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Peter the Great took the throne
He was only 10 years old in 1682 and he did not take control of the government until 1689. -
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Peter the Great Modernizes Russia
In 1697, he set out to learn about Western ways for himself. He brought Russia a group of technical experts, teachers, and soldiers he had recruited in Europe. He then embarked on a policy of westernization.
He controlled the Church and the Nobles.
He sought for a warm-water port, declared the Great Nothern War defeating Swedes, built St.Petersburg, and expanded Russia's borders. -
Peter the Great dies
Peter the Great died in 1725 and left a mixed legacy. He had expanded Russian territory, gained ports on the Baltic Sea, and created a mighty army. -
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Catherine the Great Follows Peter's Lead
Catherine the Great took throne after Peter died. She won the loyalty of the people. She was an efficient, energetic, and enlightened as well as a ruthless ruler. -
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Revolution of 1905
The Revolution of 1905 was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies. It led to the establishment of limited constitutional monarchy, the State Duma of the Russian Empire, the multi-party system, and the Russian Constitution of 1906. -
300th Anniversary of the Romanov dynasty
Everywhere, Russians honored the tsar and his family. Tsarina Alexandra felt confident that the people loved Nicholas too much to ever threaten him. -
Enters World War I
In July 1914, Russia enters World War I -
Battle of Tannenberg
In August 1914, Germans defeat Russians at the Battle of Tannenberg. -
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Russia Retreats
Russia retreat from German-Austrian offensive. -
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Soviet Foreign Policy
Between 1917 and 1939, the Soviet Union pursued two very different goals in foreign policy. Soviets wanted to guarantee their nation's security by winning the support of other countries. -
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March Revolution
After the revolution of 1905, Nicholas had failed to solve Russia's basic political, economic, and social problems. Revolutionaries hatched radical plots. Some hoped to lead discontented peasants to overthrow the tsarist regime. Marxists tried to ignite revolution among the proletariat.
By March 1917, disasters on the battlefield, combined with food and fuel shortages on the home front, brought the monarchy to collapse. -
Kerensky
In July 1917, the government launched the disastrous Kerensky offensive against Germany. -
November Revolution
In November 1917, squads of Red Guards joined mutinous sailors from the Russian fleet in attacking the provisional government. In just a matter of days, Lenin's forces overthrew the provisional govenment without a struggle. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
After the Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin quickly sought peace with Germany. Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, giving up a huge chunk of its territory and its population. -
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Civil War
For three years, civil war raged between the "Reds", as the Communists were known, and the counterrevolutionary "Whites." The "White" armies were made up of tsarist imperial officers, Mensheviks, democrats, and others. -
Communists Wins Civil War
In November 1920, the Communist government wins civil war, after years of bloody fighting. -
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NEP
In 1921, Lenin adopted the New Economic Policy, or NEP. It allowed some capitalist ventures. Lenin's compromise with capitalism helped the Soviet economy recover and ended armed resistance to the new government. By 1928, food and industrial production climbed back to prewar levels. -
USSR(Soviet Union)
In 1922, Lenin's Communist government united much of the old Russian empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union. -
Stalin Takes Over
Lenin died in 1924 at the age of 54. His death set off a power strggle among Communist leaders. The chief contenders were Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Eventually, Stalin isolated Trotsky within the party and stripped him of party membership. -
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First Five-Year Plan
In 1928, Stalin proposed the first of several "five-year plans" aimed at building heavy industry, improving transportation,and increasing farm output. He bought all economic activity under government control. The government owned all businesses and distributed all resources. -
The Great Purge
Stalin launched the Great Purge in 1934. During this reign of terror, Stalin and his secret police cracked down especially on Old Bolsheviks, or party activists from the early days of the revolution.
Between 1936 and 1938, Stalin staged a series of spectacular public "show trials" in Moscow.
