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Nicholas II
Czar Nicholas Romanov II (1868-1918) was the last Romanov ruler. He was the last Russian emperor, who, with his wife, Alexandra, and their children, was killed by the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution.He had bad leadership skills and was overthrown by the provisional government. -
Father Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin (1869-1916) was a private religious advisor to the Romanovs. But, he had no official connection with the Church. He misguided the tsarina and caused Russia to lose a great battle. -
Lavr Kornilov
Lavr Georgiyevich (1870-1918) was a general of the Imperial Russian army and wanted Russia to be ruled by a military dictatorship. He is famous for his attempt to overthrow Alexander Kerensky’s Provisional Government in 1917. -
V.I Lenin
Vladimir Lenin (1870-1922) was the leader of the Bolshevik party who overthrew the czar. He was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1922 till his death. He came to power after he came back from his exile in Switzerland in 1917. -
Tsarina Alexandra
Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918) was the Alix of Hesse and was the Empress consort of Russia because she was the wife of Tsar Nicholas II. She was killed along with her family in the cellar of the Ipatiev house in Yekaterinburg. -
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) was the de facto leader of the Soviet Union and was the most murderous dictator history has ever seen. He was regarded as a tyrant and his main wartime enemy was Hitler. He came to power after the death of Lenin on the 21st of January, 1924 till his death in 1953. -
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist. He was the founder and the first leader of the Red Army. -
Aleksander Kerensky
Aleksander Kerensky (1881-1970) was a Russian Politician who led the Provisional group but was thrown out of power by the Bolsheviks. -
Nikolai Bukharin
Nikolai Bukharin (1888-1938) was a Marxist and Lenin’s greatest supporter. He helped Lenin come to power but was killed at Stalin’s order due to Stalin’s paranoia. -
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was an Austrian-born, German dictator. He was the leader of the Nazi Party and committed suicide when his reign of terror was about to end badly. -
Reds (Red Army)
The Red Army was the military force, which were in control of the Communist Party. They were the victors in battle. -
Whites
The White Army were military forces controlled by counterrevolutionaries which included some Mensheviks and Socialists. -
Tsar Nicholas Abdicates
The March Revolution forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate his throne. On March 15, 1917 the Czar was abdicated, and left the palace. A year later revolutionaries executed Nicholas and his family. He always chose the wrong military tactic and never how to deal with his people. He was forced to abdicate due to worsening conditions and he passed on the throne to his brother in order to save the monarchy. -
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February/March Revolution
The February Revolution took place on March 1917. It was caused due to many growing tensions within the people and the government. This revolution marked the beginning of the Russian Revolution, and resulted in the abdication of Czar Nicolas II. -
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Provisional Government Takes Control
Provisional government was lead by Alexandra Kerensky. As the leader of the government he decided to continue Russia’s campaign in the First World War. It ended badly as the German forces were much more powerful than the Russian forces. The soviets also had more influence than the provisional government. -
Lenin Returns and the April Theses/Thesis
Lenin was a marxist, and almost all of his political opinions were based on Marxism. Marxism comprises of Karl Marx’s theories, and one of its purposes is to make a classless society. These plans were called the April Theses. During his train journey, he wrote his plan on how he would make Russia a Communist country as he was influenced by Marxism. Marxism comprises of Karl Marx’s theories, and one of its purposes is to make a classless society. -
Lenin Takes Control
Vladimir Lenin, the Communist leader of Russia. Leader of the Bolshevik party. Vladimir Lenin's Presidency is in whole of the Civil War but the last two years. When he arrived in Russia his slogan “Peace, Land, and Bread!” appealed to the public population. -
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Storming of the Winter Palace/October/November Revolution
Leon Trotsky was also the head of the Petrograd Soviet and its Military Revolutionary Committee. Another great ally was Nikolai Bukharin. Nikolai Bukharin helped Lenin come to power but was killed at Stalin’s order due to Stalin’s paranoia. Lenin and Trotsky were convinced to attempt to seize power due to two reasons. The first reason was Aleksander Kerensky’s weak Provisional Government. And the second reason was The Kornilov Affair. -
Treaty of Brest Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest Litovsk was signed between the Bolsheviks and the Central powers which consisted of Germany, Austria and Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey. It was there to end a long, and exhausting war against Germany. German forces were far superior than Russian forces. -
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Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War took place from May 1918 to November 1920. This period was very similar to the French Revolution’s “Reign of Terror”. During the civil war Lenin introduced was War Communism. It means state control over every single aspect of the country’s economy. This system was used during the civil war to maintain Bolshevik territory and provide the Red Army with daily necessities, and rations. -
The Five-Year Plans
Stalin introduced the 5 year plan during the years of 1928-1941. The plan was directed towards all industries and industrial devlopments, to be controlled by the state. The plans would decide where goods were being produced, for ex. the wheat production increased so much because of the collectivization of farms. -
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Great Purges
Stalin’s purges, also known as Stalin’s terror, were present due to his paranoia. He sent the Communist secret police and many were killed. This was his last ditch attempt to kill who he thought were his enemies. At this time, Nikolai Bukharin, Lenin’s greatest supporter, was also killed. Many of the original Communist Party members were either murdered directly, sentenced to die through show trials. The Kulaks were purged because they refused to be collectivized, they had large amounts of land. -
Soviet Nazi Pact
The Soviet Nazi pact was a non-aggression pact signed by Adolf Hitler, and Joseph Stalin. The pact stated that Germany and Russia would remain neutral towards each other during the next ten years. The Soviet Nazi Pact was the pact Hitler used to protect Germany from having to fight the two front wars in WWII.
