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Czar Alexander II is assassinated by the terrorist group ‘People’s Will’
Czar Alexander, ruler of Russia since 1885 was killed in St. Petersburg by terrorist organization, the People’s Will. Several previous assassination attempts had been attempted before. The People’s Will took action by to bombing the czar and assassinating him. The first bomb left the czar unscatyed, but the se ind bomb shattered the czar’s legs and he bled out slowly. A third member was ready with another bomb in case the first two failed, all three men were arrested and hanged. -
Nicholas II crowned czar of Russia
Nicholas was crowned as czar in moscow. He was not trained, but was crowned regardless. Despite Russia needing change, he tried to keep an autocracy for czarist absolutism. He created a duma for the people, but receded it once the citizens upset him. He led Russia into World War 1 and left his wife, Alexandra, in charge. Eventually, the army turned on Nicholas and demanded he give up the throne. IN 1917, the throne went to his brother who refused it, bringing an end to czarist rule. -
Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg begins the 1905 Russian Revolution
Russia was losing the war against the Japanese and had become corrupt by Nicholas’ rule. A conference was held, which allowed the citizens to demand what reforms they wanted, but they were denied. Workers, lead by radicalist Apollonovich Gapon, marched on the Czar’s Winter Palace. Imperial forces opened fire and hundreds were killed or wounded. Strikes and riots began throughout the country. Nicholas gave the people a representative assembly, a Duma, to help make changes and reforms. -
World War I begins
World War 1 began after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, a war that lasted from 1914 to 1918. Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, etc were called the Central Powers. Great Britain, Russia, France, etc were called the Allied Powers. Known at the time as the Great War, the battle brought disaster to European countries. The Allied Powers were victorious, but not without more than 16 million dead including citizens and soldiers alike. -
Czar Nicholas II abdicates
After the Russian army switched sides on the czar, the imperial government had to step down and in their place grew a provisional government. Three days after the autocratic government fell, Nicholas abdicated his throne to his brother, Michael. Michael refused the crown and nearly 4 centuries of czarist rule in Russia came to an end. -
The February Revolution begins with strikes, demonstrations, and mutinies in Petrograd
After several riots had broken out, the Petrograd Army Garrison were commanded to stop the people’s uprising. Soldiers fired at the protesters and killed several, but the citizens continued their marches through the streets. The czar, Nicholas, disassembled the Duma he had created and his own army turned on him. This allowed the riots to continue forth. -
Lenin returns from exile and arrives in Petrograd via a sealed train
Lenin and his followers of the Union were arrested in December. Lenin was held in imprisonment for a year before being exiled to Siberia for three years. Once his term was over in 1900, Lenin furthered his revolutionary views across Western Europe. After the 1905 Russian Revolution, Lenin returned to Russia, but the czar quickly removed the reforms he made fo the people. Lenin was once again thrown back into exile. -
Bolshevik uprising fails in Petrograd
After a failed attempt at taking control, the Bolsheviks attempted to seize power in Petrograd. Only a small amount of soldiers and citizens went out of their way to support the Bolsheviks and their uprising was suppressed by the large percent of loyal troops. A number of the Bolsheviks members were arrested and their leader, Lenin, fled to Finland. -
The October Revolution - the Bolsheviks take over Petrograd
Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks, tried to overthrow the Provisional Government with help from leftists revolutionaries. The Bolsheviks and their allies infiltrated government buildings and other locations throughout Petrograd capital, Saint Petersburg. Within two days, a new government had been formed and Lenin was the leader. The new Russian government renamed Russia as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and was the first Marxist state throughout the world. -
Russian civil war begins
For three years, Russia was torn in half. This resulted in many revolutions and infighting, forcing Russia to withdraw from providing aid in World War 1. After the incident in November 1917, several groups formed because they opposed Lenin and his Bolsheviks new rule. None of the groups were able to take down the new Russian government and Lenin remained in control. -
Russia withdraws from World War I
After the bloody October Revolution in 1917, Russia withdrew from the ongoing Great War. Infighting began throughout Russia between the Bolsheviks and the White Guard conservatives. Russia could no longer control it’s armies or the riots breaking out. The country was tearing in two and could no longer support the battle of World War 1. -
The Bolshevik Party changes its name to the Communist Party
After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks ruled with an iron fist and didn’t allow other parties to interfere with the exception of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries. After shutting down all their rivals, the Bolsheviks changed their name to Russian Communist Party, then All-Union Communist Party in December 1925, before finally settling on Communist Party of the Soviet Union in October of 1952. -
The capital of Russia is changed from St. Petersburg to Moscow
Saint Petersburg was right against the border of Germany, who Russia was at war with, so they moved the capital to a city more in the center of Russia which is far away from enemy lines. Germany was trying to take the capital as that can devastate a country’s nationalism and completely overtake government officials. -
Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed
In the middle of the night, Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, their five kids, and four servants were forced into the cellar of the house they had been exiled to. The family and servants were told they were posing for a photo to quiet rumors that claimed they had escaped captivity. After being arranged into two rows, a dozen men burst in the room and gunned them all down, thus bringing an end to the Romanov dynasty. -
Russian civil war ends
After the Bolsheviks seized control from the Provisional Government, the next step was to to secure their place in power so that no one could take it from them. Lenin negotiated peace with Germany, which allowed Russia to stop their involvement with World War 1. Now that Russia was safe from German invasion, the Bolsheviks could stop the revolutions spurring. By 1921, the Bolsheviks were victorious and established their Communist Party. -
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) established
After a complete bolshevik revolution, Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It was comprised of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation. In 1936, the Transcaucasian Federation broke apart into the Georgian, Azerbaijan, and Armenian republics. The Soviet Union was a communist state that was the successor to the Russian Empire and was the first state to be based on Marxist Socialism. -
Lenin dies
Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks and ruler of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, passed away from a brain hemorrhage when he was only 54 years old. He lead Russia into a new era of change and maintained control, despite opposing forces. He overcame great hardships and ended up succeeding in his mission.
