign a quick peace treaty or Germany would have conquered Russia militarily and replaced the Bolshevik government. Russia's involvement in the war with Germany ended on March 3, 1918 with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. -
The Death of the Romanovs
The Romanov family was murdered at Ekateringburg on July 17th, 1918. In the summer of the 1918, Ekateringburg was threatened by the advancing Whites. The decision was taken by the Bolsheviks to kill Nicholas and his Romanov family. The family was awoken and led to the basement because they told them they would be safer down there.12 Red Army soldiers shot them down there. Lenin defeated his major problem of Russia and now had all the power. -
Formation of the USSR
In 1922, Lenin's Communist government united much of the old Russian empire into he USSR. The communists produced a constitution that seemed both democratic and socialist. In the end, the communists won conrol over the whole Russian empire and in 1922, they reorganized Russia into a union of four republics called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). -
Lenin's Death & Competition to replace him
Lenin died in 1924. His death set off a power struggle amoung communist leaders. The chief contenders were Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Trotsky was a brilliant Marxist thinker, a skillful speaker, and an architect of Bolshevik Revolution. Stalin, by contrast, was a shrewd political operator and behind-the-scenes organizer. Stalin went to great measures in competition for Lenin's spot. In 1940, a stalinist agent murdered Trotsky in Mexico.
