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Czar Alexander II is assassinated by a terrorist group
Under Alexander II’s rule, many people of Russia were left wanting a say in the government, including peasants and nobles alike. Because of this, Alexander II was killed in the streets of Saint Petersburg by the People’s Will, a terrorist group that wanted to use violence to change the government. However, upon his death, his successor Alexander III took control of Russia. He took measures that held back revolutionaries, such as weakening the regional assemblies and increasing surveillance. -
Nicholas II crowned czar of Russia
Alexander III took control of Russia after the assassination of Alexander II by the terrorist group, the People’s Will. However, Alexander III died in 1894 and his son, Nicholas II, took control. He had a deep craving for power, not partaking in many political events that didn’t involve his own power. Russia had changed since Alexander III ruled. Russia’s population doubled between 1850 and 1900, and the total number of factory workers increased from 1.4 million in 1890 to 3.1 million in 1913. -
Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg begins in the 1905 Russian Revolution
Many workers of Saint Petersburg went to the czar’s place with several demands, wanting a say in the government. The workers were gunned down by troops, killing about 130 people. This event came to be known as Bloody Sunday. Russians were outraged, leading workers in industrial centers to create soviets in order to have a say in government. These soviets helped control their surrounding regions. Other people also organized strikes and peasants seized land from landowners. -
World War I begins
Russia joined World War I against Austria-Hungary and Germany, sided with Serbia. Russia was not prepared for war, so of the 15 million men called to military service, 6 million had been killed, wounded, or captured by 1917. Millions of peasants were called into the army, and this caused a drop in Russia’s food supply. The high costs of fighting war also caused prices to rise, but the wages of factory workers remained low. Because of this, peasants and workers greatly opposed the war. -
The February Revolution begins with strikes, demonstrations, and mutinies in Petrograd
Women factory workers began to object against having to wait in line for bread during the food shortage caused by food being given to millions of peasants that joined the army for World War I. Men that worked in factories, students, and soldiers soon joined the women in their strike. Nicholas responded by dissolving the Duma, but instead, the Duma refused to disband and instead created a temporary government, the Provisional Government, until a permanent government could be created. -
Czar Nicholas II abdicates
Following the February Revolution and the formation of the Provisional Government, Nicholas II began to lose control of Russia. Many people were supporting the Provisional Government instead of him, including top military commanders, hoping that it would restore Russia’s strength. Since barely anyone supported Nicholas II, he gave up his position as czar. In his absence, other groups began to fight for power, including the Provisional Government and soviets that were being created around Russia. -
Lenin returns from exile and arrives in Petrograd via a sealed train
Vladimir Lenin returned to Petrograd after ten years of exile. Upon getting word of the February Revolution and the Provisional Government, Lenin contacted German officials to request passage through Germany to return to Russia, and they provided him safe access as well as money to support his revolutionary activities. Once he returned to Russia, he called for all soviets to overthrow the Provisional Government. He also became an influential leader to Bolsheviks as the revolutions progressed. -
Bolshevik uprising fails in Petrograd
After returning from exile in April, Vladimir Lenin called for the Soviets to overthrow the Provisional Government in July. However, the Bolsheviks did not hold much power, as most soviets were controlled by Mensheviks and other less radical revolutionaries. During the uprising, Bolshevik soldiers took to the streets in an attempt to overthrow the Provisional Government, but the Petrograd Soviet refused to support them. Because of this, government troops were able to end the uprising. -
The October Revolution - the Bolsheviks take over Petrograd
The Bolsheviks began gaining majorities in several soviets, including the major Petrograd Soviet. The night before the All-Russia Congress of Soviets met in Petrograd, Bolshevik soldiers took control of key points in the city. The morning of October 25, Lenin announced that the Provisional Government had been overthrown and that the Congress of Soviets had taken over. Because of this, Lenin was placed in charge of a leadership council for the new government and other Bolsheviks took key roles. -
Russian civil war begins
Once the Bolsheviks gained power over Russia, they were urged with keeping power in their hands. In the new national assembly, less than 25 percent of the elected delegates were Bolsheviks, so Lenin forced the assembly to disband. Different groups began to emerge to wage war on each other for Russia’s government. The Bolsheviks were known as the Reds, and they supported communism. The Whites were the groups that opposed them. The Greens were peasants that sought to defend and keep their land. -
Russia withdraws from World War I
Once the Bolsheviks seized power over Russia, they made sure to squash factors that could take power away from them. Along with reaffirming censorship of the press and creating a new secret police force that dealt with suspected enemies, the Bolsheviks also withdrew Russia from World War I. They had to sign treaties with other countries so that they would no longer be attacked, as they had other issues to deal with inside of Russia, such as democratic elections. -
The capital of Russia is changed from St. Petersburg to Moscow
Lenin moved the central bodies of his Bolshevik government from St. Petersburg to Moscow, which was located more towards the center of Russia. This was supposed to be a temporary change, but it soon became permanent. Because of this, Moscow became an advanced city as the years passed, becoming a major and influential location inside of Russia. -
The Bolshevik Party changes its name to the Communist Party
Shortly after coming to their desired power, the Bolsheviks changed the name of their party to the Communist Party. The month before, they had assembled an army that they called the Red Army, because red symbolized socialist revolution in Europe. Meanwhile, Russia people divided into groups with different mindsets. The Red Army, called the Reds, were tasked with battling the Whites, opposers of communism, and Greens, peasants that defended their land from Red and White control. -
Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed
Once in power, the Communists were determined to enforce their role. The extreme measures that they took to ensure power was called the Red Terror. Lenin ordered secret police to arrest any suspected enemies to the Communists, which included religious leaders, nobles, and non-communist revolutionaries, and were permitted to execute anyone they arrested. Lenin ordered the czar and his family to be executed in July 1918. Other enemies were held in prison camps, where many of them died. -
Russian civil war ends
During the Russian civil war, the Whites were aided by the United States, Britain, and France, who sent troops and supplies for the war. Meanwhile, Lenin created the Comintern in 1919 to organize parties in other nations. The White armies were divided by geography and fighting intentions, and these were factors that led to their downfall. The Red Army emerged victorious in the civil war, defeating both the Whites and the Greens. -
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Established
As civil war raged through Russia, the Red Army was tasked to deal with nationalist movements that threatened their rule. In response, the communists created six self-governing Soviet republics. Eventually, in 1922, the Red Army was finally able to defeat both the Whites and the Greens, reigning superior. They also joined the Soviet republics with Russia and formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Soviet Union or USSR. -
Lenin Dies
Lenin continued to issue new policies over Soviet communism. One new change was the addition of the New Economic Policy, which replaced war communism and relaxed the extreme measures communists has previously taken. However, Lenin’s health soon deteriorated until he died in 1924. This caused a power struggle within the Communist Party, and after the next four years, party secretary Joseph Stalin was able to rise to power amongst the struggle.
