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The Reign of Alexander III
Alexander III became czar after his father was killed; he clung to principles of autocracy in which he had complete control over his citizens. During his reign, he imposed strict censorship codes, hired secret police to spy on students, forbade the use of minority languages in schools, and made Jews the target for persecution. These unjust rules created by Alexander III set a precedent for controversy throughout Russia, and Nicholas III carried out these traditions when becoming czar in 1894. -
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The Russian Revolution
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Implementation of Factories in Russia
The amount of factories in Russia doubled from 1863-1900. These factories altered the course of Russian Industrialization by producing many new materials, including oils, metals, machinery, and weapons. The surplus of factories generated grueling working conditions, miserable wages, and child labor laws; all of which lead to the formation of organized groups and strikes to protest these unfair working editions. -
Bloody Sunday
Over 200,000 unhappy workers and families approached the czar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg carrying petitions requesting better working conditions, more personal freedom, and for an elected national legislature. Nicholas II responded by ordering soldiers to fire upon the innocent crowd, resulting in hundreds of people being killed and wounded. This displayed how cruel the czars were, and there was an increase in rebellions and violence regarding Nicholas II's actions towards his people. -
The Russo-Japanese War
In 1904, Russia found itself in a war with Japan competing for control of Korea and Manchuria. Russia broke the agreements that were eventually formed with Japan in regards to control of the territories, and Japan retaliated by attacking the Russians at Port Arthur, Manchuria. Japan eventually won the war, creating unrest in Russia, along with the price of many fatalities for the Russian military. -
The Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway was the largest railway that connects European Russia from the west with Russian ports on the Pacific Ocean in the east, and it was finished in 1916. To finance the many new Russian industries and creations, the government sought foreign investors and increased taxes. The surplus of foreigners and the raise in taxes furthered the amount of discontent citizens were having towards the Russian government, and it lead to many revolutionary movements. -
The March Revolution
Female textile workers led a citywide strike in Petrograd, which flared other angry workers to riot about bread and fuel shortages, involvement in the war, and the autocratic government. Soldiers shot at the rioters at first, but they later sided with them.This displays that even soldiers were unhappy with the Czarist government and were a significant part of the Russian Revolution. -
The Czar Steps Down
The colossal uprising known as the March Revolution forced Nicholas II to abdicate his throne. A provisional government led by Alexander Kerensky was established in replacement to Nicholas II's autocratic government, but he chose to keep the nation engaged in WWII. The support from soldiers and civilians lessened as conditions within Russia worsened, which generated even more protests, as well making the Russians question if they will ever have a safe and satisfactory government. -
The Bolshevik Revolution
After gaining control of Petrograd, Vladimir Lenin led his revolutionary group called the Bolsheviks to take over government offices and arrest provisional government leaders. Lenin's actions of giving control of factories to workers, distributing farmland to peasants, and signing peace truces with Germany also boosted the power of the Bolsheviks. However, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk surrendered a huge part of Russia's territory to Germany, stirring anger across Russia towards the Bolsheviks. -
World War I
Nicholas II made a terrible decision in dragging his country into WWII. Russia was unprepared to handle military and economic expenses, the generals were weak, the soldiers were poorly equipped, and they could not compete against Germany's machine guns. The millions of people who were killed, wounded, or imprisoned revealed the weakness of the Czarist rule and military leadership. -
Civil War in Russia
The anger many people had towards the Bolsheviks sparked a White Army, which was a group of people with various ethnicities, religions, and political views who all wanted to terminate the Bolsheviks' power. The Bolshevik Red Army won the civil war after two years of conflict, but nearly 14 million Russians died from the famine that occurred, the flu epidemic, or injuries sustained. However, this war showed that the Bolsheviks were powerful enough to overcome their opponents and remain in power. -
Vladimir Lenin Dies
The death of Vladimir Lenin halted the Russian Revolution. While this era came to an end, and new era of violence and anger began as Joseph Stalin became dictator of Russia.
